NU volleyball team squeaks past Sooners

Despite sloppy play and 14 service errors, Nebraska defeated Oklahoma in five sets Saturday night in Norman, Okla.
The Huskers had not allowed OU a single set victory since the 2005-06 season and played their last five-set game against the Sooners in 1988.
After what coach John Cook called a bewildered opening set, NU went on to take the match 17-25, 26-24, 25-15, 25-27 and 15-10. The win put the Huskers at 3-2 in the conference and 10-3 overall.
In a packed McCasland Fieldhouse on an emotional night for the entire Sooner squad, Oklahoma came out on fire.
OU jumped out early to a 6-2 lead. At 17-11, NU's Megan Pendergast committed the teams fourth service error, giving Oklahoma the seven-point advantage. NU would never be able to rebound after another service error and would eventually go on to drop set one.
Looking for any solution, Cook benched three of his regular starters, including All-American Tara Mueller.
"We were just zombies to start game one," Cook said. "They didn't look like they wanted to play, so I got some kids in there to see if they wanted to play."
Errors again plagued the Huskers in set two, but a stellar start from senior Kori Cooper aided in the Nebraska's 26-24 victory.
Cooper got Nebraska going with four straight points to open the set. Nebraska held on to a comfortable lead until four service errors allowed the Sooners to tie it up at 19. The final points of the set were neck-and-neck before Cooper gave NU the win with the set-winning kill.
"Coach said there are two ways we can react to this," NU co-captain Sydney Anderson said. "We can play the victim and feel bad for ourselves, or we can go out fighting. Coach just said, ‘Hey, who's going to step up? We need some players.' I think a lot of us took that personal."
The intermission proved to be exactly what the Huskers needed.
Nebraska jumped out early in the third set with a 8-3 lead and never let OU get close. After back-to-back kills from Mueller, Nebraska pulled away for the 10-point win. The Huskers hit .474 during the set – one of the team's best offensive performances of the year.
Oklahoma was all over the Huskers early in the fourth set, but the Huskers showed their resilient style and kept it close.
OU took off early in the set, ripping off a 11-3 lead. Sparked by Lindsey Licht, Nebraska clawed their way back to tie the set at 17. The final points of the set were back and forth with tied points at 24 and 25. OU would eventually go on to score the final two points and take the set 25-27.
"We keep saying this, but we didn't work that hard to come back from 11-3 and almost win that match to not go away with a win," Anderson said. "We put our heads into this, we gave everything we had physically, mentally and emotionally, and it paid off."
At 7-5 in the fifth and final set, back-to-back kills from Hannah Werth put the Huskers ahead 9-6 and eventually led to the match victory. Werth led the charge at the end with seven kills, and the team hit .333 percent.
"These are the type of matches we need to figure out how hard we have to dig down, how hard we have to compete," Cook said. "This is what it's all about. It's what starts bonding and making teams into great teams."