Husker Corner
Fansided

Husker Sand Volleyball Team Finishes Best Season Yet!

By Brent Craig

facebooktwitterreddit

And just like that, the Huskers short sand volleyball season is has come to an end! Huskers finished the season with a record of 6-2 (March 19-March 28) the best record ever for the Huskers. Although the season was short compared to the schools that actually have dedicated sand volleyball teams and coaches, Big Red gained valuable experience playing against some of the top sand teams in the nation. Their season began in Hawaii and ended in Arizona; what a fun trip it must have been.

To check all all the Husker action from Hawaii click here. But in a nutshell, the Huskers left Hawaii with a record of 1-2, with a sweeping loss to USC 5-0, a sweeping win over California 5-0, and an exciting best of 3 match loss against, then #1 Hawaii.

Huskers also won 2 exhibition matches in Hawaii and a couple of accolades from the Queen of the Beach Tournament and then it was time to leave the tropical paradise.


I am sure leaving was tough to do, but the Huskers didn’t head back to Nebraska, they went to Tempe to finish out their sand season. The 15th ranked Huskers first opponent was unranked Arizona State but they were a little more trouble than what the Huskers probably would have liked.

The #4 duo of  Anika Albrecht and Cecilia Hall started the match with a sweeping victory, but Arizona State’s #2 and #5 duo’s defeated the Huskers taking a 2-1 lead. Huskers #3 duo of Kelly Hunter and Kadie Rolfzen won their match tying up the score at two games apiece setting up another showdown between the #1 duos. Arizona State was no match for Wong-Orantes and Ostrander as the Huskers won in 2 sets giving Nebraska a 2-2 record.

More from Husker Corner

The next evening the Huskers faced 19th ranked Grand Canyon in Phoenix, who proved to be a good test for them. Antelopes #5 duo defeated the Huskers #5 duo, Melanie Keil and Alexa Ethdridge, in 2 sets. The Huskers #4, #3, and #2 duo’s were able to defeat their Antelopes counter parts, but the Huskers #1 duo lost in three sets to the Antelopes. Huskers improved their record to 3-2.

Next up  was the Wildcat Spring Challenge in Tucson for double-header action. Friday afternoon’s match-up had the Huskers facing the Matadors of Cal. State, Northridge. Big Red defeated the Matadors 4-1, with the Matadors only winning the #1’s match. Actually 6 duos played against each other, but the #6 duo was just an exhibition match, with Huskers Alexa Ethridge and Kelsey Fien winning.

Friday evening the Huskers faced the Broncos of Boise State, but they were no match as the Huskers swept them off the court, 5-0. This win gave the Huskers their best record since joining NCAA Sand Volleyball at 5-2.


On Saturday, the final day of the Huskers 2015 season, they met 11th ranked Arizona for the Wildcat Spring Challenge Championship. The Huskers and Wildcats each got 2 victories leading up to the match with the #1 duos. The Wildcat duo of Kingdon and Leary had not been defeated this season, but were up against Wong-Orantes and Ostrander. Huskers lost the first set 19-21, but came back and won the next two sets, 21-12 and 15-12, giving BIG RED the tournament championship.  If you want to see the girls individual season duo records click here.

Now that the season is over, the Huskers will need to make some decisions about next season as NCAA Sand Volleyball will officially start as a championship sport. The season will be longer and the championship game will be held in May.

Will the Huskers dedicate a sand team and sand coaches, separate from the indoor volleyball team, or stick with what has been working for them so far? Stay tuned to find out the future of Husker Sand Volleyball. Huge props go out to all the Arizona Husker fans who showed up to watch the team, and great job shout out to the Husker gals and their coaches for an exciting sand season. Go Big Red!

Home/Nebraska Cornhuskers News