BOYS tip-off: 5:30 PM GIRLS tip-off: 7 PM

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12.17.21 NPHS Basketball home vs Columbus - LIVESTREAM

The Nebraska volleyball team will vie for its sixth NCAA title on Saturday after the 10th-seeded Huskers rallied to upend Pitt 3-1 (16-25, 25-17, 25-20, 25-22) in the NCAA Semifinal at Nationwide Arena that began on Thursday night and stretched into Friday morning. Nebraska (26-7) will face Wisconsin (30-3) in an all-Big Ten National Championship match Saturday night.

The Huskers will make their 10th championship final appearance in program history and their first since 2018. Television coverage Saturday begins with a 6:15 pregame show on ESPN2.

Madi Kubik was solid in all phases of the game to lead Nebraska in the semifinal. Kubik finished with a match-high 13 kills and added a career-high-tying three services aces to go along with seven digs and two blocks. Kubik posted her 24th match this season with at least 10 kills.

Kayla Caffey joined Kubik in double-digit kills with 10, and Caffey added four blocks. Lindsay Krause had nine kills on 19 swings and Lauren Stivrins had nine kills on 17 swings with a match-high six blocks. Ally Batenhorst added seven kills. Nicklin Hames registered her 23rd double-double of the year with 45 assists and 13 digs, while Lexi Rodriguez (13) and Keonilei Akana (11) also had double-digit digs.

Nebraska hit .239 in the match, rebounding from a .167 attacking percentage in the first set. The Huskers held Pittsburgh to a .233 attack percentage, the Panthers' lowest mark of the NCAA Tournament. Pitt hit .483 in winning the first set, but NU limited the Panthers to a .163 attack percentage over the final three sets. Nebraska also won the serve-and-pass battle with six aces against only six errors, while Pittsburgh had five aces and 12 errors. The Huskers also out-blocked the Panthers 10-7, but Pitt finished with more digs (56-50).

Leketo Member-Meneh had 13 kills to pace Pitt, which finished its best season in school history with a 30-4 record.

Pitt built a 5-1 lead out of the gate, broken up by a Kubik kill. Kubik later sparked a 4-0 run with a kill and two aces, and NU tied it at 7-7 on a Hames/Stivrins stuff. The Panthers responded with a 6-1 spurt to go up 13-8 before an NU timeout.

The deficit increased to 16-9 before NU rallied again, using three straight kills between Kubik and Caffey and a Caffey/Krause stop to cut it to 16-13. But Pitt outscored NU 9-3 the rest of the way, closing the set on an ace at 25-16.

Pitt had five players with multiple kills in the set, hitting .483 to Nebraska's .167 in the set. Kubik paced NU with four kills to go with her two aces.

The Huskers flipped the script to open set two, jumping ahead 3-1 with a Kubik kill and another Caffey/Krause block on Member-Meneh. Kubik had had three kills in the first eight rallies, and she added an ace to stretch the lead to 7-5.

NU muscled out to a 14-9 advantage by Pitt's first timeout behind kills from Kubik and Krause and a Stivrins solo stop. Stivrins added a kill on her signature slide out of the timeout, and she and Kubik teamed up to block Chinaza Ndee to make it 16-9. After another block by the duo, Pitt called for another timeout trailing NU 18-11.

The Huskers held steady and assumed their largest lead by 23-15 after a pair of Pitt attack errors, but the Panthers took the next two points on kills to prompt an NU timeout. A Krause kill brought it to set point, and an errant Pitt swing finished it off, 25-17, as Nebraska evened the match at one apiece.

Kubik had a team-leading eight kills with three aces through the first two sets, and Stivrins had three kills and four blocks. NU had a 4-2 blocking advantage in the second set and hit .440 while holding Pitt to .161.

Nebraska had 11 kills on its first 17 swings of the set with just one error.

Down 4-3, Nebraska turned it around to a 7-5 lead. Pitt regained the advantage at 8-7 before a Kubik kill from the back row, coupled with a Caffey/Hames block put it back in NU's favor. The score locked five times up to 14-14 before a kill from Stivrins prior to the media timeout. The 13th tie of the set at 17-17 after two errors brought on a Husker timeout.

NU stormed ahead with a late 6-0 run with Stivrins at the service line, using a Batenhorst kill and a Stivrins ace go to up 19-18 as Pitt called for a timeout. A kill and a block by Caffey, plus a backrow kill by Stivrins and a Pitt attack error pushed it to 23-18. After a Batenhorst swing for set point, Krause finished it off two rallies later with a kill to seal the 25-20 win.

Kills by Caffey and Kubik plus a Kenzie Knuckles ace spotted NU a quick 3-0 lead. The Huskers pushed it to 9-5 with another three-point run and continued to hold Pitt at bay by at least three. With NU up 18-14, Pitt took a timeout and got the next three back. Nebraska clung to a 19-18 lead and relinquished it for the first time when Pitt tied it at 20-all on back-to-back kills from Serena Gray and Member-Meneh.

A Krause/Stivrins block followed by a Pitt attack error put NU out front again, 22-20. A service error gave a point back to the Panthers before Stivrins put down back-to-back kills to give Nebraska its first match point. After a Pitt point, Stivrins and Hames teammed up for a stuff to send NU to the National Championship match.

Nebraska and Wisconsin will meet in the NCAA Championship Final on Saturday, Dec. 18, with first serve set for 6:15 p.m. CT from Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. The match will be televised on ESPN2 and carried on Huskers Radio Network with John Baylor and Lauren Cook West on the call.

Pinnacle Bank Arena will welcome fans for an NCAA Volleyball Championship watch party Saturday evening. Admission to the event is free, and doors at PBA will open at 5:30 p.m. The championship match begins at 6:30 p.m. CT on ESPN2.

Lower bowl seating will be open for fans in the arena. A limited concessions menu including food items, soft drinks, beer and cocktails will be available for purchase.

By NU Athletic CommunicationsThe Nebraska volleyball team will vie for its sixth NCAA title on Saturday after the 10th-seeded Huskers rallied to upend Pitt 3-1 (16-25, 25-17, 25-20, 25-22) in the NCAA Semifinal at Nationwide Arena that began on Thursday night and stretched into Friday morning. Nebraska (26-7) will face Wisconsin (30-3) in an all-Big Ten National Championship match Saturday night.The Huskers will make their 10th championship final appearance in program history and their first since 2018. Television coverage Saturday begins with a 6:15 pregame show on ESPN2.Madi Kubik was solid in all phases of the game to lead Nebraska in the semifinal. Kubik finished with a match-high 13 kills and added a career-high-tying three services aces to go along with seven digs and two blocks. Kubik posted her 24th match this season with at least 10 kills.Kayla Caffey joined Kubik in double-digit kills with 10, and Caffey added four blocks. Lindsay Krause had nine kills on 19 swings and Lauren Stivrins had nine kills on 17 swings with a match-high six blocks. Ally Batenhorst added seven kills. Nicklin Hames registered her 23rd double-double of the year with 45 assists and 13 digs, while Lexi Rodriguez (13) and Keonilei Akana (11) also had double-digit digs.Nebraska hit .239 in the match, rebounding from a .167 attacking percentage in the first set. The Huskers held Pittsburgh to a .233 attack percentage, the Panthers' lowest mark of the NCAA Tournament. Pitt hit .483 in winning the first set, but NU limited the Panthers to a .163 attack percentage over the final three sets. Nebraska also won the serve-and-pass battle with six aces against only six errors, while Pittsburgh had five aces and 12 errors. The Huskers also out-blocked the Panthers 10-7, but Pitt finished with more digs (56-50).Leketo Member-Meneh had 13 kills to pace Pitt, which finished its best season in school history with a 30-4 record.Set 1Pitt built a 5-1 lead out of the gate, broken up by a Kubik kill. Kubik later sparked a 4-0 run with a kill and two aces, and NU tied it at 7-7 on a Hames/Stivrins stuff. The Panthers responded with a 6-1 spurt to go up 13-8 before an NU timeout.The deficit increased to 16-9 before NU rallied again, using three straight kills between Kubik and Caffey and a Caffey/Krause stop to cut it to 16-13. But Pitt outscored NU 9-3 the rest of the way, closing the set on an ace at 25-16.Pitt had five players with multiple kills in the set, hitting .483 to Nebraska's .167 in the set. Kubik paced NU with four kills to go with her two aces.Set 2The Huskers flipped the script to open set two, jumping ahead 3-1 with a Kubik kill and another Caffey/Krause block on Member-Meneh. Kubik had had three kills in the first eight rallies, and she added an ace to stretch the lead to 7-5.NU muscled out to a 14-9 advantage by Pitt's first timeout behind kills from Kubik and Krause and a Stivrins solo stop. Stivrins added a kill on her signature slide out of the timeout, and she and Kubik teamed up to block Chinaza Ndee to make it 16-9. After another block by the duo, Pitt called for another timeout trailing NU 18-11.The Huskers held steady and assumed their largest lead by 23-15 after a pair of Pitt attack errors, but the Panthers took the next two points on kills to prompt an NU timeout. A Krause kill brought it to set point, and an errant Pitt swing finished it off, 25-17, as Nebraska evened the match at one apiece.Kubik had a team-leading eight kills with three aces through the first two sets, and Stivrins had three kills and four blocks. NU had a 4-2 blocking advantage in the second set and hit .440 while holding Pitt to .161.Nebraska had 11 kills on its first 17 swings of the set with just one error.Set 3Down 4-3, Nebraska turned it around to a 7-5 lead. Pitt regained the advantage at 8-7 before a Kubik kill from the back row, coupled with a Caffey/Hames block put it back in NU's favor. The score locked five times up to 14-14 before a kill from Stivrins prior to the media timeout. The 13th tie of the set at 17-17 after two errors brought on a Husker timeout.NU stormed ahead with a late 6-0 run with Stivrins at the service line, using a Batenhorst kill and a Stivrins ace go to up 19-18 as Pitt called for a timeout. A kill and a block by Caffey, plus a backrow kill by Stivrins and a Pitt attack error pushed it to 23-18. After a Batenhorst swing for set point, Krause finished it off two rallies later with a kill to seal the 25-20 win.Set 4Kills by Caffey and Kubik plus a Kenzie Knuckles ace spotted NU a quick 3-0 lead. The Huskers pushed it to 9-5 with another three-point run and continued to hold Pitt at bay by at least three. With NU up 18-14, Pitt took a timeout and got the next three back. Nebraska clung to a 19-18 lead and relinquished it for the first time when Pitt tied it at 20-all on back-to-back kills from Serena Gray and Member-Meneh.A Krause/Stivrins block followed by a Pitt attack error put NU out front again, 22-20. A service error gave a point back to the Panthers before Stivrins put down back-to-back kills to give Nebraska its first match point. After a Pitt point, Stivrins and Hames teammed up for a stuff to send NU to the National Championship match.Up NextNebraska and Wisconsin will meet in the NCAA Championship Final on Saturday, Dec. 18, with first serve set for 6:15 p.m. CT from Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. The match will be televised on ESPN2 and carried on Huskers Radio Network with John Baylor and Lauren Cook West on the call.Pinnacle Bank Arena will welcome fans for an NCAA Volleyball Championship watch party Saturday evening. Admission to the event is free, and doors at PBA will open at 5:30 p.m. The championship match begins at 6:30 p.m. CT on ESPN2.Lower bowl seating will be open for fans in the arena. A limited concessions menu including food items, soft drinks, beer and cocktails will be available for purchase.

Huskers Headed to NCAA Title Match

Maywood-Hayes Center 70, Brady 45 Medicine Valley 47, Hitchcock County 41 North Platte St. Patrick's 52, Gothenburg 43 Paxton 75, South Platte 27 Perkins County 67, Garden County 57 Wallace 64, Sutherland 25

Gothenburg 43, North Platte St. Patrick's 40 Hitchcock County 38, Medicine Valley 33 Maywood-Hayes Center 68, Brady 14 Perkins County 74, Garden County 37 South Platte 39, Paxton 30 Wallace 55, Sutherland 45

Boys basketballMaywood-Hayes Center 70, Brady 45 Medicine Valley 47, Hitchcock County 41 North Platte St. Patrick's 52, Gothenburg 43 Paxton 75, South Platte 27 Perkins County 67, Garden County 57 Wallace 64, Sutherland 25Girls BasketballGothenburg 43, North Platte St. Patrick's 40 Hitchcock County 38, Medicine Valley 33 Maywood-Hayes Center 68, Brady 14 Perkins County 74, Garden County 37 South Platte 39, Paxton 30 Wallace 55, Sutherland 45

Area Sports: basketball scores from 12/16

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Adrian Martinez is heading from Nebraska to Kansas State. 

The four-year starting quarterback for the Cornhuskers announced on Twitter he would transfer to K-State. He is immediately eligible to play for the Wildcats. 

Martinez was a three-time captain at Nebraska but went just 14-25 as the starter. He completed 62% of his passes for more than 2,800 yards with 14 touchdowns and 10 interceptions this past season. 

Martinez could play two more college seasons because the NCAA granted players an extra year of eligibility during last year’s shortened COVID-19 season.

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Adrian Martinez is heading from Nebraska to Kansas State. The four-year starting quarterback for the Cornhuskers announced on Twitter he would transfer to K-State. He is immediately eligible to play for the Wildcats. Martinez was a three-time captain at Nebraska but went just 14-25 as the starter. He completed 62% of his passes for more than 2,800 yards with 14 touchdowns and 10 interceptions this past season. Martinez could play two more college seasons because the NCAA granted players an extra year of eligibility during last year’s shortened COVID-19 season.

QB Adrian Martinez transferring from Nebraska to Kansas St.

Sedina Hayes (Sr) - Honorable Mention Carly Purdy (Jr) - Honorable Mention Brooklyn Ayres (Jr) - Honorable Mention

Sydney Barner (Sr) - All Nebraska and 1st Team Tatum Montelongo (Jr) - 1st Team Alieze Moreno (So) - Honorable Mention

Vince Genatone (Sr) - 1st Team Caleb Kinkaid (Jr) - Honorable Mention Kolten Tilford (Jr) - Honorable Mention Tate Janas (Jr) - Honorable Mention Caleb Tonkinson (Sr) - Honorable Mention Kade Mohr (Sr) - Honorable Mention Brock Roblee (Jr) - Honorable Mention

All-State Volleyball:&nbsp;Sedina Hayes (Sr) - Honorable Mention Carly Purdy (Jr) - Honorable Mention Brooklyn Ayres (Jr) - Honorable Mention<figure>
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 </figure>All-State Softball:&nbsp;Sydney Barner (Sr) - All Nebraska and 1st Team Tatum Montelongo (Jr) - 1st Team Alieze Moreno (So) - Honorable Mention<figure>
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 </figure>All-State Football:&nbsp;Vince Genatone (Sr) - 1st Team Caleb Kinkaid (Jr) - Honorable Mention Kolten Tilford (Jr) - Honorable Mention Tate Janas (Jr) - Honorable Mention Caleb Tonkinson (Sr) - Honorable Mention Kade Mohr (Sr) - Honorable Mention Brock Roblee (Jr) - Honorable Mention<figure>
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NPHS All State athletes from Fall

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Urban Meyer never fit in the NFL.

His mottos. His methods. Even his moods seemed to go against what’s considered normal behavior in a league filled with professionals and grown men. He rubbed just about everyone the wrong way: assistants, players and eventually his bosses.

Meyer’s tumultuous tenure ended after just 13 games — and two victories — when the Jacksonville Jaguars fired him early Thursday because of an accumulation of missteps.

Owner Shad Khan made the move hours after former Jaguars player Josh Lambo told a Florida newspaper Meyer kicked him during practice in August. It was the latest black eye — adding to an already lengthy list of embarrassments — for the three-time national championship-winning college coach who failed miserably to make the transition to the NFL.

“After deliberation over many weeks and a thorough analysis of the entirety of Urban’s tenure with our team, I am bitterly disappointed to arrive at the conclusion that an immediate change is imperative for everyone,” Khan said in a statement. “I informed Urban of the change this evening. As I stated in October, regaining our trust and respect was essential. Regrettably, it did not happen.”

Meyer joins former Atlanta Falcons coach Bobby Petrino as college coaches whose NFL careers flamed out in stunningly swift fashion. Petrino resigned in December 2007 to take over at Arkansas. He was 3-10 at the time.

Meyer went 2-11 in his partial season, and the Jaguars really started to unravel on the offensive side of the ball following the team’s bye week. They averaged a measly 9.1 points in Meyer’s final seven games, which ended with a five-game skid.

Offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell will serve as Jacksonville’s interim head coach for the final four games, beginning Sunday against Houston (2-11).

Meyer’s biggest issues came off the field, where he tried to handle a professional team like he was on a college campus. He splashed slogans and catchphrases around the facility, instilled gimmicks in practice and repeated his misguided belief that coaches coach for players and players play for coaches. He brought in motivational speakers and kept blaming assistants for the team’s mounting losses instead of the guys actually on the field.

One of Meyer’s most damning decisions came following a Thursday night game at Cincinnati in late September. He chose to stay behind with family instead of flying home with his team and then got caught on video the following night behaving inappropriately with a woman at a bar in Columbus, Ohio. Khan publicly reprimanded Meyer then, saying he needed to regain the owner’s trust and respect.

Bailing on his players showed just how out of touch Meyer was with NFL norms. And it was just one of many head-scratching choices for the 57-year-old coach who found success at every college stop: Bowling Green (2001-02), Utah (2003-04), Florida (2005-10) and Ohio State (2012-18).

Meyer simply never made the proper adjustments to the pro level.

Lambo’s claim seemingly proved too much for Khan, who two days earlier said he didn’t want to make an impulsive decision on the coach’s future.

“What’s different about this thing is you have losses and you have drama,” Khan said then.

The Jags had way more drama than victories.

Lambo provided the latest when he told the Tampa Bay Times that Meyer kicked him while he was stretching at the start of a practice. Lambo, the team’s place-kicker to open the season, said he told Meyer “don’t you ever (expletive) kick me again” and said the coach responded, “I’m the head ball coach, I’ll kick you whenever the (expletive) I want.”

Meyer released a statement through the team denying the incident happened the way Lambo described it.

“Josh’s characterization of me and this incident is completely inaccurate, and there are eyewitnesses to refute his account,” Meyer said.

Lambo said he reported the kick to his agent, who contacted the Jaguars’ legal counsel the following day.

“Jaguars legal counsel indeed acknowledged and responded immediately to the query made by Josh Lambo’s agent Friday, August 27, 2021,” the Jaguars said in a statement. “Counsel offered to speak with Josh, or to assist Josh in speaking with coaching or any other football personnel, if he was comfortable with her sharing the information. Any suggestion otherwise is blatantly false.”

Lambo was released after he missed his first three field-goal attempts to start the season.

Lambo’s allegation came on the heels of an NFL Network report which said Meyer created tension with multiple run-ins with players as well as assistants he allegedly called “losers.” Citing unidentified sources, the report detailed a heated exchange between Meyer and veteran receiver Marvin Jones that stemmed from Meyer criticizing receivers by saying they weren’t winning enough one-on-one matchups or getting enough separation.

“I would just say this: There was something that was brought to my attention that I didn’t like too well,” Jones said Wednesday, his first public comments since the report was published Saturday. “I approached him about it and we talked and we handled it like grown men. And that’s all I have to say about that.”

Jones denied threatening to leave practice over the argument.

“I mean, shoot, when you lose, you’re always going to be the center of attention in a negative way,” Jones said. “That just is what it is. That’s all I have to say.”

— He hired strength coach Chris Doyle in February despite accusations of racist behavior and then had to let him go a day later because of a pending lawsuit.

— Jacksonville was fined $200,000 and Meyer docked $100,000 on July 1, a punishment that stemmed from an early June practice in which the league deemed receivers and defensive backs had too much contact during 11-on-11 drills.

— Meyer signed 2007 Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Tim Tebow to play tight end, an experiment that ended with Tebow looking lost in the preseason opener against Cleveland.

— Meyer held a fake QB competition between Trevor Lawrence, a generational prospect, and Gardner Minshew in training camp. Meyer and general manager Trent Baalke traded Minshew to Philadelphia, where he’s a backup to Jalen Hurts.

— The NFL Players Association launched an investigation after Meyer said vaccination status factored into the team’s roster decisions.

— He repeatedly mishandled running back James Robinson, allowing the team’s most consistent offensive player to get benched twice following fumbles and botched trying to explain why Robinson got pulled and how long he remained on the sideline.

All the drama became too much for Lawrence.

“I do think that has to change and that’s something that we need to work on for sure,” Lawrence said Wednesday. “You can’t always be in the headlines. You just got to go play football, and that’s where we’re trying to get, and I have no doubt we’ll get there.”

By Mark Long - Associated PressJACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Urban Meyer never fit in the NFL.His mottos. His methods. Even his moods seemed to go against what’s considered normal behavior in a league filled with professionals and grown men. He rubbed just about everyone the wrong way: assistants, players and eventually his bosses.Meyer’s tumultuous tenure ended after just 13 games — and two victories — when the Jacksonville Jaguars fired him early Thursday because of an accumulation of missteps.Owner Shad Khan made the move hours after former Jaguars player Josh Lambo told a Florida newspaper Meyer kicked him during practice in August. It was the latest black eye — adding to an already lengthy list of embarrassments — for the three-time national championship-winning college coach who failed miserably to make the transition to the NFL.“After deliberation over many weeks and a thorough analysis of the entirety of Urban’s tenure with our team, I am bitterly disappointed to arrive at the conclusion that an immediate change is imperative for everyone,” Khan said in a statement. “I informed Urban of the change this evening. As I stated in October, regaining our trust and respect was essential. Regrettably, it did not happen.”Meyer joins former Atlanta Falcons coach Bobby Petrino as college coaches whose NFL careers flamed out in stunningly swift fashion. Petrino resigned in December 2007 to take over at Arkansas. He was 3-10 at the time.Meyer went 2-11 in his partial season, and the Jaguars really started to unravel on the offensive side of the ball following the team’s bye week. They averaged a measly 9.1 points in Meyer’s final seven games, which ended with a five-game skid.Offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell will serve as Jacksonville’s interim head coach for the final four games, beginning Sunday against Houston (2-11).Meyer’s biggest issues came off the field, where he tried to handle a professional team like he was on a college campus. He splashed slogans and catchphrases around the facility, instilled gimmicks in practice and repeated his misguided belief that coaches coach for players and players play for coaches. He brought in motivational speakers and kept blaming assistants for the team’s mounting losses instead of the guys actually on the field.One of Meyer’s most damning decisions came following a Thursday night game at Cincinnati in late September. He chose to stay behind with family instead of flying home with his team and then got caught on video the following night behaving inappropriately with a woman at a bar in Columbus, Ohio. Khan publicly reprimanded Meyer then, saying he needed to regain the owner’s trust and respect.Bailing on his players showed just how out of touch Meyer was with NFL norms. And it was just one of many head-scratching choices for the 57-year-old coach who found success at every college stop: Bowling Green (2001-02), Utah (2003-04), Florida (2005-10) and Ohio State (2012-18).Meyer simply never made the proper adjustments to the pro level.Lambo’s claim seemingly proved too much for Khan, who two days earlier said he didn’t want to make an impulsive decision on the coach’s future.“What’s different about this thing is you have losses and you have drama,” Khan said then.The Jags had way more drama than victories.Lambo provided the latest when he told the Tampa Bay Times that Meyer kicked him while he was stretching at the start of a practice. Lambo, the team’s place-kicker to open the season, said he told Meyer “don’t you ever (expletive) kick me again” and said the coach responded, “I’m the head ball coach, I’ll kick you whenever the (expletive) I want.”Meyer released a statement through the team denying the incident happened the way Lambo described it.“Josh’s characterization of me and this incident is completely inaccurate, and there are eyewitnesses to refute his account,” Meyer said.Lambo said he reported the kick to his agent, who contacted the Jaguars’ legal counsel the following day.“Jaguars legal counsel indeed acknowledged and responded immediately to the query made by Josh Lambo’s agent Friday, August 27, 2021,” the Jaguars said in a statement. “Counsel offered to speak with Josh, or to assist Josh in speaking with coaching or any other football personnel, if he was comfortable with her sharing the information. Any suggestion otherwise is blatantly false.”Lambo was released after he missed his first three field-goal attempts to start the season.Lambo’s allegation came on the heels of an NFL Network report which said Meyer created tension with multiple run-ins with players as well as assistants he allegedly called “losers.” Citing unidentified sources, the report detailed a heated exchange between Meyer and veteran receiver Marvin Jones that stemmed from Meyer criticizing receivers by saying they weren’t winning enough one-on-one matchups or getting enough separation.“I would just say this: There was something that was brought to my attention that I didn’t like too well,” Jones said Wednesday, his first public comments since the report was published Saturday. “I approached him about it and we talked and we handled it like grown men. And that’s all I have to say about that.”Jones denied threatening to leave practice over the argument.“I mean, shoot, when you lose, you’re always going to be the center of attention in a negative way,” Jones said. “That just is what it is. That’s all I have to say.”Other issues for Meyer:— He hired strength coach Chris Doyle in February despite accusations of racist behavior and then had to let him go a day later because of a pending lawsuit.— Jacksonville was fined $200,000 and Meyer docked $100,000 on July 1, a punishment that stemmed from an early June practice in which the league deemed receivers and defensive backs had too much contact during 11-on-11 drills.— Meyer signed 2007 Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Tim Tebow to play tight end, an experiment that ended with Tebow looking lost in the preseason opener against Cleveland.— Meyer held a fake QB competition between Trevor Lawrence, a generational prospect, and Gardner Minshew in training camp. Meyer and general manager Trent Baalke traded Minshew to Philadelphia, where he’s a backup to Jalen Hurts.— The NFL Players Association launched an investigation after Meyer said vaccination status factored into the team’s roster decisions.— He repeatedly mishandled running back James Robinson, allowing the team’s most consistent offensive player to get benched twice following fumbles and botched trying to explain why Robinson got pulled and how long he remained on the sideline.All the drama became too much for Lawrence.“I do think that has to change and that’s something that we need to work on for sure,” Lawrence said Wednesday. “You can’t always be in the headlines. You just got to go play football, and that’s where we’re trying to get, and I have no doubt we’ll get there.”

Jaguars fire Urban Meyer after 13 games, countless missteps

Three Nebraska volleyball players were selected to the 2021 American Volleyball Coaches Association All-America Team, the AVCA announced Wednesday. Lexi Rodriguez picked up first-team All-America honors, Kayla Caffey nabbed second-team recognition, and Madi Kubik earned third-team status. Additionally, Nicklin Hames garnered All-America Honorable Mention.

The Huskers' three AVCA All-America selections boosted NU's total to a nation-leading 98 certificates all-time. A nation-best total of 50 players have combined for the Huskers' 98 awards in school history. The Nebraska volleyball program has had multiple All-Americans seven years straight.

Rodriguez is NU's 49th first-team All-American and the AVCA's first freshman first-team selection since Wisconsin's Dana Rettke in 2017. She is just the third NU freshman to earn All-America honors, joining Sarah Pavan (2004) and Kadie Rolfzen (2013). Rodriguez and Pavan are the only two freshmen in Husker history to grab first-team recognition.

Rodriguez's inaugural campaign as NU's libero has seen her average 4.45 digs and 1.13 assists per set while adding 16 aces. She has brought in a slew of awards this season, earning AVCA North Region Freshman of the Year and AVCA North All-Region honors, Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, first-team All-Big Ten and Big Ten All-Freshman Team plaudits. The Sterling, Ill., native totaled at least 15 digs in 18 matches and has totaled 20+ digs eight times. She has helped NU limit opposing teams to .144 hitting, which is the league low and ranks eighth nationally.

Caffey followed up AVCA North All-Region recognition last week with second-team All-America honors for the first time in her career. The middle blocker has averaged 2.37 kills and 1.13 blocks per set while hitting a team-leading .376 in her senior season. The Chicago, Ill., native ranks fifth in the Big Ten for attack percentage, owns eight double-digit kill performances and has hit .400 or better 12 times.

Kubik, an outside hitter, previously earned All-America Honorable Mention as a freshman (2019) and sophomore (2020). Her junior season has included first-team All-Big Ten and AVCA North All-Region awards, and she has averaged 3.49 kills and 2.09 digs per set while adding 18 aces and 51 blocks. The West Des Moines, Iowa, native has led the Huskers in kills in 23 matches and finished in double figures 23 times. She was named to last week's NCAA Austin Regional All-Tournament Team.

Hames was previously a second-team All-American in 2020 and honorable mention in 2018 and 2019. The Maryville, Tenn., native has earned three straight All-Big Ten and North All-Region nods and has averaged 10.71 assists, 3.35 digs, 0.46 blocks and 0.30 aces per set as a senior. In setting NU to its second NCAA Semifinal appearance of her four-year career, she has tallied 22 double-doubles. Hames was named to the NCAA Austin Regional All-Tournament Team and selected the tournament's Most Outstanding Player last week.

No. 10 Nebraska takes on No. 3 Pitt in the NCAA Semifinal this Thursday, Dec. 16. First serve is set for 8:30 p.m. CT at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, and the match will be covered on ESPN and Huskers Radio Network.

By NU Athletic CommunicationsThree Nebraska volleyball players were selected to the 2021 American Volleyball Coaches Association All-America Team, the AVCA announced Wednesday. Lexi Rodriguez picked up first-team All-America honors, Kayla Caffey nabbed second-team recognition, and Madi Kubik earned third-team status. Additionally, Nicklin Hames garnered All-America Honorable Mention.The Huskers' three AVCA All-America selections boosted NU's total to a nation-leading 98 certificates all-time. A nation-best total of 50 players have combined for the Huskers' 98 awards in school history. The Nebraska volleyball program has had multiple All-Americans seven years straight.Rodriguez is NU's 49th first-team All-American and the AVCA's first freshman first-team selection since Wisconsin's Dana Rettke in 2017. She is just the third NU freshman to earn All-America honors, joining Sarah Pavan (2004) and Kadie Rolfzen (2013). Rodriguez and Pavan are the only two freshmen in Husker history to grab first-team recognition.Rodriguez's inaugural campaign as NU's libero has seen her average 4.45 digs and 1.13 assists per set while adding 16 aces. She has brought in a slew of awards this season, earning AVCA North Region Freshman of the Year and AVCA North All-Region honors, Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, first-team All-Big Ten and Big Ten All-Freshman Team plaudits. The Sterling, Ill., native totaled at least 15 digs in 18 matches and has totaled 20+ digs eight times. She has helped NU limit opposing teams to .144 hitting, which is the league low and ranks eighth nationally.Caffey followed up AVCA North All-Region recognition last week with second-team All-America honors for the first time in her career. The middle blocker has averaged 2.37 kills and 1.13 blocks per set while hitting a team-leading .376 in her senior season. The Chicago, Ill., native ranks fifth in the Big Ten for attack percentage, owns eight double-digit kill performances and has hit .400 or better 12 times.Kubik, an outside hitter, previously earned All-America Honorable Mention as a freshman (2019) and sophomore (2020). Her junior season has included first-team All-Big Ten and AVCA North All-Region awards, and she has averaged 3.49 kills and 2.09 digs per set while adding 18 aces and 51 blocks. The West Des Moines, Iowa, native has led the Huskers in kills in 23 matches and finished in double figures 23 times. She was named to last week's NCAA Austin Regional All-Tournament Team.Hames was previously a second-team All-American in 2020 and honorable mention in 2018 and 2019. The Maryville, Tenn., native has earned three straight All-Big Ten and North All-Region nods and has averaged 10.71 assists, 3.35 digs, 0.46 blocks and 0.30 aces per set as a senior. In setting NU to its second NCAA Semifinal appearance of her four-year career, she has tallied 22 double-doubles. Hames was named to the NCAA Austin Regional All-Tournament Team and selected the tournament's Most Outstanding Player last week.No. 10 Nebraska takes on No. 3 Pitt in the NCAA Semifinal this Thursday, Dec. 16. First serve is set for 8:30 p.m. CT at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, and the match will be covered on ESPN and Huskers Radio Network.

Husker Trio Tabbed AVCA All-Americans

Nebraska Football Scholarship Signees<div><style type="text/css">
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<table class="tg">
<thead>
 <tr>
 <th class="tg-pwe8"> NAME</th>
 <th class="tg-3tuk">POS.</th>
 <th class="tg-3tuk">HT.</th>
 <th class="tg-3tuk">WT.</th>
 <th class="tg-3b6e"> HOMETOWN</th>
 </tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
 <tr>
 <td class="tg-0lax"> Chase Androff</td>
 <td class="tg-an00">TE</td>
 <td class="tg-an00">6-6</td>
 <td class="tg-an00">230</td>
 <td class="tg-yq3i"> Lakeville, Minn.</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td class="tg-0lax"> Jake Appleget</td>
 <td class="tg-an00">OLB</td>
 <td class="tg-an00">6-4</td>
 <td class="tg-an00">210</td>
 <td class="tg-yq3i"> Lincoln, Neb.</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td class="tg-0lax"> Justin Evans-Jenkins</td>
 <td class="tg-an00">OL</td>
 <td class="tg-an00">6-2</td>
 <td class="tg-an00">280</td>
 <td class="tg-yq3i"> East Orange, N.J.</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td class="tg-0lax"> Jaeden Gould</td>
 <td class="tg-an00">CB</td>
 <td class="tg-an00">6-2</td>
 <td class="tg-an00">190</td>
 <td class="tg-yq3i"> Somerset, N.J.</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td class="tg-0lax"> Malcolm Hartzog</td>
 <td class="tg-an00">CB</td>
 <td class="tg-an00">5-10</td>
 <td class="tg-an00">175</td>
 <td class="tg-yq3i"> Silver Creek, Miss.</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td class="tg-0lax"> Ernest Hausmann</td>
 <td class="tg-an00">ILB</td>
 <td class="tg-an00">6-3</td>
 <td class="tg-an00">205</td>
 <td class="tg-yq3i"> Columbus, Neb.</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td class="tg-0lax"> Emmett Johnson</td>
 <td class="tg-an00">RB</td>
 <td class="tg-an00">6-0</td>
 <td class="tg-an00">185</td>
 <td class="tg-yq3i"> Minneapolis, Minn.</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td class="tg-0lax"> Victor Jones Jr.</td>
 <td class="tg-an00">WR</td>
 <td class="tg-an00">6-2</td>
 <td class="tg-an00">190</td>
 <td class="tg-yq3i"> Orlando, Fla.</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td class="tg-0lax"> Jalil Martin</td>
 <td class="tg-an00">S</td>
 <td class="tg-an00">6-3</td>
 <td class="tg-an00">190</td>
 <td class="tg-yq3i"> Chicago, Ill.</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td class="tg-0lax"> DeShon Singleton</td>
 <td class="tg-an00">S</td>
 <td class="tg-an00">6-3</td>
 <td class="tg-an00">205</td>
 <td class="tg-yq3i"> Amite, La.</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td class="tg-0lax"> Gage Stenger</td>
 <td class="tg-an00">ATH</td>
 <td class="tg-an00">6-2</td>
 <td class="tg-an00">200</td>
 <td class="tg-yq3i"> Omaha, Neb.</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td class="tg-0lax"> Brodie Tagaloa</td>
 <td class="tg-an00">DL</td>
 <td class="tg-an00">6-4</td>
 <td class="tg-an00">260</td>
 <td class="tg-yq3i"> Pittsburg, Calif.</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td class="tg-0lax"> Richard Torres</td>
 <td class="tg-an00">QB</td>
 <td class="tg-an00">6-5</td>
 <td class="tg-an00">210</td>
 <td class="tg-yq3i"> San Antonio Texas</td>
 </tr>
</tbody>
</table></div>Nebraska Football Walk-On Commitments<div><style type="text/css">
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<table class="tg">
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 <tr>
 <th class="tg-pwe8"> NAME</th>
 <th class="tg-3tuk">POS.</th>
 <th class="tg-3tuk">HT.</th>
 <th class="tg-3tuk">WT.</th>
 <th class="tg-3b6e"> HOMETOWN</th>
 </tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
 <tr>
 <td class="tg-0lax"> Cooper Hausmann</td>
 <td class="tg-an00">DB</td>
 <td class="tg-an00">5-11</td>
 <td class="tg-an00">185</td>
 <td class="tg-yq3i"> Roca, Neb.</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td class="tg-0lax"> Luke Lindenmeyer</td>
 <td class="tg-an00">TE</td>
 <td class="tg-an00">6-4</td>
 <td class="tg-an00">250</td>
 <td class="tg-yq3i"> La Vista, Neb.</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td class="tg-0lax"> Blake Miller</td>
 <td class="tg-an00">DB</td>
 <td class="tg-an00">6-1</td>
 <td class="tg-an00">195</td>
 <td class="tg-yq3i"> Nebraska City, Neb.</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td class="tg-0lax"> Brady Weas</td>
 <td class="tg-an00">LS</td>
 <td class="tg-an00">6-2</td>
 <td class="tg-an00">260</td>
 <td class="tg-yq3i"> Whitefish Bay, Wis.</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td class="tg-0lax"> Charlie Weinrich</td>
 <td class="tg-an00">PK</td>
 <td class="tg-an00">5-11</td>
 <td class="tg-an00">185</td>
 <td class="tg-yq3i"> Leawood, Kan.</td>
 </tr>
</tbody>
</table></div>

Husker signing day

&nbsp; By WILL GRAVES - Associated Press

The legal wrangling between USA Gymnastics and the hundreds of victims of sexual abuse by former national team doctor Larry Nassar, among others, is over after a $380 million settlement was reached.

The fight for substantive change within the sport’s national governing body is just beginning.

A federal bankruptcy court in Indianapolis on Monday approved the agreement between USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee and the more than 500 victims, ending one aspect of the fallout of the largest sexual abuse scandal in the history of the U.S. Olympic movement.

Over 90% of the victims voted in favor of the tentative settlement reached in September. That agreement called for $425 million in damages, but a modified settlement of $380 million was conditionally approved by the court. More than 300 victims were abused by Nassar, with the remaining victims abused by individuals affiliated with USA Gymnastics in some capacity.

The financial reckoning is just one part of the equation. A series of nonmonetary provisions will make the victims stakeholders at USA Gymnastics going forward. The provisions include a dedicated seat on the organization’s Safe Sport Committee, Athlete Health and Wellness Council and board of directors, as well as a thorough look at the culture and practices within USA Gymnastics that allowed abusers like Nassar to run unchecked for years.

“Individually and collectively, survivors have stepped forward with bravery to advocate for enduring change in this sport,” USA Gymnastics president Li Li Leung said in a statement after the settlement was approved. “We are committed to working with them, and with the entire gymnastics community, to ensure that we continue to prioritize the safety, health and wellness of our athletes and community above all else.”

Hundreds of girls and women have said Nassar sexually abused them under the guise of medical treatment when he worked for Michigan State University, USA Gymnastics, which trains Olympians, and a Michigan gym that’s a USA Gymnastics member.

He pleaded guilty in federal court to child pornography crimes before pleading guilty in state court to sexually assaulting female gymnasts. He was sentenced in 2018 to 40 to 175 years in prison.

Rachael Denhollander, who in the fall of 2016 was the first woman to come forward to detail sexual abuse at the hands of Nassar, said the provisions were a pivotal part of the mediation process.

“It’s not about money, it’s about change,” Denhollander told The Associated Press in a phone interview. “It’s about an accurate assessment of what went wrong so that it is safer for the next generation.”

Denhollander has been one of the most outspoken Nassar victims from the outset of the scandal. She said it was important to move past the legal proceedings so women can move forward with their lives and get the help they need.

“The frank reality is the longer this goes on, the more difficult it is for survivors,” she said. “So many of these women, they can’t access medical care without a settlement. We had to balance that reality with the length of time it was taking. We felt it was in the best interest of everyone to accept this settlement ... so that survivors would receive some semblance of justice.”

Denhollander pointed out some of the medical care required is not covered by certain types of insurance. The settlement will ease part of the financial burden.

The settlement comes nearly four years after an emotional sentencing hearing in Michigan in which hundreds of women detailed their experiences with Nassar and the toll it took on their lives.

USOPC CEO Sarah Hirshland said the organization — which is paying $34 million of its own money and $73 million more from insurers toward the settlement — recognizes its role in “failing to protect these athletes, and we are sorry for the profound hurt they have endured.”

Denhollander described the five-plus years from when she first approached reporters at The Indianapolis Star to Monday as “hellish.”

“It’s been hellish for all of us,” she said. “To have to push for so long for the right things to take place, to have to push for so long to have justice happen ... it should have never taken five years.”

USA Gymnastics filed for bankruptcy in December 2018 in an effort to consolidate the various lawsuits filed against it. The move also forced the USOPC to halt the decertification process it began against USA Gymnastics.

The organization has undergone a massive leadership overhaul in the interim and revamped its health and safety policies. The settlement will allow it to continue as the sport’s national governing body, though Denhollander stressed that USA Gymnastics has not gone far enough, which is why the involvement of the victims going forward is so significant.

“We need to see for ourselves what reform is taking place,” she said. “The ability to do that provides a level of accountability that hasn’t been in place up until now.”

&nbsp; By WILL GRAVES - Associated Press The legal wrangling between USA Gymnastics and the hundreds of victims of sexual abuse by former national team doctor Larry Nassar, among others, is over after a $380 million settlement was reached.The fight for substantive change within the sport’s national governing body is just beginning.A federal bankruptcy court in Indianapolis on Monday approved the agreement between USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee and the more than 500 victims, ending one aspect of the fallout of the largest sexual abuse scandal in the history of the U.S. Olympic movement.Over 90% of the victims voted in favor of the tentative settlement reached in September. That agreement called for $425 million in damages, but a modified settlement of $380 million was conditionally approved by the court. More than 300 victims were abused by Nassar, with the remaining victims abused by individuals affiliated with USA Gymnastics in some capacity.The financial reckoning is just one part of the equation. A series of nonmonetary provisions will make the victims stakeholders at USA Gymnastics going forward. The provisions include a dedicated seat on the organization’s Safe Sport Committee, Athlete Health and Wellness Council and board of directors, as well as a thorough look at the culture and practices within USA Gymnastics that allowed abusers like Nassar to run unchecked for years.“Individually and collectively, survivors have stepped forward with bravery to advocate for enduring change in this sport,” USA Gymnastics president Li Li Leung said in a statement after the settlement was approved. “We are committed to working with them, and with the entire gymnastics community, to ensure that we continue to prioritize the safety, health and wellness of our athletes and community above all else.”Hundreds of girls and women have said Nassar sexually abused them under the guise of medical treatment when he worked for Michigan State University, USA Gymnastics, which trains Olympians, and a Michigan gym that’s a USA Gymnastics member.He pleaded guilty in federal court to child pornography crimes before pleading guilty in state court to sexually assaulting female gymnasts. He was sentenced in 2018 to 40 to 175 years in prison.Rachael Denhollander, who in the fall of 2016 was the first woman to come forward to detail sexual abuse at the hands of Nassar, said the provisions were a pivotal part of the mediation process.“It’s not about money, it’s about change,” Denhollander told The Associated Press in a phone interview. “It’s about an accurate assessment of what went wrong so that it is safer for the next generation.”Denhollander has been one of the most outspoken Nassar victims from the outset of the scandal. She said it was important to move past the legal proceedings so women can move forward with their lives and get the help they need.“The frank reality is the longer this goes on, the more difficult it is for survivors,” she said. “So many of these women, they can’t access medical care without a settlement. We had to balance that reality with the length of time it was taking. We felt it was in the best interest of everyone to accept this settlement ... so that survivors would receive some semblance of justice.”Denhollander pointed out some of the medical care required is not covered by certain types of insurance. The settlement will ease part of the financial burden.The settlement comes nearly four years after an emotional sentencing hearing in Michigan in which hundreds of women detailed their experiences with Nassar and the toll it took on their lives.USOPC CEO Sarah Hirshland said the organization — which is paying $34 million of its own money and $73 million more from insurers toward the settlement — recognizes its role in “failing to protect these athletes, and we are sorry for the profound hurt they have endured.”Denhollander described the five-plus years from when she first approached reporters at The Indianapolis Star to Monday as “hellish.”“It’s been hellish for all of us,” she said. “To have to push for so long for the right things to take place, to have to push for so long to have justice happen ... it should have never taken five years.”USA Gymnastics filed for bankruptcy in December 2018 in an effort to consolidate the various lawsuits filed against it. The move also forced the USOPC to halt the decertification process it began against USA Gymnastics.The organization has undergone a massive leadership overhaul in the interim and revamped its health and safety policies. The settlement will allow it to continue as the sport’s national governing body, though Denhollander stressed that USA Gymnastics has not gone far enough, which is why the involvement of the victims going forward is so significant.“We need to see for ourselves what reform is taking place,” she said. “The ability to do that provides a level of accountability that hasn’t been in place up until now.”

USA Gymnastics, USOPC reach $380M settlement with victims

Nebraska senior nickel back JoJo Domann was honored for his outstanding 2021 season on Monday, being named a second-team All-American by the Associated Press.

Domann was listed as a defensive back on the second team, and was one of the nation's most versatile defenders throughout his Nebraska career. The Colorado Springs, Colo., native played in 10 games in 2021 before being sidelined for the final two contests and made 72 tackles, including nine tackles for loss. Domann also had two interceptions and a pair of forced fumbles on the season.

Domann was also recently honored as a second-team All-American by Pro Football Focus as a Flex player, and on Sunday was named the Nebraska Defensive MVP and the winner of the Tom Novak Award.

Domann is the first Husker to earn All-America recognition from a major selector since Ameer Abdullah, Randy Gregory and De'Mornay Pierson-El each earned second-team All-America accolades following the 2014 season.

By NU Athletic CommunicationsNebraska senior nickel back JoJo Domann was honored for his outstanding 2021 season on Monday, being named a second-team All-American by the Associated Press.Domann was listed as a defensive back on the second team, and was one of the nation's most versatile defenders throughout his Nebraska career. The Colorado Springs, Colo., native played in 10 games in 2021 before being sidelined for the final two contests and made 72 tackles, including nine tackles for loss. Domann also had two interceptions and a pair of forced fumbles on the season.Domann was also recently honored as a second-team All-American by Pro Football Focus as a Flex player, and on Sunday was named the Nebraska Defensive MVP and the winner of the Tom Novak Award.Domann is the first Husker to earn All-America recognition from a major selector since Ameer Abdullah, Randy Gregory and De'Mornay Pierson-El each earned second-team All-America accolades following the 2014 season.

Domann Named AP Second-Team All-American

The NFL is requiring players, coaches and other team personnel to receive a COVID-19 booster by Dec. 27.

In a memo sent to teams on Monday and obtained by The Associated Press, the league said: “Given the increased prevalence of the virus in our communities, our experts have recommended that we implement the CDC’s recommendation.”

The league’s requirement extends to all Tier 1 and Tier 2 individuals who have previously received the vaccine. The CDC recommends an individual who received a second Pfizer or Moderna shot to complete the primary vaccine series more than six months earlier should receive a booster shot. An individual that received the Johnson and Johnson shot more than two months earlier should receive a booster shot.

The following do not have to meet the requirement:

—An individual who is not eligible for a booster pursuant to the CDC definition.

—An individual who is in the 90-day test holiday after a confirmed positive COVID-19 test

—An individual who received monoclonal antibodies within the immediately preceding 90

—An individual whose “S” antibody level on an antibody test administered via BRL (BioReference Lab) at the club facility is 2500 or greater.

The league says any individual who is not currently subject to the requirement for boosters will be required to obtain the booster within 14 days of becoming eligible.

Teams were asked to provide booster shots to all eligible tiered staff as soon as possible, and to consider making booster shots available for player and staff families and cohabitants.

A season-high total of 36 players were placed on the COVID-19/reserve list Monday.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/6/1593142110654.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>By ROB MAADDI, AP Pro Football WriterThe NFL is requiring players, coaches and other team personnel to receive a COVID-19 booster by Dec. 27.In a memo sent to teams on Monday and obtained by The Associated Press, the league said: “Given the increased prevalence of the virus in our communities, our experts have recommended that we implement the CDC’s recommendation.”The league’s requirement extends to all Tier 1 and Tier 2 individuals who have previously received the vaccine. The CDC recommends an individual who received a second Pfizer or Moderna shot to complete the primary vaccine series more than six months earlier should receive a booster shot. An individual that received the Johnson and Johnson shot more than two months earlier should receive a booster shot.The following do not have to meet the requirement:—An individual who is not eligible for a booster pursuant to the CDC definition.—An individual who is in the 90-day test holiday after a confirmed positive COVID-19 testunder the league protocols.—An individual who received monoclonal antibodies within the immediately preceding 90days.—An individual whose “S” antibody level on an antibody test administered via BRL (BioReference Lab) at the club facility is 2500 or greater.The league says any individual who is not currently subject to the requirement for boosters will be required to obtain the booster within 14 days of becoming eligible.Teams were asked to provide booster shots to all eligible tiered staff as soon as possible, and to consider making booster shots available for player and staff families and cohabitants.A season-high total of 36 players were placed on the COVID-19/reserve list Monday.___

NFL sets deadline for COVID-19 booster shots 

Lincoln - Alexis Markowski used her first career double-double to finish with a career-high 17 points and 10 rebounds to power Nebraska to a 78-50 women's basketball win over Indiana State in front of nearly 4,000 fans at Pinnacle Bank Arena on Saturday afternoon.

With the victory, Nebraska improved to 10-0 to start a season with 10 consecutive wins for just the second time in school history, joining the 2009-10 Huskers who opened 30-0 on their way to a Big 12 championship and a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Markowski, a 6-3 freshman out of Lincoln Pius X, provided the biggest highlights not only with her 17 points and 10 rebounds in less than 17 minutes, but also by burying the first two three-pointers of her college career. She added a blocked shot and a steal in the game.

Sophomore guard Jaz Shelley matched Markowski for game-high scoring honors with 17 points of her own, while adding four assists, three rebounds and two steals. Sam Haiby put three Huskers in double figures with 12 points to go with five rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block.

Nebraska never trailed in the contest, building an 18-11 first-quarter lead before extending the margin to 39-17 at the half. The lead grew to 30 points for the first time late in the third quarter after Shelley scored five straight points in a 15-second span to put NU up 59-29.

Indiana State continued to scrap and disrupt any flow in the game, forcing a season-high 24 turnovers by the Big Red. Nebraska answered by forcing 26 turnovers by the Sycamores. The Huskers outscored Indiana State, 24-14, off those turnovers and outscored ISU 22-0 in fastbreak points on the afternoon.

As a team, Nebraska hit 50 percent (27-54) of its shots from the field, but just 6-of-24 threes on the day. The Huskers also knocked down 18-of-26 free throws (.692). NU won the rebounding battle, 42-36, while holding the Sycamores to just 29.5 percent (18-61) shooting from the field, including just 3-of-12 three-pointers. ISU did connect on 11-of-15 free throws (.733).

Del'Janae Williams was the only Sycamore to manage double figures with 10 points, including eight in the fourth quarter, but all nine of the Sycamores who played in the game found the scoring column and grabbed at least one rebound.

A total of 10 Huskers scored in the contest, including eight points on 4-of-6 shooting by Isabelle Bourne, while Allison Weidner added six points, three assists and three steals. Ashley Scoggin and Kendall Coley both pitched in five points, while Ruby Porter and Annika Stewart each knocked down three-pointers. Bella Cravens rounded out NU's scoring with two points.

Nebraska returns to Pinnacle Bank Area to play Drake on Sunday, Dec. 19. Tip-off between the Huskers (10-0) and Bulldogs (6-2) is set for noon with tickets on sale now at Huskers.com.

By NU Athletic CommunicationsLincoln - Alexis Markowski used her first career double-double to finish with a career-high 17 points and 10 rebounds to power Nebraska to a 78-50 women's basketball win over Indiana State in front of nearly 4,000 fans at Pinnacle Bank Arena on Saturday afternoon.With the victory, Nebraska improved to 10-0 to start a season with 10 consecutive wins for just the second time in school history, joining the 2009-10 Huskers who opened 30-0 on their way to a Big 12 championship and a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.Markowski, a 6-3 freshman out of Lincoln Pius X, provided the biggest highlights not only with her 17 points and 10 rebounds in less than 17 minutes, but also by burying the first two three-pointers of her college career. She added a blocked shot and a steal in the game.Sophomore guard Jaz Shelley matched Markowski for game-high scoring honors with 17 points of her own, while adding four assists, three rebounds and two steals. Sam Haiby put three Huskers in double figures with 12 points to go with five rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block.Nebraska never trailed in the contest, building an 18-11 first-quarter lead before extending the margin to 39-17 at the half. The lead grew to 30 points for the first time late in the third quarter after Shelley scored five straight points in a 15-second span to put NU up 59-29.Indiana State continued to scrap and disrupt any flow in the game, forcing a season-high 24 turnovers by the Big Red. Nebraska answered by forcing 26 turnovers by the Sycamores. The Huskers outscored Indiana State, 24-14, off those turnovers and outscored ISU 22-0 in fastbreak points on the afternoon.As a team, Nebraska hit 50 percent (27-54) of its shots from the field, but just 6-of-24 threes on the day. The Huskers also knocked down 18-of-26 free throws (.692). NU won the rebounding battle, 42-36, while holding the Sycamores to just 29.5 percent (18-61) shooting from the field, including just 3-of-12 three-pointers. ISU did connect on 11-of-15 free throws (.733).Del'Janae Williams was the only Sycamore to manage double figures with 10 points, including eight in the fourth quarter, but all nine of the Sycamores who played in the game found the scoring column and grabbed at least one rebound.A total of 10 Huskers scored in the contest, including eight points on 4-of-6 shooting by Isabelle Bourne, while Allison Weidner added six points, three assists and three steals. Ashley Scoggin and Kendall Coley both pitched in five points, while Ruby Porter and Annika Stewart each knocked down three-pointers. Bella Cravens rounded out NU's scoring with two points.Nebraska returns to Pinnacle Bank Area to play Drake on Sunday, Dec. 19. Tip-off between the Huskers (10-0) and Bulldogs (6-2) is set for noon with tickets on sale now at Huskers.com.

Markowski Powers Huskers to 10-0

Adams Central 52, Gothenburg 43 Arapahoe 44, Wauneta-Palisade 23 Cambridge 61, South Loup (Callaway/Arnold) 47 Cozad 52, Hershey 47 Dundy County Stratton 47, Maywood-Hayes Center 36 Hitchcock County 30, Medicine Valley 28 Morrill 40, Garden County 37 Omaha Skutt Catholic 61, North Platte 39 Paxton 46, Brady 37 Perkins County 80, Kimball 36 Sandhills Valley 63, Sutherland 40

Brady 72, Twin Loup 48 Bridgeport 64, Sutherland 32 Dundy County Stratton 54, Hitchcock County 39 Garden County 45, Crawford 36 Hyannis 59, Wallace 52 Medicine Valley 47, Maywood-Hayes Center 36 North Platte 63, Elkhorn North 50 North Platte St. Patrick's 67, Hershey 27 Ogallala 64, Chase County 36 Potter-Dix 43, Paxton 30 South Loup (Callaway/Arnold) 58, Pleasanton 42 Wauneta-Palisade 34, Oberlin-Decatur Community, KS 24

Adams Central 77, Gothenburg 31 Garden County 45, Morrill 38 Hershey 59, Cozad 26 Maywood-Hayes Center 41, Medicine Valley 30 Oberlin-Decatur Comm., KS 24, Hitchcock County 23 Ogallala 48, Sterling, CO 33 Omaha Skutt Catholic 64, North Platte 29 Paxton 50, Brady 28 Perkins County 64, Kimball 34 South Loup (Callaway/Arnold) 57, Cambridge 36 Southwest 67, Dundy County Stratton 37 Sutherland 35, Sandhills Valley 29

Bridgeport 78, Sutherland 29 Chase County 50, Ogallala 37 Crawford 66, Garden County 32 Elkhorn North 77, North Platte 32 Hershey 51, North Platte St. Patrick's 50 Hitchcock County 40, Dundy County Stratton 23 Maywood-Hayes Center 56, Wauneta-Palisade 51 Medicine Valley 42, Arapahoe 39 Paxton 54, Potter-Dix 10 Pleasanton 49, South Loup (Callaway/Arnold) 39 Twin Loup 55, Brady 25 Wallace 59, Hyannis 27

Boys basketballFriday (12/10/2021)Adams Central 52, Gothenburg 43 Arapahoe 44, Wauneta-Palisade 23 Cambridge 61, South Loup (Callaway/Arnold) 47 Cozad 52, Hershey 47 Dundy County Stratton 47, Maywood-Hayes Center 36 Hitchcock County 30, Medicine Valley 28 Morrill 40, Garden County 37 Omaha Skutt Catholic 61, North Platte 39 Paxton 46, Brady 37 Perkins County 80, Kimball 36 Sandhills Valley 63, Sutherland 40 Saturday (12/11/2021)Brady 72, Twin Loup 48 Bridgeport 64, Sutherland 32 Dundy County Stratton 54, Hitchcock County 39 Garden County 45, Crawford 36 Hyannis 59, Wallace 52 Medicine Valley 47, Maywood-Hayes Center 36 North Platte 63, Elkhorn North 50 North Platte St. Patrick's 67, Hershey 27 Ogallala 64, Chase County 36 Potter-Dix 43, Paxton 30 South Loup (Callaway/Arnold) 58, Pleasanton 42 Wauneta-Palisade 34, Oberlin-Decatur Community, KS 24Girls basketballFriday (12/10/2021)Adams Central 77, Gothenburg 31 Garden County 45, Morrill 38 Hershey 59, Cozad 26 Maywood-Hayes Center 41, Medicine Valley 30 Oberlin-Decatur Comm., KS 24, Hitchcock County 23 Ogallala 48, Sterling, CO 33 Omaha Skutt Catholic 64, North Platte 29 Paxton 50, Brady 28 Perkins County 64, Kimball 34 South Loup (Callaway/Arnold) 57, Cambridge 36 Southwest 67, Dundy County Stratton 37 Sutherland 35, Sandhills Valley 29 Saturday (12/11/2021)Bridgeport 78, Sutherland 29 Chase County 50, Ogallala 37 Crawford 66, Garden County 32 Elkhorn North 77, North Platte 32 Hershey 51, North Platte St. Patrick's 50 Hitchcock County 40, Dundy County Stratton 23 Maywood-Hayes Center 56, Wauneta-Palisade 51 Medicine Valley 42, Arapahoe 39 Paxton 54, Potter-Dix 10 Pleasanton 49, South Loup (Callaway/Arnold) 39 Twin Loup 55, Brady 25 Wallace 59, Hyannis 27

Area Sports: Basketball from 12/11-12

Behind strong serving, suffocating defense and stellar offensive performances its freshmen pin hitters, the No. 10 Nebraska volleyball team won a thrilling 3-1 victory over No. 2 Texas late Saturday night at the Longhorns' Gregory Gymnasium in the final of the Austin Regional. With the 25-19, 25-23, 23-25, 25-21 victory, the Huskers advanced to next week's NCAA Semifinal in Columbus, Ohio.

With the win, Nebraska (25-7) became the lowest-seeded team to advance to the NCAA Semifinals since 2014. The Huskers, who handed Texas (27-2) its first loss at Gregory Gym since the 2019 NCAA Regional Semifinal, will make their 16th NCAA Semifinal appearance next week and their fifth trip in the past seven seasons.

The Huskers were led offensively by their talented freshmen hitters Ally Batenhorst and Lindsay Krause, who combined for 28 kills on .519 attacking. Batenhorst, a Texas native, had 15 kills - tying her career high - with only two errors on 32 swings, hitting .406. Krause, who was celebrating her 19th birthday, put down 13 kills - two shy of her career high - while attacking at a .500 clip to tie for the highest hitting percentage of her career. Krause also added five blocks, matching Lauren Stivrins for team-high honors in that category. Madi Kubik matched Batenhorst for team-high honors with 15 kills. Keonilei Akana had a career-high seven aces, the most ever by a Husker in a four-set NCAA Tournament match and tied for the most by a Nebraska player in any NCAA Tournament match. Lexi Rodriguez added a match-high 20 digs - her eighth 20-dig match of the season - while Nicklin Hames posted another double-double with 43 assists and 13 digs, and she also had kills on all three of her attempts.

At the match's conclusion, Hames, Krause and Kubik were all named to the NCAA Austin Regional All-Tournament Team. Hames was also honored as the regional's Most Outstanding Player.

Nebraska hit .259 in the match while limiting Texas, the nation's top hitting team, to a .250 attack percentage. The Longhorns had hit at least .346 in each of their first three NCAA Tournament matches. NU also outdug Texas 55-42, while the Longhorns had the edge in blocks, 13-9. At the service line, Nebraska had nine aces to Texas' six. Logan Eggleston and Skylar Fields tied for match-high honors with 20 kills apiece for the Longhorns, while Brionne Butler had a match-high eight blocks.

Stuck in a 6-6 tie, the Huskers outscored Texas 8-3 over the next 11 rallies, ending the stretch with a 4-0 run on two kills and a block from Krause. A Kubik kill and back-to-back Akana aces - her second and third of the set - extended the NU lead to a commanding 17-10. UT got the next three points back before the Huskers took a timeout.

But NU pushed ahead with a 5-1 run to make it 22-14, started with four straight kills -- including three in a row from Batenhorst. The Huskers hit set point on a Longhorn service error and finished it off on a Kubik swing two rallies later, taking set one 25-19.

The Huskers hit .265 to UT's .125 in the opening set, boosted by five kills from Kubik and four each from Batenhorst, who hit .667, and Krause, who hit at a .429 clip. Akana had three aces, and Stivrins added a pair of blocks as NU had a 3-2 blocking advantage.

The second set tied eight times up to 11-11 before the Huskers exploded for an 8-0 run on two kills each from Krause and Kubik, a Rodriguez ace and two Krause/Stivrins blocks to build to a 19-11 advantage. With NU leading 20-12, Texas used a 10-2 run to lock it up at 22-22. The Longhorns knotted it once more on a Fields kill, but the Huskers stayed tough. A UT service error got it to set point, and Caffey was the closer with a kill to seal it, 25-23.

UT improved to .224 hitting in the set, but NU came in at .284. Caffey and Krause had three kills apiece, and Stivrins added two more blocks.

The third set was tied 10 times up to 14-14, and NU took the lead on a Knuckles kill. Akana piled on with back-to-back aces again, stretching it to 17-14 to force a Longhorn timeout. UT pulled within one at 17-16 on a block and an ace, and NU called for a timeout of its own. Kubik and Stivrins terminated back-to-back out of the break for a 19-16 edge.

But the Longhorns claimed five of the next seven rallies, tying it at 21-all on consecutive kills by Fields. NU regained the lead on a service error, but the momentum swung the other way as Texas won four of the last five rallies and took the set 25-23 on an Eggleston/Butler block.

UT outblocked the Huskers 7-0 in set three and hit .300, while NU dropped to .118.

After a close set to start, Nebraska worked its way out of a 12-12 stall with a Kubik kill and a huge block from Hames and Stivrins on Eggleston, prompting a Longhorn timeout. Kills from Kubik and Batenhorst -- the latter on an overpass -- spotted a 17-12 lead by another Texas timeout.

NU swiftly boosted the run to 8-0 with two more swings from Batenhorst and a Kubik ace for a 20-12 advantage. Another Batenhorst kill -- her fifth of the set -- made it 21-13 before UT got the next three rallies to whittle it to 21-16. The Longhorns eventually made it a 6-0 run to pull within two at 21-19. Batenhorst snapped the run with a kill, and a Caffey/Krause blocked put Nebraska two points away from a victory. The Huskers earned their first match point on a Caffey kill and following a Texas sideout, Krause closed out the match with her 13th kill of the night.

Nebraska advances to next week's NCAA Semifinals at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. The Huskers will take on No. 3 seed Pittsburgh on Thursday at 8:30 p.m. CT on ESPN.

 With the win over Texas, Nebraska advanced to an NCAA Semifinal for the 16th time in program history and for the fifth time in the past seven NCAA Tournaments. The Huskers' 16 semifinal appearances rank second in NCAA history.

Nebraska advanced to the NCAA Semifinal as the No. 10 seed. The Huskers are the first double-digit seed to make an NCAA Semifinal since BYU in 2014.

The Huskers advanced to an NCAA Semifinal for the 10th time in 22 seasons under head coach John Cook. Cook joined Penn State's Russ Rose (13), UCLA's Andy Banachowski (11) and Stanford's Don Shaw (10) as the only coaches in NCAA history to lead a school to 10 NCAA Semifinals.

With the win, Nebraska improved to 122-34 all-time in the NCAA Tournament. The Huskers rank second in NCAA history in postseason wins and winning percentage (.782).Nebraska improved to 16-15 all-time in NCAA Regional Final matches.

John Cook improved to 89-22 in his NCAA Tournament career. He ranks third in NCAA history in career postseason victories and second among active coaches behind Penn State's Russ Rose.

Cook is now 81-17 in the NCAA Tournament as Nebraska's head coach. His .827 postseason winning percentage at Nebraska is the top mark in NCAA history among any coach with at least 20 NCAA Tournament matches at one school.

The NCAA Austin Regional All-Tournament Team included Most Outstanding Player Nicklin Hames, Lindsay Krause and Madi Kubik, Samantha Dreschel of Washington and Brionne Butler, Logan Eggleston and Skylar Fields of Texas.

Nebraska hit .259 in the match while limiting Texas, the nation's top hitting team, to a .250 attack percentage. Tonight's match marked the only time this season that the Longhorns were out-hit.

Nebraska had 8-0 runs in sets two and four. The Huskers used an 8-0 run to break an 11-11 tie in set two and their 8-0 run in set four broke a 12-12 tie.

Nebraska's freshmen pin hitters – Ally Batenhorst and Lindsay Krause – combined for 28 kills on only 54 swings. The duo combined for a

Batenhorst tied her career high with 15 kills and hit .406 in the match.

Krause, who was celebrating her birthday on Saturday, finished with 13 kills on only 22 swings and tied her career high with a .500 attack percentage.

Keonilei Akana served up a career-high seven aces for Nebraska. Her seven aces were the most by a Husker in an NCAA Tournament match during the rally-scoring era and tied the Nebraska record for postseason aces in any NCAA Tournament match, as Nancy Metcalf had seven aces in a five-set win over Florida in the 2001 NCAA Tournament.

Nicklin Hames posted her 22nd double-double of the season with 43 assists and 13 digs.

Lexi Rodriguez had a match-high 20 digs, her eighth match this season with at least 20 digs.

With her 20 digs, Rodriguez has 498 digs this season, moving from eighth place on Nebraska's season digs chart into sixth place.

Lauren Stivrins had five blocks in tonight's match. With her five blocks, Stivrins increased her career total to 552 blocks, moving past Amber Rolfzen (551) and into seventh place on Nebraska's all-time list.

Stivrins has 81 blocks in her NCAA Tournament career. In tonight's match, she passed Jenny Kropp (78) for fourth place in program history for career postseason blocks.

By NU Athletic CommunicationsBehind strong serving, suffocating defense and stellar offensive performances its freshmen pin hitters, the No. 10 Nebraska volleyball team won a thrilling 3-1 victory over No. 2 Texas late Saturday night at the Longhorns' Gregory Gymnasium in the final of the Austin Regional. With the 25-19, 25-23, 23-25, 25-21 victory, the Huskers advanced to next week's NCAA Semifinal in Columbus, Ohio.With the win, Nebraska (25-7) became the lowest-seeded team to advance to the NCAA Semifinals since 2014. The Huskers, who handed Texas (27-2) its first loss at Gregory Gym since the 2019 NCAA Regional Semifinal, will make their 16th NCAA Semifinal appearance next week and their fifth trip in the past seven seasons.The Huskers were led offensively by their talented freshmen hitters Ally Batenhorst and Lindsay Krause, who combined for 28 kills on .519 attacking. Batenhorst, a Texas native, had 15 kills - tying her career high - with only two errors on 32 swings, hitting .406. Krause, who was celebrating her 19th birthday, put down 13 kills - two shy of her career high - while attacking at a .500 clip to tie for the highest hitting percentage of her career. Krause also added five blocks, matching Lauren Stivrins for team-high honors in that category. Madi Kubik matched Batenhorst for team-high honors with 15 kills. Keonilei Akana had a career-high seven aces, the most ever by a Husker in a four-set NCAA Tournament match and tied for the most by a Nebraska player in any NCAA Tournament match. Lexi Rodriguez added a match-high 20 digs - her eighth 20-dig match of the season - while Nicklin Hames posted another double-double with 43 assists and 13 digs, and she also had kills on all three of her attempts.At the match's conclusion, Hames, Krause and Kubik were all named to the NCAA Austin Regional All-Tournament Team. Hames was also honored as the regional's Most Outstanding Player.Nebraska hit .259 in the match while limiting Texas, the nation's top hitting team, to a .250 attack percentage. The Longhorns had hit at least .346 in each of their first three NCAA Tournament matches. NU also outdug Texas 55-42, while the Longhorns had the edge in blocks, 13-9. At the service line, Nebraska had nine aces to Texas' six. Logan Eggleston and Skylar Fields tied for match-high honors with 20 kills apiece for the Longhorns, while Brionne Butler had a match-high eight blocks.Set 1Stuck in a 6-6 tie, the Huskers outscored Texas 8-3 over the next 11 rallies, ending the stretch with a 4-0 run on two kills and a block from Krause. A Kubik kill and back-to-back Akana aces - her second and third of the set - extended the NU lead to a commanding 17-10. UT got the next three points back before the Huskers took a timeout.But NU pushed ahead with a 5-1 run to make it 22-14, started with four straight kills -- including three in a row from Batenhorst. The Huskers hit set point on a Longhorn service error and finished it off on a Kubik swing two rallies later, taking set one 25-19.The Huskers hit .265 to UT's .125 in the opening set, boosted by five kills from Kubik and four each from Batenhorst, who hit .667, and Krause, who hit at a .429 clip. Akana had three aces, and Stivrins added a pair of blocks as NU had a 3-2 blocking advantage.Set 2The second set tied eight times up to 11-11 before the Huskers exploded for an 8-0 run on two kills each from Krause and Kubik, a Rodriguez ace and two Krause/Stivrins blocks to build to a 19-11 advantage. With NU leading 20-12, Texas used a 10-2 run to lock it up at 22-22. The Longhorns knotted it once more on a Fields kill, but the Huskers stayed tough. A UT service error got it to set point, and Caffey was the closer with a kill to seal it, 25-23.UT improved to .224 hitting in the set, but NU came in at .284. Caffey and Krause had three kills apiece, and Stivrins added two more blocks.Set 3The third set was tied 10 times up to 14-14, and NU took the lead on a Knuckles kill. Akana piled on with back-to-back aces again, stretching it to 17-14 to force a Longhorn timeout. UT pulled within one at 17-16 on a block and an ace, and NU called for a timeout of its own. Kubik and Stivrins terminated back-to-back out of the break for a 19-16 edge.But the Longhorns claimed five of the next seven rallies, tying it at 21-all on consecutive kills by Fields. NU regained the lead on a service error, but the momentum swung the other way as Texas won four of the last five rallies and took the set 25-23 on an Eggleston/Butler block.UT outblocked the Huskers 7-0 in set three and hit .300, while NU dropped to .118.Set 4After a close set to start, Nebraska worked its way out of a 12-12 stall with a Kubik kill and a huge block from Hames and Stivrins on Eggleston, prompting a Longhorn timeout. Kills from Kubik and Batenhorst -- the latter on an overpass -- spotted a 17-12 lead by another Texas timeout.NU swiftly boosted the run to 8-0 with two more swings from Batenhorst and a Kubik ace for a 20-12 advantage. Another Batenhorst kill -- her fifth of the set -- made it 21-13 before UT got the next three rallies to whittle it to 21-16. The Longhorns eventually made it a 6-0 run to pull within two at 21-19. Batenhorst snapped the run with a kill, and a Caffey/Krause blocked put Nebraska two points away from a victory. The Huskers earned their first match point on a Caffey kill and following a Texas sideout, Krause closed out the match with her 13th kill of the night.Up NextNebraska advances to next week's NCAA Semifinals at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. The Huskers will take on No. 3 seed Pittsburgh on Thursday at 8:30 p.m. CT on ESPN.Nebraska Post-Match Notes With the win over Texas, Nebraska advanced to an NCAA Semifinal for the 16th time in program history and for the fifth time in the past seven NCAA Tournaments. The Huskers' 16 semifinal appearances rank second in NCAA history.Nebraska advanced to the NCAA Semifinal as the No. 10 seed. The Huskers are the first double-digit seed to make an NCAA Semifinal since BYU in 2014.The Huskers advanced to an NCAA Semifinal for the 10th time in 22 seasons under head coach John Cook. Cook joined Penn State's Russ Rose (13), UCLA's Andy Banachowski (11) and Stanford's Don Shaw (10) as the only coaches in NCAA history to lead a school to 10 NCAA Semifinals.With the win, Nebraska improved to 122-34 all-time in the NCAA Tournament. The Huskers rank second in NCAA history in postseason wins and winning percentage (.782).Nebraska improved to 16-15 all-time in NCAA Regional Final matches.John Cook improved to 89-22 in his NCAA Tournament career. He ranks third in NCAA history in career postseason victories and second among active coaches behind Penn State's Russ Rose.Cook is now 81-17 in the NCAA Tournament as Nebraska's head coach. His .827 postseason winning percentage at Nebraska is the top mark in NCAA history among any coach with at least 20 NCAA Tournament matches at one school.The NCAA Austin Regional All-Tournament Team included Most Outstanding Player Nicklin Hames, Lindsay Krause and Madi Kubik, Samantha Dreschel of Washington and Brionne Butler, Logan Eggleston and Skylar Fields of Texas.Nebraska hit .259 in the match while limiting Texas, the nation's top hitting team, to a .250 attack percentage. Tonight's match marked the only time this season that the Longhorns were out-hit.Nebraska had 8-0 runs in sets two and four. The Huskers used an 8-0 run to break an 11-11 tie in set two and their 8-0 run in set four broke a 12-12 tie.Nebraska's freshmen pin hitters – Ally Batenhorst and Lindsay Krause – combined for 28 kills on only 54 swings. The duo combined for aBatenhorst tied her career high with 15 kills and hit .406 in the match.Krause, who was celebrating her birthday on Saturday, finished with 13 kills on only 22 swings and tied her career high with a .500 attack percentage.Keonilei Akana served up a career-high seven aces for Nebraska. Her seven aces were the most by a Husker in an NCAA Tournament match during the rally-scoring era and tied the Nebraska record for postseason aces in any NCAA Tournament match, as Nancy Metcalf had seven aces in a five-set win over Florida in the 2001 NCAA Tournament.Nicklin Hames posted her 22nd double-double of the season with 43 assists and 13 digs.Lexi Rodriguez had a match-high 20 digs, her eighth match this season with at least 20 digs.With her 20 digs, Rodriguez has 498 digs this season, moving from eighth place on Nebraska's season digs chart into sixth place.Lauren Stivrins had five blocks in tonight's match. With her five blocks, Stivrins increased her career total to 552 blocks, moving past Amber Rolfzen (551) and into seventh place on Nebraska's all-time list.Stivrins has 81 blocks in her NCAA Tournament career. In tonight's match, she passed Jenny Kropp (78) for fourth place in program history for career postseason blocks.

Huskers Top Texas to Win Austin Regional

Story and Photo by Daniel Stinman -&nbsp;Area Director of Marketing and Public Information

North Platte, Neb. – A strong opening start to the season has the North Platte Community College women's basketball team off to their best start under head coach Jeff Thurman. The victory over No. 10 Kansas City Kansas Community College was an excellent finish to the opening part of the season.

"This was a great win over a very talented team," said Thurman. "We knew exactly what we had to do, especially on the defensive end to close out the semester on a positive note."

The Blue Devils jumped out to an early lead on a layup in the opening forty seconds of the contest. Diamond Moore-Heath answered by going to work inside and getting back-to-back buckets to fall to give the Knights their first lead of the game with 6:42 to play in the opening quarter.

The Blue Devils retook the lead on their next possession by connecting on a shot from the perimeter, 4-5. North Platte returned the favor inside six minutes to play in the first quarter, as Janay Brauer added her name to the scoring column with a layup to give the Knights a one-point advantage. Defenses tightened up for the remainder of the quarter, as the Knights outscored the Blue Devils 4-2 to take a three-point lead into the quarter break, 10-7.

North Platte came out strong to open the second quarter, as a free throw line jumper by Kayla Pope extended the Knights lead to six, 13-7. The Blue Devils trimmed the Knights lead down to three over the next forty seconds, before a short 7-2 burst by the Knights extended their lead to eight with 5:50 to play before the break.

Over the next two minutes, the Blue Devils cut the deficit down to three on a long-range jumper to try and swing the momentum in their favor. The Knights answered with back-to-back three-point shots from Janay Brauer and Isa Valenzuela to extend their lead to nine as the clock moved inside the final three minutes.

KCKCC mounted a short 4-0 run to pull back within five, but the Knights closed the quarter with a short run to take an eleven-point lead into the halftime break, 32-21.

The Blue Devils came out strong as they trimmed the Knights lead to seven by the midway point of the third quarter. A pair of free throws from Jada Ballard halted the momentum shift and extended the North Platte lead back to nine, 41-32.

The Blue Devils attempted to grab the momentum by cutting the Knights lead to four over the next two minutes, 46-42. Inside the closing minute of the quarter, the Knights recaptured the momentum and closed with a 5-0 run to take a nine-point lead into the final ten minutes.

Blue Devils attempted to steal the momentum back in the opening five minutes, but the Knights still held a nine-point lead by the midway point of the fourth quarter, 60-51. Over the next two minutes, the Blue Devils trimmed the deficit down to eight, before Brauer connected on a crucial three to extend the lead back to double digits, 68-57.

The North Platte lead grew to fifteen inside the final two minutes, as the Blue Devils extended pressure left Jordyn Moon open on the block for the uncontested layup, 72-57. North Platte saw their lead shrink to ten inside the final sixty-five seconds, before earning three consecutive trips to the free throw line.

North Platte went nearly perfect inside the final minute connecting on 5-of-6 free throw opportunities, which sealed the upset win over the Blue Devils, 77-64.

Pope and Moore-Heath combined for forty points on the afternoon, as they paced the Knights with twenty points apiece. Valenzuela contributed 12 points off the bench on 4-of-9 shooting, while Moon led the Knights on the glass with ten rebounds to accompany her four points.

As a team, the Knights shot 42 percent (26-61) from the field, but just 8-of-26 from the perimeter on the day. North Platte edged the Blue Devils in the rebound category, 41-40, while holding KCKCC to just 13.3 percent from beyond the arc.

Knights (10-4) will open the second part of their season on Tuesday, Jan. 4 against Metropolitan Community College in Kansas City, Mo.&nbsp;

Story and Photo by Daniel Stinman -&nbsp;Area Director of Marketing and Public InformationNorth Platte, Neb. – A strong opening start to the season has the North Platte Community College women's basketball team off to their best start under head coach Jeff Thurman. The victory over No. 10 Kansas City Kansas Community College was an excellent finish to the opening part of the season."This was a great win over a very talented team," said Thurman. "We knew exactly what we had to do, especially on the defensive end to close out the semester on a positive note."The Blue Devils jumped out to an early lead on a layup in the opening forty seconds of the contest. Diamond Moore-Heath answered by going to work inside and getting back-to-back buckets to fall to give the Knights their first lead of the game with 6:42 to play in the opening quarter.The Blue Devils retook the lead on their next possession by connecting on a shot from the perimeter, 4-5. North Platte returned the favor inside six minutes to play in the first quarter, as Janay Brauer added her name to the scoring column with a layup to give the Knights a one-point advantage. Defenses tightened up for the remainder of the quarter, as the Knights outscored the Blue Devils 4-2 to take a three-point lead into the quarter break, 10-7.North Platte came out strong to open the second quarter, as a free throw line jumper by Kayla Pope extended the Knights lead to six, 13-7. The Blue Devils trimmed the Knights lead down to three over the next forty seconds, before a short 7-2 burst by the Knights extended their lead to eight with 5:50 to play before the break.Over the next two minutes, the Blue Devils cut the deficit down to three on a long-range jumper to try and swing the momentum in their favor. The Knights answered with back-to-back three-point shots from Janay Brauer and Isa Valenzuela to extend their lead to nine as the clock moved inside the final three minutes.KCKCC mounted a short 4-0 run to pull back within five, but the Knights closed the quarter with a short run to take an eleven-point lead into the halftime break, 32-21.The Blue Devils came out strong as they trimmed the Knights lead to seven by the midway point of the third quarter. A pair of free throws from Jada Ballard halted the momentum shift and extended the North Platte lead back to nine, 41-32.The Blue Devils attempted to grab the momentum by cutting the Knights lead to four over the next two minutes, 46-42. Inside the closing minute of the quarter, the Knights recaptured the momentum and closed with a 5-0 run to take a nine-point lead into the final ten minutes.Blue Devils attempted to steal the momentum back in the opening five minutes, but the Knights still held a nine-point lead by the midway point of the fourth quarter, 60-51. Over the next two minutes, the Blue Devils trimmed the deficit down to eight, before Brauer connected on a crucial three to extend the lead back to double digits, 68-57.The North Platte lead grew to fifteen inside the final two minutes, as the Blue Devils extended pressure left Jordyn Moon open on the block for the uncontested layup, 72-57. North Platte saw their lead shrink to ten inside the final sixty-five seconds, before earning three consecutive trips to the free throw line.North Platte went nearly perfect inside the final minute connecting on 5-of-6 free throw opportunities, which sealed the upset win over the Blue Devils, 77-64.Pope and Moore-Heath combined for forty points on the afternoon, as they paced the Knights with twenty points apiece. Valenzuela contributed 12 points off the bench on 4-of-9 shooting, while Moon led the Knights on the glass with ten rebounds to accompany her four points.As a team, the Knights shot 42 percent (26-61) from the field, but just 8-of-26 from the perimeter on the day. North Platte edged the Blue Devils in the rebound category, 41-40, while holding KCKCC to just 13.3 percent from beyond the arc.Knights (10-4) will open the second part of their season on Tuesday, Jan. 4 against Metropolitan Community College in Kansas City, Mo.&nbsp;