Cyclones Fall to No. 7 Nebraska

OMAHA, Neb. - Junior Brittany Dalager had a team-high nine kills and nine digs and senior Renae Pruess added eight kills, but it wasn't enough as No. 7 Nebraska defeated Iowa State, 3-0, Wednesday night at the Omaha Civic Auditorium in Omaha, Neb. With the loss, Iowa State falls to 7-6 overall and 0-3 in Big 12 play. Jennifer Saleaumua led Nebraska with 12 kills and eight digs. Nebraska's record improves to 11-1 overall and 3-0 in league play.

There were 4,173 people in attendance, the most to see an Iowa State match since the inception of the Big 12 Conference in 1996.

Nebraska had the edge on the match offensively, hitting .443 from the floor and collecting 52 kills to Iowa State's 31. The Cornhuskers also held the advantage defensively, with 43 digs to 32 ISU digs. The Cyclones had six total blocks.

Freshman Katie Jessen had eight kills and sophomore Ashlie McWee added three. Senior Lindsey Chapman had 19 assists and four digs, while senior Dana Koziol added six digs.

Both teams were pretty even in game one as the two teams traded point for point. At one point, the Cyclones led the game, 12-10, on the strength of a Dalager kill. But Nebraska scored the next four points to take a 14-12 lead. The game would remain close throughout, as ISU used solid serving and steady outside hitting to pull within 21-17, but the Cornhuskers proved to be too much, hitting .486 from the floor to win game one, 30-25. The Cyclones hit a solid .316 from the floor and Pruess led the way with five kills.

"I thought we played very well in game one," head coach Linda Crum said. "We seemed to keep Nebraska out of its system for awhile and we did a good job of ball handling. I just thought game one was a good one for us."

In game two, Nebraska hit .294 from the floor and had 15 kills to ISU's eight. The Cyclones had a 9-5 lead early in the match, but Nebraska soon tied up the match at 11-11. The Cornhuskers went on to win game tow, 30-20. Dalager led the way with three kills and three digs, while Pruess added two digs.

Game three was all Nebraska as the Cornhuskers hit .577, while holding ISU to .034. NU had 15 kills to ISU's eight and 13 digs to the Cyclones' nine. Jessen and Dalager led the way in game three with three kills each. Dalager also had three digs. Nebraska won the game, 30-14, and the match 3-0.

"I thought we let down a little in the rest of the match," said Crum. "Our serving wasn't quite as strong and we didn't quite finish on some things, but for the most part, I thought we played very competitively and our ball handling was good. Our three outside hitters were very consistent and provided some sparks when we needed them."

Iowa State will travel to Boulder, Colo., to take on Colorado on Saturday, Sept. 27, with first serve at 7 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

Lindsey Chapman

Lindsey Chapman

Brittany Dalager

Brittany Dalager

Katie Jessen

Dana Koziol

Dana Koziol

Ashlie McWee

Ashlie McWee

Renae Pruess

Renae Pruess

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