Amber Holmquist added 16 kills and hit .600 for NU, while Jenny Kropp tallied 13 on a .375 hitting percentage. Lisa Morris posted 15 for Missouri, which fell to 16-6 overall and 6-6 in the league.

With the win, the Huskers’ kept their 16-match winning streak alive and extended their streak of consecutive Big 12 victories to 41. But Missouri became just the third team this season to push Nebraska past three games, joining No. 2 Long Beach State and No. 14 Texas A&M.

“Missouri came out with a good game plan, and it took us quite awhile to adjust,” NU Coach John Cook said. “I knew they were a good team. They played us tough in the Coliseum a few weeks ago. They played flawless volleyball in the first game. They passed every ball to the setter. They were up tempo and they were in system, and we didn’t dig a ball until the second game.”

The match started off on the wrong foot for the Huskers, as they dropped game one for just the third time this season. Nebraska trailed by three early, then tied the score twice before taking a 15-11 lead behind two kills from Laura Pilakowski and one from Metcalf. Missouri bounced back to tie it at 18 with an ace serve by Morris. The Tigers led 24-20 as Rachael Taylor kept NU on its heels with two ace serves, and Nebraska never got closer than that. MU sealed the 30-23, first-game victory on a Husker attack error.

NU, which leads the Big 12 in opponent hitting percentage, allowed the Tigers to swing for a .484 mark in game. The Huskers committed three service errors and were out-blocked, 3-1, in game one.

The Tigers continued to keep Nebraska off-balance in game two. The Huskers raced to a 17-3 lead, then maintained their pace for a 23-8 advantage. Missouri came alive with a four-point run keyed by a Krista Johnson kill to pull within 11. Missouri used a five-point burst minutes later to cut NU’s lead to 27-20. Metcalf slammed two kills to force a game-point situation for the Huskers, but Missouri wouldn’t quit. Morris pounded three kills and blocked Metcalf in a 5-0 MU run that made it 29-25, Nebraska. The Huskers finally took the 30-25, second-game victory on a kill by Schrad.

Trailing by four in game three, the Huskers came back to tie it at 12 with a kill by Anna Schrad. The Lincoln, Neb., native then reeled off four straight from behind the service line. Johnson cut the lead to three with a kill, but NU used two kills form Metcalf and one from Holmquist to take a 27-21 lead. Nebraska scored the final three points of the game for the 30-21 win.

In game four, Nebraska relied on three kills each from Metcalf and Holmquist to take a 15-9 lead. The Huskers remained in control throughout the second half of the game. Metcalf served four straight to make it 24-17, and Nebraska out-scored MU 6-2 the rest of the way to take the 30-21, fourth-game win and the match.

Nebraska returns to action Saturday, Oct. 27, when it plays host to Kansas State in a 7 p.m. match at the NU Coliseum. The Wildcats (11-6, 7-4) were third in the Big 12 standings entering Wednesday night’s match.

Source: University of Nebraska Athletic Dept.

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