The Huskers won the league title because of their win combined with Kansas State’s five-game victory Saturday over second-place Texas A&M, which is now 14-4 in conference play.

In winning its 22nd straight match, Nebraska struggled through its worst offensive night of 2000. NU leads the Big 12 with a .312 hitting percentage, but it managed just a .175 against the Bears. Sophomore outside hitter Anna Schrad and senior right-side hitter Nancy Metcalf led four Huskers in double-digit kills with 13 apiece. Junior outside hitter Laura Pilakowski added 11, and senior middle blocker Jenny Kropp had 10.

Defensively, Nebraska held Baylor to .062 hitting, and the Huskers out-blocked the Bears 20-8. Kropp led Nebraska with eight blocks, followed by junior middle blocker Amber Holmquist with six. Schrad, Pilakowski and Metcalf each had five.

For the Bears, sophomore Stevie Nicholas had a match-high 16 kills, but hit minus-.032. Only one Baylor player hit better than .100 for the match.

Baylor took an 11-7 lead in game one behind three straight service aces by Nicholas. The Bears maintained the advantage and took their biggest lead of the game at 22-16 on a kill by Dana Chuha. A 5-0 run highlighted by kills from Metcalf and Kropp brought the Huskers within one, but a net violation call against NU made it 27-25 in favor of Baylor. Pilakowski cut it to one again with a kill, and the two teams exchanged points before Nebraska tied the game at 28 when Schrad and Holmquist blocked Sunny Nicholas. BU forced a game-point situation on the next rally with a kill by Tatiana Kenon, and the Bears took the 30-28, first-game win on a kill by Sunny Nicholas.

Nebraska swung for a .085 percentage in game one. The Husker defense held Baylor to a .115 mark, out-blocking the Bears 7-3.

The game-one loss marked the first time NU had dropped a game at home since Dec. 2, 2000, in a five-game win over South Carolina in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. It was the Huskers’ first regular-season home loss in 72 games, a streak that started Sept. 2, 2000, in a 3-1 win over Colorado State.

The Huskers found themselves in a battle once again in game two. Schrad accounted for four straight NU points with three kills and a block of Kenon to give Nebraska an 18-15 lead. Baylor tied it at 20 with a kill by Chuha, and the Bears went up 25-24 on a kill by Sunny Nicholas. Schrad and Holmquist sparked a 4-0 run with a block of Kenon to make it 29-25, Nebraska. Kenon held the Huskers off with a kill, but Holmquist answered with a kill to secure the 30-26, second-game win.

Tied at 23 in the third, the Huskers took a three-point lead in a run that included an ace serve by Pilakowski. The Huskers went up 28-25 when Schrad blocked Chuha. Tisha Schwartz answered with a block of Holmquist, but Schrad forced a game-point situation with a kill. NU took the 30-26, third-game win on a hitting error by Stevie Nicholas.

Baylor led 3-0 early in game four, but Nebraska responded with a 7-0 run that included three kills and a block from Kropp. The Huskers never trailed after that. NU took the 30-19, fourth-game win and the match on a kill by Pilakowski.

The Huskers return to action Sunday, Nov. 18, when they play host to Texas Tech in a 2 p.m. match at the NU Coliseum. The Red Raiders were 16-11 overall and 7-9 entering their Saturday night match at Iowa State.

Source: University of Nebraska Athletic Dept.

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