LINCOLN – The Husker women took down Baylor at the NCAA Volleyball tournament this weekend, with other Huskers putting up good performances in Golf and Tennis.
Volleyball
Behind a strong serving performance, the No. 5 seed Nebraska volleyball team swept 12th-seeded Baylor 3-0 Sunday afternoon to advance to an NCAA Regional Final for the ninth straight year.
The Huskers came from behind to win set one, 25-21. Nebraska never trailed in a 25-17 victory in set two, and the third set was tied at 14 before NU pulled away for a 25-19 win. Nebraska had eight aces in the win, while its strong serving consistently forced Baylor out of system, as the Bears hit just .141 in the match. NU also out-blocked Baylor 8-4 and had six more digs than the Bears.
With the win, Nebraska (16-2) advanced to Monday’s regional final, where the Huskers will face No. 4 seed Texas. The Huskers’ streak of nine consecutive NCAA Regional Finals is the longest in the country, and Nebraska’s 30 appearances in an NCAA Regional final are the most in NCAA history.
Golf
Kate Smith, Alice Duan and Michaela Vavrova all produced top-20 individual finishes to lead the Nebraska women’s golf team to a tie for sixth in a loaded 16-team field at the Indiana Spring Invitational Sunday.
Smith, a senior from Detroit Lakes, Minn., continued her impressive play with a tie for eighth. Smith finished with a three-round total of 217 (+1) that included back-to-back rounds of 72 (E) to open the tournament before adding a final-round 73. It marked the 20th top-10 finish of Smith’s illustrious Husker career, including her fourth in five tournaments this spring.
The Huskers head to the Big Ten Championship at TPC River’s Bend in Maineville, Ohio, April 23-25.
Tennis
The No. 44 Nebraska women’s tennis team (11-5) fell short to No. 43 Iowa Hawkeyes (12-6, 12-4 B1G) 4-1 on Sunday afternoon. The Huskers dropped just their fourth doubles point of the season and were unable to overcome Iowa in singles action.