Kansas City, Mo. – In another epic NCAA Tournament match between Nebraska and Penn State, the Huskers survived one match point and rallied from a 2-1 deficit Thursday night to defeat the Nittany Lions in a national semifinal match at the Sprint Center in Kansas City in front of an NCAA Semifinals-record crowd of 18,374.
With the win, Nebraska advanced to Saturday night’s NCAA Championship match, where the Huskers will face No. 2 seed Florida. Nebraska (31-4) extended its win streak to a nation-leading 18 consecutive matches, while snapping the Nittany Lions’ 23-match winning streak. Penn State, the nation’s top-ranked team and No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, ended its season with a 33-2 record, with both losses coming to Nebraska.
Kelly Hunter posted her fourth double-double in five NCAA Tournament matches this season, dishing out 47 assists and posting a career-high 23 digs. Mikaela Foecke recorded her first career double-double in the postseason, totaling a match-high 19 kills and a career-high 19 digs. Annika Albrecht and Briana Holman added 13 kills each, while Jazz Sweet had 12 kills on .375 hitting. Lauren Stivrins added a career-high nine blocks to complement seven kills.
The Huskers hit .249 in the match, 32 points higher than Penn State. Nebraska also out-blocked the Nittany Lions 13-12 and out-dug PSU 90-76.
The win was Nebraska’s first victory in three tries against Penn State in the NCAA Semifinals. The Huskers will play for their fifth national title on Saturday in their eighth NCAA Final appearance.
Nebraska will play Florida for the title tomorrow night. Florida defeated Stanford in last night’s other semifinal 3 sets to 2 winning 15-10 in the fifth. The Championship match will be broadcast live on KBBN 95.3 FM with coverage beginning on the Husker Sports Network at 7:30pm.
