Huskers Earn Hard-Fought Victory

Lincoln ? Sophomore Jordan Larson recorded her 20th double-double of the season with 16 kills and 14 digs, as the No. 1-seeded Nebraska volleyball team used a strong defensive effort to hold off an upstart American squad, 3-1 (30-16, 30-23, 28-30, 30-16) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at the sold-out NU Coliseum Friday night.

Larson, who tied for team-high honors in kills with junior Sarah Pavan, Larson hit .343 in the match and added four aces and four blocks, including a pair of solo stuffs. Pavan hit .387 and added five digs and a pair of blocks, as Nebraska improved to 28-1 on the season.

Nebraska will take on Northern Iowa, a 3-1 winner over Winthrop earlier Friday, tomorrow afternoon at 5 p.m. A small number of reserved tickets at $15 apiece will go on sale Saturday at 3:30 p.m. at the NU Coliseum Ticket office.

While Nebraska used a balanced offensive attack, it was the Huskers' defense that propelled NU to its 28th victory of the season. NU held American (26-6) below .100 hitting in three of the four games, including a -.051 mark in the first game and a -.184 attack percentage in game four. On the night, the Eagles hit just .050, more than .200 points below their season average of .279.

Highlighting the stellar defensive night for the Huskers was senior Dani Busboom, who tallied 20 digs to become NU’s single-season digs leader. Busboom, who reached the 20-dig mark for the seventh time this year, upped her total to 485 on the season, shattering the previous mark of 480 set my Amanda McCormick in 2004.
 
The Huskers were also strong at the net, recording 16 blocks, compared to just nine for American. Junior Tracy Stalls led the block parade with 10, two shy of her season high. Dani Mancuso tied her career high with six blocks, while also matching her season high with 11 kills.

The Eagles, who became the first team to take a game from NU in the opening round since 1992, earned praise from the Husker coaches and players for their inspired play on Friday.

“We learned some things from this match, and we’ve got to give a lot of credit to American,” Cook said. “They made a lot of plays, and they served extremely tough. We stayed nice and steady, and certainly dominated the first game.

“I told the girls, this is the same thing as what they call basketball in March, ?March Madness.’ It’s the same thing here,” Cook said. “American had a lot of motivation for this match, because they felt like they deserved a higher seed than playing Nebraska, and they certainly played like it.”

Elizabeth Maloney led American with 12 kills on .346 hitting, while Chelsa Brooks added 11 kills while hitting .143. Ivana Cebakova paced the defense with 16 digs, while Brooks paced the team with five blocks.

With the win, Nebraska improved its winning streak at the Coliseum to 53 in a row, the eighth-longest streak in NCAA history. The Huskers also improved to 42-3 all-time in NCAA Tournament play at the NU Coliseum, including a 20-1 mark in first-round matches.

American (25-7) saw its 19-match winning streak snapped by the Huskers, as the Eagles ? who have advanced to the postseason eight times ? came up short of earning the first NCAA Tournament victory in program history.

The Huskers staggered the Eagles in the opener, using the strong serving of Rachel Holloway and Jordan Larson to jump to a quick 14-1 lead. Holloway served the first five points, while Larson, who had three kills in the early spurt, then raced off seven straight points, capped by a pair of Mancuso kills to take a commanding lead.

American then settled down, pulling to as close as 20-14 and forcing a Nebraska timeout. The Eagles eventually pulled to within 21-15, but NU could get no closer, as NU ran off nine of the final 10 points, as kills by Busboom and Larson closed out a 30-16 win.

Larson enjoyed an outstanding first game, finishing with seven kills on 10 swings, while adding an ace. Behind Larson’s performance, Nebraska hit .343 in game one, while the Husker defense held American to -.051 hitting.

American started game two much better, as the Eagles flew to a 4-1 lead before NU pulled ahead for the first time at 10-9. The Eagles regained the lead at 15-14 and forced a Husker timeout after a 4-1 run.

Nebraska quickly earned the lead following the timeout, but the game remained back-and-forth until the Huskers until the serving of Maggie Griffin sparked a key run. The junior served five served five straight points, as her fifth ace of the season pushed the lead to 25-18. The Eagles would not go quietly, cutting a 26-20 Husker lead to 26-23. It looked like American would pull to within two, but a terrific diving dig from Busboom won a point for the Huskers and sparked a game-ending 4-0 run.

The momentum Nebraska built at the end of game two didn’t carry over to game three as American was sharp early in jumping out to a quick 8-4 advantage. The Eagles maintained a lead until a Larson kill and a service ace from Holloway put the Huskers up 12-11. Another ace from Larson and a thunderous kill from Mancuso pushed the Huskers' lead to 15-12 at the media timeout.

American stayed close before pulling even in the match at 19-19 and trailed 23-20 before the play of Rubena Sukaj sparked the Eagles to their best run of the night. The Patriot League Player of the Year, Sukaj served two aces in a 4-0 run to give American a 25-23 lead after her second ace. NU eventually pulled to within 29-28, but Sukaj’s kill gave the Eagles the hard-fought win.

Nebraska, which dropped a game for the first time in four matches, responded well to losing game three as the Huskers ran to a quick 6-1 lead in game four. The Huskers’ quick start did not deter American, as the Eagles won nine of the next 11 points to take a 10-9 lead. That would be Americans’ last lead of the match, as the Huskers began to wear American down behind Tracy Stalls, who had four of her six kills in the finale.

NU regained the lead but the game remained tight until Nebraska took control of the game and the match with a 7-0 run. It was Larson at the service line during the run again, as NU opened up a nine-point lead at 22-13 before the run was over, ending Americans’ upset hopes. 

The Huskers will return to action Saturday afternoon at 5 p.m. against Northern Iowa. The match will be televised state-wide on NET and NET-HD and carried on B107.3 FM in Lincoln and Omaha.