Before a crowd of 4,229 Saturday, the Huskers hit .333 as a team and trailed for just one point in the entire match in sweeping their ninth straight opponent. Arizona State ended the season at 15-12.

The NCAA Central Regional opens Friday at 5 p.m. with a match between sixth-seeded Hawaii (32-1) and No. 11 seed North Carolina (32-3). Nebraska will play unseeded Miami (Fla.) at 7 p.m. or 30 minutes after the first match. The 27-5 Hurricanes upset 14th-seeded Wisconsin Saturday night in Madison, Wis., in a four-game match.

In eight of the 11 previous seasons in which Nebraska played host to an NCAA regional (all but 1985, 1991 and 1994), it has advanced to the Final Four, to be played this year Dec. 19 and 21 in New Orleans, La.

The victory Saturday also put the Huskers at the 30-win mark for the third straight season and the 15th time in school history. NU has won 62 straight matches at the Coliseum and 28 straight overall since a Sept. 2 loss to Southern California.

Freshman middle blocker Melissa Elmer hit .529 with 10 kills and eight block assists, and junior outside hitter Anna Schrad had 10 kills. Senior middle blocker Amber Holmquist contributed nine kills on .692 hitting with five kills for the Huskers, who had 15 total team blocks to the Sun Devils’ four.

Freshman outside hitter Jennifer Saleaumua also had nine kills and eight digs. The Huskers held Arizona State to a .160 hitting percentage. Junior outside hitter Juliana Escobar led ASU with 15 kills.

The Huskers raced to an 11-4 lead in game one after redshirt freshman Michelle Lynch sparked a 4-0 run with an ace serve. Nebraska maintained a seven-point lead the rest of the way, and NU held a 28-17 advantage after Holmquist slammed a kill. But ASU responded, as Escobar accounted for two of the Sun Devils’ four straight points with a kill and a service ace. Senior setter Greichaly Cepero stopped the run with a kill, and the Huskers wrapped up the first-game win on Pilakowski’s third kill of the match.

Game two began much the same way. Nebraska jumped to a 12-4 lead before Arizona State scored six of the next nine points to close the Huskers’ advantage to 15-10. ASU continued to chip away at the Huskers’ lead and pulled within two after back-to-back hitting errors. Elmer and Holmquist responded with kills to widen NU’s lead to 24-20. Nebraska increased the margin to 27-21 after Holmquist and Cepero combined to block Kim Mehlhorn. Junior defensive specialist Jenae Dowling served the game’s final four points. Holmquist blocked Escobar to secure the win.

In game three, Nebraska led by just one at 15-14 after kills from ASU’s Mehlhorn and Jodi Smith. But the Huskers scored six of the next nine points to take a 20-16 lead, as Elmer and Schrad combined for three blocks during the stretch. The Sun Devils fought back and tied the score at 21, 22 and 23 before a three-point Nebraska run sparked by a kill from Pilakowski. Arizona State rallied again to get within 28-27 before Elmer smashed two straight kills, the second coming with Pilakowski serving, to end the match.

Tickets for the NCAA Central Regional are available online at www.Huskers.com or by calling the Nebraska ticket office at (800)8BIGRED Monday at 8 a.m.

Source: University of Nebraska Athletic Dept.