Powerful Nebraska frustrates Wichita State in second round of NCAA volleyball

Cheering is the thing Katie Reilly will miss the most.

“Getting to scream really loud is really fun,” the Wichita State senior said.

The cheering, and fun-having, belonged to Nebraska fans Saturday as the Huskers swept the Shockers 25-19, 25-19, 25-14, beating Wichita State for the third time in the NCAA Tournament since 2004.

“Being done with indoor volleyball, it sucks,” Reilly said.

Reilly, who hit .556 and Abbie Lehman (.667) combined for 21 of Wichita State’s 35 kills, but they had little help as Nebraska bottled up the rest of the Shockers’ hitters: Shimen Fayad (.150), Mikaela Raudsepp (.000), Jody Larson (.000) and setter Emily Hiebert (.000).

“We got them out of system, and you can see their outside hitters didn’t have a very good night,” Nebraska coach John Cook said.

The Huskers, which advanced to the regional semifinal for the 21st time in 22 years, hit .347 – the second-best percentage by a Shocker opponent this season.

“Our offense rocked,” Reilly said. “It just came down to other things. They hit hard and we’re not used to it. Our defense, not going to lie, just didn’t show up.”

Reilly thought the intimidation of playing one of the nation’s elite teams, in front of 8,132 fans, showed.

“I felt there were people that were like, ‘Oh my gosh, we’re playing Nebraska, there’s no way we’re ever going to win,’ ” Reilly said. “Am I mad right now? No, but it could have been a different game.”

Serving also undid Wichita State (27-9). For the second straight night, Wichita State did not have an ace – the only times that’s happened this season – and gave up six aces, equaling most allowed this fall. Coach Chris Lamb said Nebraska (28-4) is the best serving team he’d seen this year.

“They hit it flat, almost like they are serving downhill,” Lamb said. “We’ve played three Sweet 16 teams, but I don’t think we were ever as uncomfortable as we were tonight.”

Lamb was also disappointed in his team’s defense behind the block.

“It’s firepower – jump higher, hit harder. It’s a tough existence when that’s the way the game’s going to go and you know you’re less physical,” Lamb said.

Nebraska’s 6-1 run gave it a 21-14 lead in the first set. The Huskers had two aces in the run, and three in the set, a night after having zero aces in a four-set win against Harvard.

Neither team hit as well in the second set, but Nebraska found enough offense to gradually pull away. Wichita State was plagued by ball-handling errors and net violations early and trailed essentially the whole way.

A 9-3 run midway through the third set assured the sweep.

Mikaela Foecke, Kadie Rolfzen, and Kelsey Fein combined for 33 kills and four Huskers hit better than .300.

After the match, Lamb reminisced about seeing Reilly play as an eighth-grader on a star-filled club team.

“I thought she was the one we might get,” Lamb said. “The girl that was too small hit .556 against the mighty Huskers.”

In her final match, she finished with 11 kills and one error, “And we questioned that error. We thought it was touched,” Lamb said.

Lehman, a sophomore, said she will miss Reilly’s leadership, while Reilly will miss yelling for others.

“We beat Kentucky, we beat Marquette, and I’ll remember those moments, not necessarily that we won, but that we did it together,” she said.

This story was originally published December 5, 2015 at 10:03 PM with the headline "Powerful Nebraska frustrates Wichita State in second round of NCAA volleyball."