Sports – Page 646 – North Platte Post Archive

Hooper’s 33 Powers Huskers Past Utah State, 95-75

Posted on December 8, 2013

Lincoln – All-American Jordan Hooper erupted for game highs of 33 points and 14 rebounds to lead No. 15 Nebraska to a 95-75 win over Utah State on Sunday at Pinnacle Bank Arena.

With the victory, Nebraska improved 7-2 overall, while Utah State slipped to 5-3.

Hooper notched her fifth double-double of the season and the 31st of her career, while producing her first 30-point scoring effort of the season and the seventh of her career. It was Hooper’s sixth 20-point performance in nine games this season and 39th of her career.

The 6-2 senior forward from Alliance, Neb., produced her huge day without attempting a three-point shot for the first time in her 107-game career. She went 11-for-16 from the field and 11-for-15 at the free throw line.

As a team, Nebraska shot a season-best 59.6 percent (28-47) from the field, while hitting 31-of-37 free throws (83.8 percent). While Hooper went without a three-point attempt, the rest of the Huskers were sharp from long range, connecting on 8-of-15 threes (53.3 percent).

“I thought we did a lot of good things,” Nebraska Coach Connie Yori said. “Other than the turnovers and being too sloppy with the ball at times, we moved it well and got the ball where we wanted to on the floor. Jordan was really good today, and I thought Emily (Cady) played a great floor game.”

Junior Emily Cady added her fourth double-double of the season and 12th of her career with 16 points and 10 rebounds. The 6-2 forward from Seward, Neb., also tied her career high with seven assists. Cady went 3-of-5 from the field and a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line.

Sophomore Rachel Theriot gave Nebraska three players in double figures with 11 points and eight assists. The 6-0 point guard from Middleburg Heights, Ohio, knocked down a pair of threes and grabbed four rebounds to help Nebraska close the game with a 38-27 advantage on the boards.

The Huskers also got big efforts off the bench from sophomore Sadie Murren, who scored eight points and hit a pair of threes, and junior guard Brandi Jeffery, who finished with six points on a pair of threes and had four assists. Freshman center Allie Havers added six points, while Hannah Tvrdy contributed a point to give NU 21 points off the bench.

Tear’a Laudermill contributed eight points and Hailie Sample added six points and three assists to round out the scoring for the Big Red.

Makenlee Williams led Utah State with 21 points, while senior point guard Jennifer Schlott contributed 13 points in 23 minutes before fouling out. Elise Nelson gave USU four players in double figures with 10 points, five rebounds, five assists and four steals. Franny Vaaulu added eight points, seven rebounds and four steals in a strong effort inside.

Nebraska won the game by 20 points despite Utah State attempting 25 more field goals than the Huskers (72-47). The Aggies also won the turnover battle, 25-17.

Fouls and free throws, especially in the first half, played a major role in the outcome. Utah State, which sent South Dakota to the line 44 times in its previous game, found itself in deep foul trouble at the half.

Utah State jumped to a 15-8 lead out of the gate before Nebraska regained the lead 18-17 on seven straight points from Hooper, capped by a three-point play with 13:54 left in the half.

But the Aggies committed 19 first-half fouls, including four each for starting guards Schlott and Williams, who entered the game combining for nearly 45 points per game. They did not come off the floor after committing their second or third fouls midway through the half.

Hooper scored four straight points to cap a 9-2 NU surge and give the Huskers their first 10-point lead at 42-32, before Nebraska scored its last 10 points of the half at the free throw line. NU’s lead grew as large as 18 points at 52-34 with 55 seconds left, before Utah State scored the last five of the half to head to the locker room trailing 52-39.

Utah State finished the game hitting 41.7 percent (30-72) of its shots, including 8-of-27 three-pointers. The Aggies were also 7-of-9 at the line.

Following the game, Yori announced that junior Katie Simon had elected to end her playing career at NU. The fourth-year forward did not attend Sunday’s game.

Nebraska continues its five-game home stand on Saturday when the Huskers take on Creighton. Tip-off between the Huskers and Bluejays is set for 11 a.m.

Official Basketball Box Score

Utah State vs Nebraska

12/08/13 2:06 p.m. at Pinnacle Bank Arena (Lincoln, Neb.)

——————————————————————————–

VISITORS: Utah State 5-3

TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS

## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN

44 VAAULU, Franny…… f 4-9 0-0 0-0 3 4 7 4 8 1 0 0 4 28

50 STRIKAS, Ingrida…. f 2-6 1-2 2-2 2 0 2 3 7 1 3 0 2 20

02 NELSON,Elise…….. g 3-6 0-1 4-5 3 2 5 3 10 5 2 0 4 28

03 SCHLOTT, Jennifer… g 6-16 0-4 1-2 1 1 2 5 13 8 3 0 3 23

21 WILLIAMS, Makenlee.. g 9-21 3-12 0-0 0 3 3 4 21 2 1 0 1 32

05 BAIRSTOW, Stephanie. 2-3 1-1 0-0 0 0 0 1 5 0 3 0 2 18

11 CLONINGER, Shelby… 1-4 1-2 0-0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 8

20 MILES,Mariah…….. 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2

24 PORTER, Jasmine….. 2-2 1-1 0-0 0 1 1 1 5 0 0 1 0 7

25 JOHNSON, Lynette…. 0-0 0-0 0-0 2 0 2 3 0 0 3 0 0 9

32 TURNER, Cristal….. 1-4 1-4 0-0 0 3 3 5 3 2 0 1 0 25

TEAM……………. 2 2 2

Totals………….. 30-72 8-27 7-9 13 14 27 29 75 20 17 2 16 200

TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 17-43 39.5% 2nd Half: 13-29 44.8% Game: 41.7% DEADB

3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 3-14 21.4% 2nd Half: 5-13 38.5% Game: 29.6% REBS

F Throw % 1st Half: 2-3 66.7% 2nd Half: 5-6 83.3% Game: 77.8% 1

——————————————————————————–

HOME TEAM: Nebraska 7-2

TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS

## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN

03 Sample, Hailie…… f 2-3 0-0 2-2 1 1 2 2 6 3 4 0 1 22

23 Cady, Emily……… f 3-5 0-1 10-10 1 9 10 1 16 7 2 0 1 32

35 Hooper, Jordan…… f 11-16 0-0 11-15 4 10 14 0 33 1 1 1 1 32

01 Laudermill, Tear’a.. g 2-4 2-4 2-2 0 1 1 2 8 1 4 1 0 19

33 Theriot, Rachel….. g 3-5 2-3 3-4 0 4 4 1 11 8 7 0 1 38

10 Tvrdy, Hannah……. 0-2 0-1 1-2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 2

11 Ramacieri, Esther… 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2

13 Jeffery, Brandi….. 2-5 2-3 0-0 0 2 2 0 6 4 1 0 1 21

21 Murren, Sadie……. 2-4 2-3 2-2 0 1 1 4 8 0 0 0 0 18

22 Havers, Allie……. 3-3 0-0 0-0 0 2 2 3 6 0 3 1 1 14

TEAM……………. 2 2 3

Totals………….. 28-47 8-15 31-37 8 30 38 13 95 24 25 3 7 200

TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 13-22 59.1% 2nd Half: 15-25 60.0% Game: 59.6% DEADB

3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 4-6 66.7% 2nd Half: 4-9 44.4% Game: 53.3% REBS

F Throw % 1st Half: 22-26 84.6% 2nd Half: 9-11 81.8% Game: 83.8% 3

——————————————————————————–

Officials: Mark Zentz, Sue Blauch, Frank Steratore

Technical fouls: Utah State-TEAM. Nebraska-None.

Attendance: 4494

Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total

Utah State……………….. 39 36 – 75

Nebraska…………………. 52 43 – 95

L’Esperance Breaks Storm Scoring Record

Posted on December 8, 2013

CEDAR RAPIDS, Ia. – Storm forward Joel L’Esperance had a performance for the record booksSaturday night in Cedar Rapids, becoming the first Tri-City Storm player to ever score four goals in a single game.

Since the franchise joined the USHL in 2000, 20 players have put up hat tricks, notching three goals, but L’Esperance is the only one to find the back of the net four times.

The Brighton, Mich. native leads the team with 13 goals and 20 total points on the season.

With the performance, L’Esperance ensured the end of a five-game losing streak as Tri-City defeated the RoughRiders 6-3.

L’Esperance started things off by scoring on the game’s first shift 21 seconds in. He added another tally in the second period, finding a rebound in front to beat Cedar Rapids goaltender Chris Birdsall.

In the third period the first line center scored twice, first on the power play for the game-winning goal1:09 into the frame, and then just over four minutes later, beating Birdsall five-hole to cement himself in the Storm record books.

L’Esperance’s linemate Garrett Gamez had an impressive night of his own, picking up four assists and helping to set up three of his center’s goals. Gamez fell short of the single-game assist record however, as Bille Luger had six in on Jan. 27, 2001.

It will be a second three-game week in a row for Tri-City as they head to Omaha to face the Lancers on Wednesday at 7:05 before returning home for a weekend series with the Youngstown Phantoms on Dec. 13 and 14.

Miles’ Huskers Are Out to End Creighton Dominance

Posted on December 7, 2013

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Second-year Nebraska coach Tim Miles hopes to change the direction of his program’s series against Creighton. The Bluejays enter Sunday’s meeting at CenturyLink Center in Omaha having won 11 of the last 15 meetings.

Miles said Friday that it’s an important game to him personally and for his program.

Nebraska (6-2) leads the series 25-21, with its last win in 2010 in Lincoln. But the Bluejays (6-2) have controlled the series since the 1990s.

Creighton coach Greg McDermott said it’s an important game for both teams and that it’s good for basketball in the state.

Though the Huskers have only three Nebraskans on their roster and Creighton one, the Bluejays’ Ethan Wragge says the game generates a lot of buzz among the players.

L’Esperance Notches Four To Defeat Cedar Rapids

Posted on December 7, 2013

CEDAR RAPIDS, Ia. – Led by forward Joel L’Esperance who scored four times, the Tri-City Storm (6-15-2) defeated the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders (13-7-1) 6-3 in a wild, back and forth game at the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena on Saturday night.

Forward Garrett Gamez recorded four assists, while Christian Horn notched a goal and an assist and goalie Jacob Johansson made 29 saves to pick up the win.

L’Esperance got right to it, scoring 21 seconds into the game and giving the Storm a 1-0 lead on the first shift of the game. The forward took a pass from Horn and deflected it into the top right corner of the net, setting the tone for what would be a big night.

Tri-City extended their lead to 2-0 when Horn moved in on a two-on-one and beat Cedar Rapids goalie Chris Birdsall with a wrist shot.

L’Esperance made it 3-0 in the opening minutes of the second period, scoring his second of the game on assists from Gamez and defenseman Tory Dello.

Tri-City was in control of the game until the RoughRiders broke through at 8:01 of the second on a goal by captain Dylan Gareau.

Cedar Rapids ended up notching three goals in under three minutes to tie the game at 3-3 and even things up halfway through the game.

Things got physical in the latter part of the middle period and Christian Horn dropped the gloves with Clark Kuster for his first USHL fighting major. Garrett Cecere also got tangled up with Jason Kalinowski and both players were given double minors for roughing.

In the final seconds of the second, Corey Petrash hit Storm defenseman Nolan Gluchowski and was whistled for a major charging penalty, ejecting him from the game.

Tri-City began the third with a five minute power play and retook the lead. L’Esperance completed the hat trick, beating Birdsall over the left shoulder. Assists were given to both Cecere and Gamez on the goal.

The Storm never looked back from there, as L’Esperance picked up his fourth tally of the game minutes later and Ryan McMurphy sealed the win with an empty netter in the final minute.

It will be another three game week for Tri-City as they head to Omaha to face the Lancers on Wednesday at 7:05 before returning home for a weekend series with the Youngstown Phantoms on Dec. 13 and 14.

Notes: The Storm scratched forwards Thomas Aldworth, Joey DiBenedetto and Ross Olsson, along with defenseman Sean Lang.…

SCORING SUMMARY

1st Period
Tri-City – Joel L’Esperance (Christian Horn, Garrett Gamez) 0:21

Tri-City – Christian Horn (Garrett Gamez) 14:37

2nd Period

Tri-City – Joel L’Esperance (Garrett Gamez, Tory Dello) 2:54
Cedar Rapids – Dylan Gareau (Andrew Poturalski) 8:01
Cedar Rapids – Corey Petrash (Ivan Provorov, Carlos Fornaris) 8:13
Cedar Rapids – Dylan Gareau (power play) (Judd Peterson, Charlie Curti) 10:28

3rd Period

Tri-City – Joel L’Esperance (power play) (Nolan Gluchowski) 1:09
Tri-City – Joel L’Esperance (Garrett Cecere, Garrett Gamez) 5:42
Tri-City – Ryan McMurphy (empty net) (unassisted) 19:14

PENALTIES

1st Period
Cedar Rapids – Jason Kalinowski – (Checking From Behind), 2 min, 4:51
Tri-City – Kyle Eastman – (High Sticking), 2 min, 10:48

Tri-City – Drew Mayer – (Holding), 2 min, 15:59

2nd Period
Tri-City – Christian Horn – (Cross Checking), 2 min, 10:05
Tri-City – Christian Horn – (Fighting), 5 min, 10:05
Cedar Rapids – Clark Kuster – (Fighting), 5 min, 10:05
Tri-City – Garrett Cecere – (Roughing), 4 min, 13:43
Cedar Rapids – Jason Kalinowski – (Roughing), 4 min, 13:43
Tri-City – Chris Wilkie – (Unsportsmanlike Conduct), 2 min, 14:02
Cedar Rapids – Andrew Oglevie – (Unsportsmanlike Conduct), 2 min, 14:02
Tri-City – Dan Labosky – (Tripping), 2 min, 18:01
Cedar Rapids – Corey Petrash – (Charging), 5 min, 20:00
Cedar Rapids – Corey Petrash – (Charging) (Game Ejection), 10 min, 20:00

3rd Period

Tri-City – Garrett Cecere – (Tripping), 2 min, 2:35
Tri-City – Drew Mayer – (Tripping), 2 min, 14:21

Power Play

Tri-City – 1/3

Cedar Rapids – 1/5

Shots

Tri-City: 9, 10, 9 = Total: 28

Cedar Rapids: 8, 11, 13 = Total: 32

Saves

Tri-City – Jacob Johansson – 29/32

Cedar Rapids – Chris Birdsall – 22/27

No. 12 NPCC Knights Run Past the Runnin’ Lopes

Posted on December 7, 2013

North Platte – The No. 12 North Platte Community College men’s basketball team (11-0, 3-0 South Sub-Region) extended their winning streak on Saturday night as they ran past the Lamar Community College Runnin’ Lopes (3-12, 0-2 South Sub-Region) by a final score of 86-56.

The Knights started the game sluggish as they got off to a 5-0 lead before allowing the Runnin’ Lopes to answer back and take an early lead. The Knights would open up a 15 point lead at halftimes intermission behind the hot shooting of Marco Pascolo who went 4-4 from behind the 3-point line in the first half to finish the half with 14 points. Devante Anderson was able to keep Lamar in the game by scoring 13 first half points. The Knights shot 45 percent from the field in the half while limiting the Runnin’ Lopes to 35 percent shooting.

The second half picked up where the first left off as the Knights were able to extend their lead behind unselfish play and solid defense. The Knights continued to shoot the ball well as they shot 60 percent in the second half while limiting Lamar to only 30 percent to out-score the Runnin’ Lopes 44-29 in the second half alone.

Xavier Hall came off the bench and gave the Knights a boost offensive as he finished with a career-high 13 points and first game in double figures as a Knight.

“I feel like we came out sluggish to start,” said Hall. “But once we picked up our defensive intensity we started to click and played the way we wanted to play.”

Pascolo finished with a game-high 17 points while Knights leading scorer Ethan Montalvo was also in double-figures with 14. Jacob Maslo recorded a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

“I thought we played well and took care of business tonight,” said assistant coach Nathan Wieseler. “It sets up a big game for us on Wednesday and as we close out the first semester at home against Northeastern Junior College. It is going to be a great basketball game.”

The Knights welcome #13 Northeastern Junior College (12-1, 1-1 South Sub-Region) to McDonald-Belton Gymnasium on Wednesday Dec. 11 in their last game of 2013. The game is set to tip at 7:30 following the women’s game and will be broadcast live on ESPN Radio 1410 and online. The Knights return to action in 2014 on Jan. 10 as they travel to Scottsbluff to take on Western Nebraska Community College (7-6, 0-1 South Sub-Region) at 8:30 p.m. CST.

NPCC Lady Knights Hold Off Runnin’ Lopes

Posted on December 7, 2013

North Platte – The North Platte Community College Lady Knights basketball team (6-5) held off the Lamar Community College Runnin’ Lopes (4-7) by a final score of 87-84 Saturday night at McDonald-Belton Gymnasium behind four free throw by Courtney Widick in the final 30 seconds.

DaVontaye Merritt scored a lay-up with 35 seconds to even the game at 82-82. The Lady Knights would intentionally foul Gabriela Jiminez who would make one of two from the line. The Lady Knights would push the ball up the floor and Widick was fouled to shoot two free throws to put the Lady Knights up one. North Platte would then get a stop and Widick was fouled again and hit two more free throws for the final margin.

“I knew I needed to focus to make the free throws,” said Widick. “I know my teammates were counting on me.

The second half was back and forth action as neither team could open up a lead and hold it as both teams traded baskets to set up the final minute of action.

The Lady Knights would score the first six points of the game before the Runnin’ Lopes responded with eight points of their own. Lamar would open up a five point lead at 17-12 before the teams traded baskets and North Platte tied the game up at 19. DaVontaye Merritt led the way in the first 10 minutes as she scored 14 of North Platte’s 21 points as the Lady Knights trailed 21-24.

The Runnin’ Lopes played a very aggressive and fast paced style of basketball as they always pressed full court and trapped at any opportunity. Lamar substituted five players at a time every couple of minute and had five line changes in the first 4:30 of the game. At the 14:00 minute mark in the first half, Lamar’s head coach called a timeout only to substitute players. In the first half the Runnin’ Lopes had 17 mass substitutions of five players and all 17 players saw the floor.

The second ten minutes of the first half saw the team’s trade baskets including several lay-ups in transition by both teams because of the Runnin’ Lopes frenetic style of play. At the end of the half, the Lady Knights opened up a six point lead that they were able to take into halftime at a score of 42-36. Merritt finished the half with 18 points while April Stull was also in double-figures with 10 points and had seven rebounds. The Runnin’ Lopes had nine players score as reserve Janay Truiett led the way with seven points.

Merritt would finish with 26 points and 11 rebounds to lead the way for the Lady Knights. Three other players were in double figures as Stull finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds to go along with 12 points from Widick and Aliyah Brown.

“It was a total team effort,” said head coach Richard Thurin. “We played good defense and handled their pressure pretty well.”

The Lady Knights host the Northeastern Junior College Plainswomen (4-7) Wednesday Dec. 11 at 5:30 p.m. in their last game of the fall semester. The game with Northeastern precedes the men’s game and will be broadcast live on ESPN Radio 1410 and online. The Lady Knights will then return to action in 2014 on Jan. 10 as they host Doane College JV.

Huskers Stuff Ducks to Advance to NCAA Regional

Posted on December 7, 2013

Lincoln – An outstanding night from Kadie Rolfzen and the Husker block powered the eighth-seeded Nebraska volleyball team to a 3-0 sweep over 25th-ranked Oregon in a second-round NCAA Tournament match Saturday night in front of 8,012 fans at the Devaney Center.

With the 25-22, 25-19, 25-22 win, Nebraska (25-6) advances to next Friday’s NCAA Regional Semifinal at the Devaney Center against either No. 9 seed San Diego or Arizona.

The Huskers, who swept a ranked opponent for the fifth time this season, stuffed the Ducks 13 times on Saturday, holding the fast-paced Oregon offense to a .144 attack percentage. Nebraska hit .291 as four players hit .333 or better and six Huskers had at least five kills.

Kadie Rolfzen, essentially making her postseason debut after playing only the back row in Friday’s win over Fairfield, produced match-high totals of 15 kills and 17 digs. Rolfzen hit .333 on the match while recording her 12th double-double of the year. Her twin sister Amber produced five kills and Kelsey Robinson totaled eight kills. Middle blockers Meghan Haggerty and Cecilia Hall combined for 11 kills on only 20 swings, highlighted by five kills on eight error-free swings from Hall, who hit .625. Haggerty and Hall also contributed six blocks apiece. Setter Mary Pollmiller recorded five kills and dished out 36 kills, just missing a double-double with nine digs.

Liz Brenner led Oregon (20-12) with 14 kills. Canace Finley added seven kills, while Lauren Plum totaled 35 assists and Amanda Benson recorded 11 digs.

In set one, Oregon used an early 5-1 run to build a three-point lead. The teams then traded sideouts for the next 11 rallies before Nebraska closed to within one at 11-10, pulled even at 12-12 and regained the lead at 13-12, forcing a Duck timeout. Nebraska extended its run to 6-1 after the timeout, and the Huskers stretched their lead to three at 21-18 following their fifth block of the set. Nebraska pushed its advantage to four before the Ducks won consecutive points to trim the lead to 23-21 and force a Husker timeout. A Brenner kill following the timeout pulled Oregon within one before a Pollmiller kill and a block gave the Huskers a 25-22 opening set win. NU recorded six blocks in the set and received five kills from Kadie Rolfzen.

Set two featured nine ties in the first 18 rallies, as neither team led by more than one until the 20th rally of the set. Nebraska trailed eight times early, but took the lead with five consecutive points as part of a larger 13-3 run gave the Huskers a 21-12 lead. The Ducks committed five hitting errors during the run, while Robinson had three kills in the spurt. Oregon cut into the nine-point lead with a 7-2 run that trimmed the lead to four, but Nebraska won the final two rallies of the set to earn a 25-19 victory. NU had five more blocks in the second set and produced 16 kills on a .317 hitting percentage.

Oregon won four of the first five rallies of set three, and the Ducks still led by three at 11-8. Nebraska then won four of the next five rallies to tie the set at 12-12. The Huskers took their first lead of the set three rallies later and led 18-14 following an 8-2 run that was capped by back-to-back Kadie Rolfzen kills. Three straight Oregon points quickly trimmed the lead to one before the Huskers answered with five straight points to take a 23-17 lead. The Ducks continued to fight, winning four straight rallies to pull within two. Nebraska ended the run with another Kadie Rolfzen kill, then closed out the 25-22 win on the Huskers’ second match point.

Green Captures Cliff Keen Crown

Posted on December 7, 2013

Las Vegas, Nev. – James Green won the 157-pound title at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational to lead No. 10 Nebraska to a second-place finish on Saturday.

The Huskers’ 130.5-point total was 24 points behind team champion Oklahoma.

Green opened his day with a 7-5 sudden victory over Michigan’s Brian Murphy in the semifinals. In the finals, Green outlasted No. 12 Brian Realbuto of Cornell, 6-5, to capture the title. Green, the No. 4 wrestler in the country, improves to 13-0 on the season.

Anthony Abidin (141), Jake Sueflohn (149), Robert Kokesh (174) and TJ Dudley (184) each advanced to the finals in their respective weight classes, but fell in the championship bout

Abidin earned a medical forfeit win over Virginia Tech’s Devin Carter in the semifinals before losing to No. 1 Logan Stieber of Ohio State by a 16-1 technical fall. Sueflohn managed a 7-6 win over No. 7 Eric Grajales of Michigan, but fell by an 8-3 margin to No. 5 Kendric Maple of Oklahoma in the finals.

Kokesh won a 6-0 decision over No. 11 Stephen Doty of Virginia in the semifinals, but lost a 3-2 decision to No. 1 Andrew Howe of Oklahoma. Kokesh suffers his first loss of the season after a 14-0 start.

Dudley defeated No. 18 Benjamin Stroh of Wyoming in the semifinals, 18-9, before losing a 13-3 major decision to No. 12 Gabriel Dean of Cornell in the finals.

Austin Wilson (165) and Colton McCrystal (133) each started the day in the consolation bracket and managed top-eight finishes. After a decision and a pin for Wilson, he fell by a 4-2 margin to Northern Iowa’s Cooper Moore. In the fifth-place match, Wilson bounced back to win a 9-8 decision over Cornell’s Dylan Palacio.

McCrystal opened his day with a 5-2 decision over Rutgers’ Vincent Dellafave before being pinned by No. 18 Rosario Bruno of Michigan. In the seventh-place, McCrystal fell to Navy’s Colton Rasche, 8-5.

At heavyweight, Collin Jensen dropped his lone match of the day to No. 14 Ross Larson of Oklahoma by fall.

Complete brackets and team scores from the Cliff Keen Invitational can be found on Escape Sports athttp://openliveresults.escapesports.com/2013-OPEN-Standalone-2013_Cliff_Keen_LV_Invitaional-1386385008.html.

The Huskers return to Nevada in two weeks at the Reno Tournament of Champions on Dec. 22. The tournament is scheduled to start at 11 a.m. CT. Nebraska’s next dual is Jan. 3 against Wyoming at the Devaney Center. The matchup is slated for 7 p.m., and will be available on the Big Ten Digital Network.

Bucs Goalie Ruck Holds Off Late Storm Rally

Posted on December 7, 2013

DES MOINES, Ia. – Des Moines Buccaneers (8-12-1) goaltender Ryan Ruck made 53 saves and kept the Tri-City Storm (5-15-2) off the board until the final minutes, backstopping his team to a 3-2 win at Buccaneer Arena on Friday night.

The Storm got back in the game with two late goals in the final five minutes from forwards Garrett Gamez and Chris Wilkie, but they couldn’t find the equalizer.

The game had a similar feel to Thursday night’s battle between Tri-City and Waterloo, as the Storm fought hard and had the edge in play during the first period, but both teams were held off the scoreboard.

Des Moines took the lead at 8:26 of the second period on forward Roman Uchyn’s first goal of the season.

Through two frames, Tri-City had a 32-17 edge in shots on net but found themselves trailing 1-0.

After an early penalty to Storm defenseman Cutler Martin for checking from behind 31 seconds into the final frame, Des Moines capitalized as forward Michael Marnell one-timed home a pass from Ryan Galt.

The Buccaneers made it 3-0 minutes later on a wrap-around goal by forward Tanner Karty.

It took until 14:55 of the third period for the Storm to get one past Ruck, but they finally put one home when Gamez deflected a Jalen Schulz shot into the back of the net to start a late comeback attempt.

With under a minute to go, Tri-City made it 3-2 as Wilkie took a pass from defenseman Garrett Cecere and notched his sixth goal of the season.

The Storm had a final chance to try and tie the game but fell short on a night when they outshot Des Moines 55-29.

Tri-City netminder Hayden Lavigne turned away 26 shots in the loss, keeping his team in the game.

Forwards Joel L’Esperance and Chase Berger each registered seven shots on net, while forward Christian Horn and defenseman Nolan Gluchowski each had six shots.

The Storm will finish up their road trip on Saturday night in Cedar Rapids against the RoughRiders. The game gets underway at 7:05 p.m.

Tri-City is back at home on Dec. 13 and 14 to face the Youngstown Phantoms in a two-game series.

Notes: The Storm scratched forwards Thomas Aldworth, Nick Hutchison and Kyle Eastman, along with defenseman Tory Dello.…

SCORING SUMMARY

1st Period
(no scoring)

2nd Period

Des Moines – Roman Uchyn (Tanner Karty, Danny Elser) 8:26

3rd Period

Des Moines – Michael Marnell (power play) (Ryan Galt, Garrett Cockerill) 1:43
Des Moines – Tanner Karty (Marcel Godbout) 4:12
Tri-City – Garrett Gamez (Jalen Schulz, Joel L’Esperance) 14:55
Tri-City – Chris Wilkie (Garrett Cecere) 19:22

PENALTIES

1st Period
Tri-City – Cutler Martin – (Checking From Behind), 2 min, 12:13
Tri-City – Ross Olsson – (Slashing), 2 min, 17:04
Des Moines – Garrett Cockerill – (Interference), 2 min, 17:46
Tri-City – Dan Labosky – (High Sticking), 2 min, 19:44

2nd Period
Des Moines – Ryan Galt – (Cross Checking), 2 min, 15:03

3rd Period

Tri-City – Cutler Martin – (Hooking), 2 min, 0:31
Des Moines – Garrett Cockerill – (Hooking), 2 min, 5:18
Des Moines – Tanner Karty – (Slashing), 2 min, 16:03
Tri-City – Nolan Gluchowski – (Slashing), 2 min, 16:03
Tri-City – Chris Wilkie – (Slashing), 2 min, 19:52
Des Moines – Michael Marnell – (Roughing), 2 min, 19:52

Power Play

Tri-City – 0/3

Des Moines – 1/4

Shots

Tri-City: 15, 17, 23 = Total: 55

Des Moines: 5, 12, 12 = Total: 29

Saves

Tri-City – Hayden Lavigne – 26/29

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Huskers Sweep Stags in NCAA First Round

Posted on December 7, 2013

Lincoln – A balanced, team effort powered the eighth-seeded Nebraska volleyball team to a 3-0 sweep over Fairfield on Fridaynight in a first-round NCAA Tournament match front of 7,920 fans at the Devaney Center.

The NU offense hit .392 in the match and was not blocked once. Eight Huskers had at least one kill, including five players with five-or-more kills. Kelsey Fien earned the start and led Nebraska with eight kills while hitting .467. Amber Rolfzen and Cecilia Hall combined for 14 kills and just one error in 27 swings in the duo’s postseason debut. Rolfzen had seven kills on 14 error-free attacks, while Hall put down seven kills on 13 swings. Melanie Keil added five kills in the first NCAA Tournament action of her career, while Kelsey Robinson totaled six kills in her first postseason match as a Husker. Mary Pollmiller recorded 31 assists while leading Nebraska to its third-highest hitting percentage of the season.

Defensively, Nebraska totaled 11.0 blocks while holding Fairfield to a season-low .000 attack percentage. Fairfield managed a season-low 25 kills and committed 25 attack errors. The Huskers also out-dug the Stags, 36-31, as both Robinson (12) and freshman Justine Wong-Orantes (11) produced double-digit digs for Nebraska. The all-around defensive effort resulted in Nebraska producing its second-lowest opponent attack percentage of the year.

With the win, Nebraska (24-6) advanced to Saturday’s second-round match against Oregon at 7 p.m. The match is a rematch of last year’s NCAA Regional Final in Omaha, won by the Ducks, 3-1. Saturday’s match will be televised live in the state of Nebraska on NET-1 and a free video stream will also be available online on the Big Ten Digital Network.

Fairfield ended its season with a 19-13 record. Marily Peizer produced a match-high 10 kills, and she was one of only two Stags to hit above .000 in the match. Carsen Mata led Fairfield with nine digs, while Camille Coffey recorded the Stags’ lone ace.

In set one, Nebraska won the first three rallies but Fairfield rallied to take an 8-6 lead following four straight Husker errors. Nebraska spent a timeout to compose itself, and the Huskers responded with a 6-1 run following the timeout to build a 12-9 advantage. Fairfield stayed within three until a 9-1 run gave Nebraska a 22-12 lead. The Huskers cruised from there, closing out a 25-15 first-set victory on a Robinson kill. NU hit .423 in the first set, needing only 26 swings to register 14 kills, including five kills on seven error-free attacks from Fien. The Huskers also recorded four blocks in the set while holding Fairfield to a -.071 hitting percentage.

Set two was all Nebraska, as the Huskers rolled to a 25-9 victory. Fairfield won the first rally of the set, before NU won eight of the next 10 rallies to build an 8-3 lead. The Huskers added a 7-2 run to take a 10-point advantage at 17-7, before closing the set on an 8-1 run. Keil and Rolfzen teamed up to stuff Peizer on set point, but it was the Husker offense that shined in set two. Nebraska hit .593 in the second set, putting down 16 kills on 27 error-free swings. Rolfzen had five kills in the set, while Hall had four kills on six attacks.

Nebraska never trailed in set three, winning six of the first eight rallies to jump out to a 6-2 lead. The Stags quickly pulled within two, before the Huskers used another 6-2 spurt to build a 12-6 advantage. After using a timeout, Fairfield trimmed the lead to three at 13-10 but the Huskers quickly pushed the lead back to six. NU led by at least four the rest of the way.