Friday Morning Sports – Husker Volleyball Sweeps Illinois, Reyes Post-game Comments, Kearney High Basketball Travels to Lincoln, Storm Face Road Stretch, Busy Saturday Sports

HUSKER VOLLEYBALL SWEEPS ILLINOIS, AWAITS TEXAS IN FINAL EIGHT:

The 10th-seeded Nebraska volleyball team advanced to its 10th straight NCAA Regional Final with a 3-0 sweep of Illinois Thursday night at Texas’ Gregory Gymnasium. The Huskers never trailed in set one but had to come from behind in each of the final two sets en route to posting the 25-12, 25-21, 25-17 win.

With the win, Nebraska (24-7) advances to face Texas on Saturday in the Regional Final. Illinois ended its season with a 22-12 record, including three losses to the Big Red.

Kayla Caffey and Madi Kubik led Nebraska with 11 kills apiece.

Texas came back down 2-0 to Washington and was down 15-10 in the 3rd set before rallying to win 3-2. 

HUSKER VOLLEYBALL / ILLINOIS POSTGAME COMMENTS:

REYES – HUSKERS PLAYED WELL, ROOM TO IMPROVE

Assistant Coach Jaylen Reyes joined the Husker postgame show after Nebraska Volleyball’s sweep of Illinois in the Sweet 16 regional final. 

Reyes added he still feels their is room for improvement for this Husker squad… 

The Huskers take on Texas on Saturday after the Longhorns rallied from a 2-0 hole against Washington Thursday evening.

REYES – FRESHMEN ATTACK WORKED WELL

Assistant Coach to Nebraska Volleyball Jaylen Reyes spoke to the Husker Radio Network after the Huskers sweep of Illinois on Thursday night. Reyes said he was happy with the performances from his freshmen…

The Huskers take on the Longhorns in Austin on Saturday night. 

REYES – GREAT EFFORT FROM KUBIK

Assistant Coach to Nebraska Volleyball Jaylen Reyes spoke to the Huskers Radio Network after Thursday night’s sweep of Illinois. Reyes and the Huskers were happy to have Madi Kubik on their side after a great performance… 

Nebraska takes on Texas at Gregory Gymnasium in Austin, Texas at 9 PM Saturday.

REYES – NEBRASKA/TEXAS PREVIEW

Jaylen Reyes, Assistant Coach for Nebraska Volleyball, previewed the upcoming matchup with Texas after Nebraska’s sweep over Illinois… 

The Huskers and Longhorns last matched up in April at the CHI Health Center in Omaha as part of the Spring NCAA Volleyball tournament. Nebraska has not beaten Texas since August 27, 2016. 

KEARNEY HIGH BASKETBALL HITS ROAD TO LINCOLN EAST:

Both Kearney High basketball teams sit at 1-1 on the season after the start of the winter sports season last week. Tonight, the Bearcats travel down Interstate-80 to take on Lincoln East. 

Both Spartans squads are 1-1 on the year, and look to hold down home court tonight. 

Pregame for the girls contest begins at 5:30 PM with tip-off set for 5:45 PM. The boys pregame will start at the conclusion of the girls contest around 7:15 PM. 

Both teams are back in action on Saturday taking on Omaha Central.

HUSKER WOMEN RETURN HOME TO FACE SYCAMORES ON SATURDAY:

The Nebraska women’s basketball team returns home for the first time in three weeks to take on Indiana State in a non-conference clash at Pinnacle Bank Arena on Saturday.

Tip-off between the Huskers (9-0, 1-0 Big Ten) and Sycamores (3-5) is set for 1 p.m. (CT) in Lincoln.

The Huskers return to Lincoln after going a perfect 4-0 on a challenging coast-to-coast four-game road swing that included a 26-point win at Wake Forest (8-1) in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge, an eight-point win at San Diego (6-2) and a 12-point win over Drexel (6-2) in San Diego before capping the road trip with a hard-fought 70-67 victory at Minnesota to open Big Ten play on Monday.

Nebraska’s 9-0 start is its best since the Big Red opened 30-0 in 2009-10 on its way to a Big 12 Championship and a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. 

HUSKER MEN TRAVEL TO ATLANTA FOR TEST AGAINST TOP 20 AUBURN

The Husker men’s basketball team has one of its biggest tests of the non-conference season on Saturday, as the Huskers travel to Atlanta for a neutral-site matchup with No. 18 Auburn. Tipoff time is set for 10:30 a.m. and the matchup will be on ESPN2 and on the Huskers Radio Network.

The Huskers (5-4) look to rebound following a tough 102-67 loss to Michigan Tuesday evening.

Nebraska faces an Auburn team which is 7-1 on the season following an 86-64 win over Yale on Dec. 4.

UNK MEN, WOMEN TRAVEL TO HAYS FOR RIVALRY MATCHUPS

The UNK Men’s and Women’s basketball teams only face one test during their dead week – a Saturday matchup at Fort Hays State.

The UNK Women are coming off a 49-43 grinder of a win in Washburn last week, as the No. 20 Lopers (7-1) take on No. 2 Fort Hays State Saturday afternoon.

The UNK Men are looking to break out of their three game losing slump to battle with Fort Hays State, as the underrated Tigers are currently 7-0 after defeating Washburn 68-58 and winning at Emporia State in overtime last week. 

HUSKER NAMED BIG TEN WRESTLER OF THE WEEK

Nebraska junior Mikey Labriola (174) has been named the Big Ten Wrestler of the Week, the conference office announced Wednesday. This is Labriola’s second of his career and first for the Huskers since Taylor Venz (184) garnered the award on Jan. 29, 2019.

The Easton, Pa., native and three-time All-American most recently claimed an individual title at the Cliff Keen Invitational, helping lead the No. 8 Huskers to their second consecutive Cliff Keen team title. In the championship, Labriola took on #6 Ethan Smith of Ohio State where he scored a takedown in sudden victory to clinch the title.

Local Results & Schedules:

THIS WEEK IN LOCAL SPORTS:

THURSDAY:

• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
• • WRESTLING: Triangular v. North Platte St. Pats, GICC
    • KCHS wins over North Platte St. Pats
    • KCHS wins over GICC

FRIDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • GIRLS BASKETBALL: @ Lincoln East – 5:45 PM
    • Pregame on KGFW @ 5:30 PM; 1340 AM, 96.1 FM, KGFW.com, KGFW App
  • BOYS BASKETBALL: @ Lincoln East – 7:30 PM
    • Pregame on KGFW @ 7:15 PM; 1340 AM, 96.1 FM, KGFW.com, KGFW App
  • WRESTLING: @ Council Bluffs Classic
    • Day 1
• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • GIRLS BASKETBALL: @ Ord
  • BOYS BASKETBALL: @ Ord
  • WRESTLING: @ Wood River – 10 AM

• UNK:
  • M/W TRACK AND FIELD: Pre-Holiday Meet @ Kearney
• HASTINGS COLLEGE:
• • M/W TRACK AND FIELD: Pre-Holiday Meet @ UNK

SATURDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • WRESTLING: @ Council Bluffs Classic
    • Day 2
  • GIRLS BASKETBALL: v. Omaha Central @ Kearney High School – 4:30 PM
    • Pregame on KGFW @ 4:15 PM; 1340 AM, 96.1 FM, KGFW.com, KGFW App
  • BOYS BASKETBALL: v. Omaha Central @ Kearney High School – 6:15 PM
    • Pregame on KGFW @ 6 PM; 1340 AM, 96.1 FM, KGFW.com, KGFW App
• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • N/a
• UNK:
  • WRESTLING: @ Chadron State
  • WOMENS BASKETBALL: @ No. 2 Fort Hays State – 2 PM
  • MENS BASKETBALL: @ Fort Hays State – 4 PM
• HASTINGS COLLEGE:
• • WOMENS WRESTLING: @ Centerville, IA
  • WOMENS BASKETBALL: v. No. 25 Concordia @ Lynn Farrell Arena – 2 PM
  • MENS BASKETBALL: v. Concordia @ Lynn Farrell Arena – 3:45 PM