No. 12 Nebraska Sweeps Oklahoma

Lincoln -- The No. 12 Nebraska volleyball team picked up it's third-straight victory with a 15-4, 15-7, 15-6 win over Oklahoma at the NU Coliseum Wednesday night to improve to 13-4 and 5-2 in conference play.

The Husker offense continued to show sign of improvement, hitting .400 for the second time in three matches. The Huskers, who now own 138-3 mark at home against league foes (Big Eight and Big 12), were led by junior rightside hitter Nancy Meendering. The All-American from Hull, Iowa, posted a match-high 15 kills and hit .480 to lead the Huskers. Freshman Greichaly Cepero added nine kills and posted a career-best .615 hitting percentage, while outside hitters Mandy Monson and Angie Oxley each added six kills. Senior outside hitter Melissa Christman led OU with eight kills as the Sooners hit just .143 in the match, including an .038 percentage in game three.

The Huskers fell behind 3-1 in the third game, but bounced back quickly. From that point, the Huskers out-scored Oklahoma 14-3 to capture the 15-6 third-game victory. Meendering, who posted a pair of kills in the third game, served four straight points to give the Huskers a 13-3 lead, but Oklahoma's Christman spoiled NU's first chance for game point with a kill. Nebraska served for match point two times before Cepero served for the final time. Senior middle blocker Tonia Tauke secured the victory with her only kill of the match.

"Nebraska is a big, huge team," Oklahoma head coach Miles Pabst said. "The only teams that can play with them are good ball control teams that can pass well and run an offense against them. If we had passed well all night, it might have been a different game."

Nebraska took the first game 15-5 with the help of six kills from Meendering, who posted a .750 hitting percentage. The Huskers led by as many as eight points and never trailed the entire game. NU led 6-3 early before reeling off nine unaswered points for the game-winning run. Four players posted a .500 hitting percentage or better, and the Huskers hit .500 overall in the opening game.

The Huskers slowed after their fast start in the first game. Oklahoma took a 5-1 lead, its largest of the match, to open the second game. But with freshman setter Lindsay Wischmeier behind the service line, NU peiced together a 5-0 run to take a 6-5 lead and the Sooners never threatened again. Meendering slammed seven kills to lead the Huskers to a 14-6 advantage before junior outside hitter Angie Oxley secured the 15-7 second-game victory with an ace serve.

The Sooners fell to 6-9 overall and 1-4 in league play. NU improved to 51-6 all-time against the Sooners with the win. The Huskers return to action this Saturday, Oct. 17, as Nebraska travels to Waco, Texas, to square off with the Baylor Bears beginning at 7 p.m