Nebraska

Wisconsin volleyball sweeps Indiana in Anna Smrek’s return. Rematch with Nebraska next.

Published

7 months ago

November 19, 2023

Press Room

Wisconsin volleyball sweeps Indiana in Anna Smrek’s return. Rematch with Nebraska next.

Anna Smrek returned to the Wisconsin lineup in impressive fashion Sunday afternoon.

The Badgers junior right-side hitter, who missed the last three matches due to an upper body injury, equaled her season high for hitting percentage in the team’s sweep of Indiana in front of 2,468 at Wilkinson Hall in Bloomington, Indiana.

Smrek finished with 10 kills and a .667 hitting percentage in the 25-19, 26-24, 25-14 victory. She also had five blocks as third-ranked Wisconsin improved to 24-3 overall and 15-3 in the Big Ten.

“It was really nice having Anna today. She was awfully good today,” UW coach Kelly Sheffield said on the Badger Radio Network’s post-match show.

Sarah Franklin, Izzy Ashburn have double-doubles

Senior Sarah Franklin finished with a team-high 11 kills for the Badgers and with 13 digs registered her second straight double-double. Setter Izzy Ashburn, a graduate student, also recorded a double-double (14 assists, 10 digs).

Graduate student Temi Thomas-Ailara added nine kills and a .400 hitting percentage. Sophomore Carter Booth finished with five kills, a .364 hitting percentage and a team-high eight blocks.

The contest tested Wisconsin’s ability to contain one of the Big Ten’s top setters, senior Camryn Haworth, and one of the league’s top serving teams.

It was challenging afternoon for the Badgers on both fronts. Indiana (19-12 overall, 9-9 Big Ten) finished with four aces and fired countless other serves that UW had a hard time handling. Haworth finished with 33 assists,

“They just have a different serving team, all six rotations, than other teams in the Big Ten,” Ashburn said. “ Prepping for them, it makes it tough, but I thought our passers did a good job of moving on from each ball.

“They’re going to get their good serves, their aces and they’re going to get us out of system, but we’re just going to keep fighting and moving on together and keeping that mindset.”

Badgers take control after tough second set

Wisconsin had its toughest time in the second set when Indiana aced the Badgers three times and held them to a match-low .261 percentage.

That set was the match’s tightest. It featured 12 ties and seven lead changes and went to extra points. The key moment was a UW challenge that gave it a 24-23 lead. The Badgers later closed that set with kills by Smith and then Smrek.

The final set wasn’t nearly as competitive. The Hoosiers trailed throughout and hit .119 while Wisconsin didn’t have a error and hit a match-high .461.

The match sets up Wisconsin for its rematch with Nebraska at 3 p.m. Friday. The Cornhuskers, who clinched the Big Ten title outright with a sweep of Iowa on Sunday afternoon, are undefeated and expected to be the No. 1 seed of the entire NCAA Tournament field.

“That’s a team that is playing better than anybody in the country,” Sheffield said. “That’s a real test to see if you’re on top of your game and what you need to continue to work on during the few days that remain afterwards.

“We want to play well and we want to get on this. We want to start building some momentum. This is as healthy as we have been in a long time.”

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Nebraska

Sidney graduate Karsyn Leeling earns Gatorade Nebraska Girls Track and Field Player of the Year

Published

4 hours ago

June 26, 2024

Press Room

Sidney graduate Karsyn Leeling earns Gatorade Nebraska Girls Track and Field Player of the Year

SIDNEY, Neb. (KNOP) – Karsyn Leeling was named 2023-2024 Gatorade Nebraska Girls Track and Field Player of the Year. The Sidney High School athlete had a senior season to remember in track and field. In May she wrapped up her high school career with three Class B state championships claiming titles in the long jump, triple jump and the high jump. She would also break a state record in the high jump back in April.

Leeling went on to win a national title in the high jump at Nike Outdoor Nationals clearing six feet even to earn All-American honors.

She maintained a 3.66 PGA in the classroom and will continue her track and field career at the University of Nebraska this coming fall.

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Nebraska

Pillen officially announces intent to call special session for Nebraska tax reform

Published

11 hours ago

June 25, 2024

Press Room

Pillen officially announces intent to call special session for Nebraska tax reform

LINCOLN, Neb. (WOWT) – Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen took the next step in securing a special session in the state’s legislature this summer.

Gov. Pillen on Tuesday sent a letter to Speaker John Arch, officially announcing his plans to call senators back to Lincoln on July 25. The purpose of the session is to make more headway on addressing property taxes in Nebraska.

“In my sine die address in April, I stated that I would call a special session this summer to facilitate another opportunity for us to meet Nebraskans’ demand that their elected leaders fix this crisis now,” read the Governor’s letter, in part. “I have traveled extensively across the state since the Legislature adjourned and have heard from a wide range of people. Their message is clear: stop this massive overall tax increase by fixing property taxes.”

Gov. Pillen has been hosting town halls across the state over the past two months since the legislative session ended, working to educate Nebraskans on what he calls a “tax crisis.”

He still has several of those meetings planned:

Wednesday, June 26

1:30 p.m. (CT) Columbus: Columbus Chamber of Commerce, 753 33rd Ave, Columbus

Thursday, June 27

10:00 a.m. (CT) Valentine: Mid Plains Community College, 715 E Hwy 20, Valentine

1:00 p.m. (MT) Chadron: Chadron State College, Student Center – Lakota Room, 1000 Main Street, Chadron

4:30 p.m. (MT) Alliance: Westside Events Center, 2472 County Road 62, Alliance

Friday, June 28

8:30 a.m. (MT) Ogallala: Petrified Wood Gallery, 418 East 1st Street, Ogallala

1:00 p.m. (CT) McCook: Coppermill Steakhouse, 202 Coppermill St., McCook

4:00 p.m. (CT) Lexington: Central Community College – The Opportunity Center, 1501 Plum Creek Pkwy, Lexington

Along with slashing property taxes, Gov. Pillen also wants to ensure that the legislature knows he will call a special session regarding other “unfinished business” leftover from the 2024 legislative session, which could include Nebraska’s move to a “winner-take-all” state during elections.

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Nebraska

Nebraska Unemployment Rate Unchanged at 2.5% in May

Published

19 hours ago

June 25, 2024

Press Room

Nebraska Unemployment Rate Unchanged at 2.5% in May

Nebraska’s unemployment rate in May was unchanged at a seasonally adjusted rate of 2.5%. That rate is unchanged from September 2023 and up 0.4% from May 2023.

Nebraska’s rate is the fourth lowest in the nation. The national seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for May 2024 is 4.0 percent, up 0.1 percentage points from the April 2024 rate of 3.9 percent and up 0.3 percentage points from the May 2023 rate of 3.7 percent.

“Nebraska’s total nonfarm employment has been on an upward trajectory since February and reached an all-time high in May at 1,077,200,” said Commissioner of Labor John H. Albin. “Omaha’s leisure and hospitality industry saw a large gain over the month, with all the metro areas reaching record highs in total nonfarm employment.”

Further details are available here

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