No. 3 Texas 3, Kansas 1
LAWRENCE, Kan. -- No. 3 Texas claimed a 3-1 (25-17, 24-26, 25-20, 25-15) road victory at Kansas Saturday evening and improved to 5-0 in the Big 12 Conference. With the win, the Longhorns took sole possession of first-place in the league standings.
Senior outside hitter Bailey Webster recorded a match-high 20 kills, while juniors Haley Eckerman and Khat Bell also reached double-figure kill production with 11 and 10, respectively.
McClinton led the Jayhawks with 16 kills and Erin McNorton recorded a match-leading 42 assists.
No. 4 Penn State 3, No. 19 Wisconsin 0
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Penn State (14-2, 5-1) recorded its fifth consecutive conference victory, sweeping past Wisconsin (15-3, 4-2) in three sets (25-22, 25-17, 25-21) on Saturday evening at Rec Hall.
With the win, head coach Russ Rose improves to 1,105-176 all-time, which is just one win shy of tying former UCLA head coach Andy Banachowski for second on the all-time career wins list.
Senior Ariel Scott led the Nittany Lion offense with 13 kills, marking her eighth match with double figures in the category. Seniors Katie Slay and Deja McClendon and sophomore Megan Courtney all added a second-best six kills each, while Slay led the squad with eight total blocks. McClendon also notched a team-high 17 digs, adding four blocks.
No. 6 Hawaii 3, Cal Poly 0
HONOLULU -- Just one day after its shocking loss to UC Santa Barbara fifth-ranked Hawai'i regrouped to sweep Cal Poly on Saturday night at the Stan Sheriff Center. Set scores were 25-17, 25-16, 25-13.
Emily Hartong had a match-high 11 kills to lead a Rainbow Wahine team that hit nearly .300 points better (.405) than a day ago. Nikki Taylor was stellar on the evening as well, ripping 10 kills while committing just one error (.600).
The 'Bows also sported brand new pink uniforms in support of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Chelsea Hardin had nine kills to lead the Mustangs, who fell to 8-9 overall and 2-2 in the Big West Conference. Taylor Gruenewald added eight kills.
No. 7 Michigan State 3, No. 9 Nebraska 1
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Seventh-ranked Michigan State emerged as the winner in the battle of Big Ten unbeatens, downing No. 9 Nebraska 3-1 (25-20, 26-24, 20-25, 25-19) on Saturday night at Jenison Field House. The Spartans improve to 17-1 with the victory and maintain a perfect unbeaten record in the Big Ten at 6-0; Nebraska is now 12-3, 5-1 Big Ten.
All four sets were entertaining and featured big rallies, athletic digs and monster blocks which entertained the crowd of 4,228 which came to watch a battle of top-10 teams. The team's top hitters, Nebraska's Kelsey Robinson and MSU's Lauren Wicinski, proved that they were Player of the Year candidates as they went kill-for-kill in the match, as they each finished with 20 kills. Robinson finished with a double-double, recording 12 digs, two assists and two blocks; Wicinski just missed the double-double with nine digs, a block, two aces and three assists.
For the Spartans, the freshman duo of Allyssah Fitterer (11 kills, five blocks) and Chloe Reinig (13 kills, three digs) each had season-highs in kills as well. Libero Kori Moster was outstanding, putting up 20 digs and six assists, while Kristen Kelsay had 27 assists and five digs. Alexis Mathews had five blocks and seven kills.
For Nebraska, Kadie Rolfzen also had a double-double, with 13 kills and 10 digs to go with three blocks.
No. 8 Stanford 3, Colorado 0
STANFORD, Calif. -- In a complete team effort, No. 8 Stanford defeated visiting Colorado 25-17, 25-19, 25-21 on Saturday, at Maples Pavilion in Stanford, Calif. The Cardinal improve to 12-3 on the season and 5-1 in the Pac-12, while the Buffaloes drop to11-5 overall and 3-3 in the conference.
Senior outside hitter Rachel Williams registered her team-best sixth double-double of the season with 10 kills and 12 digs to go with three blocks. She also tied her season-high with two service aces. Senior middle blocker Carly Wopat hit .529 in the match with 10 kills and four blocks. Sophomores Inky Ajanaku, Jordan Burgess and Brittany Howard all tallied nine kills in the win. Ajanaku tallied three blocks in the match, including the 200th of her career.
Sophomore setter Madi Bugg finished with 38 assists, six digs and two aces for the Cardinal. Junior libero Kyle Gilbert posted 16 digs, marking her 13th double-digit dig output of the season. She also registered her first kill of the season on the final play of the match. As a team, Stanford hit .340, while Colorado recorded a .240 hitting percentage. Stanford is now 12-1 on the season when outhitting its opponents.
No. 10 North Carolina 3, Wake Forest 0
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- Led by Jovana Bjelica's 16 kills and two blocks, the No. 10 Tar Heels swept Wake Forest on Saturday (25-15, 25-20, 25-21) to improve to 16-1 overall and 5-1 in ACC play.
Lauren Adkins added another 12 kills and a block, and Paige Neuenfeldt and Hayley McCorkle combined for 15 kills and six blocks as Carolina rebounded from its first loss of the season to Duke on Friday.
"I thought it was great to come back and get a win after our first loss of the season," head coach Joe Sagula said. "That was important for us to get a little confidence back. We knew it was a big weekend coming in, so getting the win tonight allows us to keep our eye on where we want to be at the end of the season."
