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Lincoln -- The No. 10 Nebraska volleyball team (26-5) advanced to the second round of the 1999 NCAA Championships Thursday night with a first-round 15-3, 15-5, 15-3, defeat of Davidson College (31-4) before 2,854 fans at the NU Coliseum. The third-seeded Huskers, who are playing host to first- and second-round contests for the 16th straight season, will face No. 25 San Diego in a 7 p.m. match Friday. The winner of that match will travel to the Pacific Region semifinals.
Nebraska Coach Terry Pettit said the Huskers, who are making their 18th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, won the match with their defense. NU out-blocked the Wildcats 11 to four and held them to a -.107 hitting percentage. It was the lowest hitting percentage by a Nebraska opponent in 141 matches, dating back to Nov. 15, 1995, when the Huskers held Missouri to -.127 hitting. The Huskers held Davidson's top hitters, Mara Mordini and Gina Lawrence, to -.135, and -.273 hitting, respectively.
Junior outside hitter Nancy Meendering led NU with eight kills and 11 digs. Freshman setter Lindsay Wischmeier posted 15 set assists. It was the first time in 23 matches that Meendering did not record double-figure kills, however, it marked the 27th time this season the Hull, Iowa, native led the Huskers in kills.
"I thought our defense was very disciplined," Pettit said. "I thought our offense was a bit jacked up. We had some unforced errors. But the errors weren't because of a lack of focus. We took the opponent seriously, and I was pleased with that. Davidson is a well-coached team. I thought they did a great job for their first time in the NCAA Tournament."
Nebraska started quickly, jumping to an 11-2 lead in the first game behind three kills from Meendering. Davidson broke NU's momentum briefly when it scored on an attack error by Meendering. Two possessions later, Meendering slammed her fourth kill of the game to regain control for the Huskers. Monson served three straight points to bring Nebraska to game point. With Cepero serving, Nebraska captured the 15-3 win on its ensuing possession. Meendering led Nebraska in game one with five kills and a .500 hitting percentage. The Huskers hit .258 and held Davidson to -.095.
In the second game, NU, which limited the Wildcats to a -.147 percentage at the net, led 7-4 early. Wischmeier then entered the game and served four straight points, increasing the Huskers lead to 11-4. NU finished the game with a 4-1 run.
Monson served six straight points to open game three for the Huskers. With Nebraska leading 10-0, Davidson scored on kills by Mordini and Rebecca Teighgraeber and a Nebraska net violation. But Nebraska regained possession on a kill by Meendering. Junior outside hitter Kim Behrends served points 11 and 12 for NU, and Oxley closed the match by serving three straight points.
Postmatch Remarks
Nebraska Coach Terry Pettit
All things considered, I think we did a good job tonight. Sometimes when you are physically bigger and quicker than the team you're matched up with, you can block too high or jump to high. We didn't do that. I was real pleased with that.
I was very impressed with San Diego. They reminded me of the San Diego teams I've seen in the past. Jennifer Torns has done a great job with them. And Petia (Yanchulova) is a very impressive, experienced player.
Nebraska's Nancy Meendering
I think our blocking has always been strong, especially this year. We can see that. We knew that we would out-match their size, so we really wanted to take advantage of that. When you do that, it frustrates a team and then they start tipping.
Davidson Coach Lisa Marston
I thought we played really well for our first appearance in the tournament. We weren't apprehensive or nervous. There was a difference in the level of play than what we've seen in the past. We haven't played against that type of blocking before. We talked to our setters before the match about setting the ball off the net a little to give our hitters a better angle. We wanted to stay aggressive. I didn't want to see any tips or roll shots.
Davidson's Gina Lawrence
We've never played in front of this many people before. I wish they had been cheering for us, but it was so exciting to be in this environment and to play in front of a crowd that was so excited about volleyball.