HUSKER VOLLEYBALL BATTLES WISCONSIN FOR NATIONAL TITLE:
The 10th-seeded Nebraska volleyball team (26-7) blazes into its 10th NCAA title match appearance and vies for its sixth national championship this Saturday, Dec. 18, facing No. 4 seed Wisconsin (30-3) at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. First serve is set for 6:30 p.m. CT.
Pregame coverage of the match will start on KGFW at the conclusion of the Kearney High Boys Basketball broadcast. A full match with pregame from John Baylor and Lauren Cook-West will be heard on KQKY 105.9 FM starting at 6 PM.
Saturday’s NCAA Final is a rematch of the 2000 national championship match, won by Nebraska in five sets over the Badgers in the final season of sideout scoring in college volleyball.
Lauren Stivrins will play in her third NCAA Final on Saturday after she helped the Huskers to the national title in 2017 and a runner-up finish in 2018. In her two NCAA Finals entering Saturday, Stivrins has 28 kills on only 45 swings
Five-time national champion Nebraska has found itself in the NCAA Championship Final nine times before, most recently in 2018. Wisconsin has never won a national title, but Saturday marks its fourth finals appearance in program history. The Badgers last reached the title match in 2019.
RODRIGUEZ NAMED FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR:
Nebraska freshman Lexi Rodriguez’s awards haul continued Friday morning, as the libero was honored by the American Volleyball Coaches Association as the 2021 AVCA National Freshman of the Year.
Rodriguez is the first libero in AVCA history to earn the annual freshman superlative award.
She is just the second player in Husker program history to be named AVCA Freshman of the Year, joining four-time All-American Sarah Pavan (2004).
UNK’S DAVIS FINISHES RUNNER-UP IN HARLON HILL VOTING
Nebraska-Kearney redshirt junior quarterback TJ Davis finished runner up in voting for the 2021 Harlon Hill Trophy, given to the top player in NCAA Division II.
Davis was one of eight national finalists. The field began with nearly 40 candidates split among D2’s four football regions.
Shepherd (W.V.) University junior QB Tyson Bagent won with 169 points (44 1st place; 15 2nd place; seven 3rd place). He threw for an even 5,000 yards and 53 TD’s this fall in leading the Rams to a 13-2 record and the third round of the playoffs. His 42-yard “Hail Mary” helped SU win its second-round playoff game.
Davis tallied 105 points (17 1st place, 21 2nd place; 12 3rd place) to come in second.
LOPER WOMEN DOMINATE, FACE OFF AGAINST BRONCHOS SUNDAY:
Redshirt sophomore forward Shiloh McCool posted her fifth straight double double and No. 12/7 Nebraska-Kearney got out to an early lead to fly past Newman, 81-48, Friday night at the Health & Sports Center.
UNK (9-1, 4-) wins an eighth straight game and also improves to 5-0 at home. Meanwhile, the Jets from Wichita drop to 2-9 (0-5). These teams will meet again Feb. 5 in Kansas.
Central Oklahoma visits Sunday at 1 p.m. The Bronchos (7-4, 3-2) led nationally-ranked Fort Hays State at the half tonight but fell in the end, 78-71.
UNK MEN GET BIG DAY FROM SIMENTAL, WIN OVER NEWMAN:
Point guard David Simental scored 26 points and dished out nine assists to help Nebraska-Kearney hold off Newman, 79-64, Friday night at the Health & Sports Center.
UNK (5-5, 1-3) climbed back to the .500 mark with the Jets, from Wichita, falling for a fifth straight time to be at 3-7 (0-5). The two will meet again Feb. 5 in Kansas.
The MIAA’s top shooting team at 49.9 percent, UNK did exactly that in the first half as it made 15 of 30 shots (6 of 14 threes) to grab a 40-29 lead
Central Oklahoma comes to Buckle Court on Sunday at 3 p.m. The Bronchos are now 8-2 (4-1) after a 77-60 win at nationally-ranked Fort Hays State tonight.
STORM POST ANOTHER SHUTOUT TO DOWN SIOUX CITY:
The Tri-City Storm posted a 3-0 shutout against the Sioux City Musketeers Friday at the Viaero Center to improve to 18-4-1-0 on the season. Arsenii Sergeev recorded his league-leading fourth shutout in the victory.
Tri-City hits the ice again on Saturday, December 18th in a home game against the Sioux City Musketeers. Puck drop for the game is scheduled for 7:05pm CT.
KEARNEY HIGH BASKETBALL WINS IN NORFOLK, AT COLUMBUS SATURDAY:
Win-win night for Kearney High Basketball as the girls won 41-29 and the boys trounced Norfolk 88-60 with great performances from the Bearcat girls defense and Kaden Miller’s 33 points.
Both teams return to northeast Nebraska today for a showdown at Columbus. Pregame starts at 3:15 for the start of the doubleheader.
KEARNEY CATHOLIC’S MAHONY TAKES OVER RECORD BOOKS, STARS WIN DOUBLEHEADER:
After four years of running the Stars’ program on the floor, senior Brett Mahony has his name atop the all-time scoring list for Kearney Catholic. Mahony has averaged 17 PPG through his four years, and cemented his top mark after a win in Hastings for Kearney Catholic 53-32 Friday night.
The Stars’ girls basketball team also found a win against a tough Class B squad in Hastings, as the Stars are now 5-1 on the season.
The boys take on Omaha Skutt at Hastings College today in the Heartland Hoops Classic Event.
UNK WRESTLING WINS OVER AUGUSTANA IN SIOUX FALLS:
The third-ranked Nebraska-Kearney wrestling team closed out the first semester with a 30-15 win over 15th-ranked Augustana Friday afternoon in Sioux Falls.
The Lopers improve to 3-1 while the Vikings fall to 1-3. UNK is now off until Jan. 6-7 when it competes in the National Duals in Louisville, Ky. The bracket will be announced in the coming weeks.
Full results can be found at Lopers.com.
NEBRASKA VOLLEYBALL: THURSDAY NIGHT POSTGAME COMMENTS:
JOHN BAYLOR – GAME WINNER CALL
The Nebraska Volleyball team once again flexed its defensive prowess and won over No. 3 Pittsburgh 3-1 late Thursday night to advance to a national title. Listen to the Voice of Husker Volleyball John Baylor on the final point…
The Huskers take on an all-Big Ten championship, facing off against No. 4 Wisconsin on Saturday evening.
COOK – HUSKERS GOT STRONGER AS THE MATCH WENT ON:
Nebraska Volleyball Head Coach John Cook was nervous to start Thursday night’s match with Pittsburgh as the No. 3 Panthers started hot, but the Huskers rallied to win in four sets after making the right corrections to the Panther attack…
The Huskers win pushed Nebraska to a National Championship appearance with No. 4 Wisconsin. First serve is set for 6:30 PM.
STIVRINS – STUCK TO GAMEPLAN FOR SUCCESS
Nebraska Volleyball earned another chance at a national title after downing Pitt 3-1 on Thursday night. Senior Lauren Stivrins added in the postgame it was all about executing the gameplan…
The middle blocker was also on the Husker roster during the last Nebraska national title appearance in 2018.
HAMES – NEBRASKA PREPARED FOR BIG MOMENTS
The Husker Volleyball team rallied from down in the first set to win in four over No. 3 Pitt on Thursday night. Nicklin Hames added that this Husker team was prepared for a matchup like this…
Hames and the Huskers take on No. 4 Wisconsin on Saturday night for the National title. The Huskers have only won one set against the Badgers dating back to October 2019, and the last Nebraska win was in September of 2017.
STIVRINS – ANOTHER DAY WITH THIS TEAM “MEANS EVERYTHING”
The Husker Volleyball team took the Pitt Panthers down in four sets late Thursday night to set up a National Title showdown with Wisconsin. The last Nebraska national championship was in 2017, and middle blocker Lauren Stivrins was on that Husker squad.
Stivrins added postgame she’s happy to get another game with this iteration of the Huskers…
First serve is set for 6:30 PM on Saturday evening against Wisconsin.
HUSKER WOMEN BATTLE DRAKE ON SUNDAY:
The Nebraska women’s basketball team continues its three-game home stand with one of its biggest non-conference games of the season when the Big Red battles Drake on Sunday in Lincoln.
Tip-off between the Huskers (10-0, 1-0 Big Ten) and the Bulldogs (7-2) is set for Noon (CT) at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
The Huskers are coming off a 78-50 win over Drake’s Missouri Valley Conference counterpart Indiana State on Saturday, Dec. 11. The win over the Sycamores gave NU just the second 10-0 start in school history, joining the Big Red’s 30-0 start by the 2009-10 team on its way to a Big 12 title and a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
HUSKER MEN TAKE ON OLD BIG 12 FOE K-STATE SUNDAY:
The Husker men’s basketball team resumes one of its oldest rivalries on Sunday afternoon, as Nebraska hosts Kansas State at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Tipoff for the first matchup between the programs since 2011 is set for 5 p.m. (central) and the matchup will be televised on BTN and carried on the Huskers Radio Network.
Sunday’s game with the Wildcats is the start of a three-year series with future matchups set for both 2022 (Manhattan) and 2023 (Kansas City). The series was originally set to begin last year in Kansas City, but was delayed one year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Huskers (5-6) have been off for final exams since a 99-68 loss against No. 18 Auburn in Atlanta on Dec. 11.
Local Results & Schedules:
THIS WEEK IN LOCAL SPORTS:
FRIDAY:
- KEARNEY HIGH:
- GIRLS BASKETBALL: @ Norfolk
- KHS 41-29
- BOYS BASKETBALL: @ Norfolk
- KHS 88-60
- GIRLS BASKETBALL: @ Norfolk
- KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
- GIRLS BASKETBALL: @ Hastings
- KCHS 48-45
- BOYS BASKETBALL: @ Hastings
- KCHS 53-32
- GIRLS BASKETBALL: @ Hastings
- UNK:
- WOMENS BASKETBALL: v. Newman @ HSC
- UNK 81-48
- MENS BASKETBALL: v. Newman @ HSC
- UNK 79-64
- WOMENS BASKETBALL: v. Newman @ HSC
SATURDAY:
- KEARNEY HIGH:
- WRESTLING: Flatwater Fracas Tournament @ Heartland Event Center
- GIRLS BASKETBALL: @ Columbus – 3:30 PM
- Pregame on KGFW @ 3:15 PM; 1340 AM, 96.1 FM, KGFW.com, KGFW App
- BOYS BASKETBALL: @ Columbus – 5 PM
- Pregame on KGFW @ 4:45 PM; 1340 AM, 96.1 FM, KGFW.com, KGFW App
- KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
- WRESTLING: Kearney Catholic Invite
- SWIMMING: @ Lincoln Southeast Invite
- BOYS BASKETBALL: v. Omaha Skutt (@ Hastings College) – 4:30 PM
- UNK:
- N/a
- HASTINGS COLLEGE:
- MENS WRESTLING: @ Kansas City, Avila Duals
- MENS BASKETBALL: @ University of Fort Lauderdale
