Four Huskers finished with double-figure kill totals to lead NU to its first-ever NACWAA title. Senior right side hitter Nancy Metcalf pounded a match-high 22 kills while hitting at a .362 clip and adding a career-best 23 digs to earn tournament MVP honors. Junior middle blocker Amber Holmquist tallied 12 kills and posted a .391 hitting percentage, and junior setter Greichaly Cepero finished with 60 assists and guided the Huskers to a .315 hitting percentage to earn all-tournament honors.

Joining the Huskers on the all-tournament team were Pacific’s Jennifer Joines and Megan Hauschild, Hawaii’s Kim Willoughby and Wisconsin’s Sherisa Livingston.

NU, which swept No. 4 Wisconsin Friday night, is 2-0 in 2001 and has won 36 straight matches dating back to Sept. 1 of last season, a streak that is tied for fifth all-time in NCAA history. Nebraska, which was making its NCAA-leading fourth appearance in the State Farm/NACWAA Classic, now owns a 4-4 all-time record in the event, and the Huskers will be playing in the championship game for the third time overall and the first time since 1996.

Nebraska broke a 13-13 tie in the fourth with a 4-0 run sparked by a kill from Schrad. The Huskers led 19-14 after two Pacific errors, and NU increased its advantage to 21-15 after a rollshot from Metcalf dropped in the Pacific backcourt. Two kills from Metcalf and one from Holmquist made it 25-18 to give the Huskers their biggest lead of the game. Nebraska stretched its lead to 28-21, then forced a game-point situation with a kill from Metcalf. Pacific held off NU’s threat with a kill from Joines, but Nebraska claimed a 30-24 fourth-game win and the match when the Tigers were called for a net violation.

Nebraska broke a 12-12 tie with a kill from Kropp, and then increased its advantage to five with a kill from Metcalf and three straight shots from Holmquist. Pacific pulled within four points twice, but the Huskers took a 24-17 lead after back-to-back kills from Metcalf and Pilakowski, and were never seriously threatened again. Nebraska took its biggest lead of the game at 28-19 on Holmquist’s sixth kill of the period, and Schrad followed with a cross-court shot to bring NU to game point. Pilakowski slammed the final kill of the game to secure the 30-21 win.

Pacific led in the second game until Metcalf slammed back-to-back kills to tie it at 21. The Huskers took their first lead of the game when Pilakowski notched a kill two plays later to make it 23-22. The squads battled to a 27-27 tie before a kill from Schrad put the Huskers up by 1. A setter dump from Cepero made it 29-27, but Pacific cut the lead to 1 with a kill from Elaine Goeders, and then tied it up on a shot by Joines. The Tigers took a 30-29 advantage on a service ace by Sara Vinall, but Cepero answered with a kill to tie the game once again. With Lindsay Wischmeier at the service line, Kropp pounded a kill down the middle to force a game-point situation. Metcalf delivered on the ensuing possession, slamming her 13th kill of the match cross court for the 32-20 game-two victory.

The Huskers led 14-11 in the third before Pacific reeled off four straight points behind a block and three kills from Goeders. The Tigers then opened an 18-15 lead by capitalizing on two Nebraska hitting errors and a two-hits call against the Huskers. Cook called a time out and iced UOP’s Sara Vinall at the service line to cut Pacific’s lead to two. NU tied it at 23 with back-to-back kills from Kropp and Holmquist, but Pacific led 26-29 after a Nebraska service error and two NU hitting errors. Pilakowski slammed a kill to thwart the Tigers’ first game-point attempt, but Joines notched her 14th kills of the match to give Pacific the 30-27 game-three win.

Source: University of Nebraska Athletic Dept.

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