No. 13 Nebraska Defeats Missouri, Sweeps Third Straight

Lincoln -- The No. 13 Nebraska volleyball team picked up it's fifth-straight victory with a 15-5, 15-11, 15-1, win over Missouri Wednesday night, with a strong defensive effort before 3,763 fans at the NU Coliseum. Freshman middle blocker posted a career-best nine block assists, and the Huskers out-blocked MU 17-2 to improve their record to 15-4 overall and 7-2 in the Big 12 Conference.

Nebraska, which held the Tigers to a minus-.035 hitting percentage won its 37th consecutive match over the Tigers and now own a 45-2 all-time series advantage over the Tigers (8-12, 2-7).

Offensively, junior right side hitter Nancy Meendering led the way with a match-high 12 kills and a .385 hitting percentage. Meendering's 12 kills marked the 11th straight match in which she has recorded double-figure kill totals, and the 36th time in 41 matches. Holmquist added eight kills and a career-high. Nicole Panzau led Missouri with 10 kills, but had 10 hitting errors.

Nebraska started quickly in the third game, jumping to a 5-1 lead behind five-consecutive block assists from Holmquist. After the two teams exhanged sideouts, the Huskers reeled off 10 unanswered points for the 15-10 victory. Holmquist secured the victory with her eighth kill of the match.

"I think that the issue in college volleyball is not what level you play at, but rather how long you can sustain that level," NU coach Terry Pettit said. "Tonight, Missouri maybe couldn't sustain that level. They had a spurt there in the second game, but we came back and stressed them with short serves. Overall, we got some things done. Our passing over the last month has really improved."

The Huskers opened the second game with 5-0 scoring run with the help of four consecutive kills from Holmquist. NU held an 8-1 lead before Missouri responded. With sophomore defensive specialist Nikki Myhra serving, the Tigers notched four-straight points. MU lost possession to Nebraska on a hitting error, but regained control with an Annette Luyten kill. The Tigers tied the game at eight with a kill by freshman outside hitter Lisa Morris, then took their first lead of the game with an Angie Oxley kill attempt sailed wide. Missouri lost control on a service error, but didn't fade quietly after NU scored six straight to take a 14-9 lead. The Tigers forced NU to serve for game point three times before junior outside hitter Angie Oxley and sophomore middle blocker Jenny Kropp blocked Luyten for the 15-9 win.

Monson, who recorded one of her best offensive performances of the season at Baylor Saturday, served 12 of the Huskers' 15 points in the 15-5 first-game win. Monson served scoring runs of seven points and five points. Oxley notched NU's other three points, including the game-winner. Meendering and Holmquist seeled the 15-5 victory with a right-side block of Missouri's Lisa Morris. The Huskers held Missouri to a minus-.023 hitting percentage in the first game.

Nebraska now owns an all-time record of 344-31-1 (.915) against Big 12 schools, including a 304-14-1 (.957) mark against former Big Eight opponents. NU returns to action Saturday at 8 p.m. when it takes on No. 10 Texas in Austin.