No. 1 Texas 3, Iowa State 1
AUSTIN, Texas -- Third-ranked Texas defeated Iowa State 3-1 (19-25, 25-14, 25-19, 25-22) on Saturday evening in front of the second-largest crowd this season of 4,344 fans at Gregory Gym. The win extends UT's conference home winning streak to 44 matches, dating back to 2008.
In the opening game, Texas (13-2, 6-0 Big 12) held the edge at 10-8 until Iowa State (10-6, 4-2 Big 12) crafted a 5-0 run to take the lead 13-10. The Cyclones would not relinquish the lead, taking the first set 25-19. Iowa State freshman Ciara Capezio led the way with six kills and an ace.
The Longhorns would even the match at one set apiece after besting the Cyclones 25-14 in game two. Texas once again jumped out to the early lead at 10-6. A Capezio kill capped a 3-0 Cyclone run, narrowing the margin to just one at 9-10. Texas answered back by winning 15 of the next 20 points, including the final five. Eckerman hit .444 for the set with four kills, zero errors and two aces.
In the third, Eckerman recorded her 11th kill of the night to cut the Cyclone lead to 10-11. The kill would ignite an 8-0 Longhorn run, giving the home team a 17-11 lead. During the stretch, Texas spread the scoring wealth with kills from McCage, Collins and Webster. The Cyclones would get within five points the remainder of the set, as Texas would win the third 25-19 to take the 2-1 advantage.
The Longhorns and Cyclones exchanged points in the fourth until Texas went on a 3-0 run to take a 16-11 lead. Iowa State would not go away, going on a 4-1 stretch to cut the lead to 23-21. McCage and Khat Bell recorded the final two kills to seal the win 25-22.
No. 25 Purdue 3, No. 6 Nebraska 1
LINCOLN, Neb. -- Nebraska (13-4, 6-2) was edged by the No. 25 Purdue Boilermakers 3-1 (20-25, 22-25, 25-19, 20-25) on Saturday night at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. The loss marked Nebraska’s first conference defeat at the Devaney Center this season.
Kelsey Robinson led the Huskers offensively on the night with 15 kills on 29 swings for a hitting percentage of .414. Amber Rolfzen notched 13 kills on 30 swings, while Kadie Rolfzen had 10 kills. Justine Wong-Orantes paced the Huskers defensively with 12 digs, while Cecilia Hall recorded four blocks. Mary Pollmiller handed out 41 assists on the night.
Nebraska hit .269 for the match, while Purdue’s .309 hitting percentage was the highest for a Husker opponent this season. The Boilermakers out-blocked NU 10-8 and out-dug the Huskers 50-41.
