Saturday Morning Sports – Bearcat Basketball Heads to Metro, Nebraska Volleyball Tops Kansas, UNK XC Finishes 22nd in Championships, Storm Fall to Des Moines, KHS Wrestling Invite Preview, Weekend Sports Preview

BEARCAT BASKETBALL SET TO EVEN SEASON IN METRO AGAINST PATRIOTS:

The Kearney Basketball squads travel to Omaha for the first road matchups of their respective seasons. 

The Bearcats girls squad won on Thursday night over Marian, setting up a matchup with one of the top teams in the state in Millard South. That contest between 1-0 teams tips off at 3:45 PM from Marian High School.

Meanwhile, the Kearney boys aim to even their record after falling to Creighton Prep on Thursday night with a set-up against Millard South. The Bearcats are angling for revenge after the Patriots ended Kearney’s football season at the end of October. 

Pregame for the boys matchup on KGFW begins at 1:15 PM with tip-off set for 1:30. Hear the game on 1340 AM, 96.1 FM, on the free KGFW mobile app, and online at KGFW.com. 

NEBRASKA VOLLEYBALL TOPS KANSAS; HEADS TO NCAA REGIONALS:

It wasn’t easy but the Nebraska volleyball team advanced to its NCAA-record 38th regional appearance with a 3-1 victory over Kansas Friday night at the Devaney Center.

The No. 2 seed Huskers won the first two sets in relatively easy fashion (25-14 and 25-18) before Kansas took set three by a score of 25-19. The fourth set featured 13 ties and eight lead changes with the score within two points for the final 26 rallies, but Nebraska got back-to-back kills from Bekka Allick and Lindsay Krause to pull out a 26-24 victory to seal the match.

With the win, Nebraska (26-5) advanced to an NCAA Regional for the 11th consecutive season and for the 28th time in the past 29 seasons. The Huskers improved to 88-0-1 all-time against the Jayhawks.

The Huskers move on to the NCAA regional semifinals next Thursday. Nebraska’s opponent and location will not be known until tonight.

UNK CROSS COUNTRY CONCLUDES NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS:

Both Nebraska Kearney cross country teams finished in 22nd place and super senior Luke Stuckey earned All-American honors Friday at the NCAA Division II Championships in University Place, Wash.

The meet, held at Chambers Regional Park, was part of the D2 “Fall Festival” with Seattle Pacific University serving as host. A total of 34 teams and 24 individuals on each side took part in either a 10k (men’s) or 6k (women). 

UNK’s Men still came in ahead of 12 teams including MIAA rival Washburn (26th). 

Stuckey (McCool Junction) cracked the Top 40 to become the 10th UNK man at the D2 level (since 1990) to earn All-American status. 

In the big meet for the first time, a young UNK women’s team tallied 576 points to be the sixth finisher among Central Region teams. 

All-Region runner Hannah Pollan (Omaha) led the Lopers by coming in 82nd place. 

Kearney native Grace Bonsall finished 121st overall, as Holdrege native Baylee Alstrom was 137th.

STORM DROP ROAD CONTEST IN DES MOINES:

The Tri-City Storm dropped a road contest to the Des Moines Buccaneers by a final score of 4-2 Friday night at Buccaneer Arena. 

August Falloon and Evan Werner netted the Storm’s goals in the road loss. 

Tri-City will conclude a five-game road trip tonight at Liberty First Credit Union Arena in a matchup against the Omaha Lancers. Puck drop for the matchup is scheduled for 6:05pm CT.

Local Results & Schedules:

THIS WEEK IN LOCAL SPORTS:

FRIDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • Wrestling: Hastings Dual @ Kearney High School
    • KHS 48-33 Hastings
    • KHS 45–30 Klein, TX
• UNK:
  • M/W Cross Country: @ NCAA Championships @ Seattle, WA
    • WOMEN – 22nd
    • MEN – 22nd

SATURDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • Swimming & Diving: @ Hastings Invite – 9 AM
  • Wrestling: @ Kearney High School Invite – 10 AM
  • Girls Basketball: Early Bird Tournament v. Millard South – 3:45 PM
  • Boys Basketball: Early Bird Tournament – v. Millard South – 1:15 PM
• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • Swimming & Diving: @ Hastings Invite – 9 AM
  • Wrestling: @ Broken Bow – 9:30 AM
  • Girls Basketball: v. Holdrege – 2 PM
  • Boys Basketball: v. Holdrege – 3:30 PM
• UNK:
  • Wrestling: @ Doane Open @ Crete, NE – 9 AM
  • Wrestling: @ Cliff Keen Invite @ Las Vegas, NV – 11 AM
  • Women’s Basketball: v. Northeastern State @ Health & Sports Center – 2 PM
  • Men’s Basketball: v. Northeastern State @ Health & Sports Center – 4 PM
• KGFW Sports Schedule:
  • Kearney High Boys Basketball v. Millard South (1:15 PM – 3:15 PM)

SUNDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • N/a
• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • N/a
• UNK:
  • N/a
• KGFW Sports Schedule:
  • Nebraska Women’s Basketball @ Maryland (12 PM – 3 PM)