Santa Monica, Calif. – The No. 9 Nebraska sand volleyball team edged the No. 7 UCLA Bruins in 3-2 victory at the Annenburg Community Beach House in Santa Monica, Calif., on Thursday afternoon. In a showdown of first-year programs, the Huskers came out on top to improve their overall record to 4-3.
Nebraska’s No. 1 duo of Kelsey Robinson and Alexa Strange defeated Meg Norton and Kelly Reeves 21-15, 21-16 to get the afternoon started for the Huskers. Hayley Thramer and Amber Rolfzen fell to Zoë Nightingale and Becca Strehlow 21-17, 21-19, but Morgan Broekhuis and Kadie Rolfzen helped NU with a big win at the No. 3 spot over Bojana Todorovic and Megan Moenoa 21-13, 19-21, 15-7.
Alicia Ostrander and Kelsey Fien defeated Karly Drolson and Karsta Lowe in three sets at 21-19, 21-23, 15-13, while Sherida Zarda and Meghan Haggerty fell to Rachel Inouye and Maddy Klineman 21-19, 21-19.
The Huskers will head to No. 4 USC tomorrow for a pair of matches against the Trojans and No. 5 Hawaii. Nebraska will face Hawaii at 1 p.m. CT and USC at 3 p.m. CT at Merle Norman Stadium. All matches will be streamed live:http://pac-12.com/live/
Nebraska 3, UCLA 2
#1-Kelsey Robinson/Alexa Strange d. Meg Norton/Kelly Reeves, 21-15, 21-16
#2-Zoë Nightingale/Becca Strehlow d. Hayley Thramer/Amber Rolfzen, 21-17, 21-19
#3-Morgan Broekhuis/Kadie Rolfzen d. Bojana Todorovic/Megan Moenoa, 21-13, 19-21, 15-7
#4-Alicia Ostrander/Kelsey Fien d. Karly Drolson/Karsta Lowe, 21-19, 21-23, 15-13
#5-Rachel Inouye/Maddy Klineman d. Sheridan Zarda/Meghan Haggerty, 21-19, 21-19
#6 non-scoring match (exhibition)-Phelix Fincher/Mariana Aquino d. Alicia Ostrander/Cecilia Hall, 21-19, 11-21, 15-11