Lincoln, Neb. – The No. 13 Nebraska volleyball team (4-1) took down the Georgia Bulldogs 3-0 (25-21, 25-23, 25-14) on Saturdayafternoon at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. In front of 8,265 fans, the Huskers were led by freshman Kadie Rolfzen for the second consecutive match as she posted 14 kills on 31 swings.

Kelsey Robinson recorded nine kills on 21 swings for NU, notching a .333 hitting clip. Mary Pollmiller paced the Husker offense with 31 assists, while also adding 10 digs. Justine Wong-Orantes posted 13 digs, while Cecilia Hall tallied six blocks.

Nebraska hit .290 for the match, while Georgia was held to a .181 hitting percentage. Both teams had eight team blocks and the Huskers out-dug the Bulldogs 41-35.

The Huskers opened up the first set with a 3-0 lead on a kill from Meghan Haggerty. The two teams exchanged leads and tied six times, until the Huskers went up 12-10 on a kill by Kadie Rolfzen. Georgia’s block continued to be a problem as the Bulldogs went up 19-14. Brenna Lyles then came to the service line and spurred the Huskers on a 7-0 run to close the set and bring NU back to earn the 25-21 win.

Kadie Rolfzen had six kills in the first set, while Mary Pollmiller, Haggerty and Robinson all recorded two kills. NU hit .111 for the set, while Georgia hit .088.

The Husker offense began clicking in the second set as Nebraska came out to a 5-4 lead in the on a kill by Kadie Rolfzen. Georgia took the lead, but Robinson punched in a kill to tie the set at 9-9. Alexa Ethridge then notched her first ace of the match to put the Huskers up 14-10. Another kill from Kadie Rolfzen made it 16-11, NU, while a kill from Haggerty put the Huskers up 20-15. Nebraska gained a 21-17 advantage on a kill by Robinson, but the Bulldogs fought back to cut NU’s lead to 22-20. NU would hold on to take the second set 25-23.

Haggerty led the Huskers in the second set with five kills, while Kadie Rolfzen notched four kills. The Huskers hit .343 for the set, while Georgia hit .353.

A block by Hall gave the Huskers a 8-5 lead in the third set. A 5-0 run that included two service aces by Amber Rolfzen and a big kill from Robinson put NU up 13-6. The Huskers would open up the lead to 21-10 on an error by the Bulldogs and would stifle the Georgia offense, taking the third set 25-14.

Nebraska hit .448 in the third set, while Georgia was held to a .108 hitting percentage. Both Kadie Rolfzen and Robinson had four kills in the set, while Hall recorded three blocks. Nebraska out-dug Georgia 13-10 and out-blocked the Bulldogs 4-0.

 

The Huskers will now prepare for the Ameritas Players Challenge next weekend at the Devaney Center as they will take on Saint Mary’s on Thursday, Sept. 12 at 7 p.m., Dayton on Friday, Sept. 13 at 7 p.m. and Iowa State on Saturday, Sept. 14 at 7 p.m.

Lincoln, Neb. – The No. 13 Nebraska volleyball team improved to 3-1 on the season with a 3-1 (25-14, 25-13, 20-25, 25-20) win over the Villanova Wildcats on Friday evening at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. In front of 8,321 fans, the Nebraska Athletic Department also honored former head coach Terry Pettit prior to the match with a special court dedication ceremony.

Kadie Rolfzen made her first career start for the Huskers and posted a match-high 14 kills on 29 swings for a hitting percentage of .345. Kelsey Robinson tallied 13 kills and a team-high 19 digs, while Amber Rolfzen had nine kills. Mary Pollmiller paced the offense with 36 assists, while Cecilia Hall notched four blocks.

Nebraska hit .242 for the match, while Villanova was held to a .145 hitting clip. The Huskers out-blocked Villanova 9-8 and out-dug the Wildcats 67-54.

The Huskers took an early lead in the first set, using a 4-0 run to go up 9-3 on a kill by Pollmiller and force Villanova to call a timeout. The Huskers made it 16-10 on a kill by Robinson, while NU closed out the first set with five straight points to win 25-14.

Kadie Rolfzen tallied five kills in the first set, while Hall and Haggerty both had three kills. Nebraska hit .312 in the set, while Villanova hit just .160.

A kill by Amber Rolfzen put the Huskers up 9-4 in the second set, while NU went on to take a 12-5 lead on an attack error by Villanova. Robinson helped Nebraska to a 20-11 lead, while NU went on to finish out the second set with a 25-13 win.

The Huskers hit at a clip of .636 in the second set, led by Kadie Rolfzen and Robinson, who each had five kills. Pollmiller totaled 10 assists for the set and the Huskers posted two team blocks. Villanova hit just .038 for the set.

NU would open the third set with a 5-0 lead, but the Wildcats would use the momentum to tie the set at 12-12 on an attack error by the Huskers. The two teams exchanged leads, but Villanova went up 18-14 and forced Nebraska to call a timeout. The Huskers fought off Villanova for five set points, but the Wildcats prevailed to win the set 25-20.

Robinson and Fien led NU in the third set with three kills each, but the Huskers hit just .106 as a team. Nebraska out-dug Villanova 24-22, but had only four team blocks to the Wildcat’s five blocks.

Nebraska responded in the fourth set, taking a 5-4 lead on an early error by Villanova. The Wildcats came back to go up 9-6 and force NU to call a timeout, but the Huskers answered as they tied the match at 12-12. Villanova took the lead at 18-16, but Nebraska used three consecutive points to go up 19-18. The Huskers didn’t look back from there, winning the fourth set 25-20.

Kadie Rolfzen and Pollmiller both had four kills in the set. The Huskers hit .154 as a team, while Villanova hit .095. Both team had two blocks each.

 

Nebraska returns to action tomorrow as the Huskers are set to face Georgia at 1 p.m. at the Devaney Center. The match will be streamed on Huskers.com with a HuskersNside subscription.

The No. 13 Nebraska volleyball team hosts Southern Mississippi, Villanova and Georgia this weekend at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. The Huskers will take on the Villanova Wildcats on Friday, Sept. 6 at 7 p.m., and will face the Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday, Sept. 7 at 1 p.m. Southern Mississippi will take on Georgia on Friday at 4:30 p.m., and will face Villanova on Saturday at 3 p.m.

Friday’s meeting will be the first between the Huskers and Villanova.

The Huskers hold a 4-0 record over Georgia, last meeting in 2000. The last time the Huskers faced the Bulldogs, the Huskers won in three sets (15-4, 15-2, 15-4).

The Nebraska Athletic Department will honor former Nebraska coach Terry Pettit on Friday, Sept. 6  by naming the court at the Bob Devaney Sports Center “Terry Pettit Court.” The naming is the result of a generous gift given by Bill and Ruth Scott in honor of  the former Nebraska head coach.

Pettit was inducted into the AVCA Hall of Fame in 2009 and was a two-time AVCA National Coach of the Year, a seven-time Big Eight Coach of the Year and a two-time Big 12 Coach of the Year. In his 23 years at Nebraska, he guided the Huskers to a national championship in 1995, six Final Four appearances and 21 conference titles.

Fans can listen to all of 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 outside the state will also be able to catch the live audio feed for free on Huskers.com. Saturday’s match will only be available on Huskers.com.

Nebraska’s match on Friday against Villanova will be streamed on the Big Ten Digital Network (BTN.com) and will be available with a subscription. Saturday’s match with Georgia will be streamed on Huskers.com and will be available with a HuskersNside subscription.

VILLANOVA vs. NEBRASKA

Date: Sept. 6

Time: 7 p.m.

Location: Lincoln, Neb.

Arena: Bob Devaney Sports Center

Live Stats: Huskers.com

Live Video: BTN.com (subscription)

Live Radio: Husker Sports Network,

Huskers.com

 

GEORGIA vs. NEBRASKA

Date: Sept. 7

Time: 1 p.m.

Location: Lincoln, Neb.

Arena: Bob Devaney Sports Center

Live Stats: Huskers.com

Live Video: Huskers.com (subscription)

Live Radio: Huskers.com

Scouting the Villanova Wildcats

• Villanova is 1-2 on the season. The Wildcats started the opening weekend of play with a 3-1 loss to Oregon State, a 3-1 win over Oakland and a 3-2 loss to Central Michigan.

• Freshman Claire Crutchfield led the Wildcats last weekend with 32 total kills and an average of 2.46 kills per set. Freshman Michaela Berendt posted 28 kills on the weekend and a .426 attack percentage.

• Sophomore Emma Pettit, daughter of former Nebraska coach Terry Pettit, paces the offense for the Wildcats at setter. She recorded 145 assists over the weekend and has an average of 11.15 assists per set.  She tallied 52 assists in Villanova’s win over Oakland.

• Senior Carly Edwards and freshman Michaela Berendt both recorded 10 total blocks on the weekend, with an average of 0.77 blocks per set.

• Josh Steinbach is in his seventh season at the helm of the Wildcats. He is the longest-tenured coach in the program’s 40 years as a varsity sport. He has a career record 99-82 and was the BIG EAST Coach of the Year in his first season at Villanova.

 

Scouting the Georgia Bulldogs

• Georgia is 3-0 on the year after beating Lipscomb, TCU and Furman in 3-0 sweeps at the Georgia Bulldog Invitational last weekend.

• Sophomore Jasmine Eatmon was named MVP of the Bulldog Invitational after finishing the weekend with 20 kills, three service aces and nine blocks. She hit a team-best .548 clip and averaged one block per set.

• Senior Stacey Smith leads the Bulldogs offensively as she has a total of 24 kills on the year and an average of 2.67 kills per set.

• Junior Kaylee Kehoe paced the Georgia offense over the weekend with a total of 60 assists and an average of 6.67 assists per set.

• Junior Lauren Teknipp and senior Allison Summers were also named to the Georgia Bulldog Invitational all-tournament team for their efforts over the weekend. Teknipp led all players with 10 kills, going 10-for-21 for an attack percentage of .336 against TCU. Summers posted a team-high 34 digs over the weekend, averaging 3.78 digs per set.

• Georgia is coached by former Nebraska assistant coach Lizzy Stemke. She spent four seasons at Nebraska before being hired by Georgia and is in her third season.

 

Noting the Nebraska Cornhuskers

The information below provides a quick glimpse of a few statistics and brief notes heading into this weekend.

•Nebraska enters this weekend’s matches with a 2-1 record and No. 13 national ranking.

•The Huskers return AVCA Honorable-Mention All-Americans Morgan Broekhuis and Meghan Haggerty in 2013. They also welcomed 2011 AVCA Second-Team All-American Kelsey Robinson and 2011 AVCA Honorable-Mention All-American Mary Pollmiller to the 2013 roster after both transferred from Tennessee.

• Nebraska begins the 2013 season as the second-winningest program in Division I history with 1,168 wins and trails only UCLA (1,184) on the all-time list.

• The Huskers finished tied for second in the Big Ten in 2012. They were picked to finish fourth in the league in the Big Ten Coaches’ preseason poll in 2013.

• Nebraska carries a streak of 181 consecutive sellouts into the 2013 season, the longest sellout streak across all NCAA women’s athletics. The Huskers averaged 4,287 fans per home contest last season at the NU Coliseum.

• Nebraska has seven players on its 2013 roster who were Volleyball Magazine Fab 50 selections, representing the top-50 players in that year’s recruiting class. Six of the Huskers’ last nine recruiting classes have ranked in the top five nationally, including the 2009 class that was ranked second and the 2013 class that was ranked first by Prepvolleyball.com

• Nebraska continued its string of All-America success in 2012, as Lauren Cook was named an AVCA All-American. Cook upped Nebraska’s NCAA-leading totals to 36 players and 74 certificates. Nebraska has had at least one All-American every season since 1983, a total of 31 straight seasons, including 39 All-America awards in Cook’s 13 years at Nebraska.

St. Louis, Mo. – The No. 10 Nebraska volleyball team (2-1) made quick work of Saint Louis on Saturday night, sweeping the Billikens 3-0 (25-20, 25-16, 25-16) in front of 3,759 fans at Chaifetz Arena. Kelsey Robinson and Justine Wong-Orantes were named to the Marcia E. Hamilton Classic All-Tournament Team for their efforts over the weekend.

Amber Rolfzen and Kelsey Fien each had 10 kills for the Huskers, Fien recording just two errors for a .421 hitting percentage. Robinson had nine kills, while Cecilia Hall punched in seven hills and zero errors. Alicia Ostrander posted four kills, zero errors, a hitting percentage of .571 and six blocks to lead NU at the net.

Nebraska recorded a hitting percentage of .300 or better for the first time this season, chipping in a clip of .366. The Huskers held Saint Louis to a .139 hitting percentage. NU out-blocked the Billikens 7-5 and out-dug SLU 43-38.

The Huskers opened the first set with a 5-3 lead, aided by two quick kills from Amber Rolfzen. The two teams exchanged leads and posted 13 ties until a kill from Morgan Broekhuis gave NU a little separation at 22-20. Ostrander and Broekhuis teamed up for a block to give NU a 24-20 lead as the Huskers went on to take the first set 25-20.

Fien led NU in the first set with five kills, while Amber Rolfzen and Broekhuis all had three kills. Nebraska hit .371 for the set, while Saint Louis hit .273. Both teams had 12 blocks.

Hall and Broekhuis aided the Huskers early with two kills in the second set to give the Huskers a 9-5 lead. Hall continued to work for the Huskers, using two kills to bring Nebraska’s lead to 13-8. Hunter connected with Ostrander for a kill, making it 16-10, NU, pushing the Huskers to eventually take a 20-14 lead.

Amber Rolfzen, Hall and Ostrander each tallied four kills in the second set. Nebraska hit .452 for the set and held the Billikens to a hitting clip of .154.

The Huskers came out to a 5-4 lead in the third set with the help of a block from Ostrander. Robinson tallied back-to-back kills to spark NU and Amber Rolfzen punched in a kill to make it 12-8, Huskers. Ostrander kept coming with the block, giving Nebraska a 16-9 lead. The Huskers gained all the momentum and went ahead 20-13, going on to finish the third set with a 25-16 third-set win.

Nebraska returns home next weekend and will host Villanova on Friday, Sept. 6 at 7 p.m. and Georgia on Saturday, Sept. 7 at 1 p.m.

St. Louis, Mo. – The No. 10 Nebraska volleyball team (1-1) dropped a 3-1 (23-25, 25-22, 23-25, 23-25) decision to the Auburn Tigers on Saturday morning.  One day after a dominating performance over Louisiana-Monroe, the Huskers faced a challenge in a feisty Tiger squad.

Kelsey Robinson led Nebraska on the day with a double-double, including 18 kills and 18 digs. Kelsey Fien recorded 13 kills, while Justine Wong-Orantes also chipped in 18 digs. Mary Pollmiller paced the offense with 27 assists, while Kelly Hunter added 19 assists.

Nebraska hit .218 as a team in the match, as the Tigers hit .208. The Huskers were out-blocked 9-7 and out-dug 86-71. NU recorded six service aces, but could not overcome the errors from the service line as NU tallied 14 by the end of the match. Auburn had just two service errors.

The Huskers started the match with a 5-3 lead after a long rally and a kill by Robinson. The two teams exchanged leads, with nine ties until the Tigers went up 18-15. Freshman Melanie Keil came in for NU at middle blocker and the Huskers capitalized on a kill by Robinson as Nebraska strung together a 3-0 run to cut Auburn’s lead to 20-19. The Tigers responded, but a block by Hall and Robinson pushed Nebraska to a 3-0 run, tying the match at 22-22. Auburn would roll off three more points on the Huskers to close out the set 25-23.

The two teams hit an identical .213 clip for the first set and each had two team blocks. Nebraska was out-dug 28-19 as four Auburn players had at least five digs in the set. Robinson led the Huskers with seven kills.

The Huskers found their rhythm and responded in the second set, taking a 5-1 lead with the help of two kills from Fien. The lead was stretched to 9-3 as Auburn called a timeout. The Huskers came out of the timeout to take a 15-5 lead, aided by a kill from Broekhuis and a double-block from Hall and Robinson. Back-to-back kills from Fien made it 20-6, Huskers, but the Tigers strung together a run of their own to make it 20-10, NU, and force Nebraska to use a timeout. Haggerty ended an 11-1 run for the Tigers with a kill to make it 22-18, but Auburn would not back down until Nebraska finished off the second set with a 25-22 win.

Fien led NU in the second set with six kills on 13 attacks, while the Huskers hit at a clip of .220. Wong-Orantes guided the Huskers defensively with seven digs, as NU out-dug the Tigers 16-12. Auburn was held to a hitting percentage of .091.

Back-to-back aces from Kelly Hunter helped the Huskers to an 8-6 lead early in the third set. Hall made her presence known with two kills to make it 14-10, NU. Auburn came back to take the lead at 17-16, as a kill from Robinson would tie the set at 21-21. A double-block by Hall and Robinson would bring the Huskers within 24-23, but Auburn held on to take the third set 25-23.

Fien once again led NU in the set with four kills, while Hall and Broekhuis each had three. Nebraska hit .178 for the set, while Auburn hit at a clip of .257. Both teams recorded three team blocks, while NU was out-dug 23-13.

The intensity did not let up in the fourth set as the Tigers and Huskers battled point-for-point. Nebraska went up 7-6 on a kill by Amber Rolfzen, but Auburn responded to take the lead, eventually taking a 12-9 advantage and forcing NU to call a timeout. Haggerty and Broekhuis connected for a double-block to tie the set at 15-15, as Nebraska then used a spirited rally to tie the set again at 17-17. Auburn took a 20-19 lead late in the set, but the Huskers would not be able to gain enough momentum and dropped the set 25-23.

Robinson had five kills in the fourth set, while Amber Rolfzen posted four kills. The Huskers hit .261 and Auburn hit .250. Both teams tallied 23 digs.

Nebraska returns to action this evening as the Huskers will take on Saint Louis at 7 p.m.

St. Louis, Mo. – The No. 10 Nebraska volleyball team opened the 2013 season with a 3-0 (25-11, 25-21, 25-4) sweep of Louisiana-Monroe at the Marcia E. Hamilton Classic, hosted by Saint Louis University on Friday.

Amber Rolfzen led the Huskers with eight kills, while Cecilia Hall and Kelsey Robinson both chipped in seven kills. Justine Wong-Orantes guided NU defensively with 15 digs. Robinson also tallied 11 digs and five aces for the match. Mary Pollmiller and Kelly Hunter paced the Husker offense at setter, as each had 14 assists. Nebraska hit .222 for the match, while Louisiana-Monroe was held to a -.132 hitting clip.

The Huskers opened the first set with a 6-1 lead on a block, followed by a kill by Meghan Haggerty. Nebraska then took a 13-5 lead as the Warhawks committed a hitting error and were forced to call a timeout. Hall came through for the Huskers in the first set, using a kill to make it 19-7, NU. The Huskers would hold on to take the first set 25-11 over the ULM.

Amber Rolfzen led NU in the first set with four kills, while Hall had three of her own. The Huskers hit .333 as a team, while Wong-Orantes led the team defensively with six digs. Nebraska held Louisiana-Monroe to a -.143 hitting percentage.

Hall came out strong in the second set, with a huge shot to give NU an early lead. The Warhawks then came alive in the second set, taking an 11-8 lead before Nebraska called a timeout. The Huskers came back to take a 21-18 lead on an ace by Hunter. Hunter and Broekhuis then connected up to give NU a 23-20 advantage. Nebraska went on to win the second set 25-21.

Hall and Broekhuis each had three kills in the second set. Both teams struggled offensively as the Huskers hit .000 and ULM hit -.029. NU out-dug the Warhawks 18-12 for the set.

Nebraska opened the third set on an 8-0 run, aided by three aces from Robinson.  Amber Rolfzen and Haggerty teamed up for a double-block to give NU an 11-2 lead that catapulted Nebraska on 10-0 run to close out the third set at 25-4.

Kelsey Robinson had five kills in the third set, while Amber Rolfzen tallied four. The Huskers hit .407 for the set, holding ULM to a -.250 clip. Nebraska out-dug the Warhawks 20-11.

The Huskers return to action tomorrow as they face Auburn at 10 a.m., and will take on Saint Louis at 7 p.m. to close out the Marcia E. Hamilton Classic.