Licht returns; NU sweeps Kansas
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By TODD HENRICHS / Lincoln Journal Star
LAWRENCE, Kan. — Apparently, all Lindsey Licht needed was a set to warm up.
The sophomore right-side hitter’s left elbow may have been aching, but there was still some thunder evident in that arm in third-ranked Nebraska’s win against Kansas on Saturday.
After taking only three “safe” swings in the first set, Licht cut it loose in the second. She ripped a winner to give NU a 5-4 lead and finished the night with 10 kills, extending her streak of double-digit efforts to five straight matches.
“Once I could see that I could make a lot of shots, that helped,” said Licht, who sat out Wednesday’s match against Missouri.
If the plan was to have Licht rest the arm again Saturday, that all changed when her backup, redshirt freshman Brooke Delano, was lost indefinitely after requiring a surgical procedure Thursday.
The Huskers will likely need Licht at full-speed when they travel to No. 4 Texas with the Big 12 title on the line Wednesday.
“We’ll have to see how it (Licht’s elbow) is Monday,” Nebraska coach John Cook said. “We’ve just got to manage it, and she’s going to have to be tough.
“It may stay this way until we can get her some rest.”
In spite of those concerns, Nebraska came out of Saturday’s match with plenty of momentum. Kansas, though 10th in the Big 12 at 6-10 entering the match, had been swept in conference play only twice all season.
Nebraska hit .447 in Saturday’s 25-21, 25-18, 25-12 victory at the sold-out Horejsi Center, its best showing of the season.
“From the middle of (set) two on, we really played well,” Cook said.
While the Huskers’ offense never slowed down, it was the defensive side that really picked up for the Huskers. Kansas managed only five kills in the third set, which the Jayhawks offset with seven errors.
Licht recorded another of her monster blocks along the way, turning away sophomore Jenna Kaiser. The Jayhawks’ Karina Garlington, the reigning national player of the week, managed only three kills on 20 swings over the final two sets.
“I’m not sure they had a clean kill in the third set,” Cook said.
As a result, Nebraska (25-1, 16-1 Big 12) was already on the bus headed for home as Texas wrapped up its wild 30-28, 25-21, 22-25, 22-25, 15-9 win at No. 14 Kansas State.
Nebraska, which leads the Longhorns by one game in the loss column, can clinch a share of the league title and the Big 12’s automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament with a win Wednesday. A Texas win and the teams would be tied entering the final 10 days of the regular season.
With so much at stake, you’d figure the Huskers might have been looking ahead to next week’s showdown. Not so, they said.
“The seniors do a great job of keeping up going day-by-day and letting us know what we need to focus on,” setter Sydney Anderson said.
Anderson looked as sharp as ever Saturday. Jordan Larson led NU with 15 kills on .438 hitting, but there was also a solid connection between Anderson and middle blockers Amanda Gates and Kori Cooper. They combined for 14 kills on 19 swings.
“I said from the beginning that developing that rhythm would be the big thing,” Anderson said.
Kansas (12-14, 6-11) mustered 18 kills — five from Nebraska native Savannah Noyes — in a first set, when the offenses dominated. Nebraska countered with 17 kills on .421 hitting. Larson took 19 of NU’s 39 swings as the Huskers appeared content to funnel sets to the outside hitters.
Licht, whose first kill didn’t come until Nebraska’s 24th point of the first set, did swing seven times in the second. After the match, she said things felt “all right.”
Then, she added, “I’m sure it will be sore tomorrow.”
Reach Todd Henrichs at 473-7320 or thenrichs@journalstar.com.
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