Thursday Morning Sports – Husker Softball Battles Penn State, Loper Softball’s Liesch Named to All-Central Team, Former Huskers Selected to VNL Team, Local Sports Schedule

HUSKER SOFTBALL BATTLES PENN STATE:

The Nebraska Softball team has traveled to East Lansing Michigan and is ready to battle Penn State in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament today. First pitch begins at 10 AM. 

All Big Ten Tournament action will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network. 

The Huskers go into the tournament as the No. 2 seed, the highest-seed since NU claimed the regular-season title and a No. 1 seed during the 2014 season.

Nebraska is coming off of a 2-1 series win over the Indiana Hoosiers, but have yet to face Penn State this season. The Nittany Lions are 14-10 in conference play with series wins against Purdue, Indiana and Rutgers after downing the Hoosiers yesterday. 

LOPER SOFTBALL’S LIESCH NAMED TO ALL-CENTRAL TEAM:

Nebraska-Kearney senior right fielder Carlee Liesch has been named to the 2022 Division II Conference Commissioner’s Association (D2CCA) All-Central Region team.

The squad is voted upon by sports information directors from the Central which is made up of the MIAA, Great American Conf. (GAC) and Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conf. (NSIC). First-team selections advance to the national ballot where they could earn All-American status. Of the 29 players that made up the All-Region team, 13 came from the NSIC with eight apiece from the MIAA and GAC.

Liesch (Lincoln Pius X) makes the second-team and was one of just two MIAA outfielders to be selected, joining Jacee Minter of Central Oklahoma (first-team). The four-year starter becomes just the seventh Loper in the D2 era (1991-present) to earn multiple All-Region honors in a career.

A two-time first-team All-MIAA selection, Liesch batted a team-high .351 with 10 doubles, five triples two home runs and 28 RBI’s this spring. She led UNK in batting average and hits (60) while also scoring 28 runs, stealing six bases and posting a .974 fielding percentage.

FORMER HUSKER VOLLEYBALL STANDOUTS ADDED TO VNL ROSTER:

USA Volleyball has announced the U.S. Women’s National Team’s 25-athlete roster for Volleyball Nations League (VNL) 2022. Former Husker volleyball standouts Kelsey Robinson and Justine Wong-Orantes are two of the 25 players on the roster. 

The U.S. Women are the three-time defending VNL champions as well as the 2020 Olympic gold medalists and the No. 1-ranked team in the world. Fourteen players from the long list will be chosen for each week’s travel roster. The U.S. Women’s first preliminary VNL round will be May 31-June 5 at Brookshire Grocery Arena in Bossier City, La.

They will move on to play preliminary rounds in Quezon City, Philippines and Calgary, Canada. The finals will be July 13-17 in Ankara, Turkey.

UNK MENS BASKETBALL ADDS DIVISION ONE TRANSFER:

Nebraska-Kearney head men’s basketball coach Kevin Lofton announced today that wing Skylar Wilson will suit up for the Lopers next season.

Wilson (6-7, 180 lbs.) joins forward Ryder Kirsch (6-7 forward/Rapid City, S.D.) and guard Jamison Gruber (6-1 guard/Council Bluffs, Ia.) as recent additions to the 2022-23 roster.

​The Colorado native took a redshirt season this past winter at Division I Portland (Oreg.) after prepping at Eaglecrest High in Centennial, Colo., and Southern California Academy. He helped the Eaglecrest Raptors make a pair of trips to the Sweet 16 of the Class 5A state tourney.

As a senior in 2019-20, Wilson earned second-team all-conference honors after averaging 10.8 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game while knocking down 41 threes and making over half his two-point shots.

EIGHT HUSKERS HONORED BY BIG TEN SOFTBALL:

Freshman catcher Ava Bredwell was named the 2022 Big Ten Freshman of the Year on Wednesday, when the conference announced its postseason awards. Bredwell was one of seven Huskers to earn recognition on an All-Big Ten team, tying Northwestern for the most selections in the league. 

Bredwell is the first Husker to receive conference Freshman of the Year honors since Ali Viola was named the 1995 Big Eight Freshman of the Year. Bredwell is only the third catcher to be named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year since the award began in 1985. Bredwell also earned a spot on the All-Freshman Team. 

In addition to Bredwell, Nebraska was well represented on the All-Big Ten first and second teams, in addition to the Big Ten All-Defensive team.

Abbie Squier (outfield) and Cam Ybarra (second base) were both named to the All-Big Ten first team. Earning second-team All-Big Ten honors were Mya Felder (first base), Billie Andrews (shortstop) and Olivia Ferrell (pitcher). This marks the first All-Big Ten honor for Squier, Ybarra, Felder and Ferrell while Andrews earned all-conference accolades for the second straight season. Nebraska’s five All-Big Ten selections marked its most since the 2014 Big Ten champion Husker had six players earn All-Big Ten recognition.

McGOWENS INVITED TO NBA COMBINE:

Nebraska guard Bryce McGowens earned an invitation to the Microsoft Surface NBA Draft Combine 2022 next week in Chicago.

McGowens is one of 76 players invited to the combine, which will take place May 18-22. He is the first Husker to participate in the event since Isaiah Roby in 2019, as McGowens will look to become the third Husker draft pick in the last four years.

McGowens, who was named the Big Ten Newcomer of the Year by the Associated Press, averaged a team-high 16.8 points and 5.2 rebounds per game during the 2021-22 season en route to third-team All-Big Ten honors from both the coaches and the media.

KEARNEY BOYS DEFEND DISTRICT HOME MEET; MULTIPLE BEARCATS EARN STATE BIDS:

The Kearney boys track and field team held firm at Kearney High School on Tuesday, earning their A-1 District Title with a meet-high 138 points. 

The Kearney girls qualified 18 in districts, finishing third overall in the meet. 

Both boys and girls will head to Omaha next week for the State Track & Field meet at Burke Stadium. 

STARS T&F QUALIFY 5 ATHLETES FOR STATE MEET:

The Kearney Catholic Stars competed in the Broken Bow District Track & Field meet on Tuesday, qualifying five athletes to compete in various events at the state meet next week. 

Ashley Keck qualified in the Triple Jump as district champion, 300 hurdles, and the 4×4 relay. Margaret Haarberg has qualified in the 4×4 and High Jump; Kami Kaskie will compete in the 3200 meters; Garrett Schmaderer qualified in the Triple Jump; Payton Dzingle in the 200 and 4×4 relay; and Rosalyn Roggasch in the Long Jump and 4×4 relay. 

NBA PLAYOFFS SCORES:

WEDNESDAY RESULTS:

Milwaukee Bucks 110 – 107 Boston Celtics (MIL 3-2)

Memphis Grizzlies 134 – 95 Golden State Warriors (GSW 3-2)

THURSDAY SCHEDULE:

Miami Heat @ Philadelphia 76ers – 6 PM (MIA 3-2)

Phoenix Suns @ Dallas Mavericks – 8:30 PM (PHX 3-2)

Local Results & Schedules:

THIS WEEK IN LOCAL SPORTS:

WEDNESDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
• • GIRLS TENNIS: @ Heartland Athletic Conference Tournament
    • KHS = 4th place
    • #1 Singles = Olivia Flood, 3rd Place
    • #2 Singles = Emma Heacock, 4th Place
    • #1 Doubles = Meghan Dahlke/Cecilia Henning, 6th Place
    • #2 Doubles = Paige Moffett/Emilee Anderson, 4th Place

THURSDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • BOYS GOLF: @ Awarii Dunes Invite – 8:30 AM 
• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • BOYS GOLF: @ Awarii Dunes Invite – 8:30 AM
  • GIRLS TENNIS: v. Gothenburg Dual – 4 PM
• UNK:
  • N/a
• HASTINGS COLLEGE:
  • N/a

FRIDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • BASEBALL: State Tournament v. #1 Millard West – 10 AM
    • KGFW Pregame at 9:45 AM
  • BOYS GOLF: @ Norfolk Invite – 9 AM
• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • BASEBALL: State Tournament v. #1 Millard West – 10 AM
    • KGFW Pregame at 9:45 AM
• UNK:
  • M/W T&F: @ Concordia Twilight Meet – 2 PM
• HASTINGS COLLEGE:
  • M/W T&F: @ Concordia Twilight Meet – 2 PM

SATURDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • N/a
• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • N/a
• UNK:
  • M/W T&F: v. Loper Twilight Meet – 3 PM
• HASTINGS COLLEGE:
  • M/W T&F: v. Loper Twilight Meet – 3 PM