Rolfzen

Haggerty

Pollmiller

Ann Arbor, Mich. — The No. 9 Nebraska volleyball team (12-2, 5-0) defeated the No. 17 Michigan Wolverines (11-5, 1-4) 3-2 (25-13, 28-26, 10-25, 20-25, 15-8) on Friday night at Cliff Keen Arena. The Huskers overcame a comeback effort by the Wolverines after leading the match 2-0.

Kelsey Robinson led Nebraska on the night with a double-double, notching 23 kills and a match-high 17 digs. Kadie Rolfzen posted 13 kills, while Meghan Haggerty had nine. Mary Pollmiller dished out 46 assists on the night, while Cecilia Hall recorded nine blocks.

Nebraska hit .238 for the match, while Michigan hit .203. The Huskers posted a season-high 18 blocks, while UM had 12. The Wolverines out-dug the Huskers 55-50.

Nebraska came out to a 6-2 lead in the first set, following a double-block from Amber Rolfzen and Hall. Back-to-back blocks from the Huskers and a kill from Pollmiller put NU up 16-8 in the set. Nebraska stretched its lead to 23-10 on two errors from the Wolverines; as the Huskers went on to take the first set 25-13.

NU had a balanced attack in the first set, as Robinson tallied four kills and Kadie Rolfzen, Hall, Pollmiller and Haggerty all had three kills. The Huskers hit .600 for the set and notched four team blocks. Michigan was held to a .074 hitting clip.

The Huskers struggled to find their rhythm early in the second set, but came back to tie the set at 11-11 on a block from Kadie Rolfzen and Hall. Haggerty punched in a kill to put the Huskers up 18-17, while an error by UM stretched Nebraska's lead to 21-19. Robinson helped the Huskers to a 24-23 lead in the set, but the Wolverines came back to take a 25-24 lead. The two teams tied two more times until the Huskers pulled away and won the second set 28-26 on an error by Michigan.

Robinson was on fire in the second set, tallying 11 kills, while Kadie Rolfzen had four. Pollmiller dished out 17 assists as Nebraska hit .333 in the set. NU had six team blocks, while Michigan had just three and hit .149.

Michigan used a 9-1 run to take a 15-6 lead in the third set and force Nebraska to use two timeouts. The Wolverines kept the Huskers off-balance throughout the set, as NU's offense couldn't get clicking and the Huskers dropped the set 25-10.

Nebraska was held to a -.036 hitting clip in the set, while Michigan hit .560. NU was also out-blocked 4-0 and out-dug 14-9.

Robinson propelled Nebraska to a 6-3 lead in the fourth set, but Michigan came back to tie the set at 10-10. UM went up 14-11, but two quick kills from Kelsey Fien tied the set at 14-14. An error by the Wolverines helped the Huskers cut into their lead at 19-18, however Michigan held on for the 25-20 fourth-set win.

Robinson had five kills for the Huskers in the fourth set, while Fien posted two. Nebraska hit -.027 in the set, while Michigan hit .176. Both teams had four blocks, while the Wolverines out-dug NU 12-11.

A double-block from Hall and Amber Rolfzen tied the fifth set at 2-2, while a block, followed by a kill from Kadie Rolfzen put NU up 9-6. Nebraska completed a 5-0 run to take a 13-6 lead and go on to win the set 15-8, sealing the match victory.

Nebraska will take on the No. 7 Michigan State Spartans tomorrow evening at 6 p.m. CT at Jenison Fieldhouse on the campus of Michigan State University. Fans can listen to the match on select Husker Sports Network affiliates and on Huskers.com.

Source: University of Nebraska Athletic Dept.