Tuesday Morning Sports – Husker Volleyball Back at No. 1, Allick Receives Freshman Conference Award, Lopers Out of First Regional Rankings, Bielema Forgets He Lost at Memorial Stadium, Sub-District Volleyball Results, Local Sports Schedule

HUSKER VOLLEYBALL REGAINS TOP SPOT IN COACHES POLL:

Nebraska volleyball is back at No. 1.

The latest AVCA Coaches Poll saw the Huskers receive 48 first-place votes to retake the top spot. NU was last No. 1 in the preseason poll before being overtaken by Texas and Louisville.

But both the Longhorns and Cardinals were tripped up last week. Meanwhile, Nebraska has won 11 straight, sweeping the last six opponents.

Nebraska’s next opponent, Wisconsin, is ranked No. 5.

ALLICK EARNS SECOND CONFERENCE FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK HONOR:

Nebraska middle blocker Bekka Allick was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week on Monday for the second straight week. 

Allick led the Huskers to sweeps at No. 12 Purdue and at Illinois last week, averaging 3.17 kills per set with a .548 hitting percentage. 

The Lincoln native had a career-best 12 kills on .611 hitting to go with four blocks in the sweep over the Boilermakers last Wednesday. She followed that up on Saturday with seven kills on .462 hitting with a block and an ace at Illinois. 

Over the last six matches, Allick is averaging 2.68 kills per set with a .542 hitting percentage. She is also averaging 1.05 blocks per set in that stretch. 

LOPERS, BEARCATS NOT IN FIRST REGION RANKINGS:

The Nebraska Kearney football team is not in the first edition of the NCAA Regional Rankings. Both the Lopers and Northwest Missouri State Bearcats are settled into the “Next Best Candidates” category. 

These rankings determine the 28-team playoff field (seven teams in four regions) come November. National rankings don’t factor into the regional ranking formula. UNK is currently 31st in the American Football Coaches Assoc. (AFCA) poll.

The MIAA is in “Super Region 3” along with the GAC (Great American Conf.), GLVC (Great Lakes Valley Conf.) and GLIAC (Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conf.).

UNK and Northwest Missouri State are both 6-2 and sitting just outside the Top 10. The Lopers host the Bearcats Saturday at 2 p.m. in Ron & Carol Cope Stadium in what basically is a playoff elimination game.

BIG TEN TO MAINTAIN DIVISIONS UNTIL ADDITION OF USC/UCLA:

The Big Ten will maintain its East and West divisions for the 2023 college football season before reconfiguring once USC and UCLA join the conference in 2024.

The conference announced expansion with the Trojans and Bruins in June, bringing the league to 16 teams once those schools join in the summer of 2024.

The current geographical divisions went into effect in 2014 when Maryland and Rutgers joined the Big Ten, bringing the league to 14 teams. The Big Ten did not have divisions before 2011. The addition of Nebraska that season led to the formation of the “Leaders” and “Legends” divisions, which lasted for just three seasons before the switch to the East and West.

BIELEMA DRAWS A BLANK ON LAST MEMORIAL STADIUM EXPERIENCE:

Illinois head football coach Bret Bielema seems to have a case of amnesia when it comes to a particular decade-old game in Lincoln, but it’s not hard to imagine why.

During his press conference Monday ahead of the Fighting Illini’s game this weekend at Nebraska, Bielema was asked about his experiences with the environment at Nebraska’s Memorial Stadium…

What he forgot was the time his Wisconsin team traveled to Lincoln on Sept. 29, 2012. It was the conference opener, and the Badgers appeared to be in firm control after taking a 27-10 lead in the first five minutes of the third quarter.

Nebraska proceeded to unleash a rally that matched the second-biggest comeback in program history.

NEBRASKA VOLLEYBALL MOVES MARYLAND START TIME UP:

Nebraska volleyball’s match this Saturday, Oct. 29 against Maryland at the Bob Devaney Sports Center will begin at 7:30 p.m. Doors will open at 6 p.m. 

The match was originally scheduled for a 7 p.m. start but has been pushed back to a 7:30 p.m. start to allow more time following Nebraska’s 2:30 p.m. home football game against Illinois on Saturday. 

BEARS SCORE 23 UNANSWERED, SWARM PATS IN PRIME TIME:

Justin Fields threw for 179 yards and a touchdown and ran for 82 yards and another score on Monday night, converting five third downs with his legs and five more with his arm to lead Chicago to a 33-14 victory over the New England Patriots

Fields ran for a 3-yard score in the first quarter to give the Bears (3-4) a 10-0 lead. After Bailey Zappe came off the bench to replace Mac Jones and led New England to back-to-back touchdowns and a 14-10 lead, Fields hit Khalil Herbert for a 25-yard touchdown pass to start a string of 23 unanswered points.

Chicago is at Dallas on Sunday, while the Patriots take on the New York Jets.

NFL SCORES/SCHEDULES:

MONDAY:

Chicago Bears 33-14 New England Patriots

Local Results & Schedules:

THIS WEEK IN LOCAL SPORTS:

MONDAY:

• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • Volleyball: SUB-DISTRICTS @ Gothenburg – 6:15 PM
    • #2 KCHS 3-1 #3 Broken Bow

TUESDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • Volleyball: A-2 DISTRICTS @ Millard North – 6 PM
    • #3 Kearney @ #2 Millard North
• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • Volleyball: SUB-DISTRICTS Final @ Gothenburg – 7 PM
    • #1 Gothenburg v. #2 KCHS
• UNK:
  • Volleyball: @ Fort Hays State – 6 PM
• KGFW Sports Schedule:
  • Sports Nightly (6 PM – 8 PM)

WEDNESDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • Volleyball: A-2 DISTRICT FINAL @ TBA
• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • N/a
• UNK:
  • N/a
• KGFW Sports Schedule:
  • Sports Nightly (6 PM – 7:30 PM)
  • Nebraska Volleyball (7:30 PM – 10:45 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:
  • Football: PLAYOFFS v. Millard South @ Ron & Carol Cope Stadium – 7 PM
    • #5 Kearney v. #12 Millard South – KGFW Pregame at 6 PM
• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • N/a
• UNK:
  • Women’s Swimming: Homecoming Scrimmage – 5 PM
  • Women’s Basketball: @ Iowa (Exhibition) – 6:30 PM
• KGFW Sports Schedule:
  • Kearney High Football PLAYOFFS v. Millard South (6 PM – 10 PM)

SATURDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • N/a
• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • Volleyball: District Final – TBA
• UNK:
  • Football: v. Northwest Missouri State @ Ron & Carol Cope Stadium – 2 PM (Homecoming)
  • Volleyball: @ Northwest Missouri State – 3 PM
• KGFW Sports Schedule:
  • Nebraska Football v. Illinois (10:30 AM – 9:30 PM; KGFW)
  • Nebraska Football v. Illinois (1:45 PM – 7:45 PM; KQKY)

SUNDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • N/a
• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • N/a
• UNK:
  • N/a
• KGFW Sports Schedule:
  • N/a