Volleyball – Page 11 – North Platte Post Archive

Huskers Rally for 3-1 Win Against Creighton

Posted on September 17, 2014

Lincoln – The No. 9 Nebraska volleyball team rallied from a slow start to defeat the Creighton Bluejays 3-1 (21-25, 25-22, 25-20, 25-20) in the first meeting between the teams since 2011 before 8,060 fans at the Bob Devaney Sports Center on Wednesday night.

The Huskers improved to 6-2 with their sixth straight win. Creighton fell to 6-4. Kadie Rolfzen led the Huskers with a season-high 16 kills and added 10 digs and five blocks. Alicia Ostrander provided a big spark off the bench, coming on in the middle of the third set and finishing with seven kills and two blocks. She hit a career-best .353 and gave the Huskers a boost when they had just let Creighton back into set three.

Amber Rolfzen had seven kills and seven digs, and Kelsey Fien had six kills. Meghan Haggerty had five kills and six of Nebraska’s season-high-tying14 blocks. Mary Pollmiller had 39 assists and eight digs, and Justine Wong-Orantes had 18 digs.

The Huskers hit .134, the lowest they’ve hit in a match that they’ve won in the John Cook era (dating back to 2000). They were able to secure the win by holding the Bluejays to a .126 hitting percentage. Both teams had 31 attacking errors, but the Bluejays had 12 service errors to just four for the Huskers. Nebraska outdug Creighton 59-54, and blocks were nearly identical with Creighton holding a 14.5-14.0 advantage. Creighton’s Kelli Browning had 17 kills and hit .400 on the night.

The Huskers fell behind 6-3 in the first set but came back to tie it at 8-8 on Melanie Keil’s kill down the right side. Creighton went up 11-9, 13-11 and 14-12 before the Huskers rallied to tie the set each time. The Jays continued to fend off the Husker rallies, but with CU leading 19-17, the Bluejays served long and then tipped wide after a long rally to even the set again at 19-19. But out of a timeout, Lauren Smith killed the Husker momentum for a 20-19 lead, and Nebraska hit long to fall down 21-19. Kadie Rolfzen’s kill brought NU within 21-20, but Smith terminated at the middle of the net and the Bluejays blocked an NU attack to go up 23-20, and the Jays closed out the 25-21 win from there. NU hit .000 in the first set with nine attacking errors, while Creighton hit .135 with eight errors.

The Huskers trailed 3-2 in the second set but went on a 9-0 run to take an 11-3 lead. The run began with a CU service error, kills by Amber Rolfzen, Kadie Rolfzen and two CU attacking errors, forcing a Bluejay timeout. The timeout didn’t stop NU this time though, as Haggerty thwarted a Creighton attack and Wong-Orantes served an ace for a 9-3 Husker lead. Creighton then hit wide again and trailed 10-3, and Kadie Rolfzen swung down from the outside to finish the 9-0 run. Creighton gradually crept back into the set and cut it to 18-17 on a back row kill from Melanie Jereb to force an NU timeout. Kadie Rolfzen hammered down a kill to put the Huskers up 19-17, and Pollmiller caught Creighton by surprise with a dump to the back row for a 20-17 lead. Haggerty’s fourth block of the match made it 21-17. The Jays got back within 23-22 to make it interesting, but Fien banged down her sixth kill of the match, and Pollmiller served up a clutch ace to end the set at 25-22. NU hit .200 in the second set with 14 kills and seven errors. Creighton actually hit better in the second set (.189) than it did the first, but the Jays committed three service errors and two receiving errors.

Cecilia Hall got NU off and running in set three with two blocks and a kill to help the Huskers build a 7-1 lead and force a Bluejay timeout. But Creighton rallied to tie the set at 11-11 and force an NU timeout. After a lengthy rally, CU hit long to give NU a 12-11 lead, and Ostrander provided a solo block immediately off the bench for a 13-11 lead. Ostrander, Kadie Rolfzen and Hall recorded consecutive kills to put NU up 16-12. Haggerty and Kadie Rolfzen teamed up for a block to make it 18-13, then Kadie Rolfzen caught Creighton off guard with a sneaky soft touch just over the net to make it 19-13. Ostrander continued to provide a spark off the bench in the third set with a kill to make it 22-16 and another for a 23-17 lead. Amber Rolfzen finished off the set with a kill to give the Huskers a 25-20 win and the 2-1 lead in the match.

The teams battled in the fourth set with neither grabbing more than a two-point lead until the Huskers went up 13-9 after consecutive kills by Ostrander. NU gained separation at 16-10 on a combined block from Hall and Kadie Rolfzen. Creighton got within three points on two occasions, but Nebraska held off the Jays for the 25-20 match-clinching win in set four.

Nebraska finishes non-conference play by hosting No. 2 Texas on Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Bob Devaney Sports center. The match will be broadcast on NET.

Three Huskers To Represent Team USA at World Championships

Posted on September 17, 2014

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Three former Husker volleyball players will represent Team USA at the FIVB Women’s Volleyball World Championship Italy 2014 later this month.

Team USA Head Coach Karch Kiraly and his staff released their roster of 14 players on Wednesday, and Kayla Banwarth, Jordan Larson-Burbach and Kelsey Robinson all made the final squad. Nebraska and Penn State tied for the most selections with three each.

Earlier this summer, Banwarth, Larson-Burbach and Robinson represented the U.S. Women’s National Volleyball Team at the USA Volleyball Cup and the FIVB World Grand Prix.

The World Championship, held every four years, is a 24-team event with four groups of six countries competing in the first round from Sept. 23-28. After the round-robin format of the first round, the top four teams in each first-round pool move on to the second round Pools E and F that take place Oct. 1-5 in four Italian cities. Records against teams advancing from the first round carry over to the second round crossover matches. The top three teams from the two second-round pools advance to the Final Round set for Oct. 8-10 in Milan. The medal-round matches take place Oct. 12 after the Oct. 11 semifinals.

The Americans are grouped into the first round Pool C in Verona with No. 5 Russia, No. 12 Thailand, No. 20 Netherlands, No. 24 Kazakhstan and No. 26 Mexico. Team USA opens with NORCECA rival Mexico at 1 p.m. CT on Sept. 23, then has a quick turnaround on the court to face Kazakhstan on Sept. 24 at 3:30 a.m. CT. The U.S. challenges Netherlands on Sept. 25 at 1 p.m. CT before the off day on Sept. 26. Team USA takes on Thailand on Sept. 27 at 1 p.m. CT before concluding Pool C against Russia on Sept. 28 at 1 p.m. CT.

Universal Sports will live video stream all of the U.S. Women’s matches as well as have select contests broadcasts on its television channel. For details, click here.

U.S. Women’s National Team Roster for FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Championship Italy 2014
# – Name (Position, Ht, Hometown, College)
1 – Alisha Glass (S, 6-0, Leland, Mich., Penn State)
2 – Kayla Banwarth (L, 5-10, Dubuque, Iowa, University of Nebraska)
3 – Courtney Thompson (S, 5-8, Kent, Wash., University of Washington)
6 – Nicole Davis (L, 5-4, Stockton, Calif., University of Southern California)
9 – Kristin Hildebrand (OH, 6-1, Orem, Utah, Stanford University)
10 – Jordan Larson-Burbach (OH, 6-2, Hooper, Neb., University of Nebraska)
12 – Kelly Murphy (OPP, 6-2, Wilmington, Ill., University of Florida)
13 – Christa Dietzen (MB, 6-2, Hopewell Township, Pa., Penn State)
14 – Nicole Fawcett (OPP, 6-4, Zanesfield, Ohio, Penn State)
15 – Kim Hill (OH, 6-4, Portland, Ore., Pepperdine University)
16 – Foluke Akinradewo (MB, 6-3, Plantation, Fla., Stanford University)
19 – Kelsey Robinson (OH, 6-2, Bartlett, Ill., University of Nebraska)
21 – Tori Dixon (MB, 6-3, Burnsville, Minn., University of Minnesota)
22 – Rachael Adams (MB, 6-2, Cincinnati, Ohio, University of Texas)

No. 16 NPCC Lady Knights Defeat EWC, Prepare for No. 3 Central

Posted on September 17, 2014

Torrington, WY – The No. 16 North Platte Community College Lady Knights traveled to Torrington, Wyo. and took care of business Tuesday night as they defeated Eastern Wyoming College for the third time this season to improve to 13-4 on the season.

The Lady Knights won in straight sets 25-22, 25-2, 25-18 behind 11 kills from sophomore Samantha Kennedy. No other Lady Knight had more than three kills other than sophomore Samantha Byrn who finished with five.

Other leaders on the night for North Platte were sophomore Joli Hopping with 23 assists and two ace serves and sophomore Taylor King who recorded 13 digs. Erika Goodwin and Kylie Wroot were also in double-figure digs with 11 and 10 respectively.

The Lady Knights return to action on Thursday, September 18 at 6 p.m. as they take on the No. 3 team in the nation, the Central Community College Lady Raiders. The Lady Raiders ended the Lady Knights season a year ago in the Region IX Division II Tournament.,

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.

No. 16 NPCC Lady Knights 4-0 at Pizza Hut Invite

Posted on September 14, 2014

Sterling, CO – The No. 16 North Platte Community College Lady Knights (12-4) traveled to Sterling, Colo. over the weekend and posted a perfect 4-0 record at the Pizza Hut Invitation including two five set battles. On Friday the Lady Knights were pushed to the limit as they won two five set battles. North Platte first knocked off Laramie County Community College,22-25, 25-21, 25-23, 22-25, 18-16 in the opening game before taking down Northeast Community College,20-25, 25-16, 25-23, 17-25, 15-9. On Saturday the Lady Knights cruised to a three set win over Trinidad State Junior College,25-20, 25-22, 26-24 and a four set win over Otero Junior College,18-25, 25-12, 25-18, 25-16.

In the opening game of the Invitational, North Platte was led by a trio of sophomores and a freshman in kills. The sophomores in double-figure kills were Taylor King with 16, Samantha Kennedy with 15 and Samantha Byrn with 14. Kennedy also had seven blocks. Freshman Valerie Most also recorded 12. Another sophomore, Joli Hopping recorded 51 sets for the Lady Knights. Sophomore Erika Goodwin had 30 digs, while Byrn had 20, Most had 15 and Hopping had 12 to earn the victory.

The second game was another tightly contested match that saw North Platte again earn victory in five sets. The Lady Knights were led by Most who recorded 15 kills and Kennedy who had nine. Hopping again paced North Platte with 44 assists while Byrn led the way in digs with 21. Goodwin recorded 21 digs, King had 17 and Hopping had 16 to round out the Lady Knights in double-figure digs.

On Saturday, the Lady Knights secured the perfect record at the Pizza Hut Invitation with wins over Trinidad State and Otero. Against Trinidad State Samantha Kennedy led the way with 12 kills while Samantha Byrn was not far behind with 11. Joli Hopping had 29 assists while Erika Goodwin recorded 20 digs. Byrn (14) and Taylor King (13) were also in double-figure digs.

In the final game of the Invitational, three Lady Knights notched double-digit kills. Kennedy led the way with 10, while King and Valerie Most each had 10. For the fourth straight game, Hopping led the way with 40 assists while Goodwin had 25 digs. Aryn Meisinger had 14 digs along with King while Byrn recorded 11.,

The Lady Knights return to action on Tuesday, September 16 as they travel to Torrington, Wyo. to face Eastern Wyoming College at 7 p.m., a team they have defeated twice already this season. North Platte returns home on Thursday, September 18 to face Region IX Division II foe and the #3 in Division II Central Community College at 6 p.m.

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.

The Lady Dawgs Improve to 5-0 with Win over GI Northwest

Posted on September 11, 2014September 11, 2014

The North Platte Lady Bulldogs earned a 3-1 win over Grand Island Northwest Thursday night in Grand Island.

The No. 6 Lady Dawgs wasted no time jumping out on top of the Lady Vikings by taking set one with a 25-20 win. Three big hitters stepped up to lead North Platte in the set. Senior Jessy Hunt and juniors Olivia Nicholson and Allison Kuenle each had three kills. Hunt finished the match with eight kills and a number of big blocks to help lead North Platte in the win. She said she enjoyed the hostile crowd at GI Northwest.

“I was feeding off the crowd,” Hunt said. “It was just loud and when it’s loud I just get all pumped up.”

Coach Laura Miller liked what she saw out of one of the team’s senior leaders.

“She had some blocks that were more like spikes than blocks so we were like ‘whoa’ that was great for momentum for us,” Miller said. “She’s driven and wants to set that block record this year.”

In set number two GI Northwest, the fourth-ranked team in Class B, jumped out to a quick 5-1 lead before the Lady Dawgs came storming back and went on an 11-1 run to go up 12-6. But the Lady Vikings went on a run of their own and took a 24-23 lead before North Platte regained the lead and took the set 27-25. Nicholson and Kuenle once again led the way with four kills each.

The third set North Platte’s communication dropped and GI Northwest took advantage of it as they came up with some big blocks and won 25-18 to force a fourth set. Nicholson led the way in the third set with five kills.

The Dawgs jumped on top in the fourth set and dominated from then on out with a decisive 25-17 win. Nicholson once again stepped up big with six kills in the fourth set. Senior Kaitlynn Harvey followed with four kills to help ensure the victory. Miller said the team this year has the desire to get the job done.

“They are so driven,” she said. “My job is pretty easy right now, I’m kind of enjoying this. They tend to take care of business.”

Hunt said the team has focused on finishing matches and sets this season.

“We made it a goal to finish,” she said. “We’re also a lot closer this year. We were close last year but we are even more this year. We play for each other and really emphasize playing as a team.”

North Platte, which moved up to No. 6 in the rankings this week, has now beaten four ranked opponents in a row in its 5-0 start. The streak started with Class C1 No. 3 Ogallala, followed by then No. 8 Lincoln North Star, followed by then No. 4 Lincoln Southwest, before Thursday night’s win over Class B No. 4 Grand Island Northwest.

Hunt said that the team’s hustle has been a key to the fast start.

“We just work hard and always want to get better,” Hunt said. “Every practice we try to push ourselves.”

The Lady Bulldogs will next play at home Saturday as they host the Bulldog Triangular. The Bulldogs from both Gering and Alliance will make the trip from the Panhandle to compete. North Platte plays Gering at 12 noon to begin the Tri then the Dawgs will finish the day with a 2:00 pm match against Alliance.

Miller said she needs to make sure her team doesn’t over look Gering and Alliance after playing so many ranked teams leading up to the Bulldog Triangular.

“That emotional let down is the big deal,” Miller said. “We’re going to go after it and try to do our game plan and play our game to avoid that.”

Team	1	2	3	4	Final
North Platte	25	27	18	25	3
GI Northwest	20	25	25	17	1

Huskers Host Ameritas Players Challenge

Posted on September 11, 2014

After a 3-0 weekend on the road at the Flyer-Raider Invitational in Dayton, Ohio last weekend, the 11th-ranked Nebraska volleyball team returns home to host the Ameritas Players Challenge on Friday and Saturday at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.

The four-team tournament includes Nebraska, Akron, Colgate and Denver. The Huskers and Akron will play just two matches total, while Colgate and Denver will each play three matches. The tournament begins on Friday with Akron facing Colgate at 4:30 p.m. The Huskers host Denver Friday at 7 p.m. A tripleheader on Saturday begins with Colgate vs. Denver at 11 a.m. Denver then turns around to play Akron at 4:30 p.m. The Huskers and Colgate wrap up play Saturday at 7 p.m.

Husker volleyball season-ticket holders may attend every match of the tournament as long as they present their Husker match tickets for that day. The Huskers will take part in the 7 p.m. finale each day, but the doors and parking lots will open in time for the first match of the day (3:30 p.m. on Friday and 10 a.m. on Saturday), and tickets will be valid all day. Fans will not be required to leave the Devaney Center between matches. They also can come and go throughout the day by having their tickets scanned as they enter and leave the Devaney Center.

Media Information
Friday’s match against Denver will stream online on BTN Plus, which fans can purchase for $9.95 for one month’s access. Saturday’s match will be available online with a HuskersNSide subscription at Huskers.com. 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.

Last Time Out
After the Huskers dropped their first two matches of the season to Florida State and Stanford at home, going on the road last weekend proved to be just what the Huskers needed. NU posted wins over Dayton (3-0), Bakersfield (3-1) and Eastern Kentucky (3-0) and became more consistent as the weekend went on, culminating with a 25-7 third-set win over Eastern Kentucky. Kelsey Fien had a breakout weekend, notching a career-high 17 kills in the win over Bakersfield. For the weekend, the junior outside hitter had 4.3 kills per set and hit .340. All-American Kadie Rolfzen got untracked with 4.1 kills per set while hitting .398.

Up Next
Nebraska plays its final two non-conference matches at home next week. The Huskers host in-state rival Creighton on Wednesday, Sept. 17 at 7 p.m. at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. It will air on NET and BTN Plus. 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.

Noting the Huskers
• Last Saturday, Nebraska beat Eastern Kentucky 25-7 in set three and Bakersfield 25-8 in set two. Nebraska held three opponents to single-digit points in 25-point sets three times all of last year and did so just twice in 2012 and once in 2011.
• Junior outside hitter Kelsey Fien notched a career-high 17 kills against Bakersfield. Fien may have had extra motivation, as she is a native of Bakersfield, Calif. For the weekend, she averaged 4.3 kills per set to lead the Big Red, and she is the only Husker averaging more than three kills per set this season at 4.0, which ranks second in the Big Ten and 53rd nationally.
• Senior setter Mary Pollmiller and sophomore outside hitter Kadie Rolfzen were named to the Flyer-Raider Invitational All-Tournament Team, with Pollmiller taking home MVP honors.
• After a tough opening weekend, Kadie Rolfzen responded at the Flyer-Raider Invitational with a season-high 15 kills against Dayton and Bakersfield and a career-best .667 hitting percentage against Eastern Kentucky. Rolfzen averaged 4.1 kills per set after 1.0 kills per set on opening weekend.
• The Huskers rank second in the Big Ten in digs per set (15.53). Kadie Rolfzen (3.38 per set) and Justine Wong-Orantes (3.24 per set) lead the Big Red.
• With its No. 11 ranking, Nebraska has appeared in every one of the AVCA’s 465 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 418 weeks in the top 10.
• The Huskers are 226-0 under Cook when hitting .300 or better.
• NU is 367-15 (.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 (416) have come against ranked teams.
• Nebraska volleyball leads the nation with 203 consecutive sellouts, the longest sellout streak in the history of NCAA women’s athletics. NU owns a 188-15 record during the streak.

Series History
• Nebraska will be playing Denver for the first time.
• The Huskers are 1-0 all-time against Colgate, sweeping the Raiders on Sept. 1, 2012 (25-12, 25-19, 25-13) in Irvine, Calif.

Scouting the Denver Pioneers
Denver is 5-2 after opening the season with five wins before dropping its last two, 3-1 to Kansas and 3-0 at Colorado State on Tuesday. The Pioneers went 3-0 at the College Park Maverick Classic in Arlington, Texas to start the season, posting wins over Jackson State (3-0), Incarnate Word (3-1) and UT Arlington (3-2). Denver also swept Sam Houston State and Bradley before dropping its last two.

The Pioneers have six starters back from last year’s squad that went 17-13 and finished second in the Summit League at 10-4. The Pioneers were picked as the Summit League preseason favorite this season. Moni Corrujedo leads the team with 74 kills and is averaging 3.36 per set. She was Denver’s leader last year as well with 323 kills (2.96 per set). Setter Bailey Karst averages 9.05 assists per set and 2.18 digs per set. Kate Acker leads the team with 4.0 digs per set.
Head Coach Jesse Mahoney is in his third season at the helm with a record of 39-28. Mahoney was the head coach at Fort Hays State from 1999-2004 and compiled a 107-82 record before becoming an associate head coach at Colorado State.

Scouting the Colgate Raiders
Colgate enters the weekend with a 2-2 record with wins over Niagara and Cleveland State and three-set losses to Pennsylvania and Georgetown. The Raiders went 22-9 last year and 13-3 in the Patriot League, advancing to the conference championship match. The Raiders have four starters back.

2013 Patriot League Player of the Year Diane Seely has a team-high 36 kills and averages 2.57 per set. She is also hitting a team-best .301 and leads the team with 16 blocks. Seely, a senior middle blocker, was voted the Patriot League’s top player in 2013 with 355 kills and 97 blocks. She ranked third in the league with a .332 hitting percentage and was fourth in kills per set (3.26) and sixth in blocks per set (0.89). Setter Jackie Macy has 89 assists for 6.36 per set, and freshman Elena Simpson leads the Raiders with 43 digs (3.07 per set).
Ryan Baker is in his ninth season as head coach with a 131-110 record at Colgate. He is 154-121 overall in his 10th season as a head coach.

No. 15 NPCC Lady Knights Defeat Rival McCook

Posted on September 10, 2014

North Platte – The No. 15 North Platte Community College Lady Knights (8-4) volleyball team defended their home court Wednesday night as they defeated their rival the McCook Community College Lady Indians (4-11) in four sets 25-16, 25-20, 18-25, 25-21. The Lady Knights cruised to an opening set win before winning the second, dropping the third and winning the fourth set to end the match.,

North Platte was led by sophomore Samantha Byrn who finished with 13 kills to go along with two aces and two blocks. Sophomore Samantha Kennedy led the Lady Knights with six blocks to go along with her 11 kills. Sophomore Taylor King also was in double-digits in the kills column finishing with 10. Sophomore Joli Hopping paced the Lady Knights with 30 assists while freshman Gabrielle Nickel recorded 14. Sophomore Erica Goodwin recorded 34 digs while Byrn had 19, freshman Aryn Mesinger had 14 and Hopping had 12.

The Lady Knights return to action this Friday, September 12 and Saturday, September 13 as they travel to Sterling, Colo. to compete in the Pizza Hut Invitation. North Platte opens up play with Laramie County Community College on Friday at 1 p.m. The Lady Knights return to the court later that night at 5:00 p.m. as they take on Northeast Community College. On Saturday, the Lady Knights open with Trinidad State Junior College at 10:00 p.m. before concluding the Invitational at 2:00 p.m. with Otero Junior College.