Thursday Morning Sports – Husker Volleyball Dominates Purdue, Verlander Leads Astros to Game One Win, NLCS Tied Between Padres and Phillies, Local Sports Schedules

HUSKER VOLLEYBALL DOMINATES PURDUE IN THREE SETS:

The No. 3 Nebraska volleyball team picked up another sweep on the road with a 25-21, 25-20, 25-18 win at No. 12 Purdue on Wednesday night at Holloway Gymnasium.

Bekka Allick had a career-high 12 kills with four blocks and hit .611 to lead the Huskers (17-1, 9-0 Big Ten) to their 10th straight win and fifth in a row by sweep. 

Madi Kubik had nine kills and nine digs and hit .304, and Ally Batenhorst posted seven kills. 

NU had the advantage in kills (41-36) and digs (38-34), while Purdue had a slight edge in blocks (8-6).

The Huskers head to Champaign, Ill., for a 6 p.m. match on Saturday against Illinois. 

VERLANDER STRIKES OUT ELEVEN TO LEAD ASTROS OVER YANKEES:

When Justin Verlander was laboring and needed 45 pitches to get through two innings, Astros manager Dusty Baker was worried he’d have to go to his bullpen early.

Instead, the veteran ace buckled down and found a groove, striking out 11 in six strong innings to lead Houston over the New York Yankees 4-2 in their AL Championship Series opener Wednesday night.

Yuli Gurriel launched a tiebreaking homer for Houston in the sixth. Chas McCormick and Jeremy Peña also went deep as the AL West champions improved to 4-0 in the playoffs after going 106-56 during the regular season.

The Astros are in their sixth consecutive ALCS, looking to reach the World Series for the fourth time in that span, against a New York team in the LCS for the first time since being eliminated by Houston in 2019.

The series continues tonight in Houston with first pitch around 6:30 PM.

PADRES RALLY TO BEAT PHILLIES, TIE NLCS:

The scrappy San Diego Padres, largely rebuilt at the trade deadline, are finding their identity at just the right time.

In danger of heading to Philadelphia down 0-2 in the NL Championship Series, the Padres produced another huge rally in front of their rowdy fans to put some punch into the all-wild card matchup.

Brandon Drury hit a go-ahead, two-run single during a five-run outburst in the fifth inning and San Diego stunned Aaron Nola and the Phillies 8-5 on Wednesday to tie the NLCS at one game apiece.

SPORTS NIGHTLY COMMENTS – TREV ALBERTS:

ALBERTS – FROST METRICS REVEALED:

Nebraska Athletic Director Trev Alberts spoke on Tuesday’s Sports Nightly about Scott Frost’s metrics in his updated contract prior to his September firing that became required by a Lancaster County judge to release to the public due to a suit filed by USA Today…

Nebraska had the agreement that if Frost would have won the 6 games and made it to a bowl game, the University would revert back to Frost’s original $5 million contract. 

ALBERTS – PLAYERS ARE MAKING NEBRASKA FANS PROUD:

Athletic Director for Nebraska Trev Alberts opened up his Sports Nightly appearance on Tuesday with positive remarks regarding the fight in the Husker Football team…

Nebraska enters a bye week this weekend before battling Top 25 Illinois at home, followed by Minnesota, Top 5 Michigan, Wisconsin, and Iowa to close out the regular season.

ALBERTS – STILL SOME TICKETS TO SELL FOR STREAK:

Nebraska Athletic Director Trev Alberts spoke on Sports Nightly about the Memorial Stadium sellout streak, saying despite some reports there are still some tickets left to purchase… 

Nebraska’s sellout streak has continued throughout the Indiana contest, with home games remaining against Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.

Local Results & Schedules:

THIS WEEK IN LOCAL SPORTS:

WEDNESDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • Volleyball: HAC TOURNAMENT @ Kearney High School – 6:30 PM

THURSDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • N/a
• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • N/a
• UNK:
  • N/a
• KGFW Sports Schedule:
  • Sports Nightly (6 PM – 8 PM)

FRIDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • Cross Country: STATE @ Kearney Country Club – 3 PM
  • Football: @ Norfolk – 7 PM
    • KGFW Pregame at 6 PM
• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • Cross Country: STATE @ Kearney Country Club – 1:30 PM
  • Football: @ Gibbon – 7 PM
• UNK:
  • Women’s Soccer: @ Emporia State – 3 PM
  • Volleyball: v. Central Missouri @ Health & Sports Center – 6 PM
• KGFW Sports Schedule:
  • Kearney High Football @ Norfolk (6 PM – 10 PM)

SATURDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • N/a
• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • N/a
• UNK:
  • Women’s Volleyball: v. Missouri Western State @ Health & Sports Center – 2 PM
  • Football: @ Lincoln University – 2 PM
  • Softball: v. Fall Ball World Series @ Patriot Park – 2 PM
• KGFW Sports Schedule:
  • Nebraska Volleyball @ Illinois (5:30 PM – 8:45 PM)

SUNDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • N/a
• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • N/a
• UNK:
  • Women’s Soccer: @ Fort Hays State – 2 PM
• KGFW Sports Schedule:
  • Nebraska Men’s Basketball v. Chadron State (12 PM – 3:45 PM)