SEATTLE, Wash. – The 14th-seeded Nebraska volleyball team’s run through the NCAA Tournament came to an end late Saturday night in Alaska Airlines Arena, as the Huskers fell to upset-minded BYU 3-0 (21-25, 20-25, 21-25) in the Seattle Regional Final.

The Huskers finished the season 23-10 and came up one match shy of the NCAA Semifinals for the third straight season. Nebraska has been in four regional finals since its last NCAA Semifinals appearance in 2008 but has been unable to advance each time.

After upsetting No. 3 Washington on Friday to snap the Huskies’ 34-match home win streak, the Huskers couldn’t muster the same performanceon Saturday to top the Cougars. 

BYU (29-4) entered the NCAA Tournament ranked 12th in the nation but was unseeded. The Cougars reeled off a second-round win over No. 11 Arizona and a Sweet 16 win over No. 6 Florida State on Friday before knocking off the Huskers on Saturday. BYU will take on No. 2 Texas in one NCAA Semifinal in Oklahoma City, Okla. next Thursday. The other semifinal pits top seed Stanford against fifth-seed Penn State.

Amber Rolfzen led the Huskers with 11 kills. Kadie Rolfzen had 10 kills and 15 digs for her fourth double-double of the NCAA Tournament. Kelsey Fien added nine kills. Senior setter Mary Pollmiller capped her Husker career with 38 assists for a career total of 5,230, which ranks fourth among current DI setters. Justine Wong-Orantes had 22 digs in a solid defensive effort. 

The Husker game plan of limiting BYU’s 6-7 hitter Jennifer Hamson worked. After posting 30 kills Friday vs. Florida State, Hamson was held to nine kills and .132 hitting by the Huskers. But the rest of her teammates stepped up, led by Alexa Gray’s 11 kills and .310 hitting. Tambre Nobles had 10 kills, and Amy Boswell added eight while hitting .438.

BYU showed why its the top blocking team in the nation, tallying 12 blocks to eight for the Huskers. NU had a 70-57 advantage in digs but committed four service errors and four reception errors to allow the Cougars to gain an edge.

Nebraska opened up an 11-9 lead early on in set one, but the Cougars used a 3-0 spurt to take a 12-11 lead. The teams engaged in a sideout battle before BYU took a 20-18 lead after Hamson’s first kill and a Husker hit off the antenna. After a Husker timeout, BYU’s Ciara Parker served an ace to make it 21-18 and Hamson killed again for a 22-18 lead, causing another Husker timeout. Kadie and Amber Rolfzen struck for back-to-back kills to cut it to 22-20 before BYU took a timeout. The Huskers then committed a service error and a reception error to fall down 24-20. The Cougars ended it at 25-21 on their fifth block of the set. BYU outhit NU .333 to .214.

Nebraska went up 5-3 in the second set on stuffs from Hall and Kadie Rolfzen and then Meghan Haggerty and Amber Rolfzen. But BYU went on a 5-0 run to take an 8-5 lead. Alohi Robins-Hardy started it with a set kill and a joust win. Two Husker attacking errors and a Boswell kill gave the Cougars the three-point edge. A Cecilia Hall kill and Pollmiller ace trimmed the deficit to 10-9. NU then fell behind 14-10 before stringing together a 4-0 run by picking up its defense. Haggerty and Kadie Rolfzen combined for a block to even the set after Wong-Orantes and Annika Albrecht produced key digs. The Huskers took a 17-16 lead after BYU hit wide. But the Huskers broke down defensively, committing passing and reception errors to help BYU to a 22-18 lead. Hamson had two kills down the stretch to help BYU finish the 25-20 win.

Melanie Keil provided a spark off the bench in set three with two kills to tie it 8-8 before Hall and Fien combined for a block for a 9-8 Husker lead. The Huskers led 11-10, but BYU rallied for a 14-11 lead a kill by Hamson and kill and block by Boswell. The Cougars began to pull away, going up 19-14 on a Husker service error, attack error and Hamson kill. The Huskers continued to fight, as a Fien kill and Pollmiller ace cut it to 20-17 and forced a BYU timeout. NU thought it had cut the lead to one when Hamson’s blast went long, but it was ruled to have tipped off a Husker’s fingers and instead made the score 21-18. The Cougars went up 23-19 after the Huskers hit long and they ended the sweep with a 25-21 win.

All-Tournament Team
Nicole Walch, Florida State
Krista Vansant, Washington
Kadie Rolfzen, Nebraska
Mary Pollmiller, Nebraska
Amy Boswell, BYU
Alexa Gray, BYU
Jennifer Hamson, BYU (Most Outstanding Player)

The 14th-seeded Nebraska volleyball team will face No. 3 seed Washington on Friday at 8:30 p.m. (CT) in the Seattle Regional Semifinal at Alaska Airlines Arena.

The match will be televised on ESPNU. It is the first time ESPNU has aired a regional semifinal. The rest of the Sweet 16 matches will be streamed at ESPN3.com. The first match, BYU vs. No. 6 seed Florida State, will begin at 6 p.m. (CT). Nebraska-Washington will begin at either 8:30 p.m. or 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first match, whichever is later. 

Friday’s winners will meet in the regional final on Saturday at 10:30 p.m. (CT) on ESPNU. The Huskers played Washington in the Seattle Regional in both 2010 and 2008. The teams will now have met every other NCAA Tournament since 2008.

The 14th-seeded Nebraska volleyball team will face No. 3 seed Washington on Friday at 8:30 p.m. (CT) in the Seattle Regional at Alaska Airlines Arena.

The match will be televised on ESPNU with Sam Gore and Holly McPeak on the broadcast. It is the first time ESPNU has aired a regional semifinal. The rest of the Sweet 16 matches will be streamed at ESPN3.com.

The first match, BYU vs. sixth-seeded Florida State, will begin at 6 p.m. (CT) and will be streamed at ESPN3.com. The Nebraska match will begin at either 8:30 p.m. or 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first match, whichever is longer.

Friday’s winners will meet in the regional final on Saturday at 10:30 p.m. (CT).

Lincoln – The 14th-seeded Nebraska volleyball team outlasted a tough Utah squad in a five-set thriller Saturday night at the Devaney Center to advance to an NCAA Regional for the 20th time in 21 seasons.

The Huskers won the opening two sets, only to see Utah rally to force a fifth set. Nebraska won the first four rallies of the fifth set and never trailed, improving to 20-1 all-time in second-round NCAA Tournament matches with a 25-23, 25-22, 23-25, 17-25, 15-11 victory over the 20th-ranked Utes.

With the win, Nebraska (23-9) advances to play either No. 3 Washington or Hawaii next Friday in the NCAA Seattle Regional. First serve for the NCAA Regional Semifinal will be announced at a later date, but the match will be televised on ESPN3. Utah ended its season with a 21-13 record.

The Huskers gave their all to punch their ticket to the next round. Nebraska was outscored in the match, 106-105, and Utah had more kills, digs and blocks than NU. The Utes hit .289 in the match, the third-highest mark Nebraska has allowed this season, while the Huskers hit .201.

The difference in the match proved to be the service line, as the Huskers had six aces and only three errors, while Utah had 11 errors and only two aces.

In a tight first set, strong serving from Justine Wong-Orantes was the difference in the Huskers’ 25-23 victory. Utah recorded six more kills (19) than the Huskers (13) and blocks were even at two apiece, but Nebraska scored on five of Wong-Orantes’ seven serves, including a pair of aces from the sophomore libero. Utah terminated four of its first five swings to jump out to a quick 4-1 lead. Wong-Orantes served up a pair of aces following the break as Nebraska used a 4-0 run to take its first lead of the match. The Huskers never trailed again, but the Utes pulled even on seven occasions, including at 23-23 before a service error and a Mary Pollmiller killed close out the set. While Nebraska had three aces and no service errors in the set, the Utes had three service errors and no aces.

Utah won seven of the first 10 rallies in set two, only to see the Huskers respond by winning seven of the next eight points to take a 10-8 lead. Nebraska’s lead grew to as many as four before the Utes used a 6-1 run to tie the set at 14. NU quickly regained the lead and stretched its advantage to four at 20-16. Utah would not go away, pulling to within one before the service game came back into effect. Trailing 23-22, Utah committed its sixth service error of the match to give the Huskers a set point, and Annika Albrecht followed the error with her second ace to close out Nebraska’s 25-22- win.

In set three, Nebraska won four of the first five rallies before Utah bounced back to take a 15-14 lead. The Utes then won five consecutive points to take a 20-14 lead. Nebraska won three straight points to pull within one at 24-23, and the Huskers had a chance to extend the set, but a Kadie Rolfzen attack landed just wide to give the Utes a 25-23 victory.

Utah controlled the fourth set, cruising to a 25-17 win. The Utes led by six after the first 20 rallies and Nebraska could get no closer than six the rest of the way. Nebraska committed 10 hitting errors in the set, as Utah recorded five blocks. Adora Anae added six kills in the fourth set for the Utes, more than half of the Huskers’ team total.

In the shortened fifth set, it was who Nebraska jumped out to the all-important early lead, winning the first four rallies. Nebraska maintained its four-point advantage at the switch, leading 8-4. Utah scored two consecutive points to pull within one, but the Huskers responded with three straight points to go on top, 12-8. Nebraska earned its first match point at 14-11 before a Pollmiller kill closed out the match.

Pollmiller was one of three players to post a double-double in the match, finishing with a match-high 45 assists and a season-high 10 kills. Kadie Rolfzen also had a double-double for Nebraska with 15 kills and 11 digs. Chelsey Schofield-Olsen ended her career on a strong note for the Utes, finishing with 12 kills and a career-high 21 digs.

Nebraska Post-Match Notes

• Nebraska advanced to an NCAA Regional for the nation-leading 20th time in the last 21 seasons.
• NU improved to 91-29 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.
• The Huskers improved to 20-1 all-time in second-round NCAA Tournament matches.
• Nebraska improved 68-8 all-time in home NCAA Tournament matches, including a 10-2 record at the Devaney Center.
• NU improved to 13-2 all-time in five-set NCAA Tournament matches, including an 8-1 record at home.
• The Huskers moved to 2-0 against Utah in the NCAA Tournament. Nebraska also defeated the Utes, 3-1, in a 1998 NCAA Tournament second-round match at the NU Coliseum.
• NU recorded fewer kills than its opponents for the fourth straight NCAA Tournament match, dating back to last year’s regional semifinal victory over San Diego.
• Mary Pollmiller recorded her fourth double-double of the season and had a season-high 10 kills.
• Kadie Rolfzen posted her team-leading 11th double-double of the season.
• Kelsey Fien had a career-high 19 kills in the win. Her previous career high was 18 against Maryland on Nov. 16.
• Annika Albrecht tied her career high with three aces.

Utah Post-Match Notes

• Utah ended its season with a 21-12 record, winning posting a 20-win season for the second consecutive year.
• The Utes fell to 12-12 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.
• Utah lost a five-set NCAA Tournament match for the first time in school history, dropping to 3-1 in such matches.
• Utah dropped to 0-2 against Nebraska in the NCAA Tournament. The Utes also lost a second-round match at Nebraska in the 1998 NCAA Tournament.
• Utah finished with 69 kills in the match, tying for the second-most kills in an NCAA Tournament match in program history. The Utes also had 69 kills against Nebraska in a four-set loss in the second-round of the 1998 NCAA Tournament at Nebraska.
• Utah entered the match on a four-match winning streak, and the Utes had won eight of their last nine matches overall.
• Prior to the loss, Utah had won two straight matches against ranked opponents and five of its last six matches vs. top-25 teams.
• The Utes have lost 17 consecutive road matches to ranked opponents dating back to a 3-2 victory at No. 16 Oregon on Oct. 28, 2011.
• Eleven of Utah’s 13 losses in 24 were on the road, including eight road losses to ranked opponents.
• Chelsey Schofield-Olsen had a double-double with 12 kills and a career-high 21 digs.
• Schofield-Olsen finished her career with 1,379 kills to rank third in school history.
• Schofield-Olsen also finished with 1,286 career digs, a total that ranks fourth in Utah history.
• Bailey Bateman had five blocks in the match, and she totaled 493 in her career to rank sixth in school history.
• Kendgal Cygan finished with 22 assists in the match to end her career with 1,864 assists, the seventh-highest total in Ute history.
•  Adora Anae had a career-high 20 kills in the match.

Lincoln – Behind a big block, the 14th-seeded Nebraska volleyball team swept Hofstra, 3-0, Friday evening in a first-round NCAA Tournament match at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.

Despite the sweep, the Huskers had to work to win their opening NCAA Tournament match for the 31st consecutive season. Nebraska survived late Hofstra rallies in each of the first two sets, winning the opener 27-25 and taking set two, 25-23. NU closed out the match with a 25-16 victory in set three, but the Huskers did not secure the win until their fifth match point.

With the win, Nebraska (21-9) advances to Saturday’s second-round match against No. 20 Utah, which swept Kansas State in Friday’s first match. First serve between the Huskers and Utes is set for 7 p.m. and the match will air live in the state of Nebraska on NET. The television broadcast will also be streamed for free on Huskers.com and on BTN2GO.

Hofstra ended its season with a 28-6 record, tying for the sixth-most victories in school history and the program’s highest total since 1989.

Hofstra enjoyed a 38-36 advantage in kills, but it was the Husker block that was the difference. Nebraska totaled 19.5 blocks, just one-half block shy of the school record for a three-set NCAA Tournament match. Amber Rolfzen had 10 blocks to tie Melissa Elmer’s record for most blocks in a three-set postseason match. Amber’s twin sister Kadie posted a match-high 13 kills and hit .323 for the Big Red, while adding a double-double with a team-high 15 digs. Nuria Lopes da Silva led Hofstra with 10 kills as the only other player with double-figure kills.

Nebraska was victorious, 27-25, in a tight opening set that featured nine ties and three lead changes. Hofstra won five of the first six rallies and was on top 8-3 before the Huskers stormed back to take a 10-9 advantage. After Hofstra regained the lead, Nebraska used a 7-1 run to take a 19-5 lead. The Pride chipped away from there, evening the match at 23-23. The teams then traded side outs before Kadie Rolfzen secured the victory with a kill on the Huskers’ third set point. Rolfzen had five kills in the set, as did Lopes da Silva. Nebraska was strong at the net, recording 8.5 blocks in the set.

The Huskers began the second set in much stronger fashion, jumping out to a 9-2 advantage. Nebraska stretched the lead to as many as eight, before four straight Hofstra points closed the score to 12-8 and forced a Husker timeout. Nebraska won six of the next eight points to quickly push the lead back to eight. The Huskers were seemingly in control with six set points at 24-18, but Hofstra fought back with five straight points before Kelsey Fien closed out the 25-23 victory with a kill on Nebraska’s sixth set point. Hofstra totaled more kills than Nebraska for the second straight set, but the Huskers were once again bolstered by their block, stuffing six attacks in the set.

Nebraska dominated much of the third set in a 25-16 win. The Huskers won eight of the first nine rallies and stretched the lead to 23-11 following an 8-2 run. But as was the case in the first two sets, Hofstra did not go down without a fight. Nebraska had its first match point at 24-13, but needed five match points to close out the victory. Kadie Rolfzen had five kills and seven digs in the third set.