Huskers Defeat ASU, Will Host NCAA Central Regional - Huskers.com - Nebraska Athletics Official Web Site

Lincoln, Neb. - Senior outside hitter Laura Pilakowski led the Nebraska volleyball team with 11 kills and 12 digs Saturday night at the NU Coliseum as the fourth-ranked Huskers beat Arizona State 30-22, 30-21, 30-27 to advance to the regional-semifinal round of NCAA tournament for the ninth straight year and 19th time in school history.

Nebraska (30-1) will play host to the NCAA Central Regional, next Friday and Saturday at the NU Coliseum.

Before a crowd of 4,229 Saturday, the Huskers hit .333 as a team and trailed for just one point in the entire match in sweeping their ninth straight opponent. Arizona State ended the season at 15-12.

The NCAA Central Regional opens Friday at 5 p.m. with a match between sixth-seeded Hawaii (32-1) and No. 11 seed North Carolina (32-3). Nebraska will play unseeded Miami (Fla.) at 7 p.m. or 30 minutes after the first match. The 27-5 Hurricanes upset 14th-seeded Wisconsin Saturday night in Madison, Wis., in a four-game match.

In eight of the 11 previous seasons in which Nebraska played host to an NCAA regional (all but 1985, 1991 and 1994), it has advanced to the Final Four, to be played this year Dec. 19 and 21 in New Orleans, La.

The victory Saturday also put the Huskers at the 30-win mark for the third straight season and the 15th time in school history. NU has won 62 straight matches at the Coliseum and 28 straight overall since a Sept. 2 loss to Southern California.

Freshman middle blocker Melissa Elmer hit .529 with 10 kills and eight block assists, and junior outside hitter Anna Schrad had 10 kills. Senior middle blocker Amber Holmquist contributed nine kills on .692 hitting with five kills for the Huskers, who had 15 total team blocks to the Sun Devils

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