Lincoln – All-American Sarah Pavan had 12 kills, while Nebraska overcame a sluggish start to sweep Kansas, 30-23, 30-20, 30-19 in front of a sellout crowd of 4,133 at the NU Coliseum on Wednesday night.
Pavan’s 12 kills were a match high, as the sophomore hit .458 and added eight digs, three blocks and a pair of service aces in leading the Huskers (20-0, 11-0 Big 12) to their 34th straight Big 12 win dating back to the 2003 season. It marked the seventh time this season that Pavan, who leads all Big 12 outside hitters with .355 hitting, has hit above .450 in a match.
Junior Christina Houghtelling also reached double figures for Nebraska with 11 kills and four blocks, while All-Americans Melissa Elmer and Jennifer Saleaumua chipped in eight and seven blocks, respectively. Nebraska, which was held to .159 hitting in the opener, hit .282 in the match, but held Kansas (12-9, 4-8 Big 12) to just .057 hitting, including .000 over the final two games. Sophomore Tracy Stalls led the Husker blocking effort with seven stuffs, while Elmer added six more in helping NU to a 15-3 advantage in that category. In all, NU has held its last six opponents under .150 hitting.
Nebraska Head Coach John Cook credited Kansas’ performance and a one week layoff since NU’s last match for the Huskers' uncharacteristic slow start.
"First of all Kansas came out and played solid in the first game and we looked like we hadn’t played volleyball in a week," Cook said. "But by the end of the second game we really cranked it up and played well."
The Huskers were out-hit by the Jayhawks in the opener, .163-.159 and had only two blocks, but enjoyed a strong effort from the service line to post a 30-23 victory. NU totaled four aces, including two each from Pavan and freshman Jordan Larson, and committed only one service error while KU had three service miscues. Pavan had consecutive aces as part of a 4-0 run to give NU an early four-point lead. The Jayhawks pulled to within 13-10 on an Emily Brown kill, but the hosts ran off four straight points, taking a 17-10 lead after two straight aces from Larson that forced a KU timeout. Kansas eventually whittled the lead to 25-22, but NU ran off four straight points, capped by a Saleaumua kill that made it 29-22 and closed out the seven-point win.
Nebraska’s offense got untracked in game two, as the Huskers pulled away for a 30-20 victory. Saleaumua and Elmer each had five kills, as NU hit .419 on 31 swings. Elmer, who was held without a block in game one, totaled five in game two alone, as NU held Kansas to -.023 hitting. Leading 16-15, Nebraska scored four of the next five points, taking a 20-16 lead, as Larson and Stalls combined on a block of Brown. KU closed to within 20-17, but could get no closer, as Nebraska ran off six straight points, capped by a stuff by Elmer and Houghtelling, to take a commanding 26-17 lead, sending the hosts to the locker room with a 2-0 advantage.
The Huskers blitzed Kansas in the finale, jumping to a 10-1 lead before cruising to an 11-point win. Nebraska was successful on its first eight attempts, while Pavan led the barrage with six kills in seven swings. In all, the Huskers hit .314, as the hosts held a double-digit lead for most of the game. KU eventually pulled to within 27-19, but Stalls and Saleaumua closed the match with consecutive blocks in extending NU’s home winning streak to 25 matches.
Brown led Kansas with 11 kills, but no other Jayhawk finished in double figures.
The Huskers return to action on Saturday evening, as they travel to Texas Tech. First serve is set for 7 p.m., and the match will be carried on B107.3 FM in Lincoln.
Kansas vs Nebraska (Oct 26, 2005)
Volleyball Box Score
Volleyball Box Score
Nebraska Volleyball
Kansas vs #1 Nebraska (Oct 26, 2005 at Lincoln, Neb.)
Kansas | ATTACK |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF| BLOCK |GEN
## Name GP| K E TA PCT| A| SA SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE|POINTS
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7 Brown, Emily........ 3| 11 11 35 .000| 0| 1 0| 1| 8| 0 1 0| 0| 12.5
8 Caten, Paula........ 3| 9 5 25 .160| 1| 0 1| 0| 7| 1 0 0| 0| 10.0
9 Rozum, Andi......... 3| 1 2 9 -.111| 32| 1 2| 0| 4| 0 1 1| 0| 2.5
10 Lima, Josi.......... 3| 4 5 25 -.040| 1| 0 1| 1| 6| 0 1 1| 0| 4.5
15 Hill, Megan......... 3| 6 4 20 .100| 0| 0 0| 0| 2| 0 0 0| 0| 6.0
18 Noyes, Savannah..... 3| 4 2 9 .222| 0| 0 0| 0| 1| 0 1 1| 0| 4.5
3 Mathewson, Jamie.... 3| 1 0 1 1.000| 1| 0 3| 2| 9| 0 0 0| 0| 1.0
5 Ingram, Liz......... 3| 0 0 0 .000| 0| 0 2| 0| 1| 0 0 0| 0| 0.0
12 Wittman, Dani....... 1| 0 0 0 .000| 0| 0 1| 0| 2| 0 0 0| 0| 0.0
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Totals.............. 3| 36 29 124 .056| 35| 2 11| 4| 40| 1 4 3| 0| 41.0
TEAM ATTACK PER GAME TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 3.0
Game K E TA Pct
1 15 8 43 .163 GAME SCORES 1 2 3 TEAM RECORDS
2 10 11 44 -.023 Kansas.............. (0) 23 20 19 12-9, 4-8 Big 12
3 11 10 37 .027 Nebraska............ (3) 30 30 30 20-0, 11-0 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| 23| 0 0| 0| 4| 0 0 0| 0| 0.0
3 Houghtelling, Chris. 3| 11 3 25 .320| 0| 0 0| 0| 7| 0 4 0| 0| 13.0
8 Elmer, Melissa...... 3| 8 3 15 .333| 2| 0 0| 0| 0| 0 6 1| 0| 11.0
9 Pavan, Sarah........ 3| 12 1 24 .458| 0| 2 2| 0| 8| 0 3 0| 0| 15.5
10 Larson, Jordan...... 3| 5 4 20 .050| 1| 2 3| 0| 10| 0 4 1| 0| 9.0
26 Saleaumua, Jennifer. 3| 7 1 16 .375| 1| 0 1| 2| 10| 1 3 0| 0| 9.5
5 Schwartz, Rachel.... 0| 0 0 0 .000| 0| 0 0| 0| 0| 0 0 0| 0| 0.0
7 Mancuso, Dani....... 2| 0 0 1 .000| 1| 0 0| 0| 1| 0 1 1| 0| 0.5
11 Stalls, Tracy....... 3| 2 1 8 .125| 1| 0 0| 0| 2| 0 7 1| 0| 5.5
18 Busboom, Dani....... 3| 0 1 1-1.000| 13| 0 1| 0| 5| 0 0 0| 1| 0.0
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Totals.............. 3| 45 14 110 .282| 42| 4 7| 2| 47| 1 28 4| 1| 64.0
TEAM ATTACK PER GAME TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 15.0
Game K E TA Pct
1 14 7 44 .159 Site: Lincoln, Neb. (NU Coliseum)
2 16 3 31 .419 Date: Oct 26, 2005 Attend: 4133 Time: 1:29
3 15 4 35 .314 Referees: Gary Houghton, Kathy Ferraraccio
1 2 3 Total
Tie scores 4 10 0 14
Lead changes 1 4 0 5
Short Box Score
Short Box Score (Match)
Nebraska Volleyball
Kansas vs #1 Nebraska (Oct 26, 2005 at Lincoln, Neb.)
Nebraska def. Kansas 30-23,30-20,30-19
Kansas (12-9, 4-8 Big 12) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Brown, Emily
11-1-1; Caten, Paula 9-0-1; Hill, Megan 6-0-0; Lima, Josi 4-0-1;
Noyes, Savannah 4-0-1; Mathewson, Jamie 1-0-0; Rozum, Andi 1-1-1;
Totals 36-2-3.0. (Assists) - Rozum, Andi 32. (Dig leaders) -
Mathewson, Jamie 9; Brown, Emily 8
Nebraska (20-0, 11-0 Big 12) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Pavan, Sarah
12-2-3; Houghtelling, Chris 11-0-4; Elmer, Melissa 8-0-6; Saleaumua,
Jennifer 7-0-4; Larson, Jordan 5-2-4; Stalls, Tracy 2-0-7; Mancuso,
Dani 0-0-1; Totals 45-4-15.0. (Assists) - Griffin, Maggie 23; Busboom,
Dani 13. (Dig leaders) - Larson, Jordan 10; Saleaumua, Jennifer 10;
Pavan, Sarah 8
Site: Lincoln, Neb. (NU Coliseum)
Date: Oct 26, 2005 Attend: 4133 Time: 1:29
Referees: Gary Houghton, Kathy Ferraraccio
Courtesy: Scott Bruhn/NU Media Relations
