Saturday Morning Sports – Kearney High Basketball Hits Road Today, Bearcat Wrestling Home Invite, Husker Volleyball Sweeps, Stars Win in Doubleheader Over Sutton, Nebraska Men Take on Indiana

HUSKER VOLLEYBALL SWEEPS CAMPBELL, FACES FLORIDA STATE TONIGHT:

The 10th-seeded Nebraska volleyball team opened the NCAA Tournament with a 3-0 sweep of Campbell Friday night at the Devaney Center, using a strong defensive effort in a 25-14, 25-14, 25-17 victory.

The Huskers held Campbell to a -.022 attack percentage, marking the first time Nebraska has held an opponent to negative hitting in the NCAA Tournament since 2010. NU recorded 10 blocks and tallied 41 digs in limiting its second opponent this season to a negative hitting percentage.

Nebraska advances to a NCAA second-round matchup with Florida State on Saturday, Dec. 4. First serve is set for 7 p.m. at the Devaney Center with pregame coverage on KGFW starting at 6:30 PM.

NEBRASKA MEN OPEN BIG TEN PLAY AT INDIANA

The Nebraska men’s basketball team has a quick turnaround, as the Huskers travel to Bloomington, Ind., to open Big Ten play against the Indiana Hoosiers this Saturday. Tipoff at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall is slated for 11 a.m. and the matchup will be on B1G Network and on the Husker Sports Radio Network.

The Huskers (5-3) come off a heartbreaking 104-100 quadruple overtime loss at NC State on Wednesday evening. 

Indiana (6-1) also looks to bounce back from an overtime setback on Tuesday, as the Hoosiers fell to Syracuse 112-110.

HUSKERS HIRE MICKEY JOSEPH TO FOOTBALL STAFF

Nebraska Head Coach Scott Frost announced Friday Mickey Joseph will join the Husker coaching staff as Wide Receivers Coach/Passing Game Coordinator/Associate Head Coach. The hiring is pending the completion of a University of Nebraska background check.

A former Husker quarterback, Joseph joins Nebraska after five seasons as the wide receivers coach at LSU, and he brings more than 25 years of coaching experience to Frost’s staff.

Joseph was responsible for developing some of the nation’s top receivers during his time with the Tigers. In 2019, LSU assembled the best group of receivers in SEC history. The Tigers’ three starters—Ja’Marr Chase, Justin Jefferson and Terrace Marshall—combined for 241 receptions for 3,991 yards and 51 touchdowns.

Joseph was one of the nation’s most prized prep recruits when he joined Coach Tom Osborne’s Nebraska program in 1988. He was the Gatorade National Player of the Year and a first-team Parade All-American. Joseph started nine games in his Nebraska career, rushing for 1,091 yards and 16 touchdowns, while passing for 909 yards and 14 touchdowns. During his four seasons, Nebraska posted a 39-9-1 overall record, won two Big Eight titles, while playing in two Orange Bowl games, a Citrus Bowl and a Fiesta Bowl.

UNK VOLLEYBALL NEARLY COMPLETE COMEBACK, ENDS SEASON IN 2nd ROUND

The 15th-ranked Concordia-St. Paul Golden Bears jumped out to an early fifth set lead to hold off 12th-ranked Nebraska-Kearney in an NCAA Tournament 2nd round match Friday night in Warrensburg, Mo.

The sixth-seeded Lopers end the year at 26-7 while the seventh-seeded Golden Bears improve to 24-8. They are now 73-8 all-time in the NCAA Tournament with nine National Titles to their credit.

For UNK, Alliance redshirt sophomore outside Emersen Cyza continued her All-American-level play by having a match-high 21 kills, former Kearney High middle Bailee Sterling had 11 kills, and senior Anna Squiers had eight kills and eight blocks. while Madison Squiers finished at 48 assists, 15 digs, five blocks and two aces.

STORM SEEK BOUNCEBACK GAME AFTER BACK-TO-BACK LOSSES

The Tri-City Storm seeks a bounce-back victory tonight over the Lincoln Stars following last night’s 6-4 road loss to the Omaha Lancers. 

Tanner Adams, Lleyton Roed, Drew Montgomery, and Gavin Brindley each scored in Friday’s loss. Tri-City won the only previous meeting this season against the Stars by a final score of 4-1 on October 1st. 

Puck drop at the Ice Box for tonight’s rivalry matchup is scheduled for 7:05pm CT.

KEARNEY BASKETBALL LOOKS TO MAINTAIN EARLY BIRD SUCCESS ON ROAD

The Kearney High Boys and Girls basketball teams hit the road today in their Early Bird Tournament Quad for game number two on their respective seasons.

The Kearney Girls (0-1) fell in overtime on Thursday against Bellevue East 52-48. They take on Papillion-LaVista South in Bellevue East today at 2 PM. The Titans were bounced 53-35 on Thursday evening by Lincoln Southwest. 

The Kearney Boys (1-0) take on Lincoln Southwest today at Papillion-LaVista South after dominating Bellevue East on Thursday night 70-44. The Bearcats take on the Silverhawks at 3:45 PM today with pregame on KGFW starting at 3:30 PM. 

KEARNEY HIGH WRESTLING TOURNAMENT TODAY

The Kearney High Bearcat Wrestling team takes on multiple teams in their home invite today at Kearney High School.

Wrestling begins at 10 AM. 

HUSKER WRESTLING LEADS AFTER DAY 1 IN VEGAS:

The No. 9 Nebraska wrestling team got off to a blazing start at the Cliff Keen Invitational in Las Vegas on Friday, winning 21 of its 24 bouts. Seven Huskers advanced to Friday night’s quarterfinals and all seven qualified for Saturday’s semifinal round. After Day 1, Nebraska’s 79.5 team points are the most among the 27 teams in the overall standings.

Local Results & Schedules:

THIS WEEK IN LOCAL SPORTS:

FRIDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • N/a

• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • GIRLS BASKETBALL: v. Sutton
    • KCHS 47-32
  • BOYS BASKETBALL: v. Sutton
    • KCHS 58-30

• UNK:
  • VOLLEYBALL: NCAA D2 Tournament
    • UNK v. Concordia-St. Paul
      • Concordia-St. Paul 3-2

• HASTINGS COLLEGE:
  • WOMENS BASKETBALL: @ Dakota Wesleyan
    • DWU 69-42
  • MENS BASKETBALL: @ Dakota Wesleyan
    • DWU 72-56

SATURDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • GIRLS BASKETBALL:Early Bird Classic Tournament:
    • Kearney High v. Papillon-LaVista South (@ Bellevue East) – 2 PM
  • BOYS BASKETBALL:Early Bird Classic Tournament:
    • Kearney High v. Lincoln Southwest (@ PLVS) – 3:45 PM
      • Pregame @ 3:30 on KGFW; 1340 AM, 96.1 FM, KGFW.com and the KGFW App
  • WRESTLING: Kearney High Invite v. Multiple teams – 10 AM
  • SWIMMING AND DIVING: @ Hastings invite

• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • SWIMMING: @ Hastings Invite
  • GIRLS BASKETBALL: @ Holdrege – 2:30 PM
  • BOYS BASKETBALL:  @ Holdrege – 3:45 PM

• UNK:
  • WRESTLING: @ Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invite – 11 AM
  • WRESTLING: @ Doane Invite – 9 AM
  • WOMENS BASKETBALL: @ Washburn – 1:30 PM
  • MENS BASKETBALL: @ Washburn – 3:30 PM

• HASTINGS COLLEGE:
  • MENS BOWLING: @ Sioux City, IA
  • MENS WRESTLING: @ Doane Open
  • WOMENS BOWLING: @ Sioux City, IA
  • WOMENS WRESTLING: @ Leavenworth, KS
  • WOMENS BASKETBALL: @ Jamestown – 2 PM