Huskers Stomp Buffaloes, 3-0

Lincoln – Lindsey Licht totaled a match-high 10 kills, while Kori Cooper celebrated senior night in style, as No, 8 Nebraska closed out the regular season with a 3-0 sweep (25-16, 25-11, 25-11) of Colorado Saturday evening in front of a sellout crowd of 4,189 at the NU Coliseum.

Licht, who has led the Huskers in kills in six of the last eight matches, paced a balanced attack with 10 kills on a season-best .625 hitting, as the Huskers finished the regular-season on a seven-match win streak. The Huskers, who are now 23-6 overall and 16-4 in the Big 12, went 9-1 during the second half of the Big 12 season, as Licht averaged 3.52 kills in that stretch.

Cooper, the lone Husker senior, was greeted with thunderous applause throughout the night and thrilled the 133rd consecutive sellout with another strong effort, totaling nine kills on .600 hitting. It was the third time this season Cooper hit .500 or better, as she leads the Big 12 with a .378 hitting percentage.

In all, Nebraska’s middle blocking trio of Cooper, Jordan Wilberger and Allison McNeal combined for 19 kills on .633 hitting, as Wilberger totaled seven kills and tied her career best with a .700 hitting percentage.

Sydney Anderson helped NU hit .300 or better for the fifth time in seven matches, dishing out 36 assists and added nine digs and five kills, as all six starters finished with at least five kills. Nebraska also had five aces and just one service error, the Huskers’ lowest error total in a decade.

While NU’s attack turned in a solid night, the Husker defense held Colorado to .104 hitting and out-dug the Buffaloes, 53-31. Hannah Werth totaled a match-high 16 digs, while Kayla Banwarth added 13 and helped the Huskers hold its fifth consecutive opponent without an ace. Banwarth is now second on NU’s single-season digs list with 492 and became the fifth Husker to collect 1,100 digs in a career, as she now has 1,108 in three seasons.

The Huskers took control of the opener from the start, racing out to an early 5-1 lead in posting a 25-16 victory. Licht, Wilberger and Cooper had four kills apiece, as the Husker hit .324 in the opener. NU used strong serving from Werth to run off five straight points to take a 5-1 lead. Colorado pulled within 10-7, but a Tara Mueller kill began a 5-1 run for the hosts, as the Huskers built a 15-8 lead at the media timeout. The Huskers eventually doubled up Colorado at 18-9 on a Cooper kill and led by as much at 10 points, at 20-10 after a Gina Mancuso ace, before cruising to a nine-point win.

Nebraska used a solid attack and strong serving in rolling to a 25-11 win to take a 2-0 lead into the locker room. Anderson dished out 14 assists and added two kills and five digs, as six Huskers had at least two kills in helping NU hit .333. NU also racked up three aces without an error and kept Colorado’s offense off balance throughout the set. The Huskers used a 12-2 spurt to take command early, as two straight Anderson kills and a big swing from Mueller put the Huskers up 14-4. From there, NU continued to increase the lead, building a 13-point lead at 23-10 after a Wilberger kill before two straight Mueller kills closed out the set for the Big Red.

In the finale, the Huskers continued to roll, hitting .516 in the set as 10 players saw action in another 25-11 victory. Mueller and Werth, who combined for eight kills in the first two sets, had four kills apiece in the finale, while Cooper had three kills on as many swings. Once again, Nebraska used solid serving to seize control, using an 11-2 run to break open the set and build a 14-5 cushion. Werth helped Nebraska run off four straight points, while Gina Mancuso ran off six straight points at the service line to push the lead to nine points. CU got to within 16-8, but two straight kills from Werth and a solo stuff from Allison McNeal pushed the lead back to double figures, at 19-9. NU was within 20-11, but Nebraska would roll off the final four points with solid serving from Megan Pendergast, while Cooper ended the match with a kill on her last regular-season swing inside the NU Coliseum.

Kerra Schroeder led Colorado (7-22, 2-18 Big 12) with seven kills, as the Buffaloes finished with a .104 hitting

The Huskers will gather for the NCAA selection show, which takes place Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. to await their postseason destination.

Nebraska Coach John Cook
On Kori Cooper’s senior night
“I was just thinking about how many college athletes, especially female student-athletes, in the sport of volleyball, get to have an ending to their career here at Nebraska for the regular season and that was as loud as I’ve ever heard for a senior in here. The fact that nobody leaves, it just makes you speechless. It makes me really appreciate what we have at Nebraska. This is really special, and Kori will remember that for the rest of her life as a student-athlete here at Nebraska.”

On heading into postseason action
“We just have to keep trusting it. The thing that I’m going to tell the team is that we talked about our goal being a November to remember. We have the best record in the Big 12 in the month of November. We haven’t been aced in five matches. I know we’re hitting over .300 in the month of November. We haven’t lost a single set. This team has to take that and take it into December and if they do then they’re going to do great things. I think that’s what we’re going to be selling them on. They’ve earned the right now to be a great team.”

On bringing back the camouflage jacket
“The girls were texting me last night wondering where the camo jacket was, so they wanted to bring it out today. I think that was a tribute to Kori. These guys are awesome. They gave her a great present and the camo jacket, and they made these little camo ribbon things that the moms made. That’s the fun side of coaching girls. I guess they’re into that kind of stuff. It means a lot. It makes it special for them.”

On the team’s play in November
“I knew this team was going to start hitting on all cylinders at some point. Again, that’s what we said, we laid it all out there for them to make it a ‘November to Remember.’ We set it out there for them and they went and got it. I’m really proud of them for that. They have to feel really good about what they’ve done and where they can go.”

On the selection show tomorrow
“I’m going to be really interested to see how it all shakes out. In my mind, I have where I think teams should go, but that’s just in my mind. I think if the committee is creative, they can make some great matchups and great stories in the regionals and in the first and second rounds. It could be a really entertaining and exciting tournament because I think there are a couple of teams that are showing that they’re at a really high level and then there are a bunch of teams that are showing that anybody can beat anybody at any given night. So it’s going to be a great tournament. My hope is that we’re here for second round.”

On how Kori Cooper has impacted Coach Cook
“I was listening to all of her accomplishments and when you’re coaching them every day, you’re not attuned to that. She’s been on an incredible journey. She’s won a National Championship, she’s a two-time Academic All-American. She’s put up great numbers. She’s been on teams with five All-Americans around here, she’s been on teams with one or two All-Americans around her. She’s gone from a freshman to a senior leader. I just think that she has experienced the whole spectrum as a college student-athlete. She’s done a great job with that. I think that’s what the fans showed her tonight, how much they appreciate and admire what she’s done here and what she is.”