Cal ends Husker dreams of repeat
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BY TODD HENRICHS / Lincoln Journal Star
MADISON, Wis. — This night, there would be no comeback.
What worked out OK for second-ranked Nebraska on Friday night against No. 24 Michigan State didn’t fare as well against sixth-ranked California and its left-side powerhouses of Hana Cutura and Angie Pressey.
That duo, volleyball’s version of the “Odd Couple,” combined to put Nebraska into a hole and never let them dig out. The 6-foot-3 Cutura, a native of Croatia, had 23 kills on .386 hitting, and the 5-foot-8 Pressey added 20 and hit .444 as California won 30-28, 31-29, 30-26, to advance to the final four for the first time in school history.
“Nobody believed we could beat Nebraska, but we did it,” Cutura said.
For Nebraska, the loss will sting for weeks and years to come. The Huskers, with five All-Americans in the lineup, with two past national players of the year on the court, became only the 10th defending champion in 27 years to not return to the final four.
California (26-7) will face top-ranked Penn State in the national semifinals on Thursday in Sacramento, Calif. Nebraska (30-2) saw its season end across the net from a Pac-10 Conference team for the fifth time in eight years.
Reminiscent of Friday’s opening game against Michigan State, Nebraska was unable to corral California’s powerful left-side hitters in the early going. Cutura had eight quick kills, including the game one clincher, and Pressey added seven as the Golden Bears went with their strength against what has been a reliable NU defense this season.
Nebraska let a 25-24 lead disappear, hurt in large part by two rallies where the Huskers were guilty of poor decision-making. California dug NU’s Jordan Larson on two key rallies terminated by Cutura kills, and the Golden Bears reached game point on a block of NU senior Sarah Pavan.
With Nebraska bidding to tie the game for the 14th time, California closed out the Huskers with a Cutura kill set up by a perfect pass of Larson’s serve.
In game two, Nebraska again led late, this time 23-22, but couldn’t muster enough sideouts down the stretch.
California regained the lead on back-to-back Cutura kills and built a two-point edge on an ace where Nebraska’s communication on serve receive broke down. Tied at 29-29, California raced to the locker room ahead two-games-to-none after a Cutura kill followed by a key block.
On Friday, Nebraska was able to rally to defeat Michigan State, dominating game three and winning the key points at the end of game four to take all of the momentum.
After that come-from-behind victory, Cook said that Nebraska would gain from the experience but cautioned that Saturday’s match would come down to winning games by close margins.
Nebraska was unable to accomplish that, in part because of its own breakdowns, but due in large degree to California’s big bombers on the outside.
In game three, a Cutura kill put the Golden Bears in front 17-14 and the Huskers never completely recovered.
Playing in her final match, Pavan had 16 kills for Nebraska, to surpass 2,000 for her career. Fellow senior Christina Houghtelling added 14 digs.
Pressey finished with 17 digs for Cal, which held NU to .240 hitting. The Golden Bears hit .323, the highest percentage against Nebraska outside of the Huskers’ loss at Texas earlier this season.
Briefly
In addition to Cutura, the all-region MVP, all-tournament selections were Cal’s Pressey and setter Carlie Lloyd, Nebraska’s Pavan and Tracy Stalls and Michigan State’s Kaite Johnson and Ashley Schatzle.
Reach Todd Henrichs at 473-7320 or thenrichs@journalstar.com.
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