Nebraska knocks out Kansas in NCAA volleyball semifinals

Cassie Wait wiped her forehead and forced a smile. Kelsie Payne shrugged her shoulders and reflected on a historic season. Ainise Havili nodded her head and spoke about the future.

The Kansas volleyball dream died Thursday night, amidst a sea of red inside the CenturyLink Center, against a formidable national power. The Jayhawks ran out of miracles and magic. The greatest KU team in school history was undone by No. 4 seed Nebraska and a building full of a Big Red.

In the second NCAA national semifinal of the night, with a record crowd of 17,551 in attendance, the ninth-seeded Jayhawks were ousted in four sets, falling to No. 4 seed Nebraska, 25-20, 25-21, 20-25, 25-16.

“We try to put pressure on them each day in practice,” Kansas coach Ray Bechard said, sitting at a podium in the bowels of the arena. “But we don’t have 17,000 people dressed in red in our gym.”

The Cornhuskers, playing just 60 miles from their campus in Lincoln, advanced to Saturday’s NCAA volleyball championship game, where they will face former Big 12 rival Texas. The Jayhawks, playing in their first Final Four, will head back to Lawrence after finishing the season 30-3.

Before this Final Four appearance, before this program breakthrough, the Jayhawks had lost to just one team this season, falling twice to the Texas Longhorns. On Thursday night, Kansas ran into more volleyball royalty — another program with titles and Final Four appearances and an All-American pedigree. By the end of the night, the Jayhawks had made too many mistakes to overcome a well-oiled red machine. Bechard pointed to some inconsistent serving and some uncharacteristically shaky passing. The Huskers seized control in the opening set, rolled in the second, survived a Kansas rally in the third, and transformed CenturyLink Center in a madhouse during a final run in the fourth.

“We fight hard,” said Havili, the Jayhawks' All-American setter, who finished with a team-high 38 assists. “And we showed that night tonight in front of 17,000 people. So you can’t ask for more.”

For Kansas, the outcome stung. The end was sudden. The Jayhawks fell to 0-87-1 all-time against Nebraska, one of the sport’s blue bloods. But in the moment, there was sense of accomplishment.

With a cheering section that included Gov. Sam Brownback, former KU basketball star Scot Pollard and KU chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little, the Jayhawks were playing on college volleyball’s biggest stage for the first time. For a week, a team had turned Kansas into a volleyball school. And if there is consolation in defeat, if there is a reason for hope, it is this: the Jayhawks will return six starters next season, including two sophomore All-Americans in Havili and Payne, who had 22 kills while hitting .576 on the night.

“She hit .576, and everybody knew we were going to her,” Bechard said. “She’s outstanding.”

At times, the 6-foot-3 Payne was dominant, keeping an upset bid alive. At times, she was such a force that Nebraska coach John Cook told his team to just go for an ace.

“We couldn’t stop her,” Cook said.

But while Kansas had Payne, the Cornhuskers had depth and power, a front row of 6-foot-3 hitters that feasted on KU mistakes and found holes in the Jayhawks' defense. All night, Kansas had trouble stopping Nebraska freshman outside hitter Mikaela Foecke (12 kills), junior outside hitter Kadie Rolfzen (14 kills) and senior middle blocker Cecilia Hall (10 kills).

“The ball didn’t fall our way,” said Wait, the junior libero. “We didn’t play the game we wanted to play. But it’s definitely an awesome experience, and like we said, I think we can just take this and run with it. We’re going to make it a standard.”

Indeed. The blueprints for this Final Four run were sketched years ago, in the wake of a 15-14 season in 2011 that included just three Big 12 victories. Brick by brick, the process fell into the place. The next year, with a bulk of the same roster returning, Kansas improved to 26-7 and returned to the NCAA Tournament. The program’s first Sweet 16 came the next year, in 2013, and the snow ball kept rolling down hill, picking up speed and attracting more talented recruits.

In 2013, the Jayhawks unearthed gems in Tayler Soucie, a middle blocker rom Osawatomie, and Wait, a special athlete from Gardner. The next year, the Kansas staff landed a trio of standouts from Texas — Havili, Payne and outside hitter Madison Rigdon.

This year, Havili and Payne became the first first-team All-Americans in program history, Rigdon settled into a starting role, and the stage was set for a dominating regular season. The Jayhawks started the season 19-0, dropping just five sets during the season’s first six weeks.

They would finish the Big 12 regular season 14-2, dropping just two matches to Big 12 champion Texas. They rolled through the opening rounds of the NCAA Tournament, sweeping Furman and Missouri before taking out Loyola Marymount in the Sweet 16. Then came another breakthrough: A five-set victory over No. 1 overall seed USC in the Elite Eight.

“I’ve coached against Kansas a lot,” Cook said, referencing his school’s time in the Big 12. “And (they’ve) got a great team.”

Then came Thursday night. In the opening set, the Jayhawks were handcuffed by a rash of service errors. With little margin for error, and Nebraska’s hitters wreaking havoc, the Jayhawks finished with four service miscues as the Huskers took the set 25-20.

Kansas rallied from an early deficit and nearly pulled even at 18-all, but Nebraska came up with a tricky save on a blistering serve from KU senior Tiana Dockery, salvaging the point. The Huskers seized control and didn’t let go.

Nebraska won the second set 25-21, and weathered a spirited rally from Kansas in the third. After an intermission following the second set, the Jayhawks emerged and took the third set, 25-20, riding a wave of solid blocking from Soucie and Dockery and a spate of kills from Payne.

For a moment, it appeared as if Kansas might have the arsenal for one final comeback. In the end, Nebraska had too much power.

“We’re all really proud of how far we’ve come as a program and as a team this year,” Payne said. “We made a great run.”

Texas tops Minnesota — On early Thursday evening, round one went to the Big 12.

No. 3 overall seed Texas dispatched No. 2 Minnesota in four sets, 26-24, 27-25, 23-25, 25-21. The Longhorns (30-2) advanced to the NCAA championship game for the first time since 2012, when they claimed the program’s third national championship.

“I’m proud of this group,” Texas coach Jerritt Elliott said. “This is a team that never gives up. There's a reason why I love coaching this group.”

On a night when both semifinals featured Big 12 vs. Big Ten matchups, Texas took little time in firing a salvo for the Big 12. The Longhorns’ Amy Neal finished with a match-high 25 kills while setter Chloe Collins racked up 64 assists. Texas took the first two sets and closed it out in four.

“It's a shame we couldn't turn a couple more plays at the right time,” Minnesota coach Hugh McCutcheon said. “But certainly to Texas's credit, they were able it make the plays when they counted and we wish them all the best moving forward.”

During the regular season, the Longhorns were the only volleyball team to defeat Kansas, handing the Jayhawks two losses during Big 12 play. On Saturday, the Longhorns will play for it all.

This story was originally published December 17, 2015 at 11:12 PM with the headline "Nebraska knocks out Kansas in NCAA volleyball semifinals."