Kearney, Neb. – Six different players registered a kill to help No. 15 Nebraska-Kearney pull away from Missouri Southern State (-18, -23, -9) Saturday afternoon at the Health & Sports Center.
The Lopers (15-5, 6-5) win a second straight match to keep the young Lions winless in league play (3-17, 0-10).
UNK trailed just five teams all afternoon but had to battle hard for a good set and a half. Senior middle Anna Squiers (Kearney Catholic) finished with team-highs in kills (11) and blocks (five) while hitting .526 but MSSU had things knotted at 23 in the second.
“We fought off a pretty good surge by Missouri Southern in the second. It just goes to show you how tough the MIAA is. That’s a big, physical team that serves tough .. we hung in there under duress,” said UNK head coach Rick Squiers.
The second set featured 13 ties with the Lopers getting a service error and kill from redshirt sophomore outside Cecilia Beahm (Hastings H.S.) to go up 2-0 on the scoreboard. MSSU hit an even .000 on the day but managed 13 of its 25 kills in the second.
The Lopers put away the Green & Gold with ease in the third thanks to 10 kills, four blocks and two aces. Squiers, redshirt freshman right side Lauren Taubenheim (Lincoln Pius) and redshirt sophomore outside Emersen Cyza (Alliance) had three kills apiece in the third.
“We have pieces of a lineup (we like). Some of that is we’ve just seen inconsistency of production at a couple of places. Sometimes we think we have something going but all of a sudden we get a dip in offensive productivity and we can’t score along the way,” said Squiers. “We’ve definitely found what works best for us from a ball handling and serve receive standpoint.”
Kearney finished the day hitting .266 and got 13 digs from senior defensive specialist Breanna Jones (Littleton, Colo.). Finally, the Lopers served up six aces with Jones and Cyza at two apiece.
MSSU had six different players between three and six kills with seven managing at least two digs.
“There’s things we need to keep trying to get better at but it was good to be at home this and get some wins,” said Squiers.
UNK heads to Emporia State on Tuesday night.
Lopers Win at Home
