Lincoln – Jordan Larson’s second double-double in as many nights sparked an outstanding defensive performance, leading No. 1 Nebraska to a sweep of Middle Tennessee State, 30-14, 30-15, 30-15 at the Nebraska Invitational Saturday evening.
Larson totaled 19 digs, including 10 in the opening game, as the 6-foot-2 sophomore matched her career high set in a five-game win last September in Minnesota. Larson also tied for match-high honors with 10 kills on .471 hitting, as the Huskers improved to 3-0 on the season.
Behind Larson’s effort and a stifling Husker block, Nebraska held Middle Tennessee State (3-2) to negative .088 hitting, the third-lowest total by a Husker opponent since John Cook took over the Husker program in 2000. Four players had at least three blocks, including seven by All-American Sarah Pavan and five by sophomore Amanda Gates
"We did a great job of being a lot more balanced and being able to adjust our block, especially compared to last night. We were very disciplined tonight, and that's why we were able to hold Middle Tennessee to negative hitting."
Dani Mancuso and Tracy Stalls tied Larson for match-high honors with 10 kills apiece, as the Huskers hit .380 on the match and .433 in both games two and three while shuttling players in and out of the lineup.
Stalls continued her torrid hitting on Saturday, as her .714 hitting percentage was the second-best of her career and ranks 20th on NU’s all-time list. The junior from Colorado is hitting .610 on the season, committing two errors on 41 swings in NU’s first three matches.
Nebraska’s block and strong serving from Pavan were the keys to NU’s 30-14 victory. NU finished with six blocks, including three by both Gates and Mancuso, while Pavan sparked a 10-1 Husker spurt with a pair of service aces to turn a 15-10 lead into a 14-point advantage. Nebraska found its offensive rhythm late in game one, as seven of its final eight attempts were kills, including two by Stalls and three straight from Larson to end the opener.
The Huskers continued firing on all cylinders in game two, hitting .433 in a 30-15 victory to go up 2-0 heading into the intermission. Stalls had four kills in five swings, while Larson also added four kills on just six swings, while the Huskers held Middle Tennessee to negative hitting for the second straight game. NU took command early behind the serving of Rachel Holloway, who sparked an 8-0 Husker run, helping NU build a commanding 16-6 advantage. Nebraska eventually pushed the margin to 24-7 after a Stalls kill and cruised to a 15-point victory.
Middle Tennessee, playing its first-ever match against a No. 1 team, kept it close in game three and trailed 11-8 before the Huskers salted the match away. NU went on a 6-1 spurt, capped by a Mancuso kill that made it 17-9 and cruised from that point. Maggie Griffin totaled 13 of her 16 assists in the finale, as NU hit .433 and freshman Kori Cooper had a pair of kills and three blocks to highlight the Husker efforts.
Victoria Monasterolo lead the Blue Raiders with six kills while no Middle Tennessee player hit over .200 in the loss.
The Huskers will look to earn the Nebraska Invitational Tournament title on Sunday afternoon, as NU will take on Long Beach State at 2 p.m.
Nebraska vs Middle Tennessee (Sep 02, 2006)
Volleyball Box Score
Volleyball Box Score
Nebraska Volleyball
Nebraska vs Middle Tennessee (Sep 02, 2006 at Lincoln, Nebraska)
Nebraska | ATTACK |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF| BLOCK |GEN
## Name GP| K E TA PCT| A| SA SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE|POINTS
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7 Mancuso, Dani....... 3| 10 3 26 .269| 0| 0 1| 0| 3| 0 3 0| 0| 11.5
9 Pavan, Sarah........ 3| 8 2 18 .333| 1| 3 3| 0| 2| 0 7 0| 0| 14.5
10 Larson, Jordan...... 3| 10 2 17 .471| 0| 1 3| 0| 19| 1 1 1| 0| 12.5
11 Stalls, Tracy....... 3| 10 0 14 .714| 1| 0 1| 0| 0| 1 3 0| 0| 12.5
12 Holloway, Rachel.... 2| 1 0 1 1.000| 19| 1 0| 0| 4| 0 0 0| 0| 2.0
17 Gates, Amanda....... 2| 2 2 8 .000| 0| 0 0| 0| 0| 0 5 0| 0| 4.5
1 Griffin, Maggie..... 2| 1 0 1 1.000| 16| 1 0| 0| 2| 0 0 0| 1| 2.0
4 Bartek, Brooke...... 1| 0 1 1-1.000| 0| 0 0| 0| 0| 0 0 0| 0| 0.0
5 Schwartz, Rachel.... 3| 0 0 0 .000| 1| 0 0| 1| 4| 0 0 0| 0| 0.0
15 Cooper, Kori........ 1| 2 0 5 .400| 0| 0 0| 0| 2| 0 3 0| 0| 3.5
18 Busboom, Dani....... 3| 1 0 1 1.000| 1| 0 3| 0| 7| 0 0 0| 0| 1.0
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Totals.............. 3| 45 10 92 .380| 39| 6 11| 1| 43| 2 22 1| 1| 64.0
TEAM ATTACK PER GAME TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 13.0
Game K E TA Pct Sideout Pct
1 13 4 32 .281 11-14 78% GAME SCORES 1 2 3 TEAM RECORDS
2 16 3 30 .433 11-16 68% Nebraska............ (3) 30 30 30 2-0
3 16 3 30 .433 14-15 93% Middle Tennessee.... (0) 14 15 15 3-1
Middle Tennessee | ATTACK |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF| BLOCK |GEN
## Name GP| K E TA PCT| A| SA SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE|POINTS
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3 Asberry,Ashley...... 3| 3 12 21 -.429| 0| 0 0| 0| 0| 0 1 0| 0| 3.5
4 Sumrell, Megan...... 1| 0 0 1 .000| 7| 0 1| 0| 3| 0 0 0| 2| 0.0
6 Robinson,Jessica.... 2| 2 4 11 -.182| 0| 0 0| 0| 0| 1 1 0| 0| 3.5
7 Adams,Ashley........ 3| 4 7 26 -.115| 0| 1 0| 0| 1| 0 2 0| 0| 6.0
10 Scott,Quanshell..... 3| 3 1 12 .167| 0| 0 1| 0| 0| 0 2 0| 0| 4.0
11 Monasterolo,Victoria 3| 6 3 21 .143| 0| 0 2| 1| 2| 0 0 0| 0| 6.0
1 Carter,Megan........ 1| 0 0 0 .000| 0| 0 0| 0| 0| 0 0 0| 0| 0.0
2 Waugh, Ashley....... 3| 0 0 0 .000| 0| 0 1| 0| 1| 0 0 0| 0| 0.0
5 Slowik, Theresa..... 3| 0 0 0 .000| 0| 0 0| 1| 2| 0 0 0| 0| 0.0
8 Lemau'u,Alicia...... 3| 0 0 1 .000| 0| 0 0| 4| 16| 0 0 0| 0| 0.0
14 Clark, Leslie....... 2| 0 0 1 .000| 12| 0 1| 0| 5| 0 0 0| 0| 0.0
20 McGlothin,Sasha..... 1| 2 2 5 .000| 0| 0 0| 0| 0| 0 0 0| 0| 2.0
23 Mead,Ashley......... 1| 1 1 3 .000| 0| 0 0| 0| 0| 0 0 0| 0| 1.0
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Totals.............. 3| 21 30 102 -.088| 19| 1 6| 6| 30| 1 6 0| 2| 26.0
TEAM ATTACK PER GAME TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 4.0
Game K E TA Pct Sideout Pct
1 8 9 32 -.031 11-30 36% Site: Lincoln, Nebraska (NU Coliseum)
2 7 9 38 -.053 10-29 34% Date: Sep 02, 2006 Attend: 4270 Time:
3 6 12 32 -.188 14-30 46% Referees: Marsha Rupert, Marty Prochko
1 2 3 Total
Tie scores 2 1 1 4
Lead changes 1 0 1 2
Courtesy: Scott Bruhn/NU Media Relations
