No. 1 Nebraska Extends Home Mark With Sweep

Sarah Pavan tallies 18 kills as Huskers down Iowa State, 33-31, 30-19, 30-20

Oct. 11, 2007

Courtesy of Nebraska Athletics

Lincoln, Neb. - Behind a match-high 18 kills from AVCA Player of the Year Sarah Pavan, the top-ranked Nebraska volleyball team held off a game Iowa State squad, 33-31, 30-19, 30-20 Wednesday night at the NU Coliseum.

Pavan ht .351 on 36 swings and added nine digs to lead three Huskers (15-0, 8-0 Big 12) with at least 10 kills in the sweep. Former AVCA National Player of the Year Christina Houghtelling totaled 12 kills on .391 hitting and 10 digs for her fifth double-double of the year, while All-American Jordan Larson totaled 11 kills and a team-high 13 digs for her team-high eighth double-double performance.

"I told the team tonight it's hard to be great at anything for a long time," Nebraska Coach John Cook said. "Obviously we have talented players, but there's a tremendous commitment on their part to be as good as they possibly can be. When you have streaks like that, it's just a great reflection of the commitment that these players put into Nebraska volleyball. It's not just during the season or tomorrow; I'm talking all year round."

The Huskers were given a stern test by the Cyclones (11-7, 5-2 Big 12). ISU held NU to .271 hitting, snapping a streak of 11 straight matches over .300, while out-digging NU, 54-51.

"They're very well coached," Nebraska Coach John Cook said. "They have as good a setter as we've seen all year, and they play as hard as any team we've played this year. I'm very impressed with her team."

Cook said the Huskers fought through some adversity, while ISU's exceptional floor defense early on kept Nebraska off balance.

"It was a little uncomfortable for us because we haven't seen that in our last couple of matches. "Cook said. "It was definitely an out-of-sync night for us. I'm hoping that we can challenge the team and learn from this."

The Huskers and Cyclones battled throughout an opening game that saw 15 ties and seven lead changes before the Huskers prevailed 33-31. Iowa State, which totaled 30 of its 54 digs in game one, jumped out early and led by as much as 14-11 after a kill from Mary Bisenius before the Husker mounted a comeback. Trailing 15-13, the Huskers ran off four unanswered points, taking a 17-15 lead as Tracy Stalls slammed home a Cyclone overpass. ISU quickly regrouped, answering back with a 3-0 run of its own to take a 19-18 lead on a Husker net violation. With the Huskers up 22-20, ISU ran off four straight points, as a Bisenius kill gave ISU a two-point lead at 24-22 and silenced the sold-out Coliseum crowd. Nebraska came back behind the all-around play of Larson, who had struggled to that point. The junior had a kill and two aces in a 4-0 Husker spurt to give the hosts a 26-24 lead. The Huskers eventually got the lead to 29-28, but Iowa State kept the game going by fighting off four game points. Pavan's sixth kill of game one put NU up 32-31 before Houghtelling's sixth kill of the game capped a long rally and gave NU a hard-fought opener.

Game two saw the Huskers get untracked offensively and at the net in posting a 30-19 victory. NU hit .306 as a team and totaled five blocks, including four by Stalls. NU took control early on, as two straight Pavan kills triggered a 6-1 spurt, turning a 4-all tie into an 11-5 lead after two straight Cyclone miscues. ISU whittled the advantage to 12-7, but a block by Rachel Holloway and Kori Cooper began a 7-2 Husker run, giving NU a 19-9 lead after a Pavan kill. From there, the Huskers continued to extend the lead and led by as much as 12 points before taking a 2-0 lead into the locker room.

Nebraska relied on a combination of its veterans and freshman Tara Mueller in closing the match with a 30-20 victory. Pavan totaled seven kills on 13 swings, while Stalls, who was a perfect 4-for-4 in swings, and Mueller added four kills apiece. Leading 16-14, the Huskers took control of the contest by running off four of the next five points, as Pavan's kill made it 20-15 and forced ISU to take a timeout. The Cyclones got to within 23-20, but could not get closer, as kills by Amanda Gates, Pavan and Mueller quickly pushed the advantage to six points and squelched ISU's final run of the match.

Lauren Cummings led the Cyclones with 12 kills on .375 hitting, while no other player reached double figures.

The Huskers return to action Saturday afternoon, as they travel to Oklahoma to take on the Sooners. Match time is set for 1 p.m. and it will be carried on B107.3 FM in Lincoln and on Huskers.com.