Baylor
Nebraska
Volleyball Drops 3-1 Decision to No. 8 Nebraska
11/22/2003 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Nov. 22, 2003
LINCOLN, Neb. - Senior outside hitter Stevie Nicholas had 22 kills and 10 digs as Baylor gave No. 8 Nebraska all it could handle, but the Bears fell, 3-1 (30-19, 30-24, 28-30, 30-27), in Big 12 volleyball action Saturday night at Nebraska Coliseum. Nicholas became the third player in Baylor history to reach 1,500 kills for her career and passed Heather Williams (1989-92) for second on the Bears' all-time kills list.
Senior outside hitter Tisha Schwartz had 15 kills and 12 digs for her team-leading 16th double-double of the season, while freshman outside hitter Andrea Vakulya had 14 kills and 13 digs for her eighth double-double. Freshman middle blocker Nicole LeBlanc led the Bears (12-20, 4-14 Big 12) by shattering her career-high with 15 digs. Sophomore setter Emily Huston had 53 assists and 11 digs for her eighth double-double.
Melissa Elmer led Nebraska (25-4, 16-3) with 18 kills, while Anna Schrad chipped in with 16 and Jennifer Saleaumua added 12. Amanda McCormick had a match-high 16 digs, while Dani Busboom had 12 and Dani Mancuso added 10.
Two quick runs were all Nebraska needed to take game one, 30-19. The Huskers pulled away by scoring four-straigtht to take a 14-9 lead, then scored another four in a row to go up, 20-12, and cruise to the 1-0 lead. Nebraska hit .432 and got six kills from Schrad, while the Bears hit .282 and got five kills from both Nicholas and Vakulya.
Nebraska built an early 14-7 lead in game two to force Baylor to take a timeout. The Bears hung around within five until the Huskers scored three-striaght to take a 20-12 lead; however, Baylor went on a six-point run to cut the lead to 21-19. Nebraska responded with a six-point run of its own and took the game, 30-24. Nebraska hit only .180 in the game as the Bears had five blocks, but Baylor hit only .083. Nicholas had seven kills in the game for Baylor, while Elmer had six to lead Nebraska.
Baylor jumped out to a 13-8 lead in game three behind five kills from Nicholas, who ended up with seven in the game. The Bears later went on a four-point run behind the serve of sophomore defensive specialist Marisa Kersten to take a 17-10 lead, but the Huskers crept back into the game by cutting the lead to 23-19, then scored four-straight to cut the lead to 26-24. After a kill from Schwartz, the Huskers scored three-straight and tied the game, 27-27, on back-to-back aces by Michelle Lynch, who had five in the match, but the Bears regained the momentum by scoring two-straight to take it to game point. The Huskers, which hit only .170, fought off one game point, but the Bears, which hit .295, closed out the game, 30-28. It marked only the second time in 17 meetings that Baylor had taken a game from Nebraska, the first time coming in a 3-1 loss on Nov. 17, 2001 in Lincoln.
The Bears fell behind, 5-1, early in game four, but quickly bounced back to tie the game, 6-6. With the score tied, 9-9, Baylor went on a five-point run to go up, 14-9, and pushed the lead to 18-11. Nebraska answered with a four-point rally to cut the lead to 18-15, but Baylor answered back with three-straight to go up, 22-16. The Bears led 25-20, but the Huskers ripped off five-straight to tie the game, 25-25 and went on to close out the match, 30-27.
Baylor returns to action when is hosts Kansas on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the Ferrell Center. Wednesday is also Senior Night, when the Bears will honor the outstanding careers of Nicholas and Schwartz.
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