Monday Morning Sports – Husker Volleyball Earns No. 10 Seed, Nebraska Basketball Start Time Set, Saturday Recap, Husker Postgame Comments

HUSKER VOLLEYBALL EARNS NCAA BID, SITS AT No. 10 SEED

The Nebraska volleyball team was selected as the No. 10 overall seed for the NCAA Tournament Sunday night and will host the NCAA first and second rounds at the Bob Devaney Sports Center this coming weekend.

The Huskers, making their 40th straight NCAA Tournament appearance, will open the tournament on Friday, Dec. 3 at 7 p.m. against Campbell (21-9), champions of the Big South Conference. The 4:30 p.m. match will feature Florida State (19-9) of the Atlantic Coast Conference and Kansas State (15-12) of the Big 12 Conference.

Louisville, Texas, Pitt and Wisconsin received the top four seeds from the NCAA Tournament Committee. Should those teams all advance past the first weekend, they would host an NCAA Regional the following weekend.

The 2021 Husker squad looks to return to the Final Four for the 16th time in program history. This year’s NCAA Championship is set for December 16-18 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.

NEBRASKA BASKETBALL TIME SET FOR SATURDAY’S INDIANA MATCH

The Nebraska men’s basketball team will open Big Ten play next Saturday, Dec. 4, at 11 a.m. (CT) at Indiana.

The game will be carried on BTN and on the Huskers Radio Network.

HUSKER WOMEN’S BASKETBALL WINS TITLE IN SAN DIEGO

Jaz Shelley led three Huskers in double figures with 16 points, including a pair of huge fourth-quarter three-pointers, to help Nebraska surge down the stretch for a 64-56 victory over the hosts from San Diego in the championship game of The Dana on Mission Bay Holiday Tournament at Jenny Craig Pavilion on Saturday.

With the win, Nebraska improved to 7-0 to start the season for the first time since 2014-15.

Nebraska will return to Lincoln briefly before continuing its four-game road swing by battling 2021 NCAA Tournament qualifier Wake Forest in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge on Wednesday. Tip-off between the Huskers and Demon Deacons (7-0) is set for 6 p.m.

STORM WIN STREAK ENDS AT NINE

The Tri-City Storm’s nine-game winning streak ended Saturday night at Scheels Arena in a 5-4 overtime loss to the Fargo Force. Tri-City came within one game of tying the organization’s record for most consecutive wins.

Tri-City hits the ice again on Friday, December 3rd in a road game against the Omaha Lancers. Puck drop for the game is scheduled for 7:05pm CT

LOPER FOOTBALL HAS DREAM SEASON COME TO AN END

The 26th-ranked Angelo State Rams played strong defense to down 21st-ranked Nebraska-Kearney, 20-7, Saturday afternoon in the second round of the NCAA Division II playoffs

UNK ends the year at 10-3, just the third time in school history a squad reached double digits in wins.

UNK had a season low 203 total yards of offense.

LOPER WOMEN DOWN OLD RIVAL CHADRON ON SATURDAY

The 27th-ranked Nebraska-Kearney women’s basketball team held Chadron State to 20 percent shooting and got a double double from forward Shiloh McCool to roll past the Eagles, 71-44, Saturday afternoon at the Health & Sports Center.

UNK improves to 5-1 and now leads the all-time series with CSC (1-4) by a 59-13 margin. This was the Lopers final non-con game of the year as MIAA play starts Thursday night.

UNK heads to Emporia State (5-1) and Washburn (1-4) next weekend.

HUSKER VOLLEYBALL DOWNS PURDUE TO CAP WEEKEND

The No. 11 Nebraska volleyball team bounced back to cap the regular season on a high note Saturday night, defeating No. 6 Purdue on the road, 3-1 (25-21, 25-10, 22-25, 25-15) at Holloway Gymnasium.

With the win, the Huskers finished second in the conference standings and improved to 21-7 

Nebraska awaits its fate for the NCAA Tournament, which begins with the first and second rounds, Dec. 3-4, on campus sites

NEBRASKA FOOTBALL POSTGAME COMMENTS:

SCOTT FROST:

FROST – TEAM NEVER QUIT BECAUSE OF SENIOR LEADERSHIP

Head Coach of the Huskers Scott Frost had his final postgame press conference of the season on Friday after the loss to Iowa. The Head Coach doubled down that his senior leadership helped his team through a tough season…

The Huskers end the season at 3-9 and look towards 2022 with many changes on the horizon, including the future hiring of a new offensive coaching staff.

FROST – SMOTHERS DID ENOUGH FOR HUSKERS TO WIN

Head Coach Scott Frost was pleased with the efforts by his first-time starter Logan Smothers in the loss to the Hawkeyes on Black Friday… 

Frost added the late game miscommunication on the final interception was due to not enough in-season reps for the quarterback. 

FROST – BLOCKED PUNT WAS THE GAME, LED TO SNOWBALL AFFECT

Scott Frost was asked what the biggest play on Friday’s contest that led to another one score loss for the Huskers. Frost said it all started with one play, then snowballed into catastrophe… 

The Huskers ended their season at 3-9, the first team in college football history to lose 9 games by only single digits. 

FROST – YOUNG CORE IS GOOD ENOUGH TO WIN

Head Coach Scott Frost reiterated in his postgame press conference he is disappointed with the results of the 2021 season, but added he is optimistic about his 2022 core… 

The Huskers will first have to wait to see who will be returning to the Big Red, including a looming decision from quarterback Adrian Martinez. 

LOGAN SMOTHERS:

SMOTHERS – PREPARED LIKE EVERY OTHER WEEK

Redshirt Freshman quarterback Logan Smothers had his first ever start on Friday against the Iowa Hawkeyes, performing admirably in a loss. 

Smothers said he went into the game preparing as he did every week… 

Smothers ended his first start with 198 passing yards, an interception, along with 64 rushing yards and two scores. 

SMOTHERS – DREAM COME TRUE, BUT MORE WORK TO BE DONE

Quarterback Logan Smothers replaced injured starter Adrian Martinez in Friday’s loss to the Iowa Hawkeyes. Smothers added in his postgame press conference that it was a dream come true to start in the rivalry matchup, but more work needs to be done… 

Smothers and the Huskers enter the offseason awaiting to hear the official word if Martinez will be leaving the program. 

Local Results & Schedules:

THIS WEEK IN LOCAL SPORTS:

SATURDAY:

• UNK:
  • FOOTBALL: NCAA D2 Playoffs (2nd Round)
    • UNK @ Angelo State @ San Angelo, Texas
      • ASU 20-7 
  • WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: v. Chadron State @ Health and Sports Center
    • UNK 71-44

MONDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • N/a
• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:N/a
• UNK:
  • MENS BASKETBALL: v. Wayne State @ Health and Sports Center – 7 PM
• HASTINGS COLLEGE:
  • WOMENS BASKETBALL: @ Bellevue University – 5 PM

TUESDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • Unified Bowling DISTRICTS
• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • N/a
• UNK:
  • N/a
• HASTINGS COLLEGE:
  • N/a

WEDNESDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • N/a
• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • N/a
• UNK:
  • N/a
• HASTINGS COLLEGE:
  • MENS WRESTLING: GPAC Duals

THURSDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • GIRLS BASKETBALL:
    • Early Bird Classic Tournament: Kearney v. Bellevue East – 4:30 PM
    • Pregame @ 4:15 PM
  • BOYS BASKETBALL:
    • Early Bird Classic Tournament: Kearney v. Bellevue East – 6:15 PM
    • Pregame @ 6 PM
  • WRESTLING: Dual @ Hastings – 6:30 PM
• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • SWIMMING: Kearney High Triangular
• UNK:
  • VOLLEYBALL: NCAA D2 Regional @ Warrensburg, MO
    • UNK v. Northwest Missouri State – 12 PM
  • WOMENS BASKETBALL: @ Emporia State – 5:30 PM
  • MENS BASKETBALL: @ Emporia State – 7:30 PM
• HASTINGS COLLEGE:
  • WOMENS BASKETBALL: @ Dakota Wesleyan – 6 PM

FRIDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • N/a
• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • GIRLS BASKETBALL: v. Sutton – 5:30 PM
  • BOYS BASKETBALL: v. Sutton – 7:15 PM
• UNK:
  • TRACK: Indoor Intrasquad – TBA
• HASTINGS COLLEGE:
  • MENS/WOMENS T&F: Indoor SDSU Holiday Invite
  • MENS BASKETBALL: @ Dakota Wesleyan – 7:45 PM

SATURDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • GIRLS BASKETBALL:
    • Early Bird Classic Tournament: Kearney High @ TBA
  • BOYS BASKETBALL:
    • Early Bird Classic Tournament:Kearney High @ TBA
  • WRESTLING: Kearney High Invite v. Multiple teams – 10 AM
• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • SWIMMING: @ Hastings Invite
  • GIRLS BASKETBALL: @ Holdrege – 2:30 PM
  • BOYS BASKETBALL:  @ Holdrege – 3:45 PM
• UNK:
  • WRESTLING: @ Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invite – 11 AM
  • WRESTLING: @ Doane Invite – 9 AM
  • WOMENS BASKETBALL: @ Washburn – 1:30 PM
  • MENS BASKETBALL: @ Washburn – 3:30 PM
  • VOLLEYBALL: NCAA D2 Regional
    • Championship, TBA
• HASTINGS COLLEGE:
• • MENS BOWLING: @ Sioux City, IA
  • MENS WRESTLING: @ Doane Open
  • WOMENS BOWLING: @ Sioux City, IA
  • WOMENS WRESTLING: @ Leavenworth, KS
  • WOMENS BASKETBALL: @ Jamestown – 2 PM
  • MENS BASKETBALL: @ Jamestown – 3:45 PM