Sept. 18, 2010
 
52 kills results in sweep of Colorado.
 
LINCOLN, Neb. — The No. 4 Nebraska volleyball team made quick work of the Colorado Buffaloes in three sets on Saturday night during the Huskers' Big 12 in front of 4,113 fans at the NU Coliseum (25-13, 25-7, 25-17). The Huskers are now 11-0 in Big 12 home openers under Head Coach John Cook and 10-1 overall in 2010

The Huskers caused the Buffs fits all night as Nebraska clocked in with a .363 hitting percentage, while the Nebraska defense held Colorado to .086 hitting. Lauren Cook and Sydney Anderson combined for 37 assists on the night, as Lindsey Licht and Brooke Delano tied for the match high in kills at 11 apiece. Hannah Werth was dangerous nearly every time she touched the ball, as the sophomore put away eight kills on just 11 swings to hit .727.

Kayla Banwarth posted more than 20 digs in a match for the sixth time in 2010 with a match-high 23 digs. As a team, the Huskers totaled 58 digs on the night with all 11 players charting at least one dig on the score sheet.

Entering the night with an overall record of 3-4, the Buffs hung with the Huskers early in set one, but were unable to keep pace with Nebraska throughout the set. Colorado took an early 7-6 lead, but Nebraska quickly stole the momentum with a 4-0 run behind back-to-back kills from Morgan Broekhuis and one kill from Werth to take a 10-7 lead.

Colorado stayed within two points at 14-12, but that would be the closest the Buffs would get as Nebraska would reel off nine consecutive points with Banwarth serving to take a commanding 23-12 lead. During the run, Cook and Banwarth each scored three assists, Lindsey Licht put away three kills, Delano chipped in two kills while Licht and Delano combined for a block. After a kill from Alyssa Valentine ended the run, Delano strung together back-to-back kills to finish off set one, 25-13.

Nebraska finished the set with a .351 hitting percentage along with 16 combined assists from Anderson and Cook. Banwarth's 10 digs in set one helped hold the Buffs' attack in check as Nebraska held Colorado to .121 hitting.

The Huskers continued to dominate is set two with 10 of the first 13 points, including an ace from Cook and three kills from Licht. Colorado then took a timeout and answered with two points out of the break to get within six, but the Huskers once again hit the gas and put up an 8-1 run to create an 18-5 cushion, capped by an ace from Gina Mancuso.

Following a kill from Colorado's Nichole Lindow, Anderson assisted on five consecutive kills to four different Huskers to extend the lead to 23-6. The Huskers then capped the set with a kill from Licht along with a combo block from Licht and Delano to post a score of 25-7.

Colorado's seven points in the set marked the lowest score from a Nebraska opponent since scoring switched to 25-rally scoring in 2008. Nebraska had previously held a team to nine points on two occasions, including Tulane in 2009 and Kentucky in 2010's season opener.

Nebraska nearly hit .500 in the set, as they posted a .457 percentage, while the Husker defense held the Buffs to a dismal .029.

Down 0-2 in the match, the Buffaloes showed fight in set three as they held the lead at 10-8 after posting runs of 4-0 and 3-0. The lead would not last long as the Huskers got back in a rhythm after an ace and kill from Delano on consecutive plays that gave Nebraska an 11-10 lead.

After Colorado tied the set at 11-11, Mancuso assisted on Anderson's first kill of the season and Cook then served four consecutive points to extend the Huskers' lead to 16-11. The Buff's tried to make one more run on the night and got within four points at 19-15, but it would be the closest they would get as another ace from Mancuso and a kill from Delano would finish the sweep for the Huskers with a third-set victory, 25-17.

The Huskers will be back at the NU Coliseum on Wednesday, Sept. 22 when they host the Kansas Jayhawks at 7 p.m. The match will be carried across the state on NET and will also be available for free on Huskers.com. John Baylor and Diane Mendenhall will also call all the action on the 25-station Husker Sports Network, including B107.3 FM in Lincoln and Twister 93.3 FM in Omaha. Fans outside the state will be abe to catch the live audio feed for free on Huskers.com.

Source: University of Nebraska Athletic Dept.