KEARNEY, Neb. - The Nebraska volleyball team swept Denver, 25-13, 25-12, 25-15 in front of a sold-out crowd of 5,094 at the UNK Health and Sports Center on Saturday afternoon. 

Lindsay Krause led the Huskers with 12 kills, two digs and a .417 hitting percentage. Merritt Beason added 10 kills on .412 hitting with four blocks, three digs and two service aces. Skyler Pierce also contributed 10 kills and hit .389.

The Huskers hit .446 in the match and held the Pioneers to .120. NU had decisive advantages in kills (46-24), assists (44-23), digs (40-21), blocks (6-4) and aces (4-1). 

Andi Jackson posted seven kills on .429 hitting with three blocks, and Rebekah Allick finished with five kills on seven swings (.714) and three blocks. 

Bergen Reilly dished out 20 assists and six digs, and Kennedi Orr had 16 assists. 

Lexi Rodriguez had a team-high 12 digs. Laney Choboy played libero in the third set and finished with seven digs. Olivia Mauch added five digs and an ace. 

Set 1: Nebraska never trailed in the first set, winning 25-13. Allick, Beason, Krause and Pierce each had three kills, and Beason served two aces. NU hit .478 in the opening set, and Allick and Beason each had a pair of blocks.  

Set 2: The Huskers never trailed again, jumping out to a 12-3 lead before taking a 25-12 victory. Krause tallied five more error-free kills, and Beason added three more without an error. NU hit .542 and held Denver to .108. 

Set 3: Krause recorded four more kills as the Huskers built a 9-3 lead to begin the set. The Huskers cruised to a 25-15 win, hitting .361 and holding the Pioneers to .043. 

HUSKERS SURGE PAST GOPHERS BEHIND TWO-OUT HITTING

The Nebraska offense recorded six hits and drove in four runs with two outs, as the Huskers clinched the weekend series at Minnesota with a 7-3 win over the Gophers on Saturday afternoon at Siebert Field in Minneapolis.

Nebraska (30-15, 12-5 Big Ten) scored seven runs on 12 hits, while Minnesota (20-21, 6-11 Big Ten) totaled three runs on nine hits.

Joshua Overbeek had a 3-for-5 day with a homer, three RBI and two runs. Josh Caron had three hits and an RBI, while Dylan Carey was 2-for-5 with a double, an RBI and a run scored. Riley Silva, Ben Columbus, Cole Evans and Case Sanderson recorded one hit apiece.

Mason McConnaughey improved to 6-3 on the season after allowing one run on seven hits across 5.2 innings. The sophomore struck out five Gophers and issued a trio of walks. Caleb Clark allowed two runs on a pair of hits in 2.2 strong innings of relief. Rans Sanders got the final two outs in the ninth for the NU pitching staff.

The Husker offense threatened in the opening frame with consecutive one-out singles from Silva and Caron. Silva swiped third for his 29th stolen base of the season to put runners on first and third with one out, but the Big Red couldn’t scratch across the game’s first run.

McConnaughey faced traffic on the bases early but was able to strand a pair of runners in each of the first two innings to keep the Gophers off the board.

Overbeek began the third with a single to left and moved to second on a passed ball. Silva moved the junior to third with a sacrifice bunt, while an RBI groundout to second by Caron plated Overbeek to give the Big Red a 1-0 lead.

The Huskers pieced together two straight two-out singles from Sanderson and Carey in the fourth but couldn’t add to the one-run lead.

A four-pitch walk with one out, followed by Jake Perry’s RBI double to the left-center fence locked the game at one in the fifth inning. The Huskers’ relay throw nearly had the Gophers’ baserunner out at the plate, but Brady Counsell slid around the tag at the plate.

Columbus lifted a 2-2 pitch into the right-center alley for a double to open the sixth inning. Cole Evans dropped down a sacrifice bunt to move Columbus to third, while Sanderson’s sacrifice fly to left brought home Columbus to make it a 2-1 game through six innings.

The Husker offense erupted for four runs on two hits to blow the game open in the eighth. Evans was plunked and moved to second on a groundout by Sanderson, before coming around to score on Carey’s RBI double to left. Clay Bradford drew a four-pitch walk in a pinch-hitting appearance to put Huskers on first and second with two outs.

After fouling off back-to-back pitches, Overbeek unleashed a 460-foot three-run homer over the batter’s eye in center to grow the lead to 6-1.

Clark induced a pair of groundouts after giving up a one-out double in the bottom of the eighth to keep it a 6-1 Husker lead heading into the ninth inning.

Columbus drew a full-count walk and advanced to second on Evans’ single up the middle. A fielder’s choice moved Columbus to third, before a wild pitch brought him home to make it a six-run lead for the Huskers.

The Gophers tacked on a pair of runs in the bottom of the ninth off a two-run homer by Counsell, but a double play put a halt to any more damage from the Minnesota offense and clinched the 7-3 win for the Huskers.

Nebraska and Minnesota conclude the weekend series tomorrow at 1 p.m. at Siebert Field in Minneapolis. Sunday’s series finale can be seen on B1G+, while fans can listen to Dave Gustafson and Ben McLaughlin call the action on the Huskers Radio Network.

HARNESS, GRAY LEAD HUSKERS PAST GOPHERS

The Nebraska softball team scored seven times in the fifth and sixth innings to rally for an 8-3 win at Minnesota Saturday afternoon. With the win, the Huskers clinched a series victory and a first-round bye at next week's Big Ten Tournament.

Sarah Harness and Sydney Gray led the way for the Big Red on Saturday. Harness made the comeback possible by shutting out the Gophers over the final five innings, while Gray homered and drove in five runs.

Harness (8-4) earned her second win in as many days with a second straight outstanding relief effort. Harness allowed only one run in 6.2 innings, her longest outing this season.

Offensively, Gray finished 2-for-3 with five RBIs, including a go-ahead three-run homer in the fifth inning. Emmerson Cope, Brooke Andrews and Ava Bredwell also had two hits for Nebraska, which totaled 12 hits as a team. Cope, Brooke Andrews and Samantha Bland added one RBI apiece.

With the win, Nebraska improved to 29-21 on the season. The Huskers moved to 12-8 in Big Ten play, securing a top-four finish and a first-round bye for the Big Ten Tournament.

Macy Richardson (5-5) took the loss for Minnesota, which fell to 26-24 overall and 12-10 in conference action.

Both teams found the scoreboard in the first inning. In the top of the first, Billie Andrews drew a leadoff walk, stole second and scored on a one-out RBI single from Gray to give Nebraska a 1-0 lead. 

Minnesota answered with a two-run homer in the bottom of the first.

The Gophers then used a pair of two-out hits to stretch the lead to 3-1 in the bottom of the second. 

Nebraska's next scoring chance came in the top of the fourth. Cope reached on a one-out single and pinch hitter Alina Felix followed with a walk. The Huskers had runners at first and second with one out but could not scored.

NU threatened again in the fifth and this time came through with three runs. Brooke Andrews and Bredwell led off with back-to-back singles to put runners on first and second with no outs. Minnesota then got two outs before Gray hit a three-run homer to left to put Nebraska on top 4-3. The Huskers nearly added to their lead as Cope and Felix had back-to-back singles following Gray's home run, but a hard line drive from Bacon was right at the shortstop to end the inning.

The Huskers scored four more runs in the top of the sixth. Ashley Smetter led off with a pinch-hit single before Brooke Andrews lined an RBI double down the left field line to give Nebraska a 5-3 lead. Following a pitching change, Bredwell singled and Billie Andrews walked to load the bases with no outs. Samantha Bland then reached on an RBI infield single, giving the Huskers a three-run lead. Gray and Cope then each hit a sacrifice fly to stretch the lead to 8-3.

That was more than enough run support for Harness, who didn't allow a runner to reach third base after the second inning.

Nebraska and Minnesota wrap up their three-game series on Sunday at Noon.

Post-Game Notes

• With the win, Nebraska clinched a first-round bye at the Big Ten Tournament. The Huskers will be either the No. 3 or No. 4 seed for the Big Ten Tournament.
• The Huskers scored eight runs in the win. Nebraska has scored at least seven runs in nine of their 20 Big Ten games this season.
• Nebraska trailed 3-1 before rallying for the win. The Huskers have come from behind to win 18 of their 29 wins this season, including 11 times when Nebraska won after trailing by multiple runs.
• Sydney Gray homered for the second straight game and finished with five RBIs, her third game this season with at least four RBIs and second game with five or more RBIs.
• Sarah Harness tossed a season-high 6.2 innings. Through the first two games of the series, Harness is 2-0 with a 1.75 ERA in 12.0 innings.
• Alina Felix came off the bench to go 1-for-1 with a single and a walk.
• Ashley Smetter also singled as a pinch hitter in the sixth inning.

HUSKERS WIN SIX EVENTS AT SHOCKER OPEN

Nebraska track and field earned six event titles on Friday at the Shocker Open, while hitting personal-best marks ahead of the conference meet next week.

Tyus Wilson won the high jump, matching his personal-best mark of 7-5 (2.26m). The sophomore from Sterling, Kan. first jumped that height last weekend at the Drake Relays, moving up to second in the NCAA and fifth in Nebraska school history. Reid Nelson placed third with a 6-11 (2.11m) and Mason Kooi grabbed fifth with a 6-9 (2.06m). In the women’s high jump, Brooklyn Miller claimed third with a 5-8 (1.73m) and Rebecca Pecora finished fifth with a 5-5 ¾ (1.67m).

Kellyn Kortemeyer brought home two titles, throwing a 153-2 (46.69m)  in the discus and a 50-4 (15.34m) in the shot put. Sage Burbach added a 46-6 ¾ (14.19m) in the shot put to finish as runner-up. In the women’s hammer throw, Ariel Ammentorp threw 168-7 (51.39m) to win the event. On the men’s side, Seth Schnakenberg placed third with a 197-9 (60.28m) and Max Herman finished fourth with a 196-8 (59.94m).

Kylie Clark cleared a personal-best mark in the pole vault, placing second with a 13-4 ¾ (4.08m). Jessica Gardner (13-0 ¾, 3.98m) and Hannah Preissler (12-6 ¾, 3.83m) provided third and fourth place finishes. Kolby Heinerikson cleared 15-3 (4.65m) in the men’s pole vault to take third.

In the women’s long jump, Favour Wanjoku took third with an 18-9 ½ (5.73m) and LaQwasia Stepney took fourth with an 18-6 (5.64m). Wanjoku went on to take seventh in the 100m hurdles, running a personal-best 14.41. In the 110m hurdles, Matthias Algarin ran a personal-best 14.64 to cross the line fourth, while Heinerikson finished fifth with a 15.00.

Lindsey Blehm added a title, winning the 800m in 2:11.78. McKenna Lovehaug took third with a time of 2:16.79. Blehm took fourth in the 1500m, covering the track in 4:50.45. Holden Ruse finished second in the men’s 800m with a 1:52.91. In the men’s 1500m, Colby Erdkamp placed third with a 4:00.90, Cal Puskar finished fourth with a 4:02.10 and Erik Snell took fifth with a 4:07.34.

Abrielle Artley and Karlie Moore went 1-2 in the 400m hurdles, clocking personal-best times of 58.47 and 59.93. Cory Berg (52.64) and Joseph Clifford (53.41) added top-five finishes in the men’s 400m hurdles, taking fourth and fifth.

Seven Hicks clocked an 11.80 in the women’s 100m to take second, while adding a third-place finish in the 200m with a 24.41. Lorenzo Paissan (10.88) and Seth Baylus (10.98) brought in sixth- and eighth-place finishes in the men’s 100m. In the men’s 200m, Algarin took fifth with a 21.89. In the women’s 400m, Marie Pfannenstiel ran a 58.66 to take fifth.

Next, Nebraska looks to the Big Ten Championships. The meet will be hosted in Ann Arbor, Mich. on May 10-12.