Huskers Battle in Red-White Scrimmage

Lincoln - The fifth-ranked Nebraska volleyball team held its annual Red-White scrimmage Saturday night in front of 2,369 fans as the Red’s took three out of four sets (25-21, 23-25, 25-15, 25-12). The Huskers, who have been participating in preseason practices, were able to compete in a game-like atmosphere for the first time this season at the NU Coliseum.

“I saw what we’ve been working on show up tonight,” Head Coach John Cook said. “They looked like they were not nervous at all. I was really pleased with the freshmen; they did a super job. We have a long ways to go, but we got a glimpse of it tonight. The Red-White Scrimmage sometimes has a few more errors than we’d like, but it’s our first night in here. We haven’t played a match in here since April. There were some jitters, but I liked how the Red team smoothed out games three and four.”

Individually, Hannah Werth led both teams with 16 kills on the night, followed by Morgan Broekhuis with 14. Lara Dykstra boasted 20 digs, with Shelby Winkelmann notching 16 of her own. Brigette Root and Lauren Cook combined for 78 assists on the night.

The Red and White squads kept it close through the first set, before the Red squad took a definitive lead at 21-18 with a kill by Jordan Wilberger. The Red team took the first set 25-21, behind a .351 hitting percentage. Broekhuis led both teams with five kills on nine swings. Gina Mancuso totaled five digs for the set, followed by Dykstra with four. The Whites tallied a hitting percentage of .286.

The White team came back to win the second set 25-23 on a kill from Taylor Simpson. The White squad went up 23-17, but the Red team cut it as close as two points until the White team took the set. Werth totaled five kills for the Reds. Winkelmann notched her second service ace of the match, while Root added one of her own for the White’s.

The Red team fired back by taking the third set 25-15 on a kill by Broekhuis. With a hitting percentage of .241, the Red’s totaled 12 kills, led by Broekhuis with a set-high six. Dykstra notched eight digs for the Red’s, while Paige Hubl had four for the White’s.

The Red team closed the match by taking the fourth set 25-12 behind the efforts of Mancuso and Werth, who both had four kills. Dykstra tabbed five digs for the Red’s, while Broekhuis and Mancuso each had a service ace for the Red squad, which finished the set with a hitting percentage of .323.

The Huskers open the 2011 regular season against New Mexico State at the MCM Elegante Lobo Classic in Albuquerque, N.M., on Friday, Aug. 26 at 6 p.m. Nebraska then takes on New Mexico on Saturday, Aug. 27 at 8:30 p.m. The Huskers’ first home match is against Creighton on Thursday, Sept. 8 at 7 p.m.