Story by UNK Athletic Communications
The ninth-ranked Nebraska Kearney volleyball team hit .333 and senior Emersen Cyza reached 1,000 career kills as the Lopers swept Newman (-20, -15, -16) Thursday night in Wichita. The Lopers (15-1, 5-1) finish 2-0 on the week and are now off until next Friday (Oct. 6) when they host Missouri Western. To keep the Jets (0-12, 0-15) winless on the fall, UNK saw Cyza (Alliance) hit .471 and record 10 kills with pin mate Asha Regier (Newton, Kan.) at 13 kills and a .417 efficiency. Five others added at least one kill with the Lopers having only nine errors in 84 swings. Cyza now has 1,004 kills and is the 31st member of the 1k club at UNK. Including her time in Wyoming, she's up to 1,139 collegiate kills. Newman had four players between five-eight kills and put up a fight in the first set. They rallied from several four-point holes to get within 19-18 after back-to-back unforced Loper attack errors. After a timeout, UNK responded with a closing 6-2 run that featured two kills from both Cyza and Regier. The Blue & Gold then outhit NU by nearly .400 points in the second set and managed 12 kills and two aces in the third. Besides the outside production, UNK got a combined seven kills, four digs and three blocks from middles Trista Marx (Limon, Colo.) and Mia Berg (Eureka, Mo.) with libero Lauren Taubenheim (Lincoln Pius X) at a team-high eight digs. Finally, setter Peyton Neff (North Platte) came in with 23 assists, seven digs, a block and a kill. The Jets were led by Natalie Meyer (eight kills, three blocks, .357 pct.) and Ozioma Ajekwu (seven kills, .250 pct.).