Story by UNK Athletic Communications
The 16th-ranked Nebraska Kearney volleyball team got past St. Martin's College (-20, 24-26, -15, -16) and Westminster College (-18, -18, -12) Saturday in Salt Lake City, Utah.The Lopers finished the weekend 4-0 at the Westminster Invitational presented by UFirst Credit Union.Against the Saints from Lacey, Wash. (2-2), UNK got 18 kills from Alliance outside Emersen Cyza and 11 more from Lincoln graduate Jaden Ferguson. The Lopers had advantages in blocks (13.5-9), digs (66-54) and hitting percentage (.269-.106) while the Saints served up eight aces.They finished the second set on a 5-3 run that featured an ace and a UNK service error. The Lopers righted the ship by getting out to 15-5 lead in the third set. Finally, Georgia senior libero Celeste Friesen had 23 digs, one assist and posted a .909 serve receive percentage.Against the host Griffins (1-3), UNK hit .345 and had seven different players record a kill. Kansas outside Emilee Lane (13) and Ferguson (10) led the way with Minden senior DS Jensen Rowse at 13 digs and going 11 for 11 in serve receive. Finally, Colorado sophomore middle Trista Marx had seven kills, and hit .385.UNK hosts Peru State on Wednesday night.