Huskers Top USC at Runza/AVCA Showcase

Omaha, NE -- Behind a match-high 18 kills from All-American Jordan Larson and a strong defensive performance, seventh-ranked Nebraska downed No. 4 USC, 3-1 (25-27, 25-19, 25-17, 25-18) in front of a crowd of 8,399 at Qwest Center Omaha Sunday afternoon.

The Huskers, who improved to 2-0 on the season with wins over two of the top four teams in the country, needed a strong effort from Larson, who slammed 18 kills on 36 swings and added eight digs and three service aces in the victory.

While Larson was the only Husker to reach double figures in kills, NU relied on a balanced attack that saw four players total at least seven kills against the Women of Troy. The middle blocking duo of Kori Cooper (nine kills and six blocks) and Amanda Gates (seven kills, six blocks and two service aces) combined for 16 kills while Tara Mueller added seven kills and three blocks. Sydney Anderson keyed the Husker attack, dishing out 41 assists, while also chipping in five of the Huskers’ 11 service aces on the day

The story for the Huskers was its defensive efforts, as Nebraska held USC to just .141 hitting, while out-blocking (12.5-9.0) and out-digging (53-49) a Women of Troy squad that reached the national semifinals in 2007. Kayla Banwarth recorded a match-high 20 digs for the Big Red, while Lindsey Licht totaled eight blocks and added six kills in helping the Huskers to just their second victory ? and first in the regular season ? in eight meetings with USC.

Larson, Banwarth and Anderson were all selected to the Runza/AVCA Showcase All-Tournament team after helping the Big 12 to a 3-1 record over the two days. No. 3 Texas dropped a five-set match to No. 2 Stanford earlier Sunday to prevent a clean sweep for the league.

Alex Jupiter led USC with a team-high 12 kills, while Jessica Gysin added 11 in a losing effort. Jupiter joined the three Huskers on the all-tournament team, joining Stanford’s Cynthia Barboza and Cassidy Lichtman and Texas’ Destinee Hooker and Ashley Engle.

In the opener, the Huskers were unable to close out the set, as USC fought off four set points to prevail, 27-25. Cooper totaled a team-best four kills, and the Huskers used a key 6-2 spurt off the serving of Gates to turn a 19-18 deficit into a 24-21 lead. Two straight USC kills and a block evened the set before Cooper’s kill gave NU a 25-24 lead. The Huskers were unable to close out the game, as two miscues, including a block by USC’s Taylor Carico and Lauren Williams put the Women of Troy at set point before Geena Urango’s perfectly placed roll shot ended game one.

The Huskers would put defensive clamps on in game two, holding USC to .125 hitting in rolling to a 25-19 lead. Anderson keyed Nebraska’s efforts, totaling 12 assists and three service aces, including the final two points of the set to send the match tied at the intermission. USC took an early 8-5 lead, only to see the Huskers storm back with a 5-1 spurt, taking the lead at 10-9 on an Anderson ace. The teams traded points and USC was within 16-15 before the Huskers took control with a 7-1 run, taking a 22-16 cushion after two straight USC hitting miscues. The Women of Troy made one last run, pulling to within 22-19 before a Gates kill and two straight aces closed out the set.

Nebraska upped its lead to 2-1 with its strongest offensive effort of the match, hitting .333 en route to a 25-17 victory. Larson totaled six kills on nine swings, while Gates added three big kills for Nebraska, which never trailed.  The Huskers used strong serving to race out to a 6-1 lead after Anderson’s fourth ace of the match. USC fought back and was within 10-8 before the Huskers scored five of the next six points to extend the margin to 15-9 and force USC to take a timeout. USC fought to within 15-12, but a Larson kill and a Banwarth ace sandwiched around a USC miscue quickly pushed the lead to eight and put the set out of reach.

In the finale, Nebraska’s block was solid in helping NU post a 25-18 victory for its second win in as many matches. Licht totaled three stuffs in limiting USC to .065 hitting in the finale. The Huskers led from wire to wire, using a decisive 8-2 spurt, turning a one-point lead into a 12-5 advantage after an Anderson kill. USC fought back and was within 16-12, but could get no closer, as Nebraska scored the next four points, highlighted by a Gates’ ace to make it 20-12 and essentially end USC’s comeback bid.

The Huskers will return to action on Monday afternoon, as they host the undefeated Oral Roberts Golden Eagles. First serve from the NU Coliseum is set for 4 p.m. and the match will be carried on the Husker Sports Network and on Huskers.com. Live video streaming is also available on HuskersNside.

2008 Runza/AVCA Showcase All-Tournament Team
Texas   Destinee Hooker
Texas   Ashley Engle
USC   Alex Jupiter
Stanford  Cynthia Barboza
Stanford  Cassidy Lichtman
Nebraska  Jordan Larson
Nebraska  Sydney Anderson
Nebraska  Kayla Banwarth

                               Volleyball Box Score
                            The Automated ScoreBook
               #7 Nebraska vs #4 USC (Aug 31, 2008 at Omaha, NE)   Nebraska               |     ATTACK      |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF|  BLOCK |GEN
## Name                 GP|  K   E  TA   PCT|  A| SA  SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1  Anderson, Sydney....  4|  2   1   7  .143| 41|  5   0|  0|  7| 0  1  2|  0
5  Schwartz, Rachel....  4|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   1|  0|  8| 0  0  0|  0
10 Larson, Jordan......  4| 18   5  36  .361|  0|  3   4|  1|  8| 0  1  0|  0
15 Cooper, Kori........  4|  9   3  23  .261|  0|  0   0|  0|  2| 0  6  1|  0
17 Gates, Amanda.......  4|  7   2  14  .357|  0|  2   1|  0|  4| 0  6  0|  1
19 Mueller, Tara.......  4|  7   7  28  .000|  2|  0   3|  1|  3| 0  3  0|  0
2  Banwarth, Kayla.....  4|  0   0   0  .000|  3|  1   0|  2| 20| 0  0  0|  0
4  Licht, Lindsey......  4|  6   5  21  .048|  0|  0   0|  0|  1| 0  8  0|  0
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   Totals..............  4| 49  23 129  .202| 46| 11   9|  4| 53| 0 25  3|  1 TEAM ATTACK PER GAME                               TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 12.5 Game  K  E  TA   Pct
   1  13 11  41  .049   GAME SCORES               1  2  3  4  TEAM RECORDS
   2  13  5  34  .235   Nebraska............ (3) 25 25 25 25  2-0
   3  14  3  33  .333   USC................. (1) 27 19 17 18  0-2
   4   9  4  21  .238   USC                    |     ATTACK      |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF|  BLOCK |GEN
## Name                 GP|  K   E  TA   PCT|  A| SA  SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
5  Gysin, Jessica......  4| 11   7  26  .154|  1|  1   1|  1|  7| 0  0  2|  0
7  Jupiter, Alex.......  4| 12   7  27  .185|  0|  1   4|  7|  9| 1  0  0|  0
8  Williams, Lauren....  4|  6   3  15  .200|  0|  0   2|  0|  0| 0  5  0|  0
9  Carico, Taylor......  4|  2   0   4  .500| 38|  0   1|  0| 11| 0  5  0|  0
21 Roleder, Kimmee.....  4|  7   6  39  .026|  2|  2   3|  0|  7| 0  2  0|  0
32 Garrett, Zoe........  4|  3   1  11  .182|  0|  0   0|  0|  2| 1  2  1|  0
2  Urango, Geena.......  4|  3   2   6  .167|  0|  0   2|  1|  1| 0  0  0|  0
3  Hillgren, Alli......  4|  0   0   0  .000|  1|  0   0|  2| 12| 0  0  0|  0
12 Bateman, Kendall....  2|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
   Totals..............  4| 44  26 128  .141| 42|  4  13| 11| 49| 2 14  3|  0 TEAM ATTACK PER GAME                               TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 9.0 Game  K  E  TA   Pct
   1  11  5  35  .171   Site: Omaha, NE (Qwest Center Omaha)
   2  10  6  32  .125   Date: Aug 31, 2008   Attend: 8399   Time: 2:09
   3  12  6  30  .200   Referees: Bill Forrester, Mary Faragher
   4  11  9  31  .065                                         1   2   3   4 Total
                        Tie scores       9   9   0   0    18
                        Lead changes     3   4   0   0     7
Short Box Score                            Short Box Score (Match)
                            The Automated ScoreBook
               #7 Nebraska vs #4 USC (Aug 31, 2008 at Omaha, NE)  Nebraska def. USC 25-27,25-19,25-17,25-18  Nebraska (2-0) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Larson, Jordan 18-3-1;
  Cooper, Kori 9-0-6; Gates, Amanda 7-2-6; Mueller, Tara 7-0-3; Licht,
  Lindsey 6-0-8; Anderson, Sydney 2-5-1; Banwarth, Kayla 0-1-0; Totals
  49-11-12.5. (Assists) - Anderson, Sydney 41. (Dig leaders) - Banwarth,
  Kayla 20; Schwartz, Rachel 8; Larson, Jordan 8  USC (0-2) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Jupiter, Alex 12-1-1; Gysin,
  Jessica 11-1-0; Roleder, Kimmee 7-2-2; Williams, Lauren 6-0-5; Urango,
  Geena 3-0-0; Garrett, Zoe 3-0-3; Carico, Taylor 2-0-5; Totals
  44-4-9.0. (Assists) - Carico, Taylor 38. (Dig leaders) - Hillgren,
  Alli 12; Carico, Taylor 11; Jupiter, Alex 9  Site: Omaha, NE (Qwest Center Omaha)
  Date: Aug 31, 2008   Attend: 8399   Time: 2:09
  Referees: Bill Forrester, Mary Faragher