October 11, 2008

Volleyball Wins First Place Battle

Lopers Hit .343

      Kearney, Neb. –  Middle hitters Nikki Scott and Jeri Walkowiak combined for 22 kills, and outside hitter Chelsie Carson added 10, to help the 9^th-ranked Nebraska-Kearney volleyball team sweep Fort Lewis (-15, -13, -14) Saturday night at the Health & Sports Center.

     This was a first place battle in the RMAC as UNK (21-1, 10-0 RMAC) came into the night leading the East Division while the Skyhawks (14-5, 9-2 RMAC) were tops in the West.

    The first set would be the closest one of the night as there were four ties and two lead changes. Back-to-back kills from Grand Island natives Walkowiak and Kelsey Werner, along with three unforced FLC errors, quickly gave UNK a 12-7 advantage.

     The Lopers never looked back after this 5-0 spurt, hitting .293 in the set (15 kills, three errors, 41 attempts) while holding Ft. Lewis to a .073 effort (10 kills, seven errors, 41 attempts).

     UNK then got even hotter, hitting .359 (16 kills, two errors, 39 attempts) in the second set and an even .400 (13 kills, three errors, 25 attempts) in the third game. The .343 effort for the match is the Lopers’ third highest percentage this season.

     The Lopers also had a sizeable advantage in digs, 62-46, and saw the ‘Hawks serve up five errors.

    Scott (Broken Bow) had the hottest hand of the night, reaching her match-high 12 kills in just 15 swings with one error (.733 attack percentage. Carson (Elkhorn) wasn’t too far behind, hitting .474, with Walkowiak at 10 kills and a .381 efficiency. She also had a season-high 10 digs.

    Besides this trio, freshman outside Shelby Workman (Loveland, Colo.) had eight digs and seven kills and sophomore setter Cola Svec (Elkhorn) had 38 assists and 11 digs.

    Jessica Bailey led Fort Lewis with 10 digs and eight kills.

    UNK has three RMAC road matches in three straight days next week, starting Thursday night at Adams State. Pictured below are Walkowiak-Scott-Carson.