Huskers Maul Tigers, 3-0

Lincoln ? The No. 10 Nebraska volleyball team put together its best offensive performance of the season, sweeping Missouri, 3-0 (25-19, 26-16, 25-16) Wednesday evening at the NU Coliseum.

Nebraska hit a season-best .451 on the night, as three Huskers finished in double figures in kills while all five primary attackers hit over .400. Sydney Anderson dished out 43 assists and added two of the Huskers eight aces as the Huskers .451 hitting percentage was the best since hitting .467 against UAB in last year’s NCAA Tournament.

Hannah Werth’s 12 kills on .429 hitting led Nebraska (17-6, 10-4 Big 12) while Tara Mueller and Brooke Delano added 11 and 10 kills, respectively. Delano had 10 kills on 12 swings, as her .833 hitting percentage was the sixth-best performance in school history and the sophomore added four blocks. Mueller hit .400 and added seven digs, while Kayla Banwarth totaled a match-high 15 digs and keyed a strong passing effort.

In addition to a strong offensive output, Nebraska also matched its season best with eight service aces, including three by freshman Gina Mancuso and two apiece from Werth and Anderson, and tied its season low with two errors.

Nebraska turned in a solid opening set, hitting .375 as a team and recording three aces in a 25-19 victory. The Huskers were balanced offensively with four players each recording at least three kills while Anderson dished out 15 assists and added a pair of kills. The Huskers got off to a quick start, using a strong middle attack and good serving to build an early 8-4 advantage. The Tigers, behind Ampudia, fought back to within 14-13 as she totaled seven kills in the first set.  Nebraska came right back with a a 4-1 run to building an 18-14 lead after back-to-back kills from Werth. The Tigers clawed to within 18-16, but a kill by Anderson and an ace by the All-American setter helped NU run off four straight points to take a 22-16 advantage, ending the Tigers’ comeback bid.

Nebraska’s offense was clicking on all cylinders in the second set, hitting .682 in rolling to a 25-16 victory. The Husker outside hitters did most of the damage, as Mueller and Werth combined for 11 kills without an error. Werth put down six kills on eight swings, while Mueller totaled five kills on six swings. The Huskers also did damage at the service line, racking up four aces, including a pair by Mancuso. Nebraska took advantage early, building an 8-3 lead after a pair of Mancuso aces.  Missouri fought back, pulling to within 12-9 after an Ampudia kill and was within 14-11 with the Huskers went on a run. A Mueller kill and aces highlighted started a 6-1 Husker spurt, as Nebraska took a 20-12 lead on a Kori Cooper kill and cruised into the locker room with a 2-0 lead.

In the finale, it was the Lindsey Licht show, as the junior totaled five kills and three blocks in a 25-16 victory. Licht had three kills and three blocks in the set’s first 13 points, as Nebraska took a 9-4 lead. Missouri pulled to within 13-9, but Nebraska rolled off three straight points to take a 16-9 lead on one of Delano’s five kills in the set.  The Tigers trailed 17-10, but made one last run, getting to within 19-15 before the Huskers closed the door. A Tiger miscue and a Mancuso ace started the run as the freshman served four straight points, putting NU up 24-15 after a Mueller kill. Delano then closed out the match moments later with her 10th kill of the night to give NU its 11th sweep of the season.

Paola Ampudia led Missouri (15-10, 6-7 Big 12) with 22 kills, as the Tigers saw their three-match win streak snapped.

The Huskers head to Ames, Iowa, Saturday night to take on the eighth-ranked Iowa State Cyclones. First serve is set for 8 p.m. and the match will be carried on selected Husker Sports Network Stations and on Huskers.com. ISU defeated previously unbeaten Texas in five sets Wednesday evening.

Head Coach John Cook
Opening statement
“Well, this is a good example tonight of our team hitting on all cylinders, and everybody playing well. This is really the first night all season where I felt like we came out of this thing and played like Nebraska volleyball. I thought we were relentless, we turned it on at the end of games, we served really tough, and we didn't give up runs of points. I thought Sydney was exceptional tonight. It might be one of the best setting matches since she's been at Nebraska.”

On the importance of passing well
“I think it's important, but we've been passing well all year. Our pass numbers are good. It's just been, we take ourselves out with attackers and misplays. We still had a few tonight that we're going to continue to clean up, a couple chaos plays, but we were in a great rhythm tonight. When you're passing consistently, it helps keep your setter in a rhythm. If she's got to run and she's not sure where the passes are going, the setters have a hard time getting in a rhythm.”

On how he thought the team would respond tonight
“When I talk to you guys I'm basically talking to my team and what I'm going to be sharing with them. I had no idea how they would respond tonight, but they certainly responded in a way that this team wants more. They want more out of this season that what they've gotten so far, and tonight was an opportunity to do that. Missouri had all their players tonight, and they're always a team that gets better as the year goes on.”

On why the hitting numbers were so high on the night
“I've seen that over the years, there are just some nights where the numbers are really high. It seems like it's usually in November, and I can't explain why. Occasionally that happens. Maybe the players are fresh, or maybe they're tired because on defense you're always reacting, so maybe teams get fatigued and the offense is better. I thought as good as Paola is, our serving really stressed them tonight.”

Junior setter Sydney Anderson
On what it means to see that the team hit .451
“That's the highest we've hit all year, and I think any team, any setter, any coaches are going to be happy with that number. That's what I've been working for with this team, is to hit at a high percentage. I can't give all that credit to me, it's my hitters, they're going up and swinging away, and that goes back to passing. I have to get a great pass to give a great set to them to do what they do with the ball.”

On if this match can be a building point for the weekend's match at Iowa State
“It's a great building point. It's great for confidence in our team, and individually, everybody hit over .400.”

Junior outside hitter Tara Mueller
On how the team hit such a high percentage
“It starts with passing. We've been working in practice with a lot of out-of-system stuff. I know a few different people were setting the ball a couple times other than Sydney, and that's something we've really been working on.”

On cutting down on her errors
“I wasn't really thinking about that tonight. I was just thinking go up and just play, I was just going up to trust my shots. I know Sydney is working as hard as she can to get the ball out there right where it needs to be, and everyone was just passing really well, and everyone was putting the ball away. It really was a team effort.”