Dec. 8, 2006
Box Score
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - The 14th-ranked University of San Diego women's volleyball team saw their run come to an end in the NCAA Tournament with a 3-0 loss to top-ranked University of Nebraska Friday evening in the Sweet 16 round.
With the 30-21, 30-20, 30-15 loss, the Toreros conclude their season with a 26-6 overall record and match a program-best Sweet 16 berth in the NCAA Tournament. With the win, the Huskers improve to 30-1 overall and will advance on to play the winner of the Florida and Minnesota match in the Elite Eight.
Kristen Carlson led the offensive charge for the Toreros as the WCC Player of the Year recorded team-high 10 kills. Christie Dawson, Amy DeGroot and Laurel Abrahamson all recorded seven kills in the match with DeGroot posting a career-best .368 hitting percentage. Jessica Nyrop recorded 30 assists in the match, which moved her into first place all-time at USD in single-season assists with 1,546.
For the Huskers, Sarah Pavan recorded a match-best 15 kills on 26 attempts for a .500 attacking percentage. As a team, Nebraska had a .385 attacking percentage.
In game one, the Toreros jumped out to the early advantage as they began the frame with a 3-1 advantage, before the Huskers began a comeback. The Huskers countered the USD run with a 5-0 run to gain a 6-3 lead. USD then dug in and kept things close as they went on a 4-1 run sparked by a Nebraska service error to pull even at 7-7. The two then sea-sawed back and forth for a bit until Nebraska used a 5-2 run to get some momentum and take a five point lead at 14-9. Then with the score at 18-12, the Toreros went on a 5-0 run sparked by a Carlson kill off a set from Nyrop to pull with in one, but could come no closer as Nebraska outscored the Toreros 12-4 to claim the early 1-0 advantage.
In game two, the Huskers jumped out to the early lead at 7-3, but USD was able to keep things close in the early going as they pulled to within three at 9-12. However, Nebraska used a 12-3 run to pull ahead by 12 points and never looked back claiming game two, 30-20.
In game three, it was all Nebraska as the Huskers jumped out to a 9-3 lead and never looked back, despite a late USD push. Nebraska claimed the match with a 30-15.
