Huskers Sweep Cyclones to Advance to Regional Final

Omaha, Neb. - Behind a balanced offensive attack and a terrific defensive effort, 10th-seeded Nebraska swept past seventh-seed Iowa State, 3-0 on Friday night in the second semifinal of the NCAA Omaha Regional at the Qwest Center.

The Huskers rolled to a 25-11, 25-19, 25-22 win to improve to 26-6 on the season and advance to the Regional Final for an NCAA-leading sixth straight season. Nebraska will face No. 2 seed Texas on Saturday at 8 p.m. (Central) and tickets are still available for that match by calling Ticketmaster at 1-800-745-3000 or by visiting ticketmaster.com. The match will also be televised on ESPNU.

Nebraska was well balanced on Friday, as four Huskers had at least nine kills. Nebraska hit .324 as a team, topping .300 for the second straight time against the stout Iowa State defense. Lindsey Licht paced NU with 10 kills on 21 swings, while Kori Cooper, Brooke Delano and Hannah Werth all added nine kills. Defensively, the Huskers held Iowa State to a season-low .096 attack percentage, as the Huskers recorded eight blocks and 51 digs.

Iowa State struggled to score all night, committing 22 errors to go with 33 kills. Victoria Henson had 13 kills on .321 hitting, but three of the other four Cyclones who had a swing hit .062 or worse, including two players who hit negative.

Nebraska controlled the first set from the opening serve, racing out to a 14-3 lead and forcing Iowa State to use both of its time outs. Highlighting the early surge was a 7-0 run with Gina Mancuso at the service line, when the Huskers benefitted from three straight Cyclone attack errors. Even after Iowa State settled into the match, Nebraska maintained its 11-point lead at 21-10. The Huskers then won four of the final five rallies and took the first set on a kill from Brooke Delano. NU hit .441 in the opening set, pounding home 17 kills with only two errors on 34 swings.

In the second set, NU again started fast, scoring seven of the first 10 points. But the Cyclones answered back this time, twice trimming the lead to three before a 5-0 run gave Iowa State a 12-11 lead. Nebraska immediately regained the lead by winning three straight rallies and led 16-13 before the Cyclones rallied with four straight points to take a one-point advantage. The Huskers had another answer, again winning three straight rallies to take a 19-17 lead and force a Cyclone time out. After the break, Nebraska won three more rallies to stretch the lead to 22-17 and force ISU into another time out. The Huskers made it seven straight points with a Tara Mueller kill after the second time out and closed out the set on a Cyclone error four rallies later. ISU hit .000 in the second set, committing 10 errors, including four Husker blocks.

The third set equaled another fast start for the Huskers, as Nebraska won the first four rallies before a service error. The Huskers led 6-1 before the Cyclones ran off three straight points to pull within two. Nebraska stretched the lead back to four and ISU again trimmed it to two before the Huskers won four straight rallies to go on top 14-8. Nebraska continued to lead by at least four and was on top 18-12 when Iowa State called a time out. When the Cyclones burned their second time out, they still had made up no ground, trailing 21-15.

ISU finally chipped into the lead after the break, scoring three straight points to force a Husker time out with the lead trimmed to three. The lead was cut to 22-20 before a kill from Werth put the Huskers two points away. After the Cyclones won the next rally, a service error gave Nebraska its first match point and two rallies later, Cooper sent the Huskers to the regional final with a kill.

Iowa State ended its season with a 27-5 record, setting a school record for the most victories during the NCAA era.