Nebraska sweeps Texas in 3 sets for NCAA volleyball title

Foecke had lots of help.

Joining Foecke on the all-tournament team for Nebraska were Amber Rolfzen (10 kills, .625), Justine Wong-Orantes (17 digs) and Hunter (42 assists).

The championship point was on a kill blasted through a block by the lone Huskers’ senior regular, Kelsey Fien, who also had the final point of the Lexington Regional against Washington.

Cook took over the Nebraska program in 2000, when he won the NCAA title over his former program, Wisconsin. 297 to. 222 to take its first set 25-23. The No. 2 Golden Gophers won the Big Ten with an 18-2 record, edging Nebraska, which was at 17-3. Kat Brooks prevented the Golden Gophers from saving another, as her soft jump serve fell untouched and gave the Horns a 26-24 first-set win. A Lohman kill tied it up early at 4-4.

Foecke had kills on Nebraska’s 21, 22, and 24 points in the second set, helping Nebraska overcome a 22-21 deficit. 333 with 13 kills. Texas would cut the lead short, tying it up at 8-8.

The fact the Huskers are playing Texas just adds a little spice, maybe a lot. 310 to.220, with Foecke leading the way with eight kills on 12 swings (.667).

The start of this women’s college volleyball season for Gull Lake grad Katie Schau and her Minnesota teammates wasn’t too good as the Golden Gophers dropped their first two matches. The Huskers held a 9-7 lead but Texas quickly tied it 9-9 on a kill by Neal and Husker hitting error.

By the time the Huskers finished the sweep of the Longhorns – their longtime nemesis in the Big 12 Conference – it was so loud that it seemed the roof was crumbling. Minnesota took its first lead at 15-14, but Texas took back the lead off a block.

“I adore the twins; their family is awesome”, said Collins, who is one of 11 Texans on the Longhorns” roster.

Yasmeen Bedart-Ghani and Paulina Prieto Cerame led the third-seeded Longhorns with 11 kills, and Amy Neal added 10. The talented freshmen (Foecke and Bedart-Ghani) traded kills before Foecke smacked another, tying it 22-22. Both teams went on four combined runs of 3-0 or greater, leading to 15 ties and six lead changes. Texas hit a ball out of bounds to make it 19-16, and a Kadie Rolfzen ace made the score 20-16 Huskers.

Set 1: The Texas Longhorns out hit Minnesota.

Texas will play the victor of Nebraska-Kansas on Saturday.

After Obgogu went down, the Horns began to struggle some in the fourth set as the Golden Gophers were able to find seams in the defense and put down a number of spikes.

“Some of those rallies were worth two points, because it got the crowd energized”, Cook said.

Set 2: Texas out hit Minnesota. The Longhorns cut it to 17-16 with three straight kills before NU called timeout.

Texas prevailed in a tightly-contested second set where neither team led by more than two points at any stretch. If the championship game comes down to the Longhorns and Jayhawks, it might well favor the burnt orange after a 3-0 victory in Austin this year. Amber Rolfzen gave the Huskers match point, 24-19, with a kill on the slide. The Huskers won 3-1 in Amherst, Mass., and it was the first NCAA volleyball final that didn’t include a team from either California or Hawaii.