Kearney, Neb. – The 13th-ranked Nebraska Kearney volleyball team had three players with double digit kill totals and libero Lauren Taubenheim reached 1,000 career digs to help the Lopers down seventh-ranked Southwest Minnesota State (-19-25, -22, -23, -21) in an NCAA Tournament first-round match Thursday afternoon in St. Paul, Minn.
Seeded sixth in the uber-tough Central Regional, UNK (29-5) advances to the quarterfinals to face either second-ranked Wayne State (28-2) or 15th-ranked Minnesota-Duluth (18-10). Those teams played today’s second match; the winner and UNK play Friday at 5 p.m. For all tourney information, go to the regional webpage.
“Couldn’t be prouder of our team. It was hard fought match, and we just showed a lot of grit today and kind of turned it into the type of match we thought maybe gave us a chance,” said UNK head coach Rick Squiers. “That was long rallies, lots of defense … it couldn’t be a first ball kill match. Credit to us for getting block touches and serving tough.”
Facing a big and physical Southwest squad (23-7) that finishes on a three-match losing streak, UNK turned to its defense to extend rallies and keep the Mustangs on their heels. Having leads in all four sets, the Lopers took control of things in the third when they finished on an 8-2 run. Kills from outside Emersen Cyza (Alliance) and right side Jaden Ferguson (Lincoln SW) broke a 21-21 tie, forcing SMSU to call timeout. After the break, kills from Ferguson and outside Asha Regier (Newton, Kan.) made it 2-1 on the scoreboard.
“We wanted to put a little pressure on them (from the serve line) by hitting certain zones. Just a good win that a whole lot of people contributed to,” said Squiers. “It’s hard enough to get here but when you do, you’re obviously playing nationally-ranked opponents in every round.”
Showing great balance all afternoon, UNK saw Cyza, Ferguson and Regier have four kills apiece in the fourth set. The Blue & Gold out hit SMSU by nearly 100 points but a 24-18 lead was trimmed to just three after three straight unforced attack errors. However, the ‘Stangs returned the favor with a ball handling error being the final point of the match.
Regier and Cyza both had 15 kills with Ferguson adding 10 more and five others having at least one. Making the All-MIAA Tournament team two weeks ago, Regier has now reached 10 kills in fourth straight matches and hit a team-best .343. Next, Cyza is up to 1,314 career kills (Wyoming and UNK) with Ferguson having her ninth double double and posting a .897 serve receive percentage.
“Our servers bothered them just enough so we could dig some balls and then we made some ridiculous hustle plays,” said Squiers. “It fed off each other … someone would make a really good play and then their teammates would rally behind them and go make another one.”
SMSU served BB’s all afternoon long but ended up with five aces and nine errors. Veteran DS Jensen Rowse (Minden) was 12 for 12 in the serve game, sophomore DS Addyson Mock (Stilwell, Kan.) went 14 of 15 with Taubenheim 16 for 16. Her dig tally is now up to 1,002 and she is the 35th Loper to reach four figures in digs. Rowse (1,052) reached this milestone earlier this season.
“It means a lot. I went through a position switch this year (right side to libero), so it’s been an adjustment but a lot of fun. I’ve had some amazing teammates that’ve helped me along the way,” said Taubenheim. “It’s special to do it at this point of the season.”
At the net, sophomore middle Abby Rose (Lindsborg, Kan.) had a career-high 10 blocks (one solo) with Regier at four and setter Peyton Neff (North Platte) posting five. UNK finished with 13 stuffs and SMSU committed 15 unforced attack errors to hit .166. They came in averaging .236. Finally, Neff had 41 assists, eight digs, ace and kill, Mock dug up 10 balls with Rowse at 15 and sophomore middles Trista Marx (Limon, Colo.) and Mia Berg (Eureka, Mo.) combined for five kills, two blocks and several block touches.
“Coach emphasized watching the player and watching the ball instead of just going to the pin. We worked on that and finding the ball (to get blocks and block touches) helped our backrow,” said Regier.
Central Region Freman of the Year, 6-2 outside Leah Jones, paced SMSU with 13 kills, 12 digs and a 32 for 34 effort in serve receive. Three others had double digit kill totals as well with All-NSIC libero Mackenzie Tolk having a 19 digs and several long service runs.
UNK is now 34-26 all-time in the NCAA’s, improving to 15-18 in neutral site matches, 4-5 at Concordia-St. Paul and 3-1 vs. the Mustangs.
Lopers pull off upset in First Round of NCAA Tournament
