Match Info
- #11 UCLA at #12 Nebraska
- Lincoln, Nebraska
- Nebraska improves to 5-2; UCLA drops to 5-2
- Match Stats
Make it two sweeps in a row for Nebraska as another night brought another dominating performance for the Cornhuskers against the visiting Bruins of UCLA. Behind a solid all around performance from senior setter Kelly Hunter, who accumulated 31 assists to go along with 14 digs, the #12 ranked Cornhuskers swept the #11 ranked Bruins on Saturday night in Lincoln. Set scores were 25-19, 25-19, 25-17. Junior outside hitter Mikaela Foecke led the offense with 12 kills while freshman opposite Jazz Sweet chipped in 10 kills, hitting .529. Nebraska outhit UCLA .301 to .133 on the match. Nebraska improves to 5-2 on the year and will return to action on September 15th against Kansas State.
Another day, another sweep! ???#Huskers #HBFS pic.twitter.com/Z9Vo9ULsjh
— Husker Volleyball (@Huskervball) September 10, 2017
Nebraska started the match on a 4-0 run behind tough serving that put the Bruins in constant trouble. An ace by Kenzie Maloney gave the Cornhuskers a 6-1 lead and they never looked back, rolling to a 10 point first set win. The Cornhuskers outhit the Bruins .407 to .103 in the set behind five kills from freshman middle blocker Lauren Stivrins.
Set two had a much different feel than the first set as UCLA was able to open an early lead. An ace by Annika Albrecht pulled the Cornhuskers even and jumpstarted a 4-0 run by Nebraska, prompting a timeout from the Bruins. The lead swelled to 16-10 before a three point run by the Bruins forced a timeout from Nebraska coach John Cook. However, UCLA was able to get no closer than two points the rest of the set as the Cornhuskers took a 2-0 lead into the break.
Set three was all about Nebraska as they quickly opened an 11-5 lead, forcing a timeout from UCLA coach Michael Sealy. The Cornhuskers closed out the dominating set on a kill from Albrecht
“Albrecht and Hunter are our seniors and they really stepped up,” Nebraska coach John Cook said in a post match interview. “After the start of our season, they know the importance of these matches.”
Four different Bruins collected seven kills on the night as Riley Buechler, Kyra Rogers, Mac May and Madeline Gates shared the feat. UCLA moves to 5-2 on the year and will return to action on September 13th when they host Loyola Marymount.
Press Release:
Courtesy of Nebraska Athletics
LINCOLN, Neb. – For the second straight night, the No. 12 Nebraska volleyball team swept No. 11 UCLA, this time 25-15, 25-19, 25-17 in front of a crowd of 8,039 at the Bob Devaney Sports Center on Saturday.
The Huskers, who have won five straight matches by sweep to improve to 5-2 on the season, posted a .301 hitting percentage and got at least five kills from five different players. Mikaela Foecke led all players with 12 kills, and she added eight digs and three blocks. Jazz Sweet had 10 kills and hit .529 to go with three blocks. Annika Albrecht had eight kills, six digs and two aces while hitting .471. Lauren Stivrins and Briana Holman chipped in six and five kills, respectively. Holman had a match-high four blocks.
Setter Kelly Hunter played the entire match and recorded 31 assists and 14 digs for her first double-double of the season. Kenzie Maloney added nine digs, and Sydney Townsend had eight. The Huskers finished with a 48-43 edge in digs and 7-5 advantage in blocks. Nebraska has won five straight home matches against Pac-12 teams and is 8-1 against Pac-12 teams in its last nine tries.
UCLA had four players with seven kills and did not have a player record double-digit kills in either match on the weekend.
Set 1: Nebraska picked up where it left off on Friday night, building a 9-3 lead with five kills on its first nine attacks, two of which came from Hunter. The Huskers led 15-8 at the media timeout, and a three-point spurt after the timeout made it 18-9 with Foecke posting a kill and a block with Holman. A kill by Sweet and a UCLA ball handling violation gave the Huskers a 20-10 advantage. A trio of kills by the Husker middle blockers made it 23-13, and the Huskers finished off a strong first set with a 25-15 win. The Huskers outhit the Bruins .407 to .103, and UCLA scored consecutive points just twice in the set as NU led from start to finish. Stivrins had five kills on six swings to pace the attack.
Set 2: After falling behind 9-7, the Huskers went on a 9-1 run to take a 16-10 lead. Foecke had four kills in the run, including three in a row, and Holman had a pair as the Huskers went up by six. UCLA came back with a 4-0 run of its own to pull within 16-14, and the teams traded sideouts for seven rallies until Albrecht hammered home her fourth kill for a 21-17 lead. Another Albrecht kill and a Foecke/Stivrins block extended the lead to 23-18. NU ended it at 25-19 with a Foecke kill and UCLA hitting error.
Set 3: On the serve of Hayley Densberger, the Huskers put together a 5-0 run to take an 11-5 lead in the third set. Sweet had a pair of kills early in the set to boost the Big Red into the lead. Two more kills by Foecke put the Huskers up 16-9, but UCLA made the set interesting with a rally to within 17-13. Then Sweet took over the set with two kills and a solo block, and the Huskers were ahead comfortably, 22-13. The Huskers won 25-17 with Sweet and Albrecht providing the final kills.
Up Next: The Huskers will play three matches in Omaha next week at the Omaha Challenge hosted by UNO. Nebraska will play Kansas State on Friday at 4:30 p.m., Northern Iowa on Saturday at Noon, and the Omaha Mavericks on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. All three matches will be played at UNO’s Baxter Arena. Tickets are on sale here.
Press Release:
Courtesy of UCLA Athletics
LINCOLN, Neb. – Junior Zana Muno had 13 digs and a quartet of Bruins posted seven kills apiece, but the 11th-ranked Bruins dropped a three-set decision to #12 Nebraska on Saturday at the Devaney Center. Set scores were 25-15, 25-19, 25-17.
Senior Reily Buechler, junior Kyra Rogers, sophomore Madeleine Gates and freshman Mac May each had seven kills, with May adding six digs and Buechler recording five digs. Senior Sarah Sponcilnotched 30 assists and eight digs, sophomore Savvy Simo had nine digs and freshman Jenny Mosser posted four kills. The Bruins hit .133 for the match.
The Bruins (5-2) never led in set one, dropping six of the first seven points of the match. UCLA scored consecutive points just twice in the opening stanza, dropping the first, 25-15. Gates and Rogers each had three kills in the first, as the Bruins were out-hit, .407 to .103.
UCLA’s largest lead of set two was a pair at 9-7. Trailing 5-3, kills by Buechler and May and a Gates solo block put the Bruins up 6-5. Even at seven, a Rogers kill and a Nebraska (5-2) attack error made it 9-7. The Bruins still led at 10-9, but seven in a row for the Cornhuskers gave the home team the lead for good. UCLA closed to within two on a couple of occasions, but ended up losing the second, 25-19. Buechler, Gates, May and Mosser all had two kills in the set, while Muno tallied six digs, as the Bruins were out-hit, .211 to .156.
The Bruins’ lone lead in set three was at 2-1 after kills by Buechler and Mosser. Nebraska’s largest lead in the third was nine, as it won the third, 25-17. Buechler, May and Rogers each had three kills. Sponcil added five digs and Muno had four. The Bruins were out-hit, .316 to .136.
UCLA opens its home schedule on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. against Loyola Marymount at the John Wooden Center. The match will be televised on Pac-12 Networks and will feature free audio on UCLABruins.com
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