Larson, Licht Power Huskers Past Buffs

Lincoln ? Jordan Larson and Lindsey Licht combined for 28 kills, leading second-ranked Nebraska to a 3-0 sweep (25-19, 25-15, 26-24) over Colorado Saturday afternoon at the NU Coliseum.

Larson, a two-time All-American, paced the Husker attack with a match-high 17 kills on .355 hitting, as Nebraska improved to 14-0 overall and 6-0 in the Big 12. Licht, a sophomore right-side hitter, joined Larson in double figures, drilling home 11 kills on just 15 swings as she hit over .500 for the second straight contest.

Sophomore setter Sydney Anderson dished out 36 assists and added a pair of service aces for the Huskers, who hit .302 as a team and reached the .300 mark as a team for the fifth time in the last eight matches. With the win, Nebraska extends its home match win streak to 78 matches, the second-longest streak in NCAA history, and remain one of four unbeaten teams in Division I volleyball.

Nebraska Head Coach John Cook was pleased by how his Huskers performed in the first two sets, but knows there is a lot he can take away from the Huskers’ ninth sweep of the year.

“I thought it was a really good effort the first two games,” Cook said. We did a really nice job and played well. We really turned it on toward the second half of the games, which was really good to see. In the third game, we just had too many errors. Everybody was making errors, and we have to learn from that. You have to finish matches, especially in the Big 12.”

In the opener, the Huskers relied on its outside hitters in posting a 25-19 victory. Larson, Licht and Mueller combined for 11 of the Huskers’ 13 kills in the set, including five from Larson, as NU out-hit the Buffaloes, .267-.139.  Trailing 6-4, Larson led the Huskers on a 7-1 spurt with three kills, as the Huskers took a 10-8 lead and forced Colorado to take its first timeout.  The Buffs stayed in striking distance and were within 13-11, but could get no closer, as a block by Licht and Gates triggered a 6-2 Husker spurt before Anderson’s kill off a spectacular rally brought the sellout crowd to its feet and gave NU a 19-13 lead. The Buffs fought back and closed to within 21-17, but a service error and a Mueller kill quickly extended the lead to six and put the set out of reach.

Nebraska’s offense got in gear in the second set, hitting .364 as a team in posting a 25-15 victory. Kori Cooper led the charge with four kills on as many swings, while Larson and Licht added three kills apiece for NU, which took a 2-0 lead into the locker room. Strong serving from Anderson and Mueller keyed the decisive run, as NU used a 6-1 spurt, including a pair of aces, to turn a one-point lead into a 15-9 advantage. Colorado fought back and was within 16-12, but the Huskers ran off five straight points, taking a commanding 21-12 cushion after an Anderson solo block.

In the finale, Larson took over the match, drilling nine of her 17 kills in the finale, as she hit .727 in the set. Nebraska fell behind 11-8 and was forced to play catch up for most of the set. Trailing 17-16, an Amanda Gates kill and an Anderson ace gave the Huskers their first lead since early in the set. The teams traded points until back-to-back Larson kills keyed a 3-0 run to put NU up 23-20. The Huskers pushed the margin to 24-21, only to see the Buffs run off three straight points to pull even at 24-all on an Amber Sutherland ace. After a Husker timeout, Kori Cooper’s kill gave NU the lead for good before a Colorado attack error closed out sweep, sending the sellout crowd of 4,148 home happy.

Emilee Sisco led Colorado (8-6, 2-3 Big 12) with nine kills while Alex Buth chipped in seven kills in a losing effort, as the Buffs were held to .140 hitting. CU is the 10th NU opponent to hut under .150 this season.

The Huskers will have a quick turnaround and play Creighton Sunday afternoon at Qwest Center Omaha. First serve is set for 5 p.m. The match will be carried on the Husker Sports Network, including B107.3 FM in Lincoln and Twister 93.3 FM in Omaha, and also on Huskers.com.  Sunday’s match will also be televised state-wide on NET Television and CBS College Sports.