No. 8 Nebraska Sweeps Kansas

Lincoln -- Senior outside hitter Mandy Monson posted a season-best 16 kills and led No. 8 Nebraska (10-3 overall and 2-1 in the Big 12 Conference) to a 15-11, 15-6, 15-7 victory over Kansas (10-4, 1-2) before 3,011 fans at the NU Coliseum.

The victory marked just the third time in Nebraska's 13 matches this season that someone other than All-American Nancy Meendering has led the team in kills. Meendering, who posted a school-record 39 kills and a career-high 21 digs Sept. 22 in her last appearance at the NU Coliseum, posted 10 kills and a team-high 10 digs while battling through a hamstring injury.

The Husker bench followed up on its impressive performance at Texas Tech Saturday. Junior right-side hitter Katie Jahnke came off the bench to post seven kills and a .500 hitting percentage. Junior outside hitter Kim Behrends recorded nine kills and hit .471, and sophomore middle blocker Jenny Kropp had a team-high four blocks.

For the match, Nebraska hit .358 and held Kansas to .132.

With the victory, Nebraska improved its all-time series mark against the Jayhawks to 63-0. The Huskers are now 300-14-1 against former Big Eight Conference schools.

"I think that any time you hit .358 against a Big 12 opponent, that means you're doing some good things," NU Coach Terry Pettit said. "We like to bring Behrends and Jahnke in because it gives us a different energy and a different tempo. I think we played most of the match with our best offensive team."

Kansas trailed 6-1 in the third game before cutting NU's lead to 8-7. But from that point on, the Huskers shut down the Jayhawk attackers and reeled off seven unanswered points to take the 15-7 victory. Behrends sealed the win with her ninth kill of the match.

The Huskers started slow in the first game, falling behind the Jayhawks 7-4 before battling back to tie the score at 11. Kansas never scored again. NU scored on a kill by freshman right-side hitter Greichaly Cepero, a Kansas four-hit violation, a block by Cepero and Kropp and a game-winning slam by Behrends. Monson sparked the Huskers' come-from-behind victory with a game-high seven kills and a .545 hitting percentage. Behrends hit .600 in the 40-minute game.

Nebraska picked up the pace in the second game. The Huskers jumped to an 8-2 lead behind two kills and a block from Monson. Kansas scored on an ace serve by senior outside hitter Mary Beth Albrecht. NU regained possession on a kill by Cepero and outscored the Jayhawks 7-3 the rest of the way for the 15-6 victory. Kropp had a hand in back-to-back blocks to provide NU with its 14th and 15th points. Monson, who hit .625 in the second period, tied her season-best single-match kill total by posting 12 slams by the end of the second game.

Nebraska returns to action Saturday with it travels to College Station, Texas, for a 7 p.m. contest with No. 16 Texas A&M at Rollie White Gymnasium.