 "Photo: Clay Lomneth")
 "Photo: Clay Lomneth")
It was as easy as one, two, three.
For the fourth time in as many matches, the Nebraska volleyball team swept their opponent as they downed a young Oklahoma squad 25-16, 25-19 and 25-14 Wednesday night.
With the win, the Cornhuskers improved to 16-0 (7-0 Big 12 Conference). The Sooners' record fell to 7-9 (3-4 Big 12).
"The biggest challenge mentally was that this was our fourth match in seven days," NU Coach John Cook said. "They responded really well, and they should feel really good about their effort tonight."
Cook said in Tuesday's press conference he was concerned his team would have an emotional letdown similar to the one the squad experienced against Texas in 2007.
Cook didn't diminish Texas' win, but said his team was a step slower and sluggish after an NCAA Tournament simulation weekend, like the Huskers had this past week.
"Absolutely I was concerned," Cook said. "That's why we challenged them ahead of time to not let (an emotional letdown) be a reason why we don't play well (Wednesday night) and show that we can take another step."
Nebraska showed no signs of a letdown and put together another strong defensive performance as they held Oklahoma to a feeble .096 hitting percentage.
Senior Jordan Larson paced the high-octane offense of Nebraska and registered 14 kills on 41 attempts, while sophomore Tara Muller finished the game with 13 kills and a .312 attack percentage.
Freshman Caitlin Higgins led the attack for the Sooners and tallied 11 kills.
NU committed nine errors on the night, compared to Oklahoma's 22.
In the first set, OU jumped out to a quick 6-3 lead before kills from seniors Amanda Gates, Jordan Larson and sophomore Lindsay Licht brought the team back in.
After exchanging several points, Larson served, and Nebraska was able to run off six straight points including a bizarre back-and-forth series where both teams made acrobatic plays around the court.
Up 15-9, the Huskers went on to win 10 of the final seven rallies to close out the first set and win 25-16.
In the second set the Huskers reversed the tide and opened up the set with a 6-4 lead.
However, much like Nebraska in the first set, the Sooners scored three straight points to go up 7-6.
Down 11-10, NU went on an eight to three run to take a 17-14 lead.
OU battled back and pulled to within 20-18 before a strange turn of events unfolded.
After receiving the serve, Anderson set the ball for a Licht attack.
Unbeknownst to the Anderson, Licht had gotten tangled up with the cameraman while positioning herself and fell to the floor.
The ball dropped to the ground and the point was awarded to OU.
"She was down and out and was trying to get up and couldn't get up," Cook said.
Now down by one, the Sooners looked to capitalize on NU's misfortune and seize the second set.
Then the officials convened and decided to have the Sooners re-serve the ball.
Repeatedly yelling "bad call" and verbally attacking referees, Oklahoma Coach Santiago Restrepo protested to no avail.
Nebraska won the replayed ball and closed out the set, winning 5 of the next 6 rallies to come away with a 25-19 win.
In the third set, the OU squad was visibly worn and NU took full advantage, notching 11 kills on 35 attempts to win the game and match 25-14.
"I think coach Cook does a good job of seeing how our team is feeling physically and mentally, and I think he kind of judges how practice should be and if we need a mental break," Larson said.
"I think the whole key is just to make sure we're coming into every match fresh."
nickfilipowski@dailynebraskan.com
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