Stats & coverage
Nov. 24, 2001
Huskers sweep Cyclones in Ames
Ames, IA -- The second-ranked
Nebraska volleyball team ended the regular season in style, sweeping Iowa
State, 30-12, 30-14, 30-21 Saturday afternoon at Hilton Coliseum in Ames.
The Huskers, who clinched the outright Big 12 title last week, finish
the regular season with a 26-1 record, including a perfect 20-0 mark in
conference play.
The Huskers head into the NCAA tournament
on a roll, winning its last 25 matches. The victory also extended its
streak of consecutive victories over Big 12 teams to 50, dating back
to the 1999 season.
Junior Laura Pilakowski paced the Husker
attack with a game-high 13 kills, while junior middle blocker Amber
Holmquist added 10 kills on 17 attacks for NU in the victory. Junior
setter Greichaly Cepero nearly added a triple-double in the three-game
sweep, recording 31 assists, nine digs and nine kills, hitting .750
on 12 attacks. The Huskers hit over .300 in all three games before finishing
the contest with a .393 hitting percentage.
In the opening stanza NU jumped out to
a quick 3-0 advantage, before the Cyclones countered, scoring two-straight
points of their own. Nebraska would then go on to outscore ISU 7-1 in
the next eight points and held a 10-3 lead. NU wouldn't look back, expanding
its advantage to 26-10 and then a block by Amber Holmquist and Anna
Schrad secured game one, 30-12. Dalager drilled three kills and notched
two digs to help the Cyclones cause in the opening set.
The Cyclones hung with NU in the early
stages of game two, as neither squad was able to build a sizable advantage
until NU took a 17-11 edge at the midpoint of the set. Nebraska increased
its lead to 23-12 and then held match point at 29-13. ISU's Dana Koziol
registered her only kill of the match to hold off the Huskers on the
first game point, but NU eventually claimed game two, 30-14.
Game three proved to be the most competitive
set of the night. NU jumped out to a quick 6-2 advantage, but ISU chipped
away and eventually cut the Huskers lead to 15-14. Mandi Harms led the
Cyclones charge, pounding two of her final five kills in that span.
NU responded to Iowa State's comeback, outscoring the Cyclones 7-2 in
the next nine points to take a 22-16 lead. The Huskers widened their
margin to 25-17, before back-to-back kills from Harms and Sara Stribe
cut the lead to 25-19. The Huskers eventually secured the match as Holmquist
notched her 10th kill of the day to win the final game, 30-21.
Freshman Brittany Dalager paced ISU with
10 kills and nine digs, as the Cyclones concluded its season with a
4-22 mark, including a 1-19 mark in league play.
The Huskers will learn their NCAA fate
Monday afternoon. The pairings will be announced at 2 p.m. The selection
show will be broadcast live on NETV2, and can be seen on the satellite
(C-Band, Telstar 5, Transponder 23) Telstar 5 is located 97 degrees
west on the satellite orbital chart. The downlink frequency is 4160
MHz (V).
Source: University of Nebraska Athletic Dept.
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