No. 10 Huskers Win in Five at Oklahoma

Norman, Okla. ? On an emotional night, the No. 10 Nebraska volleyball team found a way to win, snapping a two-match losing streak with a 3-2 victory (17-25, 26-24, 25-15, 25-27, 15-10) over Oklahoma Wednesday evening at McCasland  Fieldhouse.

The Huskers (10-4, 3-2 Big 12) received career nights all around, led by freshman Hannah Werth’s career-best 17 kills that paced four Nebraska players in double figures. Brook Delano and Lindsey Licht had 14 kills apiece, while Kori Cooper added a season-high 13 kills for the Big Red. Sydney Anderson dished out a season-high 54 assists and added a career-high 16 digs, as NU outhit Oklahoma, .227-.172.

OU, which was honoring the memory of Javi Restrepo ? the son of Oklahoma’s head coach Santiago Restrepo - gave the Huskers all they wanted before falling short in the fifth set.

Werth came up big in the finale, drilling home five kills in the set, while Cooper came back with three kills, including one on match point, as the Huskers collected their 24th consecutive win over Oklahoma (20-4, 3-2 Big 12).

Suzy Boulavasky and Caitlin Higgins led Oklahoma with 14 kills apiece in a losing effort.

Nebraska struggled to get untracked in the opener, as the Sooners took a 25-17 victory. The Huskers hit just .075 in the set with middle blockers Cooper and Delano combining for seven of Nebraska’s 10 kills. The Huskers fell behind early, as Oklahoma used a 4-0 spurt to take a 5-1 lead and force the Huskers to use an early timeout. Nebraska trailed 9-6 before a Cooper kill and a Licht solo block pulled the Huskers within a point at 9-8. NU was within 11-10, but another 5-0 Sooner run made it a 16-10 lead after a block by Boulavsky and Francie Ekwerekwu and forced a Husker timeout.  Nebraska was unable to trim the lead after cutting it to six points the final time at 23-17 after a Sooner attack error.

Nebraska got a strong performance from Cooper in the second set, carrying the Huskers to a 26-24 victory to even the match at one set apiece. The senior middle blocker had five kills on seven swings and four blocks in the set, helping the Huskers out-hit Oklahoma, .260-.098. Cooper got the Huskers off to a roaring start, as the senior had three kills on her first three swings and one block to give NU a 4-0 lead. NU eventually pushed the lead to 8-3 after a Licht kill and built an 11-6 lead on a Werth kill before OU mounted a comeback. The Sooners ran off five straight points to pull even at 11 on a Boulavsky kill before Kayla Banwarth found a hole in the Sooner defense to end the run. The teams traded points before Oklahoma regained the lead at 18-17 on a Higgins kill. Trailing 19-18, Cooper and Werth combined on a block to start a 3-1 Husker spurt as NU took a 22-20 lead on a Sooner error.  The Huskers eventually pushed the lead to 24-22 and had two set points, but a service error and a block by Barker and Ekwerekwu pulled the score even at 24. Nebraska then stiffened up on defense, forcing a pair of hitting errors to send the match to the locker room tied at one apiece.

The Huskers played one of their best sets of the year in set three, hitting .474 in posting a 25-15 victory to take a 2-1 lead. Delano and Anderson combined for most of the damage, combining for eight kills on nine swings. Leading 4-3, Nebraska ran off four unanswered points, taking a 8-3 lead on a Tara Mueller kill and forcing a Sooner timeout. The Sooners trailed 13-7 before two straight Brianne Barker kills made it 13-9. Nebraska then took control, winning seven of the next nine rallies to push the lead to 20-11 after two straight Mueller kills. The Sooners pulled to within 20-13 on a Higgins kill, but two Anderson kills sandwiched around a Mueller ace pushed the margin back to 10 points, at 23-13.

Nebraska got off to an awful start, but still had a chance to win the fourth set before the Sooners rattled off the final three points to win 27-25. NU, which hit just .065 in the set,  fell behind early in the set, as OU ran off the first four points and took advantage of eight NU miscues to build an 11-3 lead after an ace by Higgins. The Huskers trailed 14-6 before kills by Mueller and Licht started the Huskers on a 5-1 spurt, as Nebraska got to within 15-11 on a Mueller ace.  The Huskers continued to battle, getting to within 16-13 on a Sooner hitting error and finally pulling even at 17-all on a Licht kill. Nebraska was unable to sustain the momentum, as a service error and a Boulavsky tip pushed the lead back to two points. OU eventually built a 22-20 lead before a pair of calls pushed it to set point. The Huskers fought off three set points, pulling to within 24-23 on a net call against Oklahoma and forcing the Sooners to take their second timeout. Nebraska continued to work, tying the score at 24 on a Delano kill before Werth’s kill gave the Huskers a chance to win the match. Ekwerekwu kept the Sooners alive before a Husker error gave OU their fifth set point. The Sooners would finally capitalize as Freudenrich found the floor to send it to a fifth set.

In the finale, Nebraska built a 5-3 lead before Oklahoma ran off two straight points to pull even at five. Delano then took over, giving the Huskers a lead with a kill before combining with Werth on a stuff to give NU a 7-5 lead. Werth then pounded home two straight kills to give the Huskers a four-point lead at 9-5. The Sooners pulled to within 9-7 but a hitting error and kills from Werth and Cooper pushed the lead to 12-7 and forced the Sooners to take a timeout. The Sooners pulled to within 14-10, but a Cooper slam found the floor to end the match. Nebraska hit .333 in the set, while holding the Sooners to just .148 hitting

The Huskers will have a bye this weekend, and will take on Kansas next Wednesday, Oct. 7, at the NU Coliseum. First serve is set for 7 p.m. and the match will be carried on the Husker Sports Network and on Huskers.com.