Huskers Stun No. 3 Huskies in Seattle

SEATTLE, Wash. - The Nebraska volleyball team stunned third-seeded Washington in a Sweet 16 matchup on Friday, 3-1 (20-25, 25-20, 25-22, 29-27) to snap UW's 34-match home win streak and advance to the Seattle Regional Final.

The Huskers (23-9) will take on BYU at 10:30 p.m. (CT) on ESPNU on Saturday for the chance to go to the NCAA Semifinals in Oklahoma City next week. The Cougars upset sixth-seeded Florida State 3-1 earlier on Friday.

Cecilia Hall had a career-high 14 kills on 17 swings with no errors for a postseason school record .824 hitting percentage. Four different Huskers had at least 12 kills. Kadie Rolfzen had 14 kills and 16 digs, Amber Rolfzen had 13 kills and seven digs, and Kelsey Fien had 12 kills. Mary Pollmiller tacked on nine kills with 52 assists and 12 digs, falling one kill shy of a triple-double. Meghan Haggerty had six kills and five blocks with no hitting errors, as the middles combined for 20 kills and no errors on the night.

"Our team just really did a great job with the game plan," Head Coach John Cook said. "I thought at the end we handled the crowd really well. It was a tremendous effort by our team against a great opponent, especially on their home court. It was a huge effort by our team."

Krista Vansant had 15 kills and hit .273 to lead Washington (31-3), both below her season averages. The reigning AVCA National Player of the Year was held in check largely due to the defensive effort of Amber Rolfzen. Vansant had no kills in the second set and well into the third set, as the Huskers turned the momentum in the match. 

NU outhit UW .293 to .235 and won the digs battle, 70-62. After the first set, the Huskers hit .331 after the first set. The Huskies did post a 13-7 block edge, and NU committed a season-high 14 service errors to just seven for UW. But Nebraska outkilled Washington 70-53, a season high for kills in a match this season.

"This team's been getting better and better as the season goes on," Cook said. "We played really well last week and we've been training really well. I expected us to play great tonight, and I told them that yesterday at practice - with the effort they put in and their focus and how hard they worked, they should expect to have a great effort tonight. And they did."

The Huskers went up 3-1 early in the match with a kill and block by Hall. But Washington used a 4-0 run to go up 5-3, and the Huskers went down 14-11 after their third service error of the set. A service error by UW and a solo block by Haggerty pulled NU within 14-13. Trailing 18-15, NU rallied to tie it with a UW attack error and kills by Kadie Rolfzen and Hall, forcing a Washington timeout. And out of the timeout, Washington went back on top 21-18. Later, Vansant killed to keep the lead at three, 23-20, and force NU's second timeout. Two Husker misfires out of the timeout finished the set with UW taking it 25-20 by closing it on a 7-2 run. Hall hit a perfect 1.000 in the frame with five kills on five swings. Washington outhit NU .310 to .147 to claim the early edge. Vansant had seven kills and hit .700. 

In set two, back-to-back kills by Amber and Kadie Rolfzen gave Nebraska a 4-3 lead. Haggerty blasted a kill that was followed by a UW hitting error for a 6-4 Husker lead. After a ball bounced off a Husky's leg and went out, Haggerty and Pollmiller teamed up to stuff Tia Scambray for an 8-4 lead, forcing a UW timeout. Lianna Sybeldon's kill ended the 4-0 run, and a net violation on NU cut it to 8-6. NU went up 10-7 on a Washington service error, and a tip shot by Hall found the middle of the floor before Kadie Rolfzen blasted a kill to make it 13-8. After Washington got a point on an NU service error, Kadie Rolfzen added two more kills for a 15-9 advantage. Haggerty pushed the lead to 19-11 with her third kill of the match. UW reeled off three consecutive points to pull within 19-14 and force a Husker timeout. But after the break, Fien killed twice around a Pollmiller kill that came from a bump set by Alexa Ethridge, and NU led 22-14. Another kill by Fien and a kill by Hall made it a 5-0 run and gave NU set point at 24-14. Washington fought off six Husker set points before Nebraska finally finished off the set at 25-20 on Hall's ninth kill of the match. She hit .900 through two sets, and the Huskers outhit Washington .325 to .105 in the second set. Kadie Rolfzen tallked five kills and hit .625 in the second. The Huskers shut down Vansant - the reigning National Player of the Year - limiting her to zero kills on eight attacks in the frame.

Nebraska jumped out to a 9-4 lead in the third set with a 4-0 run sparked by a Kadie Rolfzen kill and ace. But after UW won a rally, the Huskers continued the run to 7-1 for a 12-5 lead with Pollmiller tacking on two more kills. Nebraska increased its lead to 16-8 with back-to-back kills by Hall and Haggerty. A kill by Fien made it 20-13 Big Red before UW took three straight rallies to trim the lead to 20-16. Hall notched her 11th kill out of the timeout for a 21-16 lead. But UW crept even closer with three straight points again to get within 21-19 and bring the crowd to its feet. A kill by Scambray brought UW within 22-21, but Kadie Rolfzen answered to make it 23-21. After UW scored, Kadie Rolfzen killed again to give NU set point, and Fien smashed an overdig after the serve from Kadie Rolfzen to put NU up 2-1 in the match with a 25-22 third-set win. While Washington hit .400 in the third set, NU hit a blistering .419 with 21 kills and just three errors. Four different Huskers had four kills in the set to lead the balanced attack.

Washington went up 4-1 in the fourth but kills by Hall and Kadie Rolfzen made it 4-3. The Huskers evened the set at 10-10 with a 3-0 run on kills by Pollmiller, Hall and Amber Rolfzen. Nebraska broke free from an 11-11 tie with three straight rallies to go up 14-11. Albrecht and Kadie Rolfzen had kills to extend the Husker run to 7-1. Later, Hall gave the Huskers a 20-17 lead with her 14th kill, but UW cut it to one, 20-19. Amber Rolfzen responded with a kill to put NU up 21-19. Haggerty stuffed Vansant for a 23-19 lead before Vansant killed to make it 23-20. Vansant killed again after an NU timeout, and the Huskers hit wide to tie it 23-23. Amber Rolfzen killed to give NU match point, but then served into the net to tie it 24-24. The teams continued their epic sideout battle, until a block by Hall and Fien made it 28-27, and the Huskers finished the incredible effort after an errant shot by Washington.