The Nebraska beach volleyball team wrapped up its beach season in Long Beach, Calif., on Saturday.

Nebraska fell to Texas, 3-2, and to No. 7 Long Beach State, 5-0. The Huskers finished the year with a 16-11 record, a program record for wins in a season.

In the first match of the day against Texas, Olivia Mauch and Harper Murray won their No. 2 match, 16-21, 21-15, 15-13. Maisie Boesiger and Andi Jackson were 19-21, 21-11, 15-9 winners as NU's No. 5 pair. 

Boesiger and Jackson were also the only Husker pair to a force a third set against the nationally ranked Long Beach State program. They went the distance before falling to the 49ers' No. 5 pair, 19-21, 21-12, 14-16. 

Texas 3, Nebraska 2
1. Emma Grace Robertson/Ava Patton (TEX) def. Batenhorst, Ally/Reilly, Bergen (NEB) 21-12, 21-14
2. Murray, Harper/Mauch, Olivia (NEB) def. Katie Hashman/Devin Kahahawai (TEX) 16-21, 21-15, 15-13
3. Hannah Ogden/Presley Wright (TEX) def. Rodriguez, Lexi/Krause, Lindsay (NEB) 21-15, 21-15
4. Kelly McCloskey/Macey Butler (TEX) def. Choboy, Laney/Pierce, Skyler (NEB) 21-16, 21-15
5. Jackson, Andi/Boesiger, Maisie (NEB) def. Kenna Miller/Reilly Heinrich (TEX) 19-21, 21-11, 15-9

#7 Long Beach State 5, Nebraska 0
1. Malia Gementera/Taylor Hagenah (LBSU) def. Batenhorst, Ally/Reilly, Bergen (NEB) 21-18, 21-13
2. Savannah Standage/Julia Westby (LBSU) def. Krause, Lindsay/Rodriguez, Lexi (NEB) 21-15, 21-13
3. Natalie Glenn/Mo Gibson (LBSU) def. Mauch, Olivia/Murray, Harper (NEB) 21-14, 21-17
4. Megan Widener/Christine Deroos (LBSU) def. Choboy, Laney/Pierce, Skyler (NEB) 21-12, 22-20
5. Abby Karich/Sammy Okano (LBSU) def. Boesiger, Maisie/Jackson, Andi (NEB) 21-19, 12-21, 16-14

HUSKERS PUMMEL COLONELS IN 16-0 ROUT ON SATURDAY

Nebraska picked up its largest win since 2019 with a dominant 16-0 rout against Nicholls on Saturday afternoon at Hawks Field at Haymarket Park.

Nebraska (12-5) totaled 16 runs on 11 hits, while Nicholls (17-5) had no runs, four hits and two errors.

Will Walsh went 3-for-3 for the Huskers, setting career-highs for hits (3), runs (3) and RBI (5). Rhett Stokes finished 3-for-4, tallying his fifth consecutive three-hit game at Haymarket Park to open the home slate.

Gabe Swansen launched a three-run home run, while Case Sanderson and Riley Silva each drove in a pair of runs. Cayden Brumbaugh, Joshua Overbeek and Garrett Anglim all recorded hits for the Big Red.

Brett Sears improved to 3-0 on the season, allowing three hits across a scoreless six innings. The right-hander recorded his fourth straight quality start, posting a 1.38 ERA (4 ER in 26.0 IP) over that span with 27 strikeouts.

Jalen Worthley tossed the final three innings, earning the first save of his collegiate career. The southpaw tied for his longest outing of the season, retiring nine of 10 batters faced.

Nicholls threatened early with a pair of walks and a single to load the bases with two outs in the opening frame. Sears eluded the damage with a two-out strikeout to keep the visitors off the board.

The Huskers needed just one hit to plate five runs in the bottom of the first to leap out to a 5-0 lead. Walks to Silva and Cole Evans and a hit by pitch to Overbeek loaded the bases for the Big Red with one out. Overbeek scored the game’s first run after Anglim was plunked on a 1-2 pitch.

Walsh lifted a 3-2 pitch over the wall in right for a 331-foot grand slam to grow the NU lead to five. Walsh’s grand slam is the first by a Husker since Griffin Everitt at Maryland last season.

Sears retired the Colonels in order in the second, while Silva’s sacrifice bunt after consecutive singles from Stokes and Brumbaugh stretched the lead to six in the bottom of the second.

The NU offense erupted for five runs on five hits and a Nicholls error to blow the game open with an 11-run advantage. Walsh’s RBI double to right-center began the scoring in the inning for the Huskers after Caron and Anglim reached on a walk and single, respectively.

Stokes kept it rolling in the third with a two-RBI single up the middle, while RBI singles from Silva and Overbeek extended the lead to 11.

Sanderson drew a walk with the bases loaded in the fourth to add to the Husker lead, before the Big Red plated four runs on two hits and a Colonel error to make it a 16-run game.

Evans was plunked and Caron drew a four-pitch walk to open the bottom of the fifth, while Swansen drilled a three-run shot to right-center for his first homer of the season. Sanderson reached on a fielder’s choice later in the inning to plate Walsh and grow the lead to 16-0.

Nebraska and Nicholls wrap up the weekend series tomorrow at 12:05 p.m. at Hawks Field at Haymarket Park. Sunday’s matchup can be seen on B1G+, while fans can listen to Greg Sharpe and Ben McLaughlin call the action on the Huskers Radio Network.

STRAND EARNS TOP 10 FINISH IN FLORIDA

Kelli Ann Strand claimed her fourth top-10 finish of the season, while Lindsey Thiele added her second top-20 showing of the spring to lead the Nebraska women's golf team to an eighth-place finish at the Florida State Match Up in Tallahassee on Saturday.

Strand, who entered the final round in second after back-to-back rounds of 67 on Friday, settled for a 78 (+6) on Saturday to tie for ninth individually in a 78-player field. The sophomore from Challis, Idaho, finished with a 54-hole score of 212 (-4) on the 6,250-yard layout at the Seminole Legacy Golf Club. It was her eighth top-15 finish for the Huskers in nine tournaments in 2023-24.

Thiele added a tie for 20th after firing Nebraska's best round with a 71 (-1) on Saturday. The senior from Wahoo, Neb., closed with a three-round total of 217 (+1).

Junior Miu Takahashi (Nasu-Machi, Japan) contributed a top-30 finish, managing a 76 on Saturday to finish in a tie for 28th at 220 (+4).

With Strand leading the way, the Huskers closed the opening day of the 54-hole tournament in a tie for fifth in the 14-team field at even-par 576 after rounds of 284 and 292. The Huskers are trailing only top-25 teams in No. 19 Duke (-31), the hosts from No. 20 Florida State (-17), No. 25 Georgia (-11) and Baylor (-9). The Huskers are tied with No. 35 Alabama.

Strand, a sophomore from Challis, Idaho, began the day with a double-bogey on No. 9, before bouncing back with three birdies over the next five holes to surge to one-under-par. She notched five straight pars before finding her fourth birdie of the round on hole No. 2. After three straight pars, Strand ended the round on fire with three consecutive birdies on No. 6, 7 and 8 to end the round at 67 (-5). 

Freshman Arden Louchheim notched Nebraska's No. 3 score of the day with a 77 in the final round, as the Huskers settled for a 302 (+14) over the final 18 holes. Louchheim took 65th at 232 (+16), while senior Michaela Vavrova closed with a 79 to round out the Husker contingent in a tie for 61st at 231 (+15). The Big Red, which opened with a 284 (-4), before adding a second-round 292 (+4) finished eighth in a 14-team field with an 878 (+14).

No. 19 Duke cruised to the team title with one-over-par 289 on Saturday to finish at 834 (-30). The hosts from No. 20 Florida State closed 10 shots behind the Blue Devils at 844 (-20), while No. 25 Georgia took third at 859 (-5).

Nebraska will take nearly a month off from competition before closing the regular season at the Lady Buckeye Invitational in Columbus, Ohio, April 13-14.

Florida State Match Up
March 15-16, 2024
Tallahassee, Florida
Seminole Legacy Golf Club (Par 72, 6,250 Yards)

Final Team Results
1. Duke (19) - 281-264-289=834 (-30)
2. Florida State (20) - 278-281-285=844 (-20)
3. Georgia (25) - 282-283-294=859 (-5)
4. Baylor (56) - 284-283-294=861 (-3)
5. SMU (23) - 293-285-293=871 (+7)
6. Ohio State (39) - 291-290-293=874 (+10)
7. Alabama (35) - 289-287-300=876 (+12)
8. Nebraska (69) - 284-292-302=878 (+14)
T9. Kansas (37) - 298-292-301=891 (+27)
T9. Indiana (73) - 286-297-308=891 (+27)
11. Coastal Carolina (91) - 308-300-307=915 (+51)
12. Campbell (94) - 298-304-314=916 (+52)
13. Delaware (100) - 307-300-316=923 (+59)
14. Dayton State - 306-305-318=929 (+65)

Final Individual Results
1. Katie Li, Duke - 66-66-72=204 (-12)
T2. Lottie Woad, Florida State - 70-68-69=207 (-9)
T2. Rosie Belsham, Baylor - 70-66-71=207 (-9)
4. Mackenzie Lee, SMU - 69-68-71=208 (-8)
5. Caterina Don, Georgia - 72-69-69=210 (-6)
T6. Mirabel Ting, Florida State - 71-71-69=211 (-5)
T6. Emily Odwin, SMU - 71-67-73=211 (-5)
T6. Sera Hasegawa, Baylor - 71-67-73=211 (-5)
T9. Emma McMyler, Duke - 72-68-72=212 (-4)
T9. Alice Hodge, Florida State - 66-73-73=212 (-4)
T9. Anne Chen, Duke - 73-65-74=212 (-4)
T9. Kelli Ann Strand, Nebraska - 67-67-78=212 (-4)

Nebraska Individuals
T9. Kelli Ann Strand - 67-67-78=212 (-4)
T20. Lindsey Thiele - 70-76-71=217 (+1)
T28. Miu Takahashi - 71-73-76=220 (+4)
T61. Michaela Vavrova - 76-76-79=231 (+15)
65. Arden Louchheim - 76-79-77=232 (+16)

NEBRASKA RUN-RULES CREIGHTON

The Nebraska softball team scored in every inning of a 9-0 five-inning victory over Creighton Saturday at Bowlin Stadium.

The Huskers (15-12) scored two runs in each of the first three innings before plating three runs in the fourth. Nebraska pounded out 10 hits in the win, including four extra-base hits and two home runs. NU was 7-for-14 with runners on base in the game and 5-for-9 with runners in scoring position.

Billie Andrews went 2-for-3 with a double, a home run, two runs scored and three RBIs. Her home run was the 53rd of her career, moving her into a tie for second place on Nebraska's all-time home run list. Sydney Gray also went 2-for-3 with a homer, and she drove in two runs. Katelyn Caneda was 2-for-2 with two runs scored. Ava Bredwell, Samantha Bland, Malia Thoms and Bella Bacon all had one RBI.

Not to be overshadowed by the offense, freshman pitcher Caitlin Olensky tossed the first complete game and first shutout of her career. Olensky (3-2) scattered three hits and struck out four.

Natalia Puchino (11-2) lost for just the second time this season, allowing a season-high-tying four runs in 2.0 innings. Creighton fell to 16-10 with the loss.

In the top of the first inning, a hit batter and a walk put Bluejays on first and second with one out. But Olensky escaped the jam with a pair of strikeouts.

In the bottom of the first, Brooke Andrews drew a one-out walk, stole second and scored on an RBI triple from Bredwell to give Nebraska a 1-0 lead. Bland then brought Bredwell home with an RBI single up the middle to make it 2-0.

Nebraska added two more runs in the bottom of the second. The first two Huskers were retired before Caneda singled with two outs. Billie Andrews then hit a two-run home run to right to push the Big Red lead to 4-0.

The Huskers scored two runs again in the top of the third. Gray led off with a towering solo home run into the wind in left. A pair of Creighton errors put then put Bland on second base with two outs for Bacon, who delivered an RBI single to score Bland and give Nebraska a 6-0 lead.

In the bottom of the fourth, Caneda singled and scored on an RBI double from Billie Andrews. Following a walk to Brooke Andrews, Gray had an RBI single to put the Huskers on top 8-0. A one-out single from Bland loaded the bases before Thoms drew a bases-loaded walk to stretch the lead to 9-0. 

Creighton loaded the bases with two outs in the top of the fifth before Olensky completed her shutout with  a ground out.

Nebraska wraps up the weekend with a Sunday game against Northern Colorado. The game will start at 1 p.m. in a change to the original schedule.

Post-Game Notes

  • Nebraska posted its second run-rule victory of this weekend and fourth of the season.
  • Caitlin Olensky posted her first career shutout and first career complete game.
  • Billie Andrews homered in the second inning. The home run was the 53rd of her career, moving her into a tie for second place on Nebraska's all-time home run with Ali Viola (1995-98).
  • The home run was Andrews' 10th of the season in 23 games. This marks the third straight season Andrews has hit at least 10 home runs. 
  • Sydney Gray also homered, her seventh of the season.
  • Bella Bacon had an RBI single in the third inning, her sixth consecutive game with an RBI.