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Last Updated: Oct 16th, 2008 - 13:33:17 |
Nebraska-Kearney's 10th-ranked volleyball team was too tough for Metro (7-6, 5-1 in RMAC) to handle Sept. 26 as the Lopers took three straight games to sweep the 'Runners at the Auraria Events Center.
Both programs entered the contest with unblemished conference records, but Kearney showed the 350 fans at the Events Center the experience and strength the Lopers carry on their top-notch squad.
"They played really consistent," Metro freshman setter Darcy Schwartzman said facing the Lopers for the first time in her career. "They are very steady, they're strong and they're good."
Metro head coach Debbie Hendricks leads a very young team this year with 11 underclassmen on the roster, and only four juniors. The lack of senior leadership may have played a part in the loss as numerous unforced errors slowed down the Roadrunners' offensive attack.
"We asked (the team) to be very aggressive with this team," Hendricks said. "I think we had them out of system quite a bit."
In the first two games, Metro played point-for-point with Kearney up to around the midway point of the game. But the mistakes combined with the Lopers' talent were too much for the home team to overcome.
"We might have been a little nervous," Hendricks said. "We haven't had anybody test us like that since the premiere. We just didn't keep our composure. A few of us were a bit passive and tentative and it's not that uncommon when a young team is playing a team in the top 10."
After dropping the first games by scores of 25-19 and 25-18, it seemed Metro revved the offensive engine a little bit by pushing Kearney to the finals points.
For the third game in a row, the two teams battled back and forth to the midway point of the game. Kearney managed to take a three-point lead after Kearney outside hitter Chelsie Carson pounded one of her 10 kills through the Metro's defense.
It looked as if the favored Lopers were going to race to victory and the eventual sweep. But the 'Runners scored three straight points on kills by outside hitters Emily Greenhaigh and Amanda Cook and by a service ace recorded by defensive specialist Ngoc Phan.
This forced Kearney's head coach Rick Squiers to call a timeout to try and slow Metro's offensive barrage. It failed as the Roadrunners earned the next two points on a Kearney service error and on another Phan service ace. Another timeout had to be called by the aggravated Squiers.
With the scored tied at 22, the Lopers' top scorers Carson and middle blocker Jeri Walkowiak tallied three kills to walk away with the victory.
Although it was a disappointing loss for the home team, many lessons were learned and can be taken with them, as many games are still left to be played on the schedule.
"I thought once we got into the latter parts of the match, we played very competitively," Hendricks said. "I think we did a lot of things well and had we played like that the entire match, we'd probably still be playing."
While their fight against the top team in the conference was hard fought, the battle doesn't get much easier, as the Roadrunners will hit the road to face off against the No. 1 and 2 teams in the West Division.
"We're definitely disappointed after the game 'cause no one likes to lose," Metro libero Amy Watanabe said. "That feeling sucks and we don't want to lose again."
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