Nov. 12, 2011
 
Purdue sweeps Huskers by narrow margin
 
West Lafayette, Ind. — The No. 2 Nebraska volleyball team (21-3, 14-2) fell 3-0 to the No. 10 Purdue Boilermakers (25-19, 25-19, 25-16) Saturday night in front of an electric standing room-only crowd at Holloway Gymnasium.

Hannah Werth led Nebraska on the night with 11 kills, while Gina Mancuso, Brooke Delano and Hayley Thramer all had seven kills. Lauren Cook notched 35 assists, but NU hit just .173 for the match. The Huskers had 43 digs behind Lara Dykstra's 13. Purdue hit .410 for the match and had 57 team digs. The Boilermakers also out-blocked Nebraska 9-1.

Purdue opened the first set by taking a 6-2 lead and forcing Nebraska to use its first timeout. The Huskers came within 7-5 on an error by Purdue, but couldn't capitalize on the momentum. A kill by Hayley Thramer made it 13-8, Boilermakers, as Purdue then went on to take a 17-10 lead. With a couple of errors from Purdue, the Huskers cut it as close as 23-19. Purdue then posted two-straight points to take the first set 25-19.

Thramer led Nebraska in the first set with four kills on six attempts. Delano and Werth both had three kills, while Cook tallied 11 assists. Mancuso and Dykstra both notched five digs, guiding Nebraska to a total of 20 in the set. The Huskers hit .146, while Purdue hit .318 and had 27 team digs.

Nebraska came out with some fight in the second set, as a kill by Delano had the Huskers down 6-5. Broekhuis made it 11-10, Purdue with a kill, but the Boilermakers took a 16-12 lead and forced Nebraska to use another timeout. A kill by Mancuso made it 18-14, Purdue, but the Boilermakers then went up 21-15. Nebraska came within 22-17 on a kill by Werth, but Purdue went on to take the second set 25-19, leading the match 0-2.

Werth had seven kills on 13 attacks in the second set for a .462, as Broekhuis had four and Mancuso notched three. Cook tabbed 15 assists in the set, while Dykstra had six digs. Nebraska hit .306, but Purdue hit .600. Both teams had 12 digs for the set; however the Boilermakers out-blocked NU 2-0.

Long rallies occupied much of the early part of the third set, as Thramer tied the set at two for the Huskers. Nebraska tied it two more times, last at seven-all, but Purdue took a 13-10 lead and forced Nebraska to use a timeout. The Boilermakers posted six-straight points for a 17-10 advantage over NU. Cook helped the Huskers get within 21-15, while Jordan Wilberger came in for a kill to make it 22-16, Purdue. However that would not be enough as NU went on to lose the third set 25-16, dropping the match 3-0.

Cook and Mancuso both had three kills in the third set, while Thramer had two of her own. Cook tabbed nine assists, while Werth had four digs. The Huskers hit just .093 in the set, while Purdue hit .355. The Boilermakers also out-blocked Nebraska 5-0 as a team.

Nebraska returns to action on Wednesday, Nov. 16 when they host the Minnesota Gophers at the NU Coliseum at 7 p.m. The match will be shown live on BTN.

Source: University of Nebraska Athletic Dept.