Volleyball Knocks Off No. 7 Nebraska, 3-2
Oct 11, 2003 | General
Lincoln, Nebraska - Senior Cari Jensen collected 12 kills and hit .303 while Gabby Guerre narrowly missed a triple-double as 12th-ranked Kansas State snapped 7th-ranked Nebraska's 78-match Big 12 winning streak with a thrilling, 30-22, 30-26, 19-30, 23-30, 15-8, win Saturday at a sold-out Nebraska Coliseum.
The win for the Wildcats (16-3, 6-1) was only the second ever over the Huskers (15-2, 7-1) as Nebraska had won 42 straight Big 12 home matches before Saturday. The other Wildcat win was a 3-2 decision back in 1999 in Lincoln.
'I thought our girls showed a tremendous amount of courage tonight,' head coach Suzie Fritz said. 'We felt pretty confident heading into the fifth game after having beaten Missouri in five on Wednesday. Our girls showed a lot of fight and just went out and made things happen. We still have a lot to improve on and we are anxious to getting back to work.'
Besides Jensen's 11 kills, Guerre finished with 9 kills, 37 assists and 18 digs while Lisa Martin had 11 kills. Laura Downey-Wallace led the defense with 21 digs while Lauren Goehring collected five blocks.
After each team traded early points in game one, Kansas State, down 7-6, went on an 8-4 run to take the early 14-10 lead. Lisa Martin made an early presence, accounting for three kills and two blocks during the run. The Cats kept it rolling in the game as kills by Cari Jensen, Valeria Hejjas and blocks by Lauren Goehring and Gabby Guerre extended Kansas State's lead to 22-14. The closest Nebraska would get was at 26-21, but a block by Martin, a service ace by Kris Jensen and a Goehring kill closed out game one, 30-22. The Wildcats held Nebraska to just an .063 hitting percentage in the first game.
Game two started much like game one as K-State took the early 5-2 lead before Nebraska scored the next three points to tie the score. After both teams traded points, a kill by Micheala Franklin and blocks by Goehring and Hejjas gave the Cats a 13-10 lead. After the Huskers tied the game at 13, the Wildcats answered with two kills from Hejjas and a service ace from Guerre to take a 17-13 lead. Each time Nebraska closed the gap, the Wildcats had the answer. With the score 22-20, Guerre and Goehring stuffed a Husker attack and Hejjas followed with a kill to up the lead to 24-20. The Huskers closed the gap to 26-24, but K-State scored four of the last six points, highlighted by a Goehring kill, to win game two, 30-26. The Cat defense held Nebraska to just .100 hitting in game two.
Down 2-0 in the match, Nebraska jumped to the early lead in game three with the Wildcats trying to keep the game close. After a Goehring kill tied the game at nine, Nebraska went on a 7-3 run to go up, 16-12. The Huskers went on an 11-2 run to close out the game and stay alive in the match at two games to one. The Huskers held K-State to a .047 hitting percentage in the game.
Nebraska opened game four with an 8-4 lead before the Wildcats battled back to take a 12-11 lead on a block by Hejjas and Cari Jensen. After Nebraska extended its lead to as many as nine at 29-20, the Cats asnwered with three points in a row to narrow the lead to six, but a Husker kill sealed the game at 30-23, forcing the match to a fifth game.
In the decisive fifth game, K-State jumped out to the early lead after three kills by Hejjas gave the Wildcats a 5-1 lead. But, the Huskers battled back and tied the game at 7 before a Goehring kill gave the Cats an 8-7 lead midway through the game. After the Huskers tied the game at 8, the Wildcats went on a 7-0 run to take the game and the match, 15-8.
The Wildcats return to action on Wednesday when Texas visits Ahearn Field House. First serve is set for 7 p.m. in a match that will be televised nationally by College Sports Television on a tape-delay basis. The match will air Sunday, October 19 at 5 p.m. ET.
#12 Kansas State (16-3, 6-1) 30 30 19 23 15
#7 Nebraska (15-2, 7-1) 22 26 30 30 8
KSU
