Licht Leads Huskers Past Colorado

Boulder, Colo. ? Lindsey Licht pounded home a match-high 16 kills, leading eighth-ranked Nebraska to a 25-13, 25-22, 25-13 sweep of Colorado Saturday night at the Coors Events Center.

Licht, an Aurora, Colo., native, shined in NU’s sixth sweep of the year, as her 16 kills were a season best while she also hit a season-high .481 on 27 swings to help Nebraska improve to 9-2 overall and 2-0 in the Big 12.

All-American Tara Mueller also added 11 kills on .350 hitting and eight digs, as the Huskers held the Buffaloes (5-6, 0-2 Big 12) to .042 hitting on the night.

The Huskers got a dominating effort from Licht in the opener, as the junior right side hitter pounded home seven kills on 10 swings to propel the NU attack in the opener. In all, the Huskers out-hit Colorado, .343-.100, as outside hitters Tara Mueller and Hannah Werth combined for five kills.  Leading 9-7, the Huskers ran off five of the next seven points, taking a 14-9 lead on a combined block from Brooke Delano and Hannah Werth to force Colorado to take a timeout. The Buffaloes came back, getting to within 16-13, but a Colorado service error started another 5-1 run for NU keyed by Delano, who had a kill, block and ace in a four-point sequence to put NU ahead 21-14 and force CU to take its second timeout. The Buffaloes stopped the run with a kill from Bacah Fogle, but a Mueller kill started NU on a run of four straight points to close out the set.

The second set was a tale of two halves, as Nebraska rallied from deficits of seven and eight points to pull out a 25-22 victory The Huskers got off to a sluggish start, as the Buffaloes used a 10-1 run to erase a 4-3 Husker lead and take a 13-5 advantage, as Nebraska used both timeouts to slow down the Colorado attack. Nebraska, which had one kill and seven errors in its first 15 attempts of the set, eventually fell behind 17-10 before Licht got the Huskers rolling again. The left-hander slammed two straight kills to start the run and had three kills and a block in a 6-0 run to pull the Huskers within 17-16 when she combined with Delano for a block. Trailing 18-16, kills from Licht and Werth tied the score and set the turning point of the play, as Kayla went into the courtside seats to keep a rally alive before Mueller made a great play to send the ball over. The hard work was rewarded, as a hitting error on Becah Fogle gave Nebraska its first lead since early in the set. With the score tied at 20, Werth gave NU the lead for good with a kill before a ball-handling miscue put the Huskers up 22-20. CU got to within 23-22, but a Mueller kill put NU within set point before Licht combined with Wilberger on a block at set point.

In the finale, Mueller took control with five kills on .444 hitting as Nebraska rolled to a 25-13 victory. NU held the Buffaloes to three kills and -.115 hitting Nebraska took control early, using a 6-2 spurt to turn a two-all contest into an 8-4 lead after a Mueller tip. NU eventually doubled up the Buffaloes after Mueller and Wilberger combined on a block to put the Huskers up 10-5 and forced CU to use a timeout. CU pulled to within 10-6, but Nebraska won six of the next eight rallies to extend the margin to 16-8. The Buffs made one last run to get within 18-12, but the Huskers closed out the match by winning seven of the next eight rallies to complete the sweep.

Fogle led the Buffaloes with six kills, as no other player had at least five kills.

The Huskers will wrap up their two-match road swing Wednesday night, as they travel to Texas A&M. First serve is set for 6 p.m. and the match will be carried on the Husker Sports Network and on Huskers.com while also televised live on ESPNU.