Colorado hands NU its first loss
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BY TODD HENRICHS / Lincoln Journal Star
BOULDER, Colo.. — The sequel to the “Rocky Horror Picture Show” was just another nightmare for Nebraska.
In a repeat performance of 2006, an unranked Colorado team handed the Husker volleyball team its first loss of the season amid the beauty of the snow-capped mountains.
The same Buffs outfit that was swept in 74 minutes in Lincoln earlier this month, and that needed five sets to outlast Big 12 cellar-dweller Texas Tech on Saturday, stunned the second-ranked Huskers and the pro-Nebraska crowd by winning 25-19, 27-25, 18-25, 25-16.
Nebraska (20-1, 11-1 Big 12) had swept its last nine opponents, a stretch in which the Huskers’ overmatched foes had scored more than 20 points in only four sets. But even as the Huskers were rolling, coach John Cook sensed complacency setting in.
Tara Mueller agreed.
“We’ve been winning and blowing teams out 3-0,” the sophomore outside hitter said after suffering her first loss as a starter. “Colorado came out with everything they had, and I don’t think we were ready for that effort.”
If the end result wasn’t stunning enough, how the Buffs got to the point where they could celebrate in a pile under the net was even more shocking.
Colorado (12-9, 6-6) won the first set despite only generating eight kills. And in the second set, the Buffs overcame a 23-16 deficit, the kind of gut-wrenching blow that you thought the Huskers might not recover from.
Yet Nebraska bounced back to dominate the third set, and then you figured the Huskers were on their way to a comeback along the lines of Michigan State and Kansas State last season.
But this rally had all the staying power of an 18-wheeler trying to climb the Rockies.
Nebraska fell behind 5-1 in the fourth set and never recovered.
The Huskers, according to senior co-captain Jordan Larson, were effectively taken out of their game.
“A lot of us were on an emotional roller coaster, me personally and a lot of the other players,” said Larson, who has been a part of only four regular-season losses in her career.
“Tonight, we weren’t able to take the momentum and move on. Instead, we were focusing on past plays and focusing on what we’d done wrong.”
There were plenty of opportunities for that, considering the Huskers missed a season-high 14 serves and hit a season-low .153.
Nebraska’s early serving miscues — the Huskers put only five of their first nine serves into play — were a warning sign, Cook said. Nebraska was leading the first set 8-4, but after back-to-back serving errors, the Huskers were tied 9-9.
“Now they’ve got momentum and they’ve got confidence,” he said.
Nebraska, on the other hand, was shaken by the Buffs’ amazing rally in the second set. Colorado strung together eight points, ultimately winning on Emilie Sisco’s ninth kill of the set. The junior finished with 17 to lead the inspired Buffs.
“We know how to battle here,” Colorado coach Pi’i Aiu said.
A year ago, the Buffs won only one Big 12 match, but this week in practice, Aiu had to squash talk of Colorado’s win against the Huskers two years ago.
“I told them, ‘You’re going to build your own memories tonight,’” he said.
The Huskers, meanwhile, could be haunted by this loss.
Lindsey Licht led NU with 14 kills and six blocks, but the Colorado native erred 11 times and was pulled from the lineup for a rally during the fourth set.
Mueller added 13 kills and Larson had 10, but the two outside hitters combined for nine service errors.
The only good news for the Huskers came thanks to another shocking upset in the Big 12 on Wednesday. Ninth-place Oklahoma won at Texas, ending the Longhorns’ 23-match home winning streak and dropping them to 9-2 in league play.
The Huskers’ showdown at Texas is still three weeks away, but Cook made no predictions Wednesday as to how his team might bounce back from its first loss.
Two years ago, the Huskers came back from the loss in Boulder to win nine straight matches and capture the national championship in Omaha.
“It’s hard to be great every night,” Cook said. “I’ve told this team our margin for error is small.
“We’ve been very complacent the last couple of weeks with a lot of the little things, and Colorado made us pay for it.”
Reach Todd Henrichs at 473-7320 or thenrichs@journalstar.com.
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