If one positive can be taken from Nebraska's loss on Saturday to Texas, Kori Cooper was it.
The senior middle blocker had missed most of the season while recovering from a knee injury that ended her season last year.
Cooper came back, saw limited action against Colorado and has been a bright spot in the Husker lineup the last two matches.
NU coach John Cook said Cooper brings experience to the court for a team that has a lot of growing to do.
"I'm more of someone that tries to lead by example," Cooper said. "As far as cheering or being mentally tough on the court, that's the way I show leadership."
Cooper was in the starting lineup against the No. 2 ranked Longhorns and got off to a hot start. She finished the first set with five kills in five attacks and did not commit an error.
But the No. 6 Huskers couldn't follow Cooper's example and continued a trend of costly errors that have plagued them in recent matches.
An extended point ending with a Texas net violation brought the score to 22-22 and the deafening Husker crowd to its feet in the opening set.
Kayla Banwarth hit the next serve into the net, quieting the crowd. Two more errors followed giving the Longhorns the first set 25-22.
"We stress being a good serving team, and we're just not performing, and it's unacceptable for Nebraska volleyball," Banwarth said.
Cooper recorded just two kills in the second set, but both came after Nebraska service errors, helping control Texas' potent offense.
Nebraska won the second set 25-18, holding the Longhorns to a 0.00 attack percentage.
Cooper finished the match with nine kills and two errors, and Cook said it was an important step for her.
"To play as well as she did against Texas, knowing that she got hurt a year ago down in Texas is a huge mental breakthrough for her," Cook said. "I'm really happy for her."
The NU errors resurfaced in the final two sets. The Huskers committed 34 attack errors and added 15 from the service line in the 25-23, 18-25, 25-17, 25-17 loss.
The Huskers finished the game with more kills than the Longhorns, but Texas committed just 15 errors.
"You can't double the errors on a top-five team and expect to win," Cook said. "That's what's disappointing. I just thought as the match went on, we went more in that error mode and couldn't pull ourselves out. We have to find a way to work through that."
The loss moves the Huskers to 9-4 on the year and 2-2 in Big 12 Conference play. NU still hasn't been able to find the big win, and after the loss, freshman Hannah Werth said there is only one place left to go: up.
"We have so many things to work on, and I think the number one thing for this team is staying disciplined and remembering what we've been taught," Werth said. "When you make an error, don't worry about it, and go after the next point."
dougburger@dailynebraskan.com
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