 Foecke |  Rolfzen |  Boender |
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1 2 3
USF (NR) 13 21 25
NEBRASKA (5) 25 25 27
----------------------------- | ||
The fifth-ranked Huskers (6-1) moved to 2-0 at the Ameritas Players Challenge behind a balanced attack. Mikaela Foecke set a career high for the second straight day with 13 kills. She also hit .571. Kadie Rolfzen and Olivia Boender each posted double-doubles, Rolfzen with 10 kills and 14 digs and Boender with 10 kills and 13 digs. Cecilia Hall had eight kills and two blocks, and Kelly Hunter turned in 37 assists, 10 digs and six kills for her third double-double this season.
NU hit .357 and held USF .221. The Huskers had a 63-48 edge in digs, led by 14 apiece from Rolfzen and Justine Wong-Orantes.
Nebraska made quick work of the Bulls (2-6) in the 25-13 first-set win. Brooke Smith served NU to a 7-0 lead, and Foecke finished the set with five kills and a .625 hitting percentage. The Huskers hit .378 while holding USF to .086.
USF hung around much longer in the second set, but a Bulls' service error and kills by Kadie Rolfzen and Hall put NU in front 15-12. The Huskers extended the lead to 20-15 on a Boender service ace, but USF crawled back to within 23-21 after consecutive Husker attack errors. But NU closed out the set with a kill by Kadie Rolfzen and USF attack error. Rolfzen had five kills on 10 swing to lead the Huskers in the set.
The Huskers had to play from behind most of the third set after USF opened with seven kills on 15 swings. NU got within one twice at 9-8 and 16-15, but USF had an answer with kills by Priscilla Ehieze and an NU net violation to go up 19-15. After a timeout, Kadie Rolfzen got a kill, followed by a USF hitting error and Haggerty kill to cut the deficit to 19-18. USF took a timeout, but Boender came out of it with a hammer from the left side to tie it at 19-19. Hunter then won a battle at the net to put NU on top, 20-19. But USF recovered and with three straight points went up 23-21. Meghan Haggerty terminated and Hunter set up Foecke on the left side for her 12th kill to tie it 23-23. The teams traded points to 25-25, but USF served wide and Wong-Orantes picked up her first kill of the season to finish off the sweep.
Nebraska finishes the tournament against Georgia Tech at 3:30 p.m.