Huskers Ace Test with 3-0 Win

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Lincoln ? Top-ranked Nebraska avoided a letdown after Sunday’s win over Penn State with a 30-20, 30-19, 30-18 sweep of No. 17 Cal Poly Monday afternoon.

The Huskers hit a torrid .393 as a team against the Mustangs, meeting the challenge that John Cook had set for his team earlier Monday.

"This was a mental challenge for us to see if we could come out with the same intensity and effort that we had yesterday. I thought our team did a great job of preparing today and playing at a very high level."

The Huskers (5-0) put together their most complete effort of the year, hitting over .400 in two games and holding Cal Poly (3-3) to just .120 hitting and out-digging the Mustangs, 55-44. Nebraska never trailed and had three players finish with at least 10 kills.

Cook was pleased with the Huskers’ effort on back-to-back days, a scenario which could be helpful later in the year.

"We purposely scheduled this tournament to play Penn State and Cal Poly back-to-back days to have two tough matches." Cook said. "Cal Poly plays great volleyball, and they remind me a lot of UCLA in the style that they play with defense and tempo. We had to really adjust from Penn State to this style. That’s what we want to prepare for in the NCAA Tournament because you don’t know what style of team you’ll be playing."

Tournament MVP Sarah Pavan led a potent Husker offense with a match-high 17 kills on .483 hitting, while Christina Houghtelling (12 kills on .379 hitting and eight digs) and Jordan Larson (11 kills and 13 digs) joined Pavan in double figures.

"Out left-sides really got into a rhythm today," Cook said.

The Huskers also received strong performances from the middle blocking trio of Tracy Stalls, Kori Cooper and Amanda Gates, who combined for 17 kills on .600 hitting. Rachel Holloway joined Pavan and Larson as NU’s third all-tournament selection, dishing out 51 assists and adding seven digs.

Nebraska’s offense came out firing in the opener, hitting .475 as a team in posting a 30-20 victory. Pavan and Cooper combined for most of the damage, as the duo totaled 14 kills on just 17 swings. Pavan had 10 kills, while Cooper totaled four kills on as many swings. NU wasted little time taking control of the match, racing out to a 6-1 lead and never looking back. Cal Poly pulled to within 16-13, but could not get closer, as a pair of Pavan tips sparked a 5-1 run to push the lead to 21-14 after a Larson kill. The Mustangs were unable to trim the Husker lead as NU posted a 10-point win.

Nebraska’s defense was the story in game two, as NU held Cal Poly to .054 hitting in a 30-19 win. NU totaled three blocks and had 17 digs, including seven by Larson. NU seized the moment early, running off a 4-1 spurt to take an early 7-4 lead after Holloway and Stalls combined to block Ali Waller. The Huskers, relying on a balance offense that saw five different players total at least two kills, continued to apply pressure and turned a four-point lead into a 17-10 cushion on a Pavan ace. Cal Poly eventually got to within 22-17, but three straight kills and a Larson aces pushed the lead to 26-17, and NU took a 2-0 lead into the locker room.

In the finale, the Huskers rode the shoulder of Houghtelling, who totaled seven of her 12 kills in a 30-18 win. The senior hit .538 and added four digs to lead a potent offensive attack. She totaled five kills in a game-opening 10-4 spurt that put the Mustangs in a deep hole. The Mustangs made one last charge, pulling to within 14-11, but two straight Pavan kills highlighted a 5-1 run that essentially ended the match.

The Huskers will return to action this Friday at 7 p.m., as they take on No. 11 Duke in the first round of the Ameritas Players Challenge. New Mexico State and Louisville will meet in Friday’s first contest, which is slated for 4:30 p.m.

 

All-Tournament Team
Rachel Holloway, Nebraska
Jordan Larson, Nebraska
Sarah Pavan, Nebraska (MVP)
Christa Harmotto, Penn State
Jessica Houts, Creighton
Kylie Atherston, Cal Poly
Kristen Jackson, Cal Poly (Libero)

Cal Poly vs Nebraska (Sep 03, 2007)

• Box Score

Volleyball Box Score

Volleyball Box Score The Automated ScoreBook #17 Cal Poly vs #1 Nebraska (Sep 03, 2007 at Lincoln, NE)

Cal Poly | ATTACK |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF| BLOCK |GEN ## Name GP| K E TA PCT| A| SA SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE|POINTS ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2 Mort, Alison........ 3| 0 0 0 .000| 0| 0 0| 0| 5| 0 0 0| 0| 0.0 3 Waller, Ali......... 3| 8 6 36 .056| 0| 0 1| 2| 6| 0 0 0| 0| 8.0 5 Atherstone, Kylie... 3| 9 6 34 .088| 0| 0 1| 0| 8| 0 1 0| 1| 9.5 11 Houston, Jaclyn..... 3| 4 0 9 .444| 0| 0 0| 0| 1| 0 3 0| 0| 5.5 13 Hayes, Chelsea...... 3| 0 0 2 .000| 29| 0 1| 0| 6| 0 2 0| 0| 1.0 18 Rivera, Gaby........ 3| 7 1 15 .400| 0| 0 0| 0| 3| 0 2 0| 0| 8.0 1 Olowolafe, Dominique 1| 2 2 5 .000| 0| 0 0| 0| 0| 0 0 2| 1| 2.0 6 Jackson, Kristin.... 3| 0 0 0 .000| 0| 0 1| 1| 14| 0 0 0| 0| 0.0 10 Bertoni, Ashleigh... 2| 4 5 16 -.062| 0| 0 2| 0| 1| 0 1 0| 0| 4.5 17 Fithian, Hailey..... 2| 0 0 0 .000| 2| 0 0| 0| 0| 0 0 0| 0| 0.0 20 Suttich, Caitlin.... 1| 0 0 0 .000| 0| 0 0| 0| 0| 0 0 0| 0| 0.0 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Totals.............. 3| 34 20 117 .120| 31| 0 6| 3| 44| 0 9 2| 2| 38.5

TEAM ATTACK PER GAME TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 4.5 Game K E TA Pct Sideout Pct 1 13 6 45 .156 15-29 51% GAME SCORES 1 2 3 TEAM RECORDS 2 11 9 37 .054 15-30 50% Cal Poly............ (0) 20 19 18 3-3 3 10 5 35 .143 15-29 51% Nebraska............ (3) 30 30 30 5-0

Nebraska | ATTACK |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF| BLOCK |GEN ## Name GP| K E TA PCT| A| SA SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE|POINTS ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3 Houghtelling, Chris. 3| 12 1 29 .379| 1| 1 2| 0| 8| 0 0 0| 0| 13.0 9 Pavan, Sarah........ 3| 17 3 29 .483| 0| 1 2| 0| 5| 0 0 1| 0| 18.0 10 Larson, Jordan...... 3| 11 5 28 .214| 1| 1 1| 0| 13| 0 2 0| 0| 13.0 11 Stalls, Tracy....... 3| 8 1 14 .500| 0| 0 1| 0| 4| 0 1 0| 0| 8.5 12 Holloway, Rachel.... 3| 1 1 6 .000| 51| 0 0| 0| 7| 1 1 0| 0| 2.5 15 Cooper, Kori........ 3| 6 1 8 .625| 2| 0 0| 0| 1| 0 2 0| 0| 7.0 1 Griffin, Maggie..... 2| 0 0 0 .000| 1| 0 0| 0| 0| 0 0 0| 0| 0.0 2 Banwarth, Kayla..... 1| 0 0 0 .000| 0| 0 0| 0| 0| 0 0 0| 0| 0.0 4 Licht, Lindsey...... 2| 0 0 0 .000| 0| 0 0| 0| 0| 0 0 0| 0| 0.0 5 Schwartz, Rachel.... 3| 0 0 0 .000| 0| 0 4| 0| 17| 0 0 0| 0| 0.0 17 Gates, Amanda....... 1| 3 0 3 1.000| 0| 0 0| 0| 0| 0 0 0| 0| 3.0 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Totals.............. 3| 58 12 117 .393| 56| 3 10| 0| 55| 1 6 1| 0| 65.0

TEAM ATTACK PER GAME TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 4.0 Game K E TA Pct Sideout Pct 1 21 2 40 .475 16-21 76% Site: Lincoln, NE (NU Coliseum) 2 16 5 39 .282 15-19 78% Date: Sep 03, 2007 Attend: 4068 Time: 1:25 3 21 5 38 .421 16-19 84% Referees: Daryl Korinek, Bill Stanley

1 2 3 Total Tie scores 1 1 2 4 Lead changes 0 0 0 0

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