Box Score
KEARNEY, Neb. - No. 19 Metro State shocked No. 9 Nebraska-Kearney 21-25, 25-18, 20-25, 25-21, 15-12 on Friday night in Kearney. The Roadrunners moved within one match of first place in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, improving to 19-5 overall and 13-2 in the RMAC, while the first-place Lopers dropped to 22-4 and 14-1.
Metro State evened its record to 4-4 against top-25 opponents this season. It was the first time since 2001 and 2002 that Metro State won back-to-back matches against UNK in Kearney. The Roadrunners rallied after losing the first two sets to win in five the last time they played there on Nov. 14 last season.
Metro State dominated Friday's match statistically, outhitting the Lopers .283 to .212, while holding a 10-5 edge in blocks and a 7-3 lead in service aces. But the Roadrunners committed 14 service errors to keep the Lopers close.
The top three kills leaders for the Roadrunners led the way again, helped by setter
Darcy Schwartzman (Aurora, Colo./Eaglecrest H.S.) out-playing RMAC Preseason Setter of the Year and two-time postseason setter of the year Cola Svec from UNK. Schwartzman had 62 set assists, 17 digs and four blocks, helping the Roadrunners to their high hitting percentage.
Julie Causseaux (Dumas, Texas/Dumas H.S.) continued her hot streak, leading both teams with 19 kills and hitting .326 (19-5-43), while adding a career-high 11 digs for her first career double-double. She narrowly missed a triple-double with seven block assists.
Bri Morley (Parker, Colo./Cherokee Trail H.S.) and
Emily Greenhalgh (Conifer, Colo./Conifer H.S.) also had big offensive nights with 17 and 15 kills, respectively. Morley hit .372 (17-1-43).
Anna Mapes (Chaska, Minn./Chaska H.S.) and
Lisa Jones (Pueblo, Colo./Pueblo East H.S.) were also solid with nine kills each.
Defensively,
Ngoc Phan (Lone Tree, Colo./Cherry Creek H.S.) turned in the best night of her career, digging up 36 balls to top her previous career high of 20. Her total was the most digs since
Amy Watanabe (Littleton, Colo./Heritage H.S.) had 37 last year on Sept. 19 against UC-Colorado Springs. Phan's defense helped hold the RMAC's top hitting team to just .212. The Lopers entered the match hitting .287 in conference play.
In addition to Phan, Schwartzman and Causseaux reaching double digits,
Nikky Sapp (Arvada, Colo./Pomona H.S.) had 10 digs.
The first set started rough for the Roadrunners. UNK led 17-8 before Causseaux served four straight points to get Metro State back in it. A three-point run cut the Loper lead to 22-20, but two more UNK points brought set point and after fighting off one, a service error gave the Lopers the first set, 25-21.
Six straight points gave Metro State a 14-7 lead in the second set as
Alex Green (Peoria, Ariz./Cactus H.S.) served six in a row. The defense forced four hitting errors on the Lopers during the run. Each team traded short runs the rest of the set as Metro State won 25-18.
UNK got off to a solid start in the third and led 17-11. But six in a row for the Roadrunners tied the score as Phan served this time. Causseaux had three kills during the key run. Metro State took a 19-18 lead after a kill by Greenhalgh and an attack error on UNK, but the Lopers rallied to take the set with seven of the final eight points.
A run of six out of seven points put Metro State up 15-9 in the third following an ace by Causseaux. Green capped a three-point run earlier in the set with back-to-back aces. UNK cut the lead to 17-16, but that was as close as the Lopers would get in the fourth. Metro State hit .471 in the fourth set after just .067 in the third.
The deciding set was back-and-forth the entire way. In the fifth set alone there were 10 ties and two lead changes. The Lopers took a 9-7 lead and appeared to be on their way to a win, but kills by Causseaux and Jones tied the score. The teams traded points again until UNK led 12-11. Metro State then ran off the final four points of the night. Morley pounded down a kill before going back to serve and Greenhalgh finished the night with three kills in a row.
