Lincoln – Behind a career-high 10 blocks from sophomore Amanda Gates, No. 1 Nebraska opened the 2006 season in solid fashion, posting a 30-18, 30-25, 31-29 victory over No. 20 San Diego Tuesday evening at the NU Coliseum

Gates, making her first career start, put on a blocking clinic against the Toreros, establishing a career high after totaling just 13 in nine matches as a freshman while backing up three-time All-American Melissa Elmer.

“She was a great model for me,” Gates said of Elmer, who graduated last December. “I can’t say that I am going to be her, but I am going to do the best I can to fill her shoes. I have a lot of work to do and a lot of experience to gain, but I will try to make an impact and work to get better every day.”

Nebraska Head Coach John Cook was impressed with Gates’ blocking performance, and credits the sophomore’s efforts to her diligence in working with Head Assistant Coach Lee Maes.

“I was both surprised and pleased that she had 10 blocks tonight,” Cook said. “She has showed at times that she is capable of being a great blocker.  She is a 4.0 student and works well with Lee in knowing where to be on the court. The two work very well together.”

Gates led a stifling Husker defense that held San Diego (3-1) to just .016 hitting after the Toreros hit .307 in their first three wins. All-American Sarah Pavan had eight blocks and 12 kills, while outside hitter Dani Mancuso had five blocks – one off her career high – and seven kills.

The Huskers, who started three players who had one or fewer career starts, were led by their veterans on Tuesday in front of a sellout crowd of 4,107. Senior Dani Busboom totaled a match-high 20 digs, inclduing several in spectacular fashion, in her first career start at libero, while Pavan, Jordan Larson and Tracy Stalls combined for 33 kills.

Larson, a preseason all-Big 12 pick, tied USD’s Kristen Carlson for match-high honors with 13 kills, while also chipping in three aces, eight digs and four blocks, while Stalls had eight kills on .500 hitting and a trio of blocks.

Freshman Rachel Holloway, the first Husker freshman setter to start her collegiate debut in the NCAA era, performed well, posting a double-double with 36 assists, 11 digs and two of NU’s seven service aces.

Early on, it looked as if Nebraska was the team which had played three matches, as the Huskers hit a blistering .379 en route to a 30-18 victory. Serving was the key for NU early, as Holloway ignited a 6-2 Husker spurt, giving the hosts a 13-6 lead. Moments later, Larson stepped the line and ran off three straight points, highlighted by a pair of heat-seeking missiles for consecutive aces that extended NU’s advantage to double figures. NU would eventually push the lead to 21-9 before the Toreros responded with six unanswered points. USD eventually pulled to within 23-18 on a Carlson’s fourth kill of the game, but would get no closer, as Pavan sparked a 7-0 Husker spurt. The 6-foot-5 Pavan had three kills and a block in a six-point span before Larson’s third block of the game capped the 12-point win.

After the quick start, the match bogged down into a defensive struggle over the next two games. NU trailed only once all night – a 1-0 deficit in game two – but could never pull away from the scrappy Toreros. Trailing 12-7 in game two, USD regrouped, using a 7-2 run to tie the game at 14-all after a Husker ball-handing miscue. The game was tied two more times before Holloway’s precise shot down the line gave NU the lead for good at 24-23. Pavan then ripped home two more kills, including one off an impressive rally by the Husker defense, to make it a 26-23 game. After a timeout, NU extended the lead to 27-23 on a block by Pavan and Gates and eventually closed out game two on an ace by Busboom to take a 2-0 lead.

The Huskers seemingly took command of the finale early, racing to a 15-9 lead, but the Toreros came back with four straight points to pull within 15-13 after a pair of NU hitting miscues. Trailing 21-18, USD scored three straight points to tie the game and force NU to take a timeout. The Huskers would eventually take a 27-24 lead on a block by Mancuso and Stalls, but a service error and a kill by Jessic Nyrop pulled USD within a point again. Larson, who totaled five of her 13 kills in the finale, eventually gave NU a 30-29 lead before a ball-handing error on the visitors gave NU its 35th consecutive home win.

The Huskers return to action on Friday when they take on St. Mary’s at 7 p.m. in the Husker Labor Day Tournament. Long Beach State and Middle Tennessee State will play the evening’s first match at 5 p.m.

       Volleyball Box Score
                              Nebraska Volleyball
           #20 San Diego vs #1 Nebraska (Aug 29, 2006 at Lincoln, NE)



   San Diego              |     ATTACK      |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF|  BLOCK |GEN
## Name                 GP|  K   E  TA   PCT|  A| SA  SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE|POINTS
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1  DeGROOT, Amy........  2|  0   1   1-1.000|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0|   0.0
2  DAWSON, Christie....  3|  9   8  36  .028|  1|  1   2|  0|  8| 0  1  0|  0|  10.5
7  ABRAHAMSON, Laurel..  3|  2   3  14 -.071|  0|  0   0|  0|  2| 0  2  0|  0|   3.0
9  NYROP, Jessica......  3|  3   2   7  .143| 26|  0   1|  0|  5| 0  1  0|  3|   3.5
13 CARLSON,, Kristen...  3| 13  13  47  .000|  1|  1   1|  4| 12| 1  1  0|  0|  15.5
14 ANDERSEN, Jessica...  1|  1   1   4  .000|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0|   1.0
3  McCARTHY, Moira.....  3|  2   2   8  .000|  0|  0   0|  0|  1| 0  2  0|  0|   3.0
4  MURPHY, Laura.......  1|  0   0   0  .000|  1|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0|   0.0
5  WEBSTER, Kayleen....  3|  0   0   0  .000|  2|  1   1|  1| 15| 0  0  0|  0|   1.0
11 WISKAR, Erin........  2|  3   1   9  .222|  0|  0   0|  2|  5| 0  1  0|  0|   3.5
15 CSASZI, Andrea......  2|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   0|  0|  4| 0  0  0|  0|   0.0
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   Totals..............  3| 33  31 126  .016| 31|  3   5|  7| 52| 1  8  0|  3|  41.0

 TEAM ATTACK PER GAME                               TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 5.0
 Game  K  E  TA   Pct
   1  10 10  36  .000   GAME SCORES               1  2  3  TEAM RECORDS
   2  10 10  42  .000   San Diego........... (0) 18 25 29  3-0
   3  13 11  48  .042   Nebraska............ (3) 30 30 31  0-0

   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   1  .000|  0|  0   0|  0|  2| 0  0  0|  1|   0.0
9  Pavan, Sarah........  3| 12   8  38  .105|  1|  0   3|  1|  2| 0  8  0|  0|  16.0
10 Larson, Jordan......  3| 13   5  35  .229|  2|  3   2|  1|  8| 2  2  0|  0|  19.0
11 Stalls, Tracy.......  3|  8   1  14  .500|  0|  0   1|  0|  2| 0  3  0|  0|   9.5
12 Holloway, Rachel....  3|  3   1  11  .182| 36|  2   2|  0| 11| 0  0  0|  1|   5.0
17 Gates, Amanda.......  3|  2   3  12 -.083|  2|  0   0|  0|  1| 0 10  2|  0|   7.0
7  Mancuso, Dani.......  3|  7   2  20  .250|  0|  0   2|  0|  3| 0  5  1|  1|   9.5
18 Busboom, Dani.......  3|  0   0   0  .000|  2|  2   2|  0| 20| 0  0  0|  0|   2.0
   TEAM................   |                 |   |       |  1|   |        |   |   0.0
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   Totals..............  3| 45  20 131  .191| 43|  7  12|  3| 49| 2 28  3|  3|  68.0

 TEAM ATTACK PER GAME                               TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 16.0
 Game  K  E  TA   Pct
   1  15  4  29  .379   Site: Lincoln, NE (NU Coliseum)
   2  15  8  51  .137   Date: Aug 29, 2006   Attend: 4107   Time: 1:30
   3  15  8  51  .137   Referees: Daryl Korinek, Dave Chalupa

                                         1   2   3 Total
                        Tie scores       3   4   6    13
                        Lead changes     0   1   0     1