Reds Outlast Whites in Scrimmage

Lincoln ? Nebraska’s Red/White scrimmage lived up to its billing, and then some Saturday night at the Nebraska Coliseum. A Red/White record crowd of 4,073 were treated to nearly two hours of exciting volleyball with the Red squad, consisting of many of Nebraska’s starters, prevailing with a 29-31, 30-23, 30-25 victory.

In what was a final test for the Huskers before next Friday’s season opener against Tennessee, a sellout crowd and an emotional atmosphere gave the match the feeling of a contest that would be played in November or December than an exhibition in mid-August.

"This was unbelievable," Nebraska Head Coach John Cook said. "This was final-four type volleyball. I think one of the great things tonight for our players was our fans to come out and support this match like they did tonight. For the fans to come out here and support us tonight and give us a standing ovation like they did at the end, I can’t tell you what it means to our players to have that kind of support."

While the Red squad featured four returning All-Americans, including the return to action of 2005 AVCA National Player of the Year Christina Houghtelling, the White squad was up the challenge behind the performances of U.S. Olympian Nancy Metcalf and Dani Busboom, the Huskers starting libero from last season’s title team who had spent the spring training with the USA Volleyball program.

Houghtelling, in her first match at the Coliseum since December of 2005, nearly totaled a double-double with a team-high 16 digs and nine kills. The senior, who missed last season following shoulder surgery did not commit an attack error through on her first 16 swings of the match and hit .250 on 28 swings.

"I thought Christina made some big breakthroughs tonight," Cook said. "She didn’t make errors attacking, and she is getting more and more comfortable passing and blocking. I think Christina has to be one of the best outside blockers in the country and her passing and defense tonight was very good."

Fellow All-American Jordan Larson led the Reds with a double-double, totaling 13 digs and match-high 11 kills against a stout White defense, while freshman Lindsey Licht and sophomore Kori Cooper totaled eight and seven kills, respectively.

"The level of competition tonight was so good that a lot of tonight’s swings would have been kills against other teams," Cook said. "It’s hard for me to evaluate, but I liked the mentality that we’re playing with, especially defensively."

The Reds, even without reigning AVCA National Player of the Year Sarah Pavan, held the White squad to just .159 hitting on the night and enjoyed a 10-6 edge in blocks.

While fans were treated to some outstanding performances from former greats like Metcalf (11 kills and 10 digs) and Busboom (25 digs), they also saw the Huskers’ talented freshmen class in their debuts. Middle blocker Brooke Delano totaled nine kills, while Tara Mueller finished with eight kills and six digs for the White squad. For the Reds, Kayla Banwarth finished with 12 digs in her Husker debut.

"The freshmen have been having some good days in practice," Cook said. "Hopefully they got a good feel tonight about what kind of level it is and how important every point is and the intensity they are going to have to play with every match."

The highlight of the night came following the scrimmage, as the Husker players received their national championship rings and 2006 seniors Dani Busboom and Dani Mancuso unveiled the national championship banner for the first time.

The Huskers open the regular season next Friday, Aug. 24, at the AVCA Showcase at Qwest Center Omaha. Nebraska will take on Tennessee in the evening’s second match, scheduled for 8:30 p.m. Tickets for the AVCA Showcase on sale from Ticketmaster.com.