Huskers Survive Scare Against Longhorns

Lincoln ? Sophomore outside hitter Jennifer Saleaumua led six Nebraska volleyball players with double-digit kill totals Wednesday night, as the 10th-ranked Huskers outlasted Texas 30-25, 27-30, 30-23, 23-30, 15-10 at the NU Coliseum.

A crowd of 4,078 watched for two hours, 40 minutes in the Huskers’ fifth five-game match this season, all of which have been played at home. Nebraska improved to 23-3 overall, 14-2 in Big 12 Conference play, while Texas dropped to 11-13 and 6-9.

Saleaumua, who had 18 digs to go with her team-high 17 kills, pounded a kill after a Nebraska timeout to give the Huskers their first match point in the fifth game. She then served the winning point, which resulted in a hitting error by Texas middle blocker Kathy Hahn.

The Longhorns handled the Huskers’ serve much better than they did in a three-game loss to NU on Sept. 20 in Austin, Texas. In the first meeting, Nebraska recorded 16 service aces. Wednesday night, the Huskers had eight, but also committed 12 service errors.

Sophomore middle blocker Melissa Elmer had 16 kills and a match-best four block assists for Nebraska. Freshman outside hitter Dani Mancuso, junior right-side hitter Ally Rebholz and senior middle blocker Sara Westling pounded 11 kills apiece, and senior right-side hitter Anna Schrad added 10 kills.

Freshman libero Amanda McCormick led NU in digs with 19. Sophomore setter Michelle Lynch contributed 34 assists and three service aces and freshman setter Dani Busboom notced a career-high 31 assists.

Junior outside hitter Bethany Howden led Texas with 30 kills, and junior outside hitter Mira Topic had 23.

The Huskers took command of game one when a kill by Schrad sparked a 6-0 run to give Nebraska a 16-8 lead. Texas cut the edge to five after a kill by Howden, but Westling answer with two kills and combined with Saleaumua for a block to make it 25-17. Texas held Nebraska on four straight game-point rallies before Elmer’s kill wrapped up the first game.

In game two, the Huskers led 20-16 before Topic started a 6-2 run to tie the score at 22. It was tied three more times before Howden and Topic posted back-to-back kills to give UT a 27-26 lead. Texas won when Saleaumua was called for a ball-handling error.

In game three, Nebraska cruised to a 17-10 lead. The Longhorns cut the advantage to three points three times, but Elmer swung for a kill and combined with Rebholz to block Topic, giving the Huskers a 27-22 lead. NU took the third game on a kill by Westling.

Leading 9-7 in game four, Texas scored 12 of the next 14 points to take control. Rebholz finally stopped the Longhorns with a kill before UT forced the fifth game on a kill by Howden.

Texas led 3-1 in the fifth game, but a foot foul by Howden and a Mancuso kill evened the score. Nebraska scored seven of the next 10 points with help from four Texas hitting errors. The NU lead grew to five at 12-7 on a block of Howden by Elmer and Schrad. The Longhorns got no closer than three points.

Nebraska returns to action Saturday, Nov. 15, when it travels to Manhattan, Kan., to take on fifth-ranked Kansas State. The Wildcats stayed one game ahead of second-place Nebraska in the Big 12 standings with a come-from behind, five-game win at Missouri Wednesday.