Swept Iowa St.

[General Blackshirt]

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Ames, Iowa – Kayla Banwarth enjoyed a successful homecoming, totaling a career-high 19 digs in her first career start to lead second-ranked Nebraska to a 30-20, 30-19, 30-16 victory over Iowa State Sunday afternoon.

 

Banwarth, playing in front of nearly 40 family and friends who made the drive from Dubuque, keyed the Huskers’ defensive efforts, as Nebraska (23-1, 15-1 Big 12) held Iowa State to. 135 hitting and out dug the Cycloens, 59-45. The all-around effort silenced the Hilton Coliseum crowd of 6,705 – the largest collegiate crowd to ever see a volleyball match in Iowa. Banworth also chipped in five assists and a service ace as Nebraska totaled five aces and held Iowa State (15-11, 9-7 Big 12) without an ace.

 

Nebraska Coach John Cook was a little worried about Banworth’s nerves before the match, but the freshman passed the test with flying colors.

 

“I thought she would be really nervous, but she did a great job tonight,” Cook said. “It was very impressive performance from her, as she was calm, cool and collected throughout the match. She has gained a lot of confidence in recent matches and has played well for us the last two matches. The other thing Kayla gives us is that she is a former setter and handles the ball very well. We think she can be a real important piece for us down the stretch.”

 

While Banwarth keyed NU’s defensive efforts, Rachel Holloway guided a potent Husker attack by totaling 39 assists and seven kills to help NU hit .388 against a team that was third in the conference in opponent hitting percentage. NU hit over .400 in each of the final two games, including .486 in the finale. Sarah Pavan paced the Huskers’ offensive efforts with a match-high 16 kills on .483 hitting and two aces, as six Huskers totaled at least seven kills in the sweep, the Huskers’ 20th in 25 matches.

 

“I thought we were very good today,” Cook said. “We were on our team for the last three days about coming in her and making a statement today. They followed our game plan very well and Holloway did a great job of mixing up our offense all day. It was a very consistent effort.”

 

The Huskers used a strong start and solid defense in posting a 30-20 victory in the opener. NU totaled a pair of aces and kept the Cyclones off balance with strong serving, while Banwarth totaled nine of the Huskers’ 20 digs in the opener, easily topping her previous career high of five. The Huskers’ strong serving sparked an early run, as Nebraska jumped out to an early 8-2 advantage. Aces from Holloway and Jordan Larson in the first eight points of the match forced the Cyclones to take their first timeout. ISU pulled to within 10-8 before a Holloway kill and two straight kills from Larson highlighted a run of four unanswered points to make it 14-8. From there, the Huskers continued to build on the lead, using another 8-4 spurt to extend the lead to 24-14 after Christina Houghtelling slammed home an overpass.

 

Nebraska’s offense was the story in game two, as the Huskers hit .410 as a team in recording a 30-19 lead to take a 2-0 cushion heading into the locker room. Pavan totaled six kills and hit .455, while Kori Cooper added four kills on seven swings for the Big Red. ISU ran off the first three points but Nebraska quickly responded with three points of its own to tie the contest at 3-all on a Larson kill. The teams traded points and before NU took control of the match with a 7-2 run, turning a 10-9 lead into a 17-11 cushion after a Banwarth ace. The Cyclones got to within 18-13, but Tract Stalls sparked a 5-0 Husker spurt with a block and two kills to help NU take a 10-point lead at 23-13. NU eventually pushed the lead to 27-15 after consecutive kills from Pavan and cruised to an 11-point win.

 

In the finale, Nebraska continued to play well offensively, hitting .486 behind six kills from Pavan and four apiece from both Houghtelling and Stalls. Larson got the Huskers rolling early, as she had a block before running four points from the service line to help NU build a 5-1 lead. Iowa State fought back, pulling to within 10-7 before the Huskers rebounded to win four of the next six rallies to take a 14-8 lead after a block from Pavan and Cooper. ISU was within 17-11 before two straight Stalls kills and a Pavan ace pushed the lead to 20-11 and forced the Cyclones to take their final timeout. The Huskers continued to build on the lead and doubled up ISU at 28-14 before completing the sweep moments later on Pavan’s 16th kill of the night.

 

Victoria Henson led Iowa State with 11 kills, while no other Cyclone recorded more than eight, as ISU fell to 0-72 all-time against Nebraska.

 

The Huskers are back in action on Wednesday night, as they travel to College Station, Texas, for a matchup with the Texas A&M Aggies. First serve is set for 5:30 p.m. and will be carried on the Husker Sports Network and Huskers.com

 

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unfortunately i did not get my camera fixed in time for the game. Real shame, I had about 4th row seats.

 

Hilton was probably about 40-50% Husker Fans today though!!

[Drowning_in_the_Sea_of_Red]

Hilton was probably about 40-50% Husker Fans today though!!

Sounded like it on the radio!

 

I think the girls have regained their confidence. They dominated.

[Husker Runner]

Great to see such a solid effort out of the team after the last couple of weeks.