MATCH STATS
- #1 Nebraska sweeps Iowa Hawkeyes (25-17, 25-19, 25-13)
- Nebraska (26-1, 17-1), Iowa (19-11, 9-9)
No. 1 Nebraska Huskers volleyball team swept the Iowa Hawkeyes to take their 14h straight match win. Iowa broke one of their own records though, setting a new home gym attendance record, with the previous one set in 2009 with 3,102 fans. The Hawkeye turnout last night showed 4,131 loyal fans to one of the team’s last home matches.
Nebraska is eyeing the conference title with just 1 loss on their 2016 record. Wisconsin is tailing them by 1 match, and Minnesota is third, 2 matches behind. Nebraska has won 16 straight sets since Nov. 4.
The Huskers swept the Hawkeyes for 15 straight meetings. Nebraska outhit Iowa .310 to .144, and outblocked them 8-4. Husker Andie Malloy led the team with 14 kills and 5 blocks for her season-best, and Mikaela Foecke finished with 10 kills and 8 digs.
PRESS RELEASES
Courtesy of NU Athletic Communications
IOWA CITY, Iowa – The top-ranked Nebraska volleyball team won its 14th straight match with a 25-17, 25-19, 25-13 win over Iowa before a Hawkeye school-record crowd of 4,131 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Saturday night.
The Huskers (26-1, 17-1 Big Ten) took another step toward a Big Ten title with their 24th straight win away from the Devaney Center. Nebraska, which has won 16 straight sets dating back to November 4, enters the final week of the regular season one match ahead of Wisconsin and two matches ahead of Minnesota in the conference standings.
Nebraska got efficient nights from its outside hitters to sweep the Hawkeyes (19-11, 9-9 Big Ten) for the 15th straight time. Andie Malloy had 14 kills on .462 hitting to go with a season-best five blocks, while Mikaela Foecke tallied 10 kills on .600 hitting with a season-high eight digs. Kadie Rolfzen added nine kills, while Briana Holman had six kills and Amber Rolfzen had four to go with six blocks.
Kelly Hunter paced the attack with 41 assists, and Justine Wong-Orantes had a match-high 13 digs to lead Nebraska to a 49-34 digs advantage. The Huskers outhit the Hawkeyes .310 to .144 and also had an 8-4 blocks advantage.
Set 1: Iowa led 9-6 as the Huskers committed five attacking errors early. A dump by Hunter snapped a 3-0 Iowa spurt and started a 6-0 run for the Huskers. Foecke painted the floor twice, Holman had a kill and Sydney Townsend served an ace during the run that gave the Huskers a 12-9 lead. The lead became 16-10 after another Foecke kill and an ace by Hunter. A kill by Holman, a combo block by Malloy and Amber Rolfzen, and a Malloy kill made it 20-13 Huskers. After an Iowa timeout, Malloy tallied another kill, followed by Kadie Rolfzen for a 5-0 run and 22-13 lead. Another Malloy/Amber Rolfzen block gave Nebraska set point, and the Huskers won 25-17 on Malloy’s fifth kill. Foecke and Malloy combined for 10 kills on .533 hitting in the set, while the Huskers had a huge edge in digs, 19-8, and outhit the Hawkeyes .273 to .111.
Set 2: Iowa took another early lead, this time at 6-3. Again, the Huskers were quick to respond. Malloy had a kill, and the Rolfzen twins had a stuff block before a Kadie Rolfzen kill tied the set. Iowa regained an 11-7 lead, however, with a 4-0 run. Hunter and Amber Rolfzen got a stuff block, and Annika Albrecht struck a kill to get the Huskers within 11-10. Kills by Amber Rolfzen and Hunter evened the set again, 12-12, and Iowa hit wide to give Nebraska a 13-12 lead. A trio of kills by Malloy and a Kadie Rolfzen ace put the Huskers ahead 19-17, and Iowa took a timeout. After the break, the Hawkeyes hit long and Malloy put down her 10th kill of the match before the Hawkeyes made an error for a 22-17 Husker lead via a 5-0 run. Nebraska took a 2-0 lead into intermission with a 25-19 win. Malloy continued her strong night with six kills and no errors in the set.
Set 3: The Huskers wasted no time in taking control, jumping in front 6-1 with five kills and a Foecke ace. A block by Malloy and Amber Rolfzen, back-to-back aces by Wong-Orantes and an Iowa hitting error built the lead to 11-2. Nebraska led 20-7 after two kills by Foecke and one by Kadie Rolfzen as part of a 4-0 run. The Big Red won 25-13 on Kadie Rolfzen’s ninth kill. Nebraska hit .324 in the set and held Iowa to .071.
Up Next: Nebraska will travel to No. 2 Minnesota to face the Gophers in the final week of regular season play.
Nebraska Stats
Andie Malloy (15 kills, 1 assist, 5 digs, 5 blocks)
Mikaela Foecke (10 kills, 1 ace, 8 digs)
Kadie Rolfzen (9 kills, 2 assists, 1 ace, 5 digs, 2 blocks)
Justine Wong-Orantes (2 aces, 14 digs)
Follow Nebraska on Facebook, Twitter @Huskervball and Instagram @huskervolleyball
Courtesy of Iowa Athletics
IOWA CITY, Iowa – The University of Iowa volleyball team crushed its single-match attendance record as 4,131 fans watched the Hawkeyes take on No. 1 Nebraska on Saturday night in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Iowa fell, 3-0, to the top-ranked Cornhuskers to move to 19-11 on the season and 9-9 in league play.
“Today we just blew through the attendance record here at Carver,” said head coach Bond Shymansky. “I’m really thankful for all the Hawkeye fans who came out and supported us tonight, and I’m grateful for all the people that made that happen. We want to take advantage of a great home stand here, and they are helping us do that.”
Iowa‘s previous single-match attendance record was 3,102, set on Nov. 7, 2009 against Penn State. Saturday’s crowd highlights a record-setting year that has seen 28,648 fans watch the Hawkeyes thus far, a mark which ranks in the top 20 in the nation. This has helped the Hawkeyes amass an 11-4 record in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Reghan Coyle, Jess Janota and Lauren Brobst led the Hawkeyes against Nebraska with seven kills each. Janota had a .400 hitting percentage, while Coyle racked up a .312 attacking percentage. Loxley Keala collected her fifth double-double of the season as she tallied 23 assists and 10 digs.
“I was really proud of our group and love what we’re doing and what we’re giving every day,” said Shymansky. “When you’re taking on the number one team, it doesn’t matter if you’re on the road or at home, you have to play your cleanest and best volleyball. There’s plenty for us to learn from tonight’s match. We did a nice job tonight against both Rolfzen and Holman, but we didn’t do a good job of containing the outside hitters. So now we have a couple more days to turn it back around and take on Wisconsin and then Michigan State back home. We are so close with our group and we’re going to keep working and we’re confident we are going to display our mental toughness here this season.”
The Hawkeye defense shut down Brian Holman and Amber Rolfzen. Holman, who ranks 53rd in the nation with a .358 hitting percentage, was limited to just six kills and three errors for a .188 clip. A. Rolfzen, who averages a .356 attacking percentage, was held to just four kills and a .100 clip.
Nebraska jumped out to a 3-1 lead before the Hawkeyes scored three consecutive points to take their first lead of the match at 4-3. A kill by Janota sparked three consecutive points from Iowa to take a 9-6 advantage, but the Cornhuskers used a 10-1 run to regain the lead. Iowa then used a 3-1 stretch to cut the visitors’ advantage to 17-13 before Nebraska secured a 25-17 set win.
A Coyle kill and an ace by Alexa Ito gave Iowa a quick 2-0 advantage in set two before Nebraska drew the set even. The Hawkeyes used a 4-1 run, bolstered by a kills from Mariani (2) and Coyle (1), to take a 6-3 lead, but the Cornhuskers drew even once again. Iowa then went on a 5-1 burst to take an 11-7 advantage over Nebraska. Brobst racked up two kills and Mariani chipped in one. Back-to-back kills by Janota sparked a 4-2 stretch to give the Hawkeyes a 16-15 advantage. With the score knotted at 17-17, the Cornhuskers used a 5-0 run to take the lead en route to a 25-19 victory in set two.
Nebraska then secured the match with a 25-13 victory in set three. The Hawkeyes limited Holman and A. Rolfzen to 2 kills each during this set, while Holman was also held to a .000 attacking percentage during the final set.
Up Next: Iowa will face the Wisconsin Badgers on the road Wednesday night at 7 p.m.
Hawkeye Stats
Loxley Keala (1 kill 10 digs, 2 blocks)
Annika Olsen (1 assist, 9 digs)
Jess Janota (7 kills, 1 dig, 2 blocks)
Keep up with the Iowa Hawkeyes on Facebook, Twitter @IowaVolleyball and Instagram @iowavolleyball
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