Lincoln – Christina Houghtelling had a match-high 13 kills on .413 hitting, as No. 1 Nebraska posted its seventh straight sweep with a 30-14, 30-24, 30-19 victory over Oklahoma in front of a sellout crowd of 4,055 at the NU Coliseum Wednesday evening.
Houghtellling, who had a career-high 20 kills in the first meeting in September, led the Husker attack, as she had 13 kills and no errors in 31 swings. The junior also chipped in five blocks for Nebraska, which improved to 22-0 overall and 13-0 in the Big 12.
While Houghtelling carried the offense, it was the Huskers’ tough defense and blocking that keyed NU’s 17th straight win over the Sooners. NU tied a three-game season high with 16 blocks, including seven by Tracy Stalls and six by Melissa Elmer. The Huskers, who rank second nationally in hitting defense, also held Oklahoma to .042 hitting – a far cry from the .229 effort that the Sooners (6-17, 1-13) totaled in the first matchup. NU also held Oklahoma middle blocker Elaine Santos to five kills and .000 hitting after she totaled 21 kills – a high by a NU opponent in 2005 - in September.
I thought we were really good with our blocking and defense,” Nebraska Head Coach John Cook said.
“We held their middles and the right side to zeros and negative, and we dug a lot of their shots.”
Cook said the Huskers, who have held its last eight opponents to under .125 hitting, have been helped by the return to health of Stalls. The sophomore middle blocker has averaged 2.17 blocks per game in Nebraska’s last four contests.
“This is the third match in a row that Stalls has been in there out-blocking Elmer,” Cook said. “She’s starting to up her level of play, and not worry about her knee or anything else.”
The Huskers also received a strong serving effort, totaling six aces, including a career-high four from All-American Sarah Pavan. NU also held Oklahoma without an ace, after the Sooners, who rank fourth in the Big 12 in that category, totaled eight in the first meeting.
Nebraska showed off its sterling defense, holding Oklahoma to -.171 hitting in a 30-15 victory in game one. The Huskers posted six blocks, including three each by Elmer and Stalls, while Stalls also added a pair of kills for NU. Leading 9-7, the Huskers rallied on the serving of Pavan, who served up a pair of aces in a run of seven unanswered points, as NU took a 16-7 lead and forced a Sooner timeout. NU continued to expand the lead, building a 20-10 advantage after a combined block by Jordan Larson and Stalls, while OU could not trim the Husker lead, as NU enjoyed a 15-point win.
Game two was much tighter, as the Huskers never trailed before pulling away late in a 30-24 victory. Nebraska burst out to a 10-3 lead, only to see Oklahoma fight back behind the play of Joanna Schmidt, who totaled seven of her team-high 10 kills in the second game. The Sooners cut the NU lead to 21-20 after a Husker error and were within 26-24 before the Huskers put the game away. After a Schmidt service error, Houghtelling ‘s kill put NU up 28-24 before Stalls stuffed Schmidt to push the margin to 29-24. After a long rally featuring several outstanding digs by both teams, Houghtelling’s thunderous kill sent the Huskers to the locker room with a 2-0 lead.
Houghtelling kept the momentum going in the finale, totaling six of her 13 kills on .600 hitting and added four blocks in a 30-19 victory in the finale. The Huskers totaled seven blocks and held the visiting Sooners to .000 hitting. NU took control early, using a 7-1 run to take a 10-4 lead after a Husker stuff. After OU closed to within 18-14, Pavan’s serving triggered an 8-0 spurt, as the NU built a 26-12 lead after a Dani Mancuso kill and cruised to its 36th straight Big 12 win.
The Huskers travel to Ames, Iowa, this Saturday, Nov. 5, for a contest with the Cyclones. First serve is set for 4 p.m. and the match will be aired on B107.3 FM in Lincoln.
Oklahoma vs Nebraska (Nov 2, 2005)
Volleyball Box Score
Volleyball Box Score
Nebraska Volleyball
Oklahoma vs #1 Nebraska (Nov 2, 2005 at Lincoln, Neb.)
Oklahoma | ATTACK |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF| BLOCK |GEN
## Name GP| K E TA PCT| A| SA SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE|POINTS
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 Chester, Julie...... 3| 0 0 0 .000| 15| 0 3| 0| 11| 0 0 0| 2| 0.0
3 Stadel, Anna........ 3| 3 2 13 .077| 0| 0 0| 0| 0| 0 1 0| 0| 3.5
6 Weiland, Sarah...... 3| 9 3 26 .231| 0| 0 3| 0| 4| 0 0 0| 0| 9.0
8 Schmitt, Joanna..... 3| 10 7 35 .086| 0| 0 1| 3| 10| 0 2 0| 0| 11.0
12 Santos, Eliane...... 3| 5 5 16 .000| 2| 0 1| 0| 0| 2 4 0| 0| 9.0
15 Tonon, Gabriela..... 3| 2 6 17 -.235| 1| 0 0| 0| 2| 0 3 0| 0| 3.5
2 Jackson, Rachel..... 3| 0 0 0 .000| 9| 0 0| 0| 5| 0 0 2| 2| 0.0
4 Tomes, Laura........ 3| 2 2 10 .000| 1| 0 0| 0| 1| 1 0 0| 0| 3.0
10 Monsen, Anna........ 3| 0 0 0 .000| 1| 0 1| 1| 18| 0 0 0| 0| 0.0
14 Sharp, Hannah....... 3| 0 1 1-1.000| 0| 0 1| 2| 2| 0 0 0| 0| 0.0
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Totals.............. 3| 31 26 118 .042| 29| 0 10| 6| 53| 3 10 2| 4| 39.0
TEAM ATTACK PER GAME TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 8.0
Game K E TA Pct
1 6 12 35 -.171 GAME SCORES 1 2 3 TEAM RECORDS
2 17 6 49 .224 Oklahoma............ (0) 15 24 19 6-17, 1-13 Big 12
3 8 8 34 .000 Nebraska............ (3) 30 30 30 22-0, 13-0 Big 12
Nebraska | ATTACK |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF| BLOCK |GEN
## Name GP| K E TA PCT| A| SA SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE|POINTS
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 Griffin, Maggie..... 3| 0 0 0 .000| 13| 0 2| 0| 4| 0 0 0| 0| 0.0
3 Houghtelling, Chris. 3| 13 0 31 .419| 0| 0 0| 0| 5| 0 5 1| 0| 15.5
8 Elmer, Melissa...... 3| 4 3 12 .083| 0| 0 0| 0| 0| 0 6 1| 0| 7.0
9 Pavan, Sarah........ 3| 7 2 14 .357| 2| 4 5| 0| 11| 0 3 2| 0| 12.5
10 Larson, Jordan...... 3| 7 3 20 .200| 0| 1 1| 0| 13| 0 3 2| 0| 9.5
26 Saleaumua, Jennifer. 3| 6 2 19 .211| 1| 0 2| 0| 12| 1 1 0| 0| 7.5
6 Smith, Meghan....... 1| 0 0 0 .000| 0| 0 0| 0| 0| 0 0 0| 0| 0.0
7 Mancuso, Dani....... 1| 2 1 5 .200| 0| 0 1| 0| 0| 0 3 0| 0| 3.5
11 Stalls, Tracy....... 3| 5 3 15 .133| 1| 1 0| 0| 2| 1 6 0| 0| 10.0
18 Busboom, Dani....... 3| 0 1 2 -.500| 24| 0 1| 0| 6| 0 1 0| 0| 0.5
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Totals.............. 3| 44 15 118 .246| 41| 6 12| 0| 53| 2 28 6| 0| 66.0
TEAM ATTACK PER GAME TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 16.0
Game K E TA Pct
1 10 4 31 .194 Site: Lincoln, Neb. (NU Coliseum)
2 18 5 51 .255 Date: Nov 2, 2005 Attend: 4055 Time: 1:29
3 16 6 36 .278 Referees: Clark Radcliffe, Marty Prochko
1 2 3 Total
Tie scores 4 0 2 6
Lead changes 2 0 0 2
Short Box Score
Short Box Score (Match)
Nebraska Volleyball
Oklahoma vs #1 Nebraska (Nov 2, 2005 at Lincoln, Neb.)
Nebraska def. Oklahoma 30-15,30-24,30-19
Oklahoma (6-17, 1-13 Big 12) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Schmitt,
Joanna 10-0-2; Weiland, Sarah 9-0-0; Santos, Eliane 5-0-6; Stadel,
Anna 3-0-1; Tomes, Laura 2-0-1; Tonon, Gabriela 2-0-3; Totals
31-0-8.0. (Assists) - Chester, Julie 15. (Dig leaders) - Monsen, Anna
18; Chester, Julie 11; Schmitt, Joanna 10
Nebraska (22-0, 13-0 Big 12) (Kills-aces-blocks) -
Houghtelling, Chris 13-0-5; Pavan, Sarah 7-4-3; Larson, Jordan 7-1-3;
Saleaumua, Jennifer 6-0-2; Stalls, Tracy 5-1-7; Elmer, Melissa 4-0-6;
Mancuso, Dani 2-0-3; Busboom, Dani 0-0-1; Totals 44-6-16.0. (Assists)
- Busboom, Dani 24; Griffin, Maggie 13. (Dig leaders) - Larson, Jordan
13; Saleaumua, Jennifer 12; Pavan, Sarah 11
Site: Lincoln, Neb. (NU Coliseum)
Date: Nov 2, 2005 Attend: 4055 Time: 1:29
Referees: Clark Radcliffe, Marty Prochko
Courtesy: Scott Bruhn/NU Media Relations
