Mancuso Carries Huskers to Win at No. 16 Kansas State

Manhattan, Kan. ? Sophomore Dani Mancuso recorded a career-high 22 kills on .559 hitting, as fourth ranked Nebraska downed No. 16 Kansas State, 28-30, 30-21, 30-25, 30-23 in front of a crowd of 2,123 at Ahearn Field House Wednesday evening.

The 6-foot-2 sophomore from Omaha sparkled off the bench, delivering 21 kills over the last three games, easily topping her previous season and career high of 16, as the Huskers (14-1, 8-0 Big 12) won their 11th straight match.

Mancuso’s big night was one of many highlights, as Nebraska snapped a two-match losing streak to Kansas State and remained tied with Texas on top of the Big 12 standings. Freshman Tracy Stalls set career bests in kills (12) and blocks (eight) while hitting .579 while Sarah Pavan had 23 kills ? one of her career high ? and five blocks while hitting .356. The two 20-kill performances was the first by Nebraska since October 16, 1999, when Megan Korver (23) and Nancy Metcalf (Meendering) (20) both accomplished the feat.

Sophomore setter Dani Busboom had her ninth double-double of the year with a career-high 66 kills and 10 digs, as her assist total tied for 17th on NU’s all-time list and is the most by a Husker since Greichaly Cepero had 71 against Texas A&M during the 2000 season. In all, Busboom helped Nebraska hit .356 as team, as the Huskers hit .436 over the final two games.

Sandy Werner had a team-high 14 kills to lead three Wildcats in double figures, as KSU, which saw its 21-game home winning streak snapped on Saturday, has lost two in a row at home.

The night started auspiciously enough, as Kansas State won the opener, 30-28, in a game that featured 17 ties and 10 lead changes. Werner had six kills and hit .455, as both teams hit .250, but Nebraska was doomed by five service errors. With Nebraska leading 28-27, KSU tied the game on a Husker serving error before Gabby Guerre’s kill put the Wildcats up 29-28. Melissa Elmer was blocked by Joy Hamlin and Werner for game point, as the Wildcats were the first team to take a game off the Huskers since Sept. 10, a span of 30 games.

Pavan provided an early spark for the Huskers in game two, drilling four kills in helping the Huskers build a 7-2 lead. The Wildcats continued to chip away at the Husker lead, taking a 17-16 lead on a block by Gabby Guerre and Lisa Martin. The lead would be short-lived, as Melissa Elmer delivered two kills in a 3-0 run, as NU took a 21-18 lead and forced the Wildcats to take a timeout. Mancuso, who had six kills and two service aces in game two, then took over with three kills before ending the game with consecutive service aces, as Nebraska evened the match with a 30-21 win.

The Huskers trailed for much of the third game before using a 9-3 game-ending run to win 30-25 and take a 2-1 lead. Nebraska hit a blistering .415, including eight kills by Pavan and five by Mancuso, while holding KSU to .167 hitting. NU trailed 22-21 before Elmer and Dani Busboom combined on a block to tie the game. The block was the first for Elmer, who ranked second nationally in that category, and sparked a decisive Husker run, as KSU committed consecutive hitting errors to fall behind 24-22. Nebraska extended the lead to 26-22 on a Mancuso block and another KSU hitting error before Huskers held on for the win.

In game four, Kansas State built a seemingly commanding 19-13 lead before the Huskers responded with four straight points to get within 19-17. NU eventually tied the score at 21 on a block by Pavan and Stalls before the Huskers took control. Busboom served seven straight points, including four kills by Mancuso, as Nebraska increased its lead to 28-21.KSU cut the deficit to 29-23 before a service error gave Nebraska its sixth win over a ranked opponent this season.

The Huskers return to action on Saturday, Oct. 16, when they host Iowa State at 7 p.m. at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. Tickets are $6 (adults) and $4 (children and seniors) while UNL students with a valid ID are admitted free of charge. The match will be carried on B107.3 FM in Lincoln while live video streaming will be available on HuskersNside.com.

                            2004 NEBRASKA VOLLEYBALL
       #4 Nebraska vs #16 Kansas State (Oct 13, 2004 at Manhattan, Kan.)



   Nebraska               |     ATTACK      |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF|  BLOCK |GEN
## Name                 GP|  K   E  TA   PCT|  A| SA  SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE|POINTS
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3  Houghtelling, Chris.  2|  1   3  10 -.200|  0|  0   2|  2|  4| 0  0  0|  0|   1.0
8  Elmer, Melissa......  4|  8   3  20  .250|  0|  1   1|  0|  3| 0  4  0|  1|  11.0
9  Pavan, Sarah........  4| 23   7  45  .356|  1|  0   4|  1|  3| 0  5  0|  0|  25.5
11 Stalls, Tracy.......  4| 12   1  19  .579|  0|  0   2|  0|  2| 0  8  1|  0|  16.0
18 Busboom, Dani.......  4|  2   0   3  .667| 66|  0   1|  0| 10| 0  3  0|  1|   3.5
26 Saleaumua, Jennifer.  4|  9   3  29  .207|  1|  0   1|  1| 17| 0  2  0|  0|  10.0
1  McCormick, Amanda...  4|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   1|  1| 16| 0  0  0|  0|   0.0
2  Lynch, Michelle.....  3|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   1|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0|   0.0
7  Mancuso, Dani.......  4| 22   3  34  .559|  1|  2   0|  2|  4| 1  2  0|  0|  26.0
10 Fautsch, Kelsey.....  3|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 1  0  0|  0|   1.0
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   Totals..............  4| 77  20 160  .356| 69|  3  13|  7| 59| 2 24  1|  2|  94.0

TEAM ATTACK PER GAME                               TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 14.0
Game  K  E  TA   Pct
   1  19  8  44  .250   GAME SCORES               1  2  3  4  TEAM RECORDS
   2  19  7  38  .316   Nebraska............ (3) 28 30 30 30  14-1, 8-0 Big 12
   3  19  2  41  .415   Kansas State........ (1) 30 21 25 23  11-6, 5-3 Big 12
   4  20  3  37  .459

   Kansas State           |     ATTACK      |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF|  BLOCK |GEN
## Name                 GP|  K   E  TA   PCT|  A| SA  SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE|POINTS
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2  Hamlin, Joy.........  4|  4   4  14  .000|  0|  0   0|  0|  1| 1  4  0|  0|   7.0
3  Rezende, Agata......  4|  9   3  30  .200|  1|  2   2|  0|  6| 0  1  1|  0|  11.5
4  Martin, Lisa........  4| 11   4  23  .304|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  2  1|  0|  12.0
6  Werner, Sandy.......  4| 14   7  37  .189|  1|  0   1|  0|  2| 0  1  0|  0|  14.5
9  Guerre, Gabby.......  4|  7   3  15  .267| 45|  1   0|  0| 13| 0  2  0|  0|   9.0
12 Hejjas, Vali........  4| 12   5  35  .200|  1|  2   4|  0|  8| 0  1  0|  0|  14.5
5  Lastra, Angie.......  4|  0   0   0  .000|  1|  0   0|  1| 17| 0  0  0|  0|   0.0
7  Stanzel, Katie......  4|  0   0   0  .000|  2|  2   3|  0|  6| 0  0  0|  0|   2.0
8  Perkins, Jamie......  3|  0   0   0  .000|  1|  0   0|  1|  0| 0  0  0|  0|   0.0
11 Rosenthal, Lauren...  2|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   0|  0|  3| 0  0  0|  0|   0.0
14 Franklin, Michaela..  2|  0   1   2 -.500|  0|  0   0|  1|  2| 0  1  0|  0|   0.5
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   Totals..............  4| 57  27 156  .192| 52|  7  10|  3| 58| 1 12  2|  0|  71.0

TEAM ATTACK PER GAME                               TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 7.0
Game  K  E  TA   Pct
   1  14  5  36  .250   Site: Manhattan, Kan. (Ahearn Field House)
   2  14  7  38  .184   Date: Oct 13, 2004   Attend: 2123   Time: 2:05
   3  15  8  42  .167   Referees:
   4  14  7  40  .175

                                         1   2   3   4 Total
                        Tie scores      17   5  12   6    40
                        Lead changes     9   2   5   3    19