Lincoln – Jordan Larson totaled a career-high 20 kills, while Nebraska’s floor defense keyed the top-ranked Huskers to a 30-17, 30-22, 30-17 sweep of Kansas State Wednesday night at the NU Coliseum.
Larson posted her sixth consecutive double-double with 20 kills on .400 hitting and 10 digs, as she eclipsed her previous career high of 19 kills set at Minnesota in 2005. The sophomore from Hooper, Neb., needed 17 kills to reach 500 in her career, and reached the plateau with a kill to finish NU’s 30-22 game two win.
While Larson placed a solid offensive attack with five players totaling at least eight kills, the Huskers’ floor defense was the spark for the Huskers’ 11th sweep in 14 matches, holding KSU to season-low .061 hitting.
NU (14-0, 6-0 Big 12) totaled 72 digs, setting a Big 12 best for a three-game match this season and also matching its best three-match total of the rally scoring era. The Huskers out-dug Kansas State, 72-48, with five players reaching double figures in digs.
Dani Busboom led the defensive effort with 19 digs, while Larson, Sarah Pavan (13 kills and 10 digs) and Rachel Holloway (46 assists and 11 digs) all recorded double-doubles. In addition, Rachel Schwartz matched her career high in digs for the fourth straight match with 14 digs.
Larson, whose 20 kills nearly matched Kansas State’s entire team total of 26, was one of two Huskers to establish career bests in kills, as freshman Kori Cooper totaled eight kills and five blocks in the win.
“We were pretty good tonight,” Nebraska Coach John Cook said. “We moved the ball around and we hit some shots, and I think we kept them off balance. I think when you’re at home and you get in that third game, it gets hard for the (visiting team), it feels like you’re running uphill. When Pavan is getting digs like she was tonight, that fires up our team, more than her getting a kill.”
The Huskers, who had dropped the opener in their last two matches, got out of the gates quickly, hitting .390 as a team en route to a 30-17 victory. Larson keyed the NU attack with eight kills in 12 swings, while the Huskerrs out-dug KSU 24-13. Leading 7-6, the serving of Schwartz and the firepower of Larson triggered a run of six straight points, as Larson had three kills in a four-point stretch, giving the Huskers a comfortable lead. KSU pulled to within 15-8, but could not get closer, as the Huskers ran off five straight points off Holloway’s serve, taking a 21-8 lead after a Pavan tip.
In game two, the Huskers turned in another sterling floor display, totaling 26 digs and holding KSU to .146 hitting in an eight-point win. Once again, Larson provided the firepower with nine kills in 15 swings, while Tracy Stalls, Pavan and Dani Mancuso had four kills apiece. With NU up 14-12, Stalls keyed an 6-2 spurt with three kills before Cooper’s kill pushed the margin to 20-14. The Wildcats fought back and got within 26-21, but the Huskers closed out game two with four of the final five point, capped by Larson’s 16th and 17th kills to end game two.
Nebraska took most of the drama out of the finale early, scoring nine of the first 10 points in a 30-17 victory. The Huskers used a 6-0 spurt off of the serving of Larson and a strong block to take a 9-1 lead, as Cooper and Pavan combined on three blocks in four-point stretch. KSU got to within 14-8, but The Huskers ran off five of the of the next six points, stretching the lead to 19-9 off a block by Pavan and Cooper. From there, the Huskers contined to build the lead and cruised to its first sweep in the last three matches, extending its home winning streak to 45 matches.
Angie Lastra led Kansas State (8-8) with a match-high 22 digs, while no Wildcat finished with more than six kills.
The Huskers return to action on Saturday night, as they travel to Texas A&M. First serve is set for 6:30 p.m. and can be heard on B107.3 FM in Lincoln and Omaha and on Huskers.com. The match will also be available on HuskersNside.
Kansas State vs Nebraska (Oct 04, 2006)
Volleyball Box Score
Volleyball Box Score
Nebraska Volleyball
Kansas State vs #1 Nebraska (Oct 04, 2006 at Lincoln, NE)
Kansas State | ATTACK |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF| BLOCK |GEN
## Name GP| K E TA PCT| A| SA SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE|POINTS
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 Farr, Megan......... 2| 1 2 13 -.077| 1| 0 0| 0| 0| 0 0 0| 0| 1.0
6 Werner, Sandy....... 3| 6 1 24 .208| 1| 0 0| 1| 2| 0 2 1| 0| 7.0
9 Gabruseva, Ginta.... 3| 5 3 19 .105| 0| 0 0| 0| 3| 0 3 0| 1| 6.5
10 Jantsch, Jenny...... 3| 5 9 40 -.100| 1| 0 1| 0| 3| 0 2 1| 0| 6.0
15 Spiegelberg, Stacey. 3| 2 1 7 .143| 21| 1 2| 0| 8| 0 0 1| 2| 3.0
33 Kroeker, Megan...... 3| 3 1 18 .111| 0| 0 0| 0| 4| 0 3 0| 1| 4.5
4 Townsend, Leslie.... 3| 0 0 0 .000| 0| 0 1| 0| 1| 0 0 0| 0| 0.0
5 Lastra, Angie....... 3| 0 0 0 .000| 0| 0 1| 1| 22| 0 0 0| 0| 0.0
7 Chipman, Kelsey..... 2| 4 1 9 .333| 0| 0 0| 0| 2| 0 4 0| 0| 6.0
11 Rosenthal, Lauren... 3| 0 0 1 .000| 0| 0 1| 0| 3| 0 0 0| 0| 0.0
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Totals.............. 3| 26 18 131 .061| 24| 1 6| 2| 48| 0 14 3| 4| 34.0
TEAM ATTACK PER GAME TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 7.0
Game K E TA Pct
1 10 7 46 .065 GAME SCORES 1 2 3 TEAM RECORDS
2 9 3 41 .146 Kansas State........ (0) 17 22 17 8-8, 0-6 Big 12
3 7 8 44 -.023 Nebraska............ (3) 30 30 30 14-0, 6-0 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
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5 Schwartz, Rachel.... 3| 0 0 2 .000| 1| 0 0| 0| 14| 0 0 0| 0| 0.0
9 Pavan, Sarah........ 3| 13 5 30 .267| 0| 1 2| 1| 10| 0 5 0| 0| 16.5
10 Larson, Jordan...... 3| 20 4 40 .400| 2| 0 4| 0| 10| 1 1 0| 0| 21.5
11 Stalls, Tracy....... 3| 8 3 14 .357| 1| 0 0| 0| 3| 0 2 1| 0| 9.0
12 Holloway, Rachel.... 3| 2 2 7 .000| 46| 1 0| 0| 11| 0 1 0| 1| 3.5
15 Cooper, Kori........ 3| 8 3 20 .250| 2| 0 0| 0| 0| 0 5 2| 0| 10.5
1 Griffin, Maggie..... 2| 0 0 0 .000| 1| 0 1| 0| 1| 0 0 0| 0| 0.0
7 Mancuso, Dani....... 3| 8 4 19 .211| 0| 0 0| 0| 4| 0 0 0| 0| 8.0
18 Busboom, Dani....... 3| 1 0 2 .500| 3| 0 0| 0| 19| 0 0 0| 0| 1.0
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Totals.............. 3| 60 21 134 .291| 56| 2 7| 1| 72| 1 14 3| 1| 70.0
TEAM ATTACK PER GAME TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 8.0
Game K E TA Pct
1 21 5 41 .390 Site: Lincoln, NE (NU Coliseum)
2 24 8 49 .327 Date: Oct 04, 2006 Attend: 4101 Time: 1:28
3 15 8 44 .159 Referees: Tom Pingel, Mike Hamilton
1 2 3 Total
Tie scores 0 3 0 3
Lead changes 0 0 0 0
Short Box Score
Short Box Score (Match)
Nebraska Volleyball
Kansas State vs #1 Nebraska (Oct 04, 2006 at Lincoln, NE)
Nebraska def. Kansas State 30-17,30-22,30-17
Kansas State (8-8, 0-6 Big 12) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Werner,
Sandy 6-0-2; Gabruseva, Ginta 5-0-3; Jantsch, Jenny 5-0-2; Chipman,
Kelsey 4-0-4; Kroeker, Megan 3-0-3; Spiegelberg, Stacey 2-1-0; Farr,
Megan 1-0-0; Totals 26-1-7.0. (Assists) - Spiegelberg, Stacey 21. (Dig
leaders) - Lastra, Angie 22; Spiegelberg, Stacey 8
Nebraska (14-0, 6-0 Big 12) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Larson,
Jordan 20-0-2; Pavan, Sarah 13-1-5; Cooper, Kori 8-0-5; Mancuso, Dani
8-0-0; Stalls, Tracy 8-0-2; Holloway, Rachel 2-1-1; Busboom, Dani
1-0-0; Totals 60-2-8.0. (Assists) - Holloway, Rachel 46. (Dig leaders)
- Busboom, Dani 19; Schwartz, Rachel 14; Holloway, Rachel 11; Pavan,
Sarah 10; Larson, Jordan 10
Site: Lincoln, NE (NU Coliseum)
Date: Oct 04, 2006 Attend: 4101 Time: 1:28
Referees: Tom Pingel, Mike Hamilton
Courtesy: Scott Bruhn/NU Media Relations
