Huskers Sweep Their Way to San Antonio

Omaha ? Junior Christina Houghtelling pounded a match-high 18 kills on .615 hitting, the sixth-best postseason total in school history, as the top-ranked Nebraska volleyball team advanced to the program’s ninth national semifinal with a 3-0 sweep (30-26, 30-24, 30-16) of fourth-ranked Florida in front of an NCAA-record crowd of 15,119 Saturday night at the Qwest Center Omaha.

 

Houghtelling was named the Omaha Region Most Outstanding Player. Teammates Sarah Pavan and Jennifer Saleaumua were also named to the all-region team while Florida’s trio included Angie McGinnis, Amber McCray and Jane Collymore.

 

Nebraska punched its ticket to next week’s semifinal in San Antonio by hitting .300 as a team, including a blistering .567 in game three, to become the first opponent to hit better than .300 against the Gators this season. While the offense clicked, the Husker defense held Florida to a season-low .084 hitting percentage. The Huskers (32-1) will face Santa Clara on Thursday, Dec. 15, at 8:30 p.m. at the Alamodome.

 

The Huskers have won all 12 games in the 2005 NCAA Tournament and improved to a perfect 4-0 at the Qwest Center this season, with each victory coming via a sweep over a ranked opponent, including three wins over top-five foes.

 

Husker Nation came out in full force, topping Friday night’s attendance record as Saturday’s attendance was the first volleyball match in NCAA history to have more than 15,000 fans in attendance. The 29,608 all-session attendance was also an NCAA record.

 

The loss snapped Florida’s 12-match winning streak and ended the Gators’ season at 33-3.

 

In the early going of game one, Nebraska opened a 5-3 lead before Florida responded with three unanswered points. After a net violation by the Gators that tied the game, Florida ran off three consecutive points to take a 9-6 advantage. Nebraska pulled even at 14-14 and took the lead after a double-stuff block from Tracy Stalls and Sarah Pavan. A Pavan kill extended the Huskers’ advantage to 16-14 and capped a 6-1 run for NU, forcing a Gator timeout.

 

After the break, Florida stormed back to take a 17-16 lead after scoring the next three points. The Gators enjoyed a 21-18 advantage before the Huskers tied it with a 3-0 run capped by a double-stuff block from Melissa Elmer and Houghtelling. Nebraska retook the lead at 23-22 on an Elmer kill, before the Gators tied it on a kill from Kisya Killingsworth. A Gator service error and a Nebraska block gave the Huskers a 25-23 lead, forcing Florida to take its final timeout of the first game. The teams exchanged point until a Florida attacking error gave the Huskers a 28-25 lead. Leading 29-26, Nebraska clinched the first game when Houghtelling and Stalls combined to block UF’s Kari Klinkenborg on the Huskers’ first match point, one of eight NU blocks in the game.

 

Houghtelling led Nebraska with five kills on eight swings in the game, as the Huskers hit just .125. Jane Collymore and Killingsworth led Florida with four kills each, as the Gators were held to a .095 hitting percentage in game one.

 

Nebraska jumped out to a 7-4 lead in the second game, before the Gators closed the gap to 7-6. The Huskers responded with a 4-1 run to take an 11-7 lead and expanded the advantage to 13-8 before a Florida timeout. At the break, Nebraska had produced nine kills on 11 swings without an error and was hitting .818 in the game. NU scored the first two points after the timeout to cap another 4-1 Husker run. Trailing 15-8, the Gators took the next three points to pull to within four and force a Nebraska timeout.

 

Florida maintained its momentum after the timeout, scoring six consecutive points to run the Gators’ lead to 17-15 before another Nebraska timeout. With Rachel Engel still at the service line for UF, the Gators increased the lead to 18-16 before Elmer ended Florida’s 10-0 run with a kill.

 

Elmer’s kill ignited a run of four straight Nebraska points, including a Houghtelling kill that ended the longest rally of the night. With the Huskers leading 19-18, the teams traded points until Nebraska won two straight to take a 23-21 advantage and force Florida to burn its final timeout.

 

NU took control of the game and pushed its lead to 27-21 with freshman Rachel Schwartz serving six straight points. A kill from Jane Collymore ended the Huskers’ run and the squads traded points until Florida pulled to within 28-24. A Houghtelling kill gave the Huskers four consecutive match points and the Cambridge, Neb., native finished the game off with another kill on the next point.

 

Down two games, Florida responded by taking a quick 3-0 lead in game three, before Nebraska responded with four consecutive points. The game remained close until the Huskers took an 11-8 advantage before a Florida timeout. NU increased the lead to 16-9 before the Gators burned their second timeout.

 

Nebraska continued to pound away at Florida, racing to a 21-10 lead with a 5-1 run after the timeout. The Huskers pushed their lead to 29-16 on an ace serve from Houghtelling for their largest lead of the match. On match point, Elmer and Pavan combined to stuff Collymore and send the Huskers to San Antonio.

 

NU will be seeking its third national title at the Alamodome next weekend. Joining the Huskers in San Antonio are Washington and Tennessee and Santa Clara.

 

NCAA Omaha All-Region Team

Christina Houghtelling, Nebraska (MOP)
Sarah Pavan, Nebraska

Jennifer Saleaumua, Nebraska

Angie McGinnis, Florida
Amber McCray, Florida
Jane Collymore, Florida