Connect with us

Nebraska

Nebraska Downs Michigan State in a Familiar Fashion

Published

on

Nebraska Downs Michigan State in a Familiar Fashion


LINCOLN—Copy and paste—same story, different opponent. 

It was another sweep for top-ranked Nebraska — it’s 11th in a row as it hit .382 for the match while limiting Michigan State to .118.  

The Huskers did not allow an opponent to reach 20 points again, a feat that had happened just five times during the sweep streak. In the last 33 sets, teams are averaging 16.3 points per set against the Huskers. 

For the third straight match, no Nebraska player reached double-digit kills as freshman outside hitter Teraya Sigler finished with a match-high nine kills. 

Advertisement

Not that the Huskers (20-0, 10-0) would complain since all the streaks are positive in their favor. NU earned a 25-15, 25-15, 25-18 straight set win over the Spartans Saturday evening at John Cook Arena in front of 8,496 fans. 

NU coach Dani Busboom Kelly said they have a lot of weapons and depth, which gives the Huskers a lot of options to attack and depth to cover players when they might not be on for a match. 

After Sigler, Rebekah Allick and Harper Murray finished with eight kills, while Virginia Adriano and Andi Jackson put up seven kills. 

“Nebraska has always been great defensively and sometimes hasn’t put up offensive numbers,’ she said. “This year, we’re really putting up really high offensive numbers as well. It’s just the attention to detail and the awareness that we’re going to be great on both sides. We’re not going to rely on one or the other to win games.”

Bergen Reilly sets during the match against Northwestern.

Bergen Reilly sets during the match against Northwestern. She moved into fourth all-time in assists at Nebraska after recording 37 Saturday night. / Kenny Larabee, KLIN

Bergen Reilly tallied 37 assists against Michigan State and passed Lauren Cook for fourth all-time on Nebraska’s career assist list. The junior setter now has 3,225 assists in her career, while Cook finished with 3,198. Next up on the all-time chart is Sydney Anderson in third place with 3,332 career assists.

Advertisement

Against Michigan State (15-5, 5-5), the NU freshman took center stage. Senior outside hitter Taylor Landfair was available, according to Busboom Kelly, after spraining her ankle on Friday night, but Sigler played all six rotations for most of the match while giving way to redshirt freshman Skyler Pierce in the late second and third sets. 

Adriano started the match with some noise, recording kills on the first two rallies. The Turin, Italy native finished with seven kills on nine swings with a career-best hitting percentage of .667. She gave way to senior opposite Allie Sczech in the third set, who terminated on all three of her swings. 

Even though the pair compete for playing time at the same position, Adriano said Sczech has been a great resource in helping her adapt to the American game and become a better player. She said she is proud when Sczech plays well in her opportunities. 

“We push each other a lot in practice, so that helps when struggle (against other teams) is going to come, hopefully it won’t, but I think it will,” Adriano said about Sczech. “When that’s going to happen, we are going to be prepared for that by helping each other in practice.”

Michigan State kept it close as the Huskers led 11-10 midway through the second set. Murray served during a 4-0 run, and then Maisie Boesiger was at the service line for a 6-0 run as NU pulled away. Allick provided the offensive firepower as she recorded seven kills on 11 swings in the set. 

The Spartans’ offense was led by seven kills from Biance Mumcular and Zuzanna Kulig. Nebraska won the blocking battle 11-9 as Reilly and Jackson finished with five stuffs. In an odd quirk, neither team recorded an ace in the match. 

Freshman Manaia Ogbechie (14) had five blocks and eight kills in her first start.

Freshman Manaia Ogbechie recorded five kills on six swings against Michigan State. / Amarillo Mullen

For the second straight match, Manaia Ogbechie came on in relief in the third set and put up impressive numbers. On Friday, the 6-foot-3 middle blocker recorded four kills on eight swings for a .375 hitting percentage versus Northwestern. Against the Spartans, Ogbechie finished with five kills on six attacks and added a block. 

While Ogbechie didn’t know she was going to play until after the second set was over, she quickly got ready and made an instant impact. 

Even though she is experiencing college volleyball for the first time, she said she leans on her teammates to help her get used to the success the Huskers are experiencing. 

Advertisement

“It does get a little bit old, but being able to even participate in the third set, for me, that’s more than fulfilling,” Ogbechie said. 

Stay up to date on all things Huskers by bookmarking Nebraska Cornhuskers On SI, subscribing to HuskerMax on YouTube, and visiting HuskerMax.com daily.





Source link

Nebraska

Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen appoints Antonio Gomez to Racing and Gaming Commission

Published

on

Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen appoints Antonio Gomez to Racing and Gaming Commission


Gov. Jim Pillen has appointed Antonio Gomez of Jackson to the Nebraska Racing and Gaming Commission, adding a longtime Siouxland business leader and public servant to the panel.

Commission members serve four-year terms and are subject to approval by the Nebraska Legislature.

Gomez launched Gomez Pallets in South Sioux City in 1983. He has since retired from daily operations, but last year the Siouxland Chamber of Commerce recognized him with the W. Edwards Deming Business Leadership and Entrepreneurial Excellence Award.

Gomez previously served on the Nebraska Commission on Latino Americans from 1981 to 2002. He also served as a Dakota County commissioner for 12 years and was on the Foundation Board for Northeast Community College.

Advertisement

Gomez’s appointment is effective April 1.



Source link

Continue Reading

Nebraska

CBS Sports predicts Nebraska-Iowa basketball in the Sweet 16

Published

on

CBS Sports predicts Nebraska-Iowa basketball in the Sweet 16


The Nebraska Cornhuskers will face the Iowa Hawkeyes on Thursday in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. This is the Huskers’ first Sweet 16 in program history, while Iowa is playing in its first Sweet 16 since 1999.

Nebraska defeated Vanderbilt 74-72 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Iowa advanced after beating the defending national champion, the Florida Gators, 73-72.

Advertisement

CBS Sports reporter Isaac Trotter broke down Thursday’s Sweet 16 matchup. Trotter started by looking at the two previous matchups in this series.

Advertisement

These teams have played twice. Iowa won at home in a 57-52 rockfight. Nebraska returned the favor by winning at home, 84-75 in overtime, in another to-the-death brawl.

It’s no secret that Nebraska’s defense caused significant problems for the Iowa offense in the second game, and if the Hawkeyes are going to win the rubber match, Trotter believes that turnovers will be the key.

There are no secrets in the rubber match. Nebraska’s no-middle defense has given Iowa real problems both times. The Hawkeyes turned it over 20% of the time in Game 1 and 26% of the time in Game 2. That can’t happen in the third encounter.

CBS Sports believes that Iowa has the best player on the floor in Bennett Stirtz, but Trotter also believes that Nebraska’s defense is just too much in the end for Iowa.

Iowa has the best player on the floor, Bennett Stirtz, and can hurt Nebraska on the glass, but the Huskers get the nod because of this pick-and-roll defense. You have to be able to guard ball screens effectively to shut down Iowa, and Nebraska has been an elite pick-and-roll defense, rating in the 99th percentile nationally, per Synergy.

In the end, Trotter selected Nebraska as his pick. Should the Huskers advance to the Elite Eight, Nebraska would play the winner of the Illinois-Houston game. Nebraska-Iowa play in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday, March 26 at 6:30 p.m. CT on TBS.

Advertisement

Contact/Follow us @CornhuskersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Nebraska news, notes and opinions.

Advertisement

This article originally appeared on Cornhuskers Wire: CBS Sports predicts Nebraska-Iowa basketball in the Sweet 16





Source link

Continue Reading

Nebraska

Protect Colorado agriculture — do the homework on Nebraska canal plan (Letters)

Published

on

Protect Colorado agriculture — do the homework on Nebraska canal plan (Letters)


We need to do our homework on Nebraska canal plan

Re: “Colorado’s water war with Nebraska comes to a head,” Sept. 21 news story

Farming in northeastern Colorado has never been easy, and it is getting harder. Markets are tough, input costs are up, and young people are leaving. What keeps communities in Northeastern Colorado going is agriculture, the water, the ground, and the community that ties everything together. The proposed Perkins County Canal — to carry South Platte River water into Nebraska — threatens all of it.

When you take water off farmland, the damage does not stop in crop yields. Equipment dealers, elevators, local banks, and businesses all feel it. Schools and roads will suffer. We have seen what happens to towns that lose their agricultural base, and we cannot let that happen again without a real fight.

That fight needs to be a regional one. I am asking communities across northeastern Colorado to come together and hire an independent economic consultant to assess the true local impact of this project (acres affected, jobs at risk, income lost, tax base eroded).

Advertisement

The Corps of Engineers will do its own analysis, but we need our own numbers. If their conclusions do not match what our communities are actually facing, we need the documentation to say so and demand they take another look.

Rural communities have always figured out how to help each other when it counts. This is one of those times. I urge local officials, water boards, farm bureaus, and civic leaders to set aside any differences and work together on this. The permit process will not wait, and neither can we.

Kimberly L. Kinnison, Ovid

Don’t let our children be ‘policy pawns’

Re: “District accused of violating Title IX,” March 14 news story

The Trump administration seems intent on the persecution of transgender children, excluding them from bathrooms, sports and school activities. Refusing to allow transgender children to participate in school in a manner consistent with their gender identity promotes the exclusion of particularly vulnerable children.

Advertisement

Participation in sports, access to bathrooms in which they feel comfortable, and full inclusion are critical components of healthy development for all children.

Some children are taller, faster, or stronger, have been training with private coaches or attending schools with better facilities, but the requirement of biological uniformity applies only to transgender children.

Exclusion harms children. Is this in dispute? Our children are not political pawns.

Jane Cates, Jefferson County

Don’t forget the Denver Chamber Music Festival

Re: “Classical blast,” March 15 feature story

Advertisement



Source link

Continue Reading

Trending