University of Louisville
Nebraska<br>(Nebraska Tournament)
Volleyball Falls to No. 1 Nebraska
September 08, 2006 | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 8, 2006
Nebraska's Sarah Pavan notched her one thousandth kill as part of her 18 to lead the No. 1-ranked Huskers to a three-game sweep of No. 20-ranked Louisville in collegiate volleyball action in Lincoln, Nebraska.
"Nebraska is the top ranked team in the country and it is a difficult task to come into their house and expect it to be easy," said U of L head coach Leonid Yelin. "This is the reason we come here to play the best and play in a tournament environment. It will only serve us well in the future."
Nebraska stays unbeaten at 5-0 and U of L drops to 4-3 with the 30-13, 30-24, 30-13 loss.
U of L was led by Stephanie Marsh's seven kills and two blocks. Nebraska's Jordan Larson joined Pavan in double digit kills with 14, adding five aces and three blocks to her output.
The Cardinals may have been a bit starstruck before the raucous crowd of 4,187 in the first game as they were held to their lowest point total ever in the 30-point system. The previous low was 19 against Nebraska in 2004. U of L managed to get up 3-1 on the No. 1 ranked Nebraska in the first game. The Huskers ran off nine straight points and then pulled steadily away under the power of .406 hitting. U of L was aced five times and nine of the Cardinals 13 points came on Husker errors rather than U of L offense. Sarah Pavan led Nebraska with six kills . Dani Busboom had three aces.
U of L regained its footing in the second game by tying at eight when Kristie Wetterer came in at defensive specialist and served for three straight points. Emboldened, the Cards took their first lead at 11-10 on a kill by Stephanie Marsh. Nebraska responded with a 4-1 run but the cards were able to battle back to a tie at 14 on a Stephanie Marsh solo block. Two subsequent U of L blocks took U of L up 16-14 and forced Nebraska coach Jon Cook to call timeout. The Cardinals stayed close m with a Rui Liu kill bringing them back to within one at 22-21. Nebraska finished with an 8-3 run to take a two-game lead into the lockerroom at the break. U of L was held to a season low hitting of .093 in the second set but outblocked the Huskers 4-1.
U of L didn't fare as well in the final set as they were held to 13 points again. The Huskers ran off the first six straight points and then continued to pull away from the Cardinals. Nebraska hit a blistering .667 in the third game to U of L's .136.
