Huskers – Page 107 – North Platte Post Archive

Huskers and Bluejays Set to Renew Series

Posted on September 16, 2014

For the first time since 2011, the No. 9 Nebraska volleyball team will face Creighton in the regular season when the Bluejays visit the Bob Devaney Sports Center for a 7 p.m. match on Wednesday.

Although the teams met in the spring season, Wednesday’s match will be the first official match between the squads since Sept. 8, 2011 – a 3-0 (25-14, 26-24, 25-16) win for the Huskers in Lincoln. All four Creighton seniors – Kelli Browning, Leah McNary, Katie Neisler and Michelle Sicner – played as freshmen in that match. No current Husker has played against Creighton in the regular season.

The Huskers (5-2) enter the matchup riding a five-match win streak in which they’ve dropped just one set. Meanwhile, Creighton (6-3) has gotten hot of late as well, topping Pepperdine (3-1), Bowling Green (3-0) and Wichita State (3-1) last weekend to win the Bluejay Invitational.

Media Information
The Huskers will be on NET for the first of five times this season when they host Creighton Wednesday night. The match will also stream online on BTN Plus, which fans can purchase for $9.95 for one month’s access. Fans can also listen to the action with John Baylor and Diane Mendenhall on the 25-station Husker Sports Network, including B107.3 FM in Lincoln and The Wolf 93.3 FM in Omaha. Fans inside and outside the state of Nebraska will also be able to catch the live audio feed on Huskers.com for free.

Series History
Nebraska is 14-0 all-time against Creighton and has won five straight matches in sweeps dating back to Aug. 31, 2007. Overall, the Huskers have won 18 straight sets against the Bluejays. The last time Creighton took a set from Nebraska was Sept. 24, 2006 with a 30-27 win in the first set of a 3-1 Husker victory.

Last Time Out
Nebraska is coming off a pair of sweeps at the Ameritas Players Challenge over the weekend. NU hosted Denver and Colgate and its closest challenge was a 25-21 win in set three against Denver. Kadie Rolfzen was named the tournament MVP, while Justine Wong-Orantes, Amber Rolfzen and Kelsey Fien also made the all-tournament team. Nebraska put together two complete performances, racking up 11 aces in the win against Denver – matching the most since 2005 – and season bests for hitting percentage (.450) and opponent hitting percentage (.035) against Colgate. Wong-Orantes set the tone defensively for the Huskers, registering 31 digs on the weekend. Kadie Rolfzen totaled a team-high 23 kills, while Amber Rolfzen added 17. Senior setter Mary Pollmiller posted 36 assists on 37 set attempts against Colgate for a season-high .973 percentage. She also connected on 28 of 30 (.933) attempts against Denver.

Up Next
The Huskers finish non-conference play when No. 2 Texas visits the Devaney Center on Saturday, Sept. 20 at 2 p.m. That match will also air on NET and BTN Plus. The Huskers will be looking to avenge last year’s season-ending loss to the Longhorns. Texas swept Nebraska in Lincoln to advance to the NCAA Semifinals.

Noting the Huskers
• Kadie Rolfzen earned MVP honors at the Ameritas Players Challenge after averaging a team-high 3.83 kills per set and hitting .413 on the weekend. She also contributed 2.33 digs per set and 0.83 blocks per set. Rolfzen produced a career-high five blocks against Colgate and added 10 digs against Denver.
• Junior outside hitter Kelsey Fien has played in six matches this season and has led NU in kills in four of them. For the season, Fien is averaging a team-high 3.53 kills per set to rank 10th in the Big Ten.
• Melanie Keil’s eight blocks against Denver last Friday was not only a career high for the sophomore, it was also the top mark by any Big Ten player in a three-set match this season.
• Annika Albrecht leads all Big Ten freshmen in aces with 11 (0.48 per game) and ranks fourth in the conference among all players.
• Nebraska ranks third in the Big Ten with 2.74 blocks per set, and the Huskers’ 24 solo blocks are the most by any Big Ten team. Kadie Rolfzen’s seven lead the way, while Melanie Keil and Meghan Haggerty have also been forces at the net with six and five, respectively.
• While the Huskers have shown great improvement in blocking, they have been better than every Big Ten team except Penn State at not getting blocked. Nebraska ranks second in blocks allowed at 1.48 per set. The Huskers have only had one solo block against them all season, while the rest of the Big Ten teams have an average of 12.9 solo blocks against them this season.
• The Huskers rank third in the Big Ten in digs per set (14.91). Justine Wong-Orantes (3.74 per set) and Kadie Rolfzen (3.09) lead the Big Red. Wong-Orantes is coming off a season-high 19 against Colgate.
• The Huskers’ 11 aces in three sets against Denver matched the most since 2005 for any number of sets. The school record for aces in a match is 16, set against Missouri in 1990 and matched at Texas in 2003.
• The Huskers’ .450 hitting percentage against Colgate was the second-best mark posted by a Big Ten team this season, giving way only to Penn State’s .576 against William & Mary on Aug. 30. Nebraska tallied 44 kills and just eight errors on 80 attacks in the sweep of the Raiders.
• The Huskers have held three opponents to single-digit sets so far this season, matching last year’s season total. The Huskers have beaten Eastern Kentucky 25-7, Bakersfield 25-8 and Colgate 25-9. Nebraska held two opponents to single digits in 2012 and one in 2011.
• With its No. 9 ranking, Nebraska has appeared in every one of the AVCA’s 466 all-time weekly polls. NU and Stanford are the only two programs to appear in every AVCA poll, dating back to its inception in 1982.
• Nebraska has spent a nation-leading 419 weeks in the top 10 after making its return to the top 10 this week at No. 9.
• The Huskers are 227-0 under Cook when hitting .300 or better.
• NU is 369-15 (.961) when winning the first set under John Cook.
• Nebraska is 138-39 against ranked teams under Cook (.780).
• Just over one-third of Cook’s total victories at Nebraska (418) have come against ranked teams.
• Nebraska volleyball leads the nation with 205 consecutive sellouts, the longest sellout streak in the history of NCAA women’s athletics. NU owns a 190-15 record during the streak.

Scouting the Creighton Bluejays
Creighton is 6-3 after three straight wins to capture the Bluejay Invitational title last weekend. The Bluejays won 3-1 matches against Pepperdine and Wichita State and swept Bowling Green. All three of Creighton’s losses this season are at the hands of top 25 teams (USC, Kentucky and Kansas).

The Bluejays have six starters and 12-of-13 letterwinners back from last season’s team that went 23-9 and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Creighton finished second in its first year in the BIG EAST. Creighton is led by its senior class of four, including two-time honorable mention all-American Kelli Browning at middle blocker. Browning tied for the national lead in blocks as a sophomore and ranked eighth nationally in blocks per set last season. She has 40 blocks already this season and leads the team with 3.29 kills per set. Outside hitter Leah McNary has led the team in kills each of the past two seasons and is averaging 3.03 kills per set. She was a first-team all-BIG EAST selection last season.

Kirsten Bernthal Booth is in her 12th season as the head coach of the Bluejays. She enters Wednesday with a career record of 216-131, making her the winningest coach in Creighton history. Bernthal Booth was the 2012 CaptainU National Coach of the Year and 2010 Collegiate Volleyball Update National Coach of the Year.

SEC with 5 Teams in Top 10 of AP Poll, Nebraska Back In

Posted on September 15, 2014

South Carolina’s win over Georgia vaulted the Gamecocks 10 spots to No. 14 in The Associated Press college football poll, giving the Southeastern Conference an unprecedented seven teams in the top 15.

The SEC had eight teams ranked for the third straight week and five teams in the top 10 for two weeks running. Alabama is third behind No. 1 Florida State and No. 2. Oregon, followed by No. 5 Auburn, No. 6, Texas A&M, No. 8, LSU and No. 10 Mississippi.

Georgia fell to No. 13 after losing to the Gamecocks 38-35 and Missouri was No. 18.

Florida State, which was off, has 37 first-place votes, losing one to the Ducks, who have 17.

Oklahoma held its position at No. 4 after beating Tennessee, Baylor moved up one to No. 7 with a rout over Buffalo and No. 9 Notre Dame was back in the top 10 for the first time since 2012 after moving up two spots.

The Top 25 teams in The Associated Press college football poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Sept. 13, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote, and previous ranking:

	Record	Pts	Pv
1. Florida St. (37)	2-0	1,466	1
2. Oregon (17)	3-0	1,424	2
3. Alabama (1)	3-0	1,346	3
4. Oklahoma (2)	3-0	1,325	4
5. Auburn	2-0	1,252	5
6. Texas A&M (3)	3-0	1,195	7
7. Baylor	3-0	1,134	8
8. LSU	3-0	1,114	10
9. Notre Dame	3-0	917	11
10. Mississippi	3-0	840	14
11. Michigan St.	1-1	832	13
12. UCLA	3-0	807	12
13. Georgia	1-1	729	6
14. South Carolina	2-1	718	24
15. Arizona St.	3-0	680	16
16. Stanford	2-1	560	15
17. Southern Cal	2-1	459	9
18. Missouri	3-0	446	20
19. Wisconsin	1-1	414	18
20. Kansas St.	2-0	326	19
21. BYU	3-0	246	25
22. Clemson	1-1	209	23
23. Ohio St.	2-1	204	22
24. Nebraska	3-0	172	NR
25. Oklahoma St.	2-1	126	NR

Others receiving votes: North Carolina 82, Duke 55, Mississippi St. 55, Virginia Tech 54, Penn St. 51, East Carolina 44, TCU 42, Pittsburgh 40, Florida 31, Marshall 28, Boston College 22, Washington 14, West Virginia 14, Cincinnati 10, Virginia 6, Arizona 3, Arkansas 3, N. Dakota St. 3, Louisville 2.

Neb’s Armstrong will Measure Himself against Miami

Posted on September 15, 2014

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska quarterback Tommy Armstrong Jr. will find out how good he is when he faces Miami on Saturday night in Lincoln.

Armstrong has put up big numbers through three games, but they were against statistically the worst and second-to-worst defenses in the Bowl Subdivision and an opponent from the second-tier Championship Subdivision.

The No. 24 Cornhuskers (3-0) are fifth nationally in total offense, averaging 594 yards a game and eight per play. The Hurricanes (2-1) are eighth in total defense, allowing 259 yards a game and 3.7 per play.

When Nebraska’s self-titled “Red Storm” offense is at its best, Armstrong said he doesn’t think any defense can stop it.

This Week in Nebraska Athletics & Husker Highlights

Posted on September 15, 2014

Mon.-Tues. Sept. 15-16 Women’s Golf at Minnesota Invitational Minneapolis, Minn. 8:30 p.m.

Wednesday Sept. 17 Volleyball Creighton (NET/BTN Plus) Devaney Center 7 p.m.

Fri.-Sun. Sept. 19-21 Men’s Tennis at Rice Fall Invitational Houston, Texas TBA

Fri.-Sun. Sept. 19-21 Women’s Tennis at Missouri Invitational Kansas City, Mo. TBA

Friday Sept. 19 Swimming & Diving Scarlet vs. Cream Intrasquad Devaney Natatorium 4 p.m.

Saturday Sept. 20 Cross Country Woody Greeno/Nebraska Invitational Pioneers Park 10 a.m.

Saturday Sept. 20 Volleyball Texas (NET/BTN Plus) Devaney Center 2 p.m.

Saturday Sept. 20 Football Miami (ESPN2) Memorial Stadium 7 p.m.

Saturday Sept. 20 Soccer at Wisconsin (BTN Plus) Madison, Wis. 7 p.m.

Mon.-Wed. Sept. 22-24 Women’s Golf at GolfWeek Conference Challenge Vail, Colo. 9:30 a.m.

Pierson-El Receives Big Ten Honor

Posted on September 15, 2014

Lincoln – For the second straight week, a Husker earned the Big Ten’s top special teams’ accolade, as freshman De’Mornay Pierson-El was named Big Ten Special Teams Player of the WeekMonday morning.

Pierson-El earned the honor after returning five punts for 150 yards in Nebraska’s 55-19 win at Fresno State. His performance including an 86-yard touchdown return, the longest ever for a Nebraska freshman and the longest punt return for a TD by a Husker since 2010, as well as a 51-yard return to set up another Husker score. His 86-yard punt return for a score is the longest in the FBS ranks this season. His 150 punt return yards more than doubled Nebraska’s entire 2013 team total in that category.

Pierson-El’s performance against the Bulldogs ranks ninth on the Big Ten’s single-game punt return list and marked only the second time in 30 years that a Big Ten player had at least 150 punt return yards in a single-game. He currently ranks 12^th nationally at 18.0 yards per return and is the only freshman ranked in the top-20 nationally in the category. Pierson-El was also named the College Football Performance Award’s National Punt Returner of the Week.

Sam Foltz was Nebraska’s most recent Big Ten Special Teams winner, as he earned the award for his performance against McNeese State last week.

The Huskers, who are 24th in this week’s AP poll, return to host Miami this Saturday at 7 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPN2 and also available on the Husker Sports Radio Network.

Huskers Come Up Short in 3-0 Setback to Illinois

Posted on September 14, 2014

Lincoln, Neb. – The Nebraska soccer team (4-3-1) suffered its first Big Ten loss of the season on Sunday afternoon, falling to Illinois by a 3-0 margin at the Nebraska Soccer Field.

The Huskers took six shots for the game, but failed to convert. Jaycie Johnson, Caroline Flynn and Courtney Claassen each managed one shot on goal, but Illinois goalkeeper Claire Wheatley saved all three to complete the shutout.

NU went into the locker room at halftime trailing 1-0 after Allison Stuckey scored off an assist from Amy Feher in the 40th minute. After being outshot in the first half 8-2, the Huskers took four shots in the second half, while the Fighting Illini took five.

In the 71st minute, Jannelle Flaws put Illinois up 2-0 with her goal off an assist from Katherine Ratz. Flaws added a second goal in the 80th minute off an assist from Stucky for her sixth score of the season.

Nebraska goalkeeper Kelly Schatz earned two saves in 90 minutes of play.

The Huskers hit the road next weekend for their match against Wisconsin on Saturday at 7 p.m. The game will be streamed on BTN Plus.

Nebraska Hammers Fresno State 55-19

Posted on September 14, 2014

FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — Tommy Armstrong Jr. threw a 70-yard touchdown pass on the fourth play from scrimmage and Ameer Abdullah scored on a 57-yard run on Nebraska’s next play to lead the Cornhuskers to a 55-19 victory over Fresno State on Saturday night.

De’Mornay Pierson-El added an 86-yard punt return touchdown and Imani Cross scored on a 62-yard run for the Cornhuskers (3-0), who enjoyed a lopsided win after last week’s narrow 31-24 escape against lower-division McNeese State.

That dropped Nebraska from No. 19 in the Associated Press poll to unranked. Since the AP poll expanded to 25 teams in 1989, no team ranked as high had ever dropped out after a win.

Brian Burrell threw a TD pass and scored on a 66-yard run for Fresno State (0-3), which had its 13-game home winning streak snapped and is off to its worst start since also dropping the first three games in 1998.

Huskers Roll in Sweep of Colgate

Posted on September 13, 2014

Lincoln – The 11th-ranked Nebraska volleyball team dominated from start to finish in a 3-0 sweep (25-9, 25-12, 25-15) over Colgate to wrap up the Ameritas Players Challenge on Saturday night at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.

The Huskers (5-2) posted the top record at the tournament, finishing 2-0 to run their win streak to five matches. Colgate dropped to 3-4.

Kadie Rolfzen paced the Huskers with 14 kills and five blocks and took home MVP honors. Justine Wong-Orantes, Kelsey Fien and Amber Rolfzen were also named to the All-Tournament Team. Amber Rolfzen had 11 kills against Colgate and hit .500, matching her career high.

As a team, Nebraska hit a season-high .450 on the night, surpassing its previous best of .398 against Eastern Kentucky last Saturday. Defensively, the Huskers also put together their best all-around effort of the season, holding the Raiders to a .035 hitting percentage, a season low for a Husker opponent. Diane Seely led Colgate with 11 kills on 20 attacks for a .500 hitting percentage. The rest of her team hit -.108 combined.

The Huskers rolled to a 25-9 win in set one, turning a 5-4 lead into a 14-4 lead with a 9-0 spurt keyed by a pair of kills each from Kadie Rolfzen and Meghan Haggerty and great defensive play from Wong-Orantes. A double-block by Haggerty and Amber Rolfzen finished the set, as the Huskers held an opponent to single digits in a set for the third time this year, matching last year’s total. NU hit a season-best .593 in the set, connecting for 17 kills on 27 attacks with just one error. Meanwhile, the Huskers held Colgate to a -.077 hitting percentage.

In set two, the Big Red went up 4-0 and blew open a 12-3 lead on a Kadie Rolfzen kill. From there, the Huskers cruised to the 25-12 win on back-to-back kills by Mary Pollmiller and Kadie Rolfzen to end the set. Through two sets, the Huskers had Colgate hitting at a -.039 clip while hitting .479 themselves.

The Huskers rolled out some fresh legs in the third set, as three players made their first appearances in the match. Still, the Huskers were in control and posted the 10-point victory to finish strong. Wong-Orantes keyed the Husker defense all night, tallying a season-high 19 digs. The Huskers outblocked the Raiders 9-0. In addition to Kadie Rolfzen’s career-high five blocks, Haggerty had three and Kira Larson had two in the third set.

Nebraska is back home on Wednesday to host Creighton at 7 p.m.

Ameritas Players Challenge All-Tournament Team

Kadie Rolfzen, Nebraska (MVP)
Justine Wong-Orantes, Nebraska
Amber Rolfzen, Nebraska
Kelsey Fien, Nebraska
Ruth Okoye, Denver
Bailey Karst, Denver
Diane Seeley, Colgate

Huskers Serve Up Sweep of Denver

Posted on September 12, 2014

Lincoln – The No. 11 Nebraska volleyball team won its fourth straight match but first at home this season, sweeping Denver 3-0 (25-15, 25-17, 25-21) in the Ameritas Players Challenge at the Bob Devaney Sports Center Friday night.

The Huskers improved to 4-2, serving up a season-high 11 aces to match the most since 2005. Kelsey Fien led the NU attack with 11 kills and has now led the Huskers in kills in four of the five matches she’s played this season. Kadie Rolfzen had nine kills and hit a team-best .364. She added 10 digs for a double-double. Amber Rolfzen had six kills and 10 digs. Melanie Keil had a career-high eight kills and single-handedly outblocked Denver, which had seven blocks total. NU hit .281 for the match, while the Pioneers hit .153.

But the story of the night was Nebraska’s serving. The Huskers set the tone with five aces to account for half of their first 10 points to start the first set. Annika Albrecht, Justine Wong-Orantes and Mary Pollmiller each had three to lead NU. Wong-Orantes led the Huskers with 12 digs. Pollmiller had 28 assists.

Denver (5-3) was led by Ruth Okoye, who had 11 kills.

The Huskers were off and running in the first set after Pollmiller served up back-to-back aces to start the match. After Denver briefly tied it 2-2, the Huskers scored the next four to go up 6-2, keyed by consecutive aces again, this time by Albrecht. NU’s fifth ace of the set, courtesy of Amber Rolfzen, made it 10-4 and forced a Denver timeout. The Big Red built the lead to 18-8 and maintained the margin for a 25-15 victory. The Huskers’ five service aces in the set matched their season high for a match set against Eastern Kentucky last weekend. Nebraska hit .370 in the first set and committed no errors on 27 attacks.

Nebraska again jumped in front 2-0 in set two but this time never let the Pioneers even it up, cruising to a 9-2 lead with two kills each from Fien and Keil and back-to-back aces by Wong-Orantes. Nebraska pushed the lead to eight, 11-3, on another ace from Amber Rolfzen. Kadie Rolfzen’s swing made it 20-10 and she added another kill to make it 21-12, and Fien scored two of the Huskers’ final three points to finish out a 25-17 win.

The third set was much more competitive, as Denver took an early 4-2 lead before the Huskers rallied to tie it at 4-4 on an ace from Albrecht. The Huskers gained a little separation after Fien, Keil and Kadie Rolfzen strung together kills for an 11-8 lead. Denver got within two points midway through the set, but the Big Red pulled away to a 23-18 lead before finishing out the sweep.

The Huskers are back in action Saturday against Colgate at 7 p.m. to finish out the tournament. Colgate and Denver begin a tripleheader Saturday with an 11 a.m. match. Akron and Denver play at 4:30 p.m.

Earlier on Friday, Colgate defeated Akron 25-22, 25-17, 25-16 to improve to 3-2 on the season. Akron fell to 5-4.

Huskers Tie Wildcats, 1-1

Posted on September 11, 2014

Lincoln, Neb. – The Nebraska soccer team (4-2-1) opened Big Ten play with a 1-1 draw against Northwestern on a rainy Thursday afternoon at the Nebraska Soccer Field.

The Huskers’ offense applied pressure throughout the first half, taking 11 shots compared to the Wildcats’ four. However, Northwestern went into locker room with a 1-0 lead after Sami Schrakamp’s first goal of the season in the 12th minute. She scored from 20 yards out on the right side on a breakaway from midfield.

The Huskers continued their attack in the second half, taking eight shots to Northwestern’s three, but it wasn’t until the 88th minute that Nebraska scored. Caroline Flynn’s cross to the middle was deflected by Jaycie Johnson into the possession of Katie Kraeutner, who knocked it in from 20 yards out to the bottom left corner of the net to tie the score.

The goal marked Kraeutner’s second of the season. It also marked the sixth time in seven games that Nebraska has scored in the 75th minute or later.

Neither team managed a shot in the first overtime period, but Northwestern took two in the second overtime. One of those shots was saved by goalkeeper Kelly Schatz, who compiled three for the game in 110 minutes of work.

The Huskers complete their two-game home stand on Sunday at 1 p.m., against Illinois. The game will be streamed on the Big Ten Digital Network.