Huskers beat Kansas in 4 sets, move to NCAA volleyball final

Kadie Rolfzen had 14 kills to lead Nebraska; Mikaela Foecke made 12 kills and Cecilia Hall 10, while Justine Wong-Orantes led the team with 17 digs. Closing the game Nebraska 3, Kansas 1.

Nebraska defeated Harvard, Wichita State, BYU, and Washington in the tournament to get to the Final Four, and will now play for the national title on Saturday against Texas. The Huskers are 0-2 against fellow semifinalists, having lost a five-set match at Texas in September and a four-setter to Minnesota at home in October. The Huskers will be playing for their fourth national championship and first since 2006.

Her coach, Ray Bechard, knows better. Nebraska was only the second team to beat them this season.

Amy Neal made 25 kills and another Texas All-American, Paulina Prieto Cerame, had 19 as the third-seeded Longhorns beat the No. 2 Golden Gophers, 26-24, 27-25, 23-25, 25-21 on Thursday in Omaha.

“Kelly makes a run and we got the crowd into it, so it was a really nice way for us to finish that match”, Nebraska coach John Cook said. Nebraska won the final seven rallies of the match to defeat the Jayhawks in front of 17,551 fans at the CenturyLink Center, the largest volleyball crowd in NCAA history. Minnesota played Texas the last time it reached the semifinal, losing in three sets in 2009.