Sept. 3, 2011
 
Huskers start slow but take care of OSU in 4.
 
Columbus, Ohio. — The No. 1 Nebraska volleyball team (18-1, 11-0) fought off a pesky Ohio State Buckeye squad for a 3-1 (19-25, 25-22, 25-19, 25-17) victory Friday night at St. John's Arena. The Huskers overcame a 0-1 deficit to top the No. 23 Buckeyes.

Morgan Broekhuis led NU on the night with 18 kills on 39 attacks (.359). Gina Mancuso had 14 kills, while Hannah Werth tallied 11. Werth also had a team-high 13 digs for her sixth double-double of the year. Lauren Cook had 47 assists, while leading the Huskers to a .281 hitting percentage. Ohio State hit .262 for the night.

Cook opened the first set with a service ace, but the Buckeyes came back to score five-straight points to make it 4-1 and force the Huskers to call a timeout. An ace by Broekhuis made it 7-5, Ohio State, but the Buckeyes returned with a service ace of their own to lead 9-5. A hitting error by Ohio State tied the match at nine and led NU to an 11-9 advantage. The Buckeyes posted six straight points to come back and take a 17-13 lead while forcing NU to call another timeout. Nebraska came back with the score at 21-19, Buckeyes, but Ohio State notched four straight points to take the first set 25-19.

Mancuso and Broekhuis both had three kills in a set that had three tie scores and lead changes. NU only hit .061 in the first set, while Ohio State had a hitting percentage of .308. The Buckeyes out-blocked Nebraska 4-1 and posted 13 team digs compared to the Huskers' eight.

Ohio State took a 7-4 lead early in the second set, eventually notching a 12-7 advantage, but Nebraska came back to make it 14-11, Ohio State. The Huskers faced a 19-14 deficit; however Nebraska used a long rally to cut that lead to 19-17. That rally led NU to a 20-19 advantage, just their second lead of the set. Nebraska then held on for a 25-22 second-set win.

In the second set the Huskers were led by Broekhuis with seven kills on 15 attacks. Brooke Delano tallied four kills, while Mancuso and Werth both had three. Werth also totaled eight digs in the second set. Nebraska hit .271 in the second set as the Buckeyes hit .333.

Mancuso led NU to a 4-1 lead early in the third set on her first service ace of the match. The Buckeyes tied the set at nine, but NU answered to take a 15-11 lead and force Ohio State to call a timeout. The Huskers stretched their lead to 20-16 and eventually 22-18. NU went on to win the third set 25-19.

Broekhuis had four kills for NU in the third set, with Werth tallying three and Mancuso, Cook and Thramer notching two of their own. Cook tabbed 10 assists while leading the Huskers to a .345 hitting percentage. Nebraska held Ohio State to just a .100 hitting percentage for the set.

The Huskers and Buckeyes fought point-for-point in the fourth set, as Broekhuis helped distance the Huskers with a kill to give them a 13-11 lead. An ace serve by Paige Hubl helped NU take a 17-14 lead and forced Ohio State to call a timeout. The Huskers then went up 20-14 on a solo block by Mancuso. NU only allowed the Buckeyes three more points as the Huskers went on to take the fourth set 25-17 and the match 3-1.

In the fourth set, Mancuso had six kills as Broekhuis and Werth each had four of their own. Cook notched 13 assists en route to a .444 hitting percentage for NU. Cook also led the Huskers in the set with three digs. The fourth set saw six tie scores and three lead changes.

The No. 1 Huskers take on the No. 8 Penn State Nittany Lions tomorrow night at Rec Hall at 7 p.m. CT. The match will air live on BTN.

Source: University of Nebraska Athletic Dept.