Lubbock, Texas ? While the location was different, the result was the same as the No. 1 ranked Nebraska volleyball team improved to 9-0 on the season with a 30-19, 30-15, 30-20 victory over Texas Tech Saturday night.
The Huskers, making their first road trip of the season, used a strong performance from middle blockers Tracy Stalls and Kori Cooper, who combined for 21 kills on .588 hitting in propelling Nebraska to its seventh consecutive sweep.
Cooper, who lives less than two hours from the United Spirit Arena, received a boisterous applause when introduced before recording a season-best 11 kills on .579 hitting and five blocks. It marked the first time the sophomore has led the Huskers in kills. Stalls totaled 10 kills on 15 swings and matched Cooper for team-high honors with five stuffs, keying a defensive performance that held Texas Tech to .075 hitting.
"Anytime your middles lead the team in kills, it means they and the setters are playing at a high level and connecting," Nebraska Coach John Cook said. "That was one of the points we wanted to emphasize tonight, to take advantage of their middle blockers."
Behind the duo, Nebraska hit .342 as a team and matched season bests in both blocks (11) and service aces, as both Rachel Schwartz and Sarah Pavan tied career bests. Schwartz, who did not record an ace in NU’s first eight matches, finished with three aces and 10 digs, while Pavan matched her NU best with four aces and added eight kills and four blocks in a match that took just 80 minutes.
"We wanted to go on the road and serve tough, and that was the other thing we wanted to do tonight," Cook said. "It put a lot of stress on (them), and we did a good job of slowing down their attack with our serve. Once we did that, it dictated the match in our favor.
The Huskers used strong serving and a potent middle attack to record a 30-19 victory in the opener. NU tallied five service aces, including two apiece from Pavan and Schwartz and took the Red Raiders out of any offensive rhythm. Stalls and Cooper dominated from the middle, combining for eight kills and no errors on just 11 swings, including five kills from Stalls in as many swings. Leading 12-10, the Huskers used their serving to run off nine of the next 11 points to take control, pushing the margin to 21-12 after Pavan ripped off consecutive aces. NU eventually pushed the lead to double figures at 24-14 on a Holloway kill and cruised to an 11-point win.
In game two, it was the Huskers’ block that allowed Nebraska to double up on the Red Raiders, 30-15. NU hit .368 and racked up five blocks, including three each from Cooper and Pavan, to hold Tech to .000 hitting on 35 swings. Holloway got the Huskers going early, serving five straight points, as NU took an early 6-1 lead after a block from Cooper and Pavan. The Red Raiders hung around with NU and trailed 19-12 before the Huskers took control behind Holloway. The sophomore setter sparked NU’s 12-3 run with a kill in the corner before Pavan ran off consecutive aces for the second time in the match, giving NU a 10-point lead. From there, NU expanded its lead and took a 2-0 lead into the locker room.
In the finale, the Huskers continued to clamp on the defensive pressure in a 30-20 victory. Stalls and Cooper had four kills each, combining for half of NU’s offensive total. Up 13-10, the Huskers used another strong serving run from Schwartz, running off four straight points to take a seven-point lead at 17-10 on Schwartz’s third ace of the night. Freshman Lindsey Licht then took over, delivering two kills and a block in a five-point stretch, as NU expanded their lead.
The Huskers return to action on Saturday, Sept. 22, when they host Texas A&M at the Nebraska Coliseum. First serve is set for 7 p.m. and the match will be carried state-wide on Nebraska Educational Television and on the radio on the Husker Sports Network.
Nebraska | ATTACK |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF| BLOCK |GEN
## Name GP| K E TA PCT| A| SA SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE|POINTS
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3 Houghtelling, Chris. 3| 6 1 19 .263| 0| 0 2| 0| 15| 1 2 0| 0| 8.0
9 Pavan, Sarah........ 3| 8 4 22 .182| 0| 4 2| 0| 4| 0 3 0| 0| 13.5
10 Larson, Jordan...... 3| 8 3 27 .185| 2| 1 2| 0| 7| 0 1 0| 0| 9.5
11 Stalls, Tracy....... 3| 10 1 15 .600| 4| 0 3| 0| 1| 1 4 0| 0| 13.0
12 Holloway, Rachel.... 3| 4 1 9 .333| 33| 1 2| 0| 7| 0 1 0| 0| 5.5
15 Cooper, Kori........ 3| 11 0 19 .579| 2| 0 0| 1| 1| 0 5 0| 0| 13.5
1 Griffin, Maggie..... 1| 0 0 0 .000| 5| 0 0| 0| 1| 0 0 0| 0| 0.0
4 Licht, Lindsey...... 1| 2 0 3 .667| 0| 0 0| 0| 0| 0 1 0| 0| 2.5
5 Schwartz, Rachel.... 3| 0 0 0 .000| 2| 3 0| 0| 10| 0 0 0| 0| 3.0
19 Mueller, Tara....... 2| 2 1 3 .333| 0| 0 0| 0| 1| 0 1 0| 0| 2.5
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Totals.............. 3| 51 11 117 .342| 48| 9 11| 1| 47| 2 18 0| 0| 71.0 TEAM ATTACK PER GAME TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 11.0
Game K E TA Pct Sideout Pct
1 18 4 40 .350 14-18 77% GAME SCORES 1 2 3 TEAM RECORDS
2 17 3 38 .368 13-16 81% Nebraska............ (3) 30 30 30 9-0, 2-0 Big 12
3 16 4 39 .308 16-20 80% Texas Tech.......... (0) 19 15 20 7-4, 1-1 Big 12 Texas Tech | ATTACK |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF| BLOCK |GEN
## Name GP| K E TA PCT| A| SA SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE|POINTS
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4 Gandy, Amy.......... 3| 4 9 24 -.208| 3| 0 1| 4| 8| 0 1 0| 0| 4.5
11 Ziegler, Emily...... 3| 3 0 10 .300| 19| 1 1| 0| 6| 0 0 0| 1| 4.0
12 Flores, Michelle.... 3| 10 5 25 .200| 1| 0 0| 0| 2| 0 0 0| 0| 10.0
14 Louis, Lindsey...... 3| 0 0 0 .000| 0| 0 0| 1| 3| 0 0 0| 0| 0.0
15 Ostmeyer, Alicia.... 3| 3 3 16 .000| 0| 0 0| 0| 1| 1 1 0| 0| 4.5
22 Courtney, Caroline.. 2| 3 1 12 .167| 0| 0 0| 0| 0| 0 0 0| 0| 3.0
6 Vincent, Jackie..... 1| 0 0 0 .000| 0| 0 0| 0| 1| 0 0 0| 0| 0.0
7 Spearman, Jaclyn.... 3| 0 1 2 -.500| 1| 0 2| 3| 12| 0 0 0| 0| 0.0
9 Harrell, Jenn....... 3| 0 0 2 .000| 1| 0 2| 1| 12| 0 0 0| 0| 0.0
10 Hood, Brandi........ 3| 7 2 12 .417| 0| 0 0| 0| 3| 0 0 0| 0| 7.0
20 Sbragia, Amanda..... 1| 0 1 3 -.333| 0| 0 0| 0| 1| 0 0 0| 0| 0.0
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Totals.............. 3| 30 22 106 .075| 25| 1 6| 9| 49| 1 2 0| 1| 33.0 TEAM ATTACK PER GAME TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 2.0
Game K E TA Pct Sideout Pct
1 12 6 38 .158 15-31 48% Site: Lubbock, Texas (United Spirit Arena)
2 8 8 34 .000 12-29 41% Date: Sep 15, 2007 Attend: 1468 Time: 1:20
3 10 8 34 .059 16-30 53% Referees: Steve Robb, Mark Noble 1 2 3 Total
Tie scores 3 1 4 8
Lead changes 1 1 1 3