Huskers Win Two Matches to End California Trip

The Nebraska beach volleyball team won a pair of matches on Sunday to finish a three-day trip to San Diego, California. 

The Huskers beat San Diego Mesa and West Valley College, both by 4-1 scores, on Sunday on the campus of San Diego Mesa. The wins were the fifth and six in a row for the Huskers, who improved to 7-1 on the season.

NU's No. 1 pair, Nicklin Hames and Lauren Stivrins, won both of their matches to go 7-0 on the weekend and remain perfect on the season with an 8-0 record. Hayley Densberger and Anezka Szabo won both of their No. 4 matches in straight sets on Sunday, as did Megan Miller and Callie Schwarzenbach at the No. 5 spot. Kenzie Knuckles and Jazz Sweet fell in their No. 2 match against San Diego Mesa, but rebounded for a win against West Valley's No. 2 pair. Madi Kubik and Mari Kurkova also went 1-1 on the day, coming up just short against West Valley in a 15-13 third set. 

For the weekend, the Huskers won 28 of 35 pairs. 

"This weekend was a huge learning experience for our team, learning to play in some intense elements and being able to still come out on top," coach Jaylen Reyes said. "On Saturday, we battled through some pretty harsh wind and rain all day. I'm super proud of how each pair handled that situation and how they made adjustments as a team throughout the day. Each pair did a great job throughout the weekend. Lauren and Nicklin went undefeated, and Megan did a great job playing with two different partners. We are happy to get off to a good start and hope it can continue."

The Huskers will return home this week and host Ottawa (Kan.) on Friday and Saturday at the Hawks Championship Center. Friday's match begins at 2 p.m., while Saturday's match is at 10 a.m. Both matches are closed to the public because of space limitations in the Hawks Championship Center. 

Nebraska 4, San Diego Mesa 1
1. Hames/Stivrins (NEB) def. Ferguson/Grimm: 21-15, 21-18
2. Casas/Snyder (SDM) def. Knuckles/Sweet: 21-17, 21-16
3. Kubik/Kurkova (NEB) def. Schonbachler/Rosario: 21-18, 26-24
4. Densberger/Szabo (NEB) def. Pointdexter/Bickham: 21-10, 21-18
5. Miller/Schwarzenbach (NEB) def. Hutton/Simonson: 21-8, 21-18

Nebraska 4, West Valley 1
1. Hames/Stivrins (NEB) def. Henderson/Sekona: 17-21, 21-16, 16-14
2. Knuckles/Sweet (NEB) def. Hochmuth/Wash: 23-21, 21-7
3. Keller/Reynoso (WV) def. Kubik/Kurkova: 12-21, 21-19, 15-13
4. Densberger/Szabo (NEB) def. Valencia/Danna: 21-11, 21-15
5. Miller/Schwarzenbach (NEB) def. Paxton/Vuong: 21-4, 21-8
Exh. Abramovich/Davis (NEB) def. Shoomoonof/McGrath: 21-16, 21-9