Huskers Make Big Strides in Third Sand Season

In its third season as a program, the Nebraska sand volleyball team continued to make impressive progress toward becoming a formidable foe in the newly approved NCAA Championship sport.

The Huskers posted a 6-2 record in the 2015 season, with both losses coming to the top-two ranked teams in the nation (USC and Hawaii). NU was close to pulling off the upset on No. 1 Hawaii, taking the match down to the final pair. Upon the completion of the Huskers' season, they were ranked No. 11 in the DiG Magazine poll.

Nebraska's 6-2 record accounted for both the top winning percentage (.750) and most wins in program history. The Huskers ended the season by capturing the Arizona Wildcat Spring Challenge with a perfect 3-0 record, including a 3-2 upset against No. 11 Arizona in the final match. 

The Big Red ended the season with a six-match win streak. In addition to the season-finale win against the Wildcats, NU beat California (5-0), Arizona State (3-2), Grand Canyon (3-2), Cal State Northridge (4-1) and Boise State (5-0). The Huskers were 4-5 in their 2013 inaugural season and 3-2 in 2014.

The Huskers also took part in the Queen of the Beach Challenge in Honolulu, Hawaii. The Huskers' No. 1 pair, Justine Wong-Orantes and Alicia Ostrander, won the SIlver Bracket title by defeating USC's Bria Russ and Jenna Belton (21-18, 21-17). They posted a 4-1 record at the tournament. Kelly Hunter and Kadie Rolfzen were the only Husker duo to reach the Gold Bracket after going 2-0 in pool play. Hunter and Rolfzen were defeated in the quarterfinals by Hawaii's Nikki Taylor and Brittany Tiegs.

Wong-Orantes and Ostrander, NU's No. 1 pair all season, finished with an 8-5 record. Hunter and Kadie Rolfzen went 8-3 together and formed NU's No. 2 pair down the stretch. Amber Rolfzen and Kira Larson were a perfect 4-0 as Nebraska's No. 3 pair in the final matches of the season. Annika Albrecht and Cecilia Hall were 8-3 and played most of the season in the No. 4 slot. Melanie Keil and Kelsey Fien were 3-0 together as the No. 5 pair.  

Final Records
Justine Wong-Orantes/Alicia Ostrander - 8-5 
Kelly Hunter/Kadie Rolfzen - 8-3
Amber Rolfzen/Kira Larson - 4-0 
Annika Albrecht/Cecilia Hall - 8-3 
Melanie Keil/Kelsey Fien - 3-0
Alexa Ethridge/Kira Larson - 2-4 
Melanie Keil/Amber Rolfzen - 2-4 
Melanie Keil/Alexa Ethridge - 1-1
Kelsey Fien/Kira Larson - 0-1
Kelsey Fien/Sydney Townsend - 0-1 
Kelsey Fien/Amber Rolfzen - 0-1
Kelsey Fien/Alexa Ethridge - 1-1

Sand Volleyball Approved as NCAA Championship
Divisions I, II and III have approved sand volleyball as an NCAA Championship, allowing it to advance from the emerging sports for women list to become a full-fledged NCAA Championship in spring 2016. Sand volleyball will be the 90th NCAA Championship.

Plans are in place to put together a six-person sand volleyball committee, which will set parameters for selection, bracketing and seeding for the national collegiate championship. To achieve championship-sport status, emerging sports must gain at least 40 varsity NCAA programs for individual and team sports (except in Division III, where 28 varsity programs are required for team sports) within 10 years or show steady progress toward that goal.

The NCAA hopes to identify host sites for this new championship by fall 2015. It is anticipated that the championship will occur in early May each year. The championship will have an eight-team bracket that will be played in a double-elimination format. Teams will consist of five pairs of players. The first team to win three of the five matches is the winner, which is similar to how team champions are decided in men’s and women’s tennis. However, unlike tennis, in which national individual champions are crowned in singles and doubles, the NCAA does not plan to name individual or pair champions in sand volleyball.