No. 4 Huskers Rally from 2-0 Deficit for Win at No. 10 Texas

Austin, Texas ? On a roster dominated by young players, Nebraska’s veterans propelled the Husker one of the most remarkable comebacks in school history, as No. 4 Nebraska came back from an 0-2 deficit to defeat No. 10 Texas, 21-30, 31-33, 30-27, 30-23, 16-14 at Gregory Gym Wednesday evening.

Jennifer Saleaumua led the Husker comeback, matching a career-high with 19 kills on .450 hitting on 11 digs for her seventh double-double of the year to lead a balanced attack. Saleaumua, whose previous season high was 18 kills at Notre Dame on Sept. 4, tied her career high set at Kansas last season to lead four Huskers with at least 10 kills in the win. Sarah Pavan had 18 kills, while Christina Houghtelling and Melissa Elmer added 12 kills each. Elmer hit .391 and had six blocks in helping Nebraska pick up its first win over a top-10 team since the 2001 season. With the win, NU also remained a perfect 7-0 against ranked teams this season.

The two-hour and 36 minute epic lived up to its billing, as the first top-10 match-up between the two teams since 1996. The comeback was NU’s first when facing an 0-2 deficit since a five-game win over Texas Tech during the 1997 season. Nebraska out-hit Texas, which was fourth nationally in hitting, .244-229, as the Longhorns hit only .169 over the final four games. The Huskers also enjoyed a 15-11 edge in blocking over Texas.

With the win, Nebraska improved to 16-1 on the season remained undefeated in the Big 12 at 10-0, building a two-game cushion on second-place Texas (16-2, 8-2 Big 12). The win was NU’s 10th straight over Texas, but the second straight one that went five games.

The Longhorns came out blistering, hitting .462 in posting a 30-21 win in game one. Nebraska was within 16-13, but Texas then used a 4-1 run to build a six-point lead and force NU to take its second timeout. Despite five kills from both Pavan and Saleaumua, NU hit just .222 in the opener and could not cut into the Longhorn lead.

The Huskers had a golden opportunity to win game two with three game points, but could not capitalize, as the Lohghorns won 33-31. Nebraska got off to a quick start from Saleaumua, who had three early kills in helping the Huskers take a 7-5 lead. Texas then rattled off five straight points, taking a 10-7 lead on a block by Dariam Acevedo and Brandy Magee and forcing a Husker timeout. Texas led 13-8 before the Huskers whittled away at the Longhorn lead, tying the game at 17-all after a UT hitting error. With the game tied at 26, Saleaumua and Pavan had consecutive kills to put the Huskers ahead 28-26, and NU enjoyed a 29-27 advantage before Texas scored two quick points to tie the score at 29. Christina Houghtelling’s kill gave the Huskers a third match point, at 30-29, but NU could not even the match, as kills by Bethany Howden and Mira Topic closed out UT’s 33-31 win.

In game three, the Huskers overcame an early 7-3 deficit, using a 10-3 spurt to take a 13-10 advantage, as Saleaumua had four kills in the run. Leading 14-12, Michelle Lynch served three straight points, as the Huskers took a 17-12 lead and forced Texas to take time out. The Longhorns cut the Husker lead to 18-16 on Howden’s kill, but could get no closer. The Huskers finally extended the lead to 29-26 on an Elmer kill after a tremendous rally before Saleaumua’s kill on game point gave the Huskers some much-needed momentum.

Nebraska built a 10-6 lead in game four, but Texas came storming back, using a 6-1 to take a 12-11 lead on an ace by Acevedo, forcing NU to take a timeout. The match was tied at 13 before a pair of kills by Saleaumua sparked a 4-1 run, as NU took a 17-14 lead. Texas cut the lead to 18-16 before Elmer accounted for two straight points on a block with Houghtelling and a kill to put NU up 20-16. NU extended the lead to 26-20 after a Pavan kill before building the lead to as many as eight points and taking a 30-23 win. NU outhit Texas,.378-133, and had a 4-1 lead in blocks in the fourth game.

NU took an early 4-2 lead in the finale on kills by Pavan and Kelsey Fautsch, but Texas came back with a 5-1 run, taking a 7-5 lead after Elmer was blocked by Jen Christian and Howden to force a Husker timeout. The Huskers came right back, as three kills by Houghtelling sparked a 4-1 spurt to give Nebraska a 9-8 lead. The lead would be short-lived as Texas recorded three straight points, including a pair of blocks to take an 11-10 lead and force NU to call a timeout. The Huskers then took advantage of a pair of UT mistakes, as a service error and a setting error put NU back up 12-11, as the Longhorns took their timeout. Nebraska took a 14-13 lead and had match point after a Saleaumua kill, but Topic’s 25th kill of the match tied the match with at 14. A block by Elmer and Saleaumua put NU up for good at 15-14 before Elmer’s 12th kill of the night provided match point.

The Huskers will continue their two-game swing through Texas on Saturday, when they head to Waco, for a match-up with Baylor on Saturday, Oct. 23. First serve is set for 7 p.m. and the game will be carried on the Pinnacle Sports Network, including B107.3 FM in Lincoln.

Notes: With her six blocks tonight, Elmer moved into NU’s career top-10 list in blocks, passing Carla Baker, who had 414 career blocks from 1986-89, as she now has 418 in her career...With her 11 digs, Saleaumua jumped from ninth to seventh on Husker dig chart, passing Cris Hall (955, 1988-91) and Jaime Krondak (960, 1995-98)....the lat time NU overcame a 2-0 deficit was at Texas Tech on Nov. 21, 1997...NU has won 39 straight matches against the four Big 12 schools from Texas (Baylor, Texas, Texas A&M and Texas Tech)...Stalls eight blocks tied her career high set three other times

Volleyball Box Score

Volleyball Box Score 2004 NEBRASKA VOLLEYBALL #4 Nebraska vs #10 Texas (Oct 20, 2004 at Austin, Texas)

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. 5| 12 7 29 .172| 0| 2 2| 1| 5| 0 1 0| 0| 14.5 8 Elmer, Melissa...... 5| 12 3 23 .391| 1| 0 3| 0| 5| 2 4 0| 0| 16.0 9 Pavan, Sarah........ 5| 18 7 49 .224| 0| 0 1| 1| 0| 0 5 1| 0| 20.5 11 Stalls, Tracy....... 5| 8 7 20 .050| 1| 1 4| 0| 3| 0 8 0| 0| 13.0 18 Busboom, Dani....... 5| 0 1 2 -.500| 59| 0 0| 0| 11| 0 3 0| 3| 1.5 26 Saleaumua, Jennifer. 5| 19 1 40 .450| 1| 0 0| 0| 11| 1 3 1| 0| 21.5 1 McCormick, Amanda... 5| 0 1 1-1.000| 2| 0 0| 1| 21| 0 0 0| 0| 0.0 2 Lynch, Michelle..... 5| 0 0 0 .000| 3| 0 1| 0| 4| 0 0 0| 0| 0.0 7 Mancuso, Dani....... 2| 1 2 5 -.200| 0| 0 2| 0| 3| 0 0 0| 0| 1.0 10 Fautsch, Kelsey..... 5| 2 1 3 .333| 0| 0 0| 0| 1| 0 0 0| 0| 2.0 TEAM................ | | | | 1| | | | 0.0 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Totals.............. 5| 72 30 172 .244| 67| 3 13| 4| 64| 3 24 2| 3| 90.0

TEAM ATTACK PER GAME TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 15.0 Game K E TA Pct 1 15 7 36 .222 GAME SCORES 1 2 3 4 5 TEAM RECORDS 2 15 9 41 .146 Nebraska............ (3) 21 31 30 30 16 16-1, 10-0 Big 12 3 15 6 36 .250 Texas............... (2) 30 33 27 23 14 16-2, 8-2 Big 12 4 18 4 37 .378 5 9 4 22 .227

Texas | ATTACK |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF| BLOCK |GEN ## Name GP| K E TA PCT| A| SA SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE|POINTS ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4 MORIARTY, Michelle.. 5| 0 0 4 .000| 63| 0 2| 0| 12| 0 1 0| 1| 0.5 5 HOWDEN, Bethany..... 5| 19 4 42 .357| 0| 0 4| 0| 4| 0 5 0| 0| 21.5 12 ACEVEDO, Dariam..... 5| 9 8 27 .037| 1| 2 1| 1| 13| 1 2 0| 0| 13.0 13 CHRISTIAN, Jen...... 5| 11 6 30 .167| 0| 0 0| 0| 2| 2 3 0| 0| 14.5 15 TOPIC, Mira......... 5| 25 13 67 .179| 1| 1 2| 1| 13| 1 1 0| 0| 27.5 44 MAGEE, Brandy....... 5| 12 1 22 .500| 0| 0 0| 0| 0| 0 2 2| 0| 13.0 11 HOLLOWAY, Sarah..... 5| 0 0 0 .000| 1| 0 3| 0| 6| 0 0 0| 0| 0.0 16 JENNINGS, Alyson.... 5| 0 0 0 .000| 0| 1 3| 1| 11| 0 0 0| 0| 1.0 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Totals.............. 5| 76 32 192 .229| 66| 4 15| 3| 61| 4 14 2| 1| 91.0

TEAM ATTACK PER GAME TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 11.0 Game K E TA Pct 1 20 2 39 .462 Site: Austin, Texas (Gregory Gym) 2 18 10 48 .167 Date: Oct 20, 2004 Attend: 2515 Time: 2:35 3 17 8 40 .225 Referees: Richard Bleau, Mary Blalock 4 14 8 45 .133 5 7 4 20 .150

1 2 3 4 5 Total Tie scores 6 11 7 5 10 39 Lead changes 3 4 2 3 4 16