Huskers sweep Sooners
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BY TODD HENRICHS / Lincoln Journal Star
NORMAN, Okla. — On a night off from conference play last week, the Oklahoma volleyball team packed up and moved its practice to the city’s postal service training facility.
For the Sooners, it was both a change of pace and a chance to promote their team ahead of a weekend showdown with second-ranked Nebraska.
But with Saturday’s first set tied 20-20, it was the Huskers who delivered. Four straight points, including kills by Tara Mueller and Jordan Larson and blocks by Kori Cooper and Sydney Anderson, allowed NU to post its eighth sweep in eight October matches.
“We don’t really try to pay attention to the score, we just try to play to win,” said Larson, whose team has rarely found itself in tight end-of-set situations this season.
Including Saturday’s 25-21, 25-16, 25-13 win, an NU opponent has reached 20 or more points in only six sets this month. It’s happened only 14 times all season.
“We’re even-keel and pretty relaxed, but we’re always in constant fight mode,” Larson added. “We want to get it done, and then we can take a deep breath afterward.”
Coach John Cook breathed easier as he watched his team effectively execute its game plan to attack with the middle blockers. In doing so, the Huskers (20-0, 11-0 Big 12) avoided the pitfalls that tend to come with a visit to McCasland Field House.
Even though a young Oklahoma team coming off back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances has struggled this season, the Sooners (8-12, 4-8) took a set off No. 3 Texas and extended No. 13 Kansas State in a five-set thriller in Norman.
“The thing that we’re probably most happy about is we didn’t start playing Oklahoma volleyball,” said Cook, after watching his team hit .340, the Huskers’ best mark in Big 12 play.
“They have a tendency to just kind of lull you into playing a sloppy, unorthodox game of volleyball,” he added. “We continued to do what we needed to do.”
Cooper combined with Amanda Gates for 14 kills on 22 swings by NU’s middle attackers. Gates finished with eight kills alone on .700 hitting, the best efficiency mark for a Husker this year.
Defensively, NU had 12 blocks, including five from Lindsey Licht. The sophomore was dominant in spurts, most noticeably in a stretch where NU won five of six rallies in the first set.
Larson (12 kills and 10 digs) was her steady self, scoring her first double-double in a month to tie Nancy Metcalf as Nebraska’s career leader in the category since Big 12 play began in 1996.
Metcalf had 44 double-doubles in her four-year career at Nebraska. Jennifer Saleaumua, another great all-around player, finished with 40.
“If all areas of my game are pretty consistent, that’s all I hope for,” said Larson, who leads NU with six double-double performances this season.
“Being an all-around player, you have to find some kind of balance because there are going to be nights where something isn’t on,” she added. “You’ve got to make sure the other part is on. That’s what I concentrate on.”
What Cook wants Nebraska to focus on in the second half of Big 12 play is being a strong road team. And while Saturday was far from perfect, what encouraged the coach the most was how the Huskers didn’t let up in closing out the win.
“Game 3 was so important for us to keep the hammer on them,” he said. “We’ve got to develop that toughness on the road.”
Reach Todd Henrichs at 473-7320 or thenrichs@journalstar.com.
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