Huskers Sweep UL-Lafayette

Baton Rouge, La.  ? Freshmen Hannah Werth and Gina Mancuso combined for 23 kills, leading No. 6 Nebraska to a 3-0 (25-14, 25-15, 25-10) sweep of UL-Lafayette Friday morning.

Werth totaled a career-high 13 kills on .455 hitting and nine digs, while Mancuso had a personal-best 10 kills and eight digs, as the Huskers (3-1) out-hit the Ragin’ Cajuns, .284-.000 in collecting their third consecutive win.

The Huskers used a young lineup, starting four freshmen, as Allison McNeal and Megan Pendergast all made their first career starts and 12 different players saw action. In all, 30 of NU’s 42 kills were by freshmen as NU needed just 81 minutes of action in a tuneup for tonight’s match with LSU.

The Huskers woke up midway through the opening set, using an 13-2 spurt to close out the opener with a 25-14 victory. The Huskers hit .389 in the set, as Mancuso and Werth combined for 11 kills on .500 hitting for the Big Red. Mancuo had six kills and five digs in the opening set, while Werth added five kills and three digs. Neither team led by more than two points through the first 24 rallies, before the Huskers seized control. The Big Red ran off four straight points, including a pair of Mancuso kills to build a 16-12 lead and force a timeout. A kill by Amie Goodwin ended the spurt, and ULL pulled to within 18-14, but a Mancuso kill and a solo block from Werth started a set-ending 7-0 run for the Huskers, as Mancuso ran off the last six points at the net, while Jordan Wilberger combined for two blocks and a kill for the final three points of the set.

The Huskers continued to apply pressure in the second set, winning nine of the first 12 rallies to build a commanding lead and cruised to a 25-15 victory Werth led the charge with six kills on .500 hitting, while McNeal and Lindsey Licht had two blocka apiece, as ULL had only six kills and hit .000. Nebraska used strong serving by Anderson, Werth and Megan Pendergast to help build a sizable cushion. ULL stayed within 11-6, but a service error and solid serving from Jessica Yanz helped the Huskers push the margin to 15-7 after a Werth kill. NU eventually pushed the lead to double figures, taking a 24-14 lead on a block by McNeal and Licht before Werth’s fifth kill of the set sent NU to the locker room up 2-0.

The Husker defense took any suspense out of the match, as NU collected 23 digs and held ULL to just two kills in a 25-10 victory. McNeal came alive with four kills on six swings and a block, as the Huskers used 11 players in the set, including the debuts of Kaitlynn James and Paige Hubl. Nebraska, which led wire to wire, built a 6-1 early 6-1 lead after a Werth ace. ULL fought back, getting to within 9-5, but Nebraska put the match out of reach with five straight points. Mancuso keyed the run from the service line with four straight points before Werth’s kill made it 14-5. From there, NU cruised to the win, as Yanz ran the offense that featured as many as five freshmen on the court in spurts.

Amie Goodwin led UL-Lafayette (3-3) with seven kills as the Ragin’ Cajuns were held to .000 or worse each of the last two sets.

The Huskers will take on host LSU tonight at 7:30 p.m. Listen to all of the action on the Huskers Sports Network and on Huskers.com.