AMES, Iowa ? In front of the largest crowd ever to watch a collegiate volleyball match in the state of Iowa, Iowa State dropped a 3-0 (30-20, 30-19, 30-16) decision to second-ranked Nebraska at Hilton Coliseum on Saturday.
The record 6,705 fans tops Iowa State's previous school record of 4,228, which was set in 1995 when the Huskers came to Ames. The previous state of Iowa record was 5,522, which was set when UNI opened the McLeod Center in 2006.
“I really appreciate the fans that came out today to support us,” said Iowa State head coach Christy Johnson. “They were incredible and it was a great atmosphere for college volleyball.”
Iowa State (15-11, 9-7 Big 12) was unable to contain a potent Huskers' (23-1, 15-1) offensive attack that saw NU hit .389 as a team and got a match-high 16 kills from 2006 National Player of the Year Sarah Pavan.
Victoria Henson was Iowa State's only player in double-figures with 11 kills while freshman libero Ashley Mass reached double-digits for the school-record 19th straight match with 12 digs. Amy Vos also reached double-figures with 10 digs for the Cyclones, who were out dug 59-45.
“Nebraska just has a very balanced offense and that makes them hard to defend,” said Johnson. “There are no hitters that you can let go.”
The Cyclones trailed just 10-8 in game one before the Huskers rolled off four straight to put some distance between the teams. NU continued to roll after a Lauren Cummings' kill stopped the initial rally, scoring four of the next five to lead 18-10. The Huskers hit .282 in game one to pick up the 30-20 win.
“I felt like were into game one at first and just kind of let it go,” said Johnson. “Nebraska gave us a chance to see if we could stick with them and we were unable to capitalize.”
Game two was tied at 8-8 on an attack error by Nebraska's Jordan Larson but the Huskers went on a run, closing the game on a 20-11 run to win 30-19 and take a 2-0 lead into the locker room.
The Huskers didn't let up in the third game, jumping out to a 5-1 lead and rolling to a 30-16 win and a sweep of the Cyclones.
Iowa State heads to Missouri Wednesday evening for an important Big 12 match. The Tigers are a game behind Iowa State in the league standings. The match begins at 6:30 p.m. and will be televised on FSN Midwest.