AMES, Iowa — The atmosphere in the stands at Hilton Coliseum Saturday — for a volleyball match, at least — was unlike anything anyone here had ever seen.

The result on the court? That's been witnessed plenty of times during the past three decades.

On a night when Iowa State's program had a chance to blast off into an entirely different stratosphere, it was Nebraska that played the role of spoiler. The 10th-ranked Huskers put together a spectacular performance, snapping the No. 8 Cyclones' school-record 11-match winning streak with an emphatic 25-16, 25-22, 25-23 sweep.

A rowdy, record gathering of 10,203 was ready to rock Iowa State's home arena. It was the biggest turnout for any volleyball match ever played in this state — easily surpassing the crowd of 6,705 that watched NU beat Iowa State in Ames two seasons ago.

But this night was all about Nebraska avenging its five-set Oct. 21 loss to the Cyclones in Lincoln. That victory was Iowa State's first against the Huskers in a series that dated all the way back to 1975.

“I told the team the stars were aligned for us to have a great effort,” Nebraska coach John Cook said, “and for us to prove we are a much better team than we showed against them last time. This was a great opportunity for us to take a big step forward, and I certainly thought we did that tonight.”

There have been plenty of painful losses for Nebraska during its up-and-down 2009 season. But that defeat against Iowa State in Lincoln — a match where the Huskers looked rattled at all the wrong moments — was especially tough to stomach, Sydney Anderson said.

“I'm on cloud nine right now — I've got chills,” said Anderson, Nebraska's junior setter. “This is huge, and it's exactly what our team needed to help us believe we can become what we're capable of.”

Dating back to last season, Iowa State had won 11 straight home matches. That run included the Cyclones' stunning five-set upset Wednesday night over second-ranked and previously undefeated Texas. Coach Christy Johnson-Lynch's program has recorded a number of landmark victories in recent seasons — but the Millard North graduate said the Cyclones clearly didn't respond well on a night they were expected to win.

“There's a big difference from going into a match as an underdog — which we've done a lot,” Johnson-Lynch said. “As the tide turns, now we're the ones with something to lose. We looked like we had something to lose — we looked like we were afraid.”

The way Nebraska was passing and serving Saturday, the Cyclones had good reason to be afraid. And Anderson starred while quarterbacking the Huskers' attack, finishing with 39 assists and helping NU hit .327. To put that in perspective, Iowa State hadn't allowed an opponent to hit .300 or better in its last 33 matches.

Anderson, who also tied her season high with three aces, baffled the Cyclones by getting every one of the Huskers' primary attackers involved. Hannah Werth, Kori Cooper and Lindsey Licht all had nine kills, while Brooke Delano and Tara Mueller added eight apiece.

Werth also had 15 digs, and it was Nebraska's defense that forced a shaky Iowa State club into 21 attack errors.

“The way we came out and started playing, I think we made them uncomfortable,” Cook said. “I'm not sure we ever did that to them when we played in Lincoln.”

Much like they did last month at the Coliseum, the Huskers dominated set one again on Saturday.

Werth slammed four kills and hit .308, while Anderson, Cooper and Licht added three kills apiece. Anderson also had two aces in the opener, and NU outhit the Cyclones .375-.079 to take a 1-0 lead.

But in stark contrast to the teams' previous meeting, the Huskers kept the pressure on and managed to win set two. Nebraska raced out to a 19-10 lead, then Iowa State made NU sweat with a furious closing push. The Huskers missed their first four chances to earn the set point, a stretch that included an ace by Tecumseh, Neb., product Jamie Straube.

The Huskers, however, finally went into the intermission leading 2-0 when Iowa State committed a net violation. Delano and Cooper, NU's middle blockers, teamed up for eight kills in set two while taking a combined 13 swings.

The final set featured a wild finish, with Iowa State scoring twice to knot it 23-all. But with the volume in the building at a peak, Nebraska polished off the sweep on back-to-back kills by Delano and Mueller

The Huskers have a bye on Wednesday, then they'll host No. 23 Texas A&M on Friday in Lincoln.

“I think (the loss to Iowa State) gave us the mentality of ‘You don't do that to us on our court,'” Anderson said. “And if you do, this is how it's going to turn out the next time.”

Nebraska (17-4, 11-4).............25 25 25

Iowa State (20-4, 12-3)................16 22 23

Nebraska (kills-aces-blocks): Anderson 4-3-1, Licht 9-0-1, Delano 8-0-2, Cooper 9-0-3, Mueller 8-0-0, Werth 9-0-2, Banwarth 0-0-0, Mancuso 1-0-0.

Iowa State (kills-aces-blocks): Hockaday 10-1-1, Manns 3-0-0, Mahoney 0-0-0, Henson 7-1-0, Stadick 8-0-3, Straube 5-1-1, Mass 0-0-0, Petersen 7-0-2.

Set assists: Nebraska 46 (Anderson 39); Iowa State 40 (Manns 37). A—10,203.

Hitting troubles plague Mavericks

KIRKSVILLE, Mo. — The University of Nebraska at Omaha hit just .043 en route to Saturday's 25-18, 28-26, 21-25, 25-16 loss at Division II No. 19 Truman State.

Ellen Thommes, a senior from Omaha Marian, led the Mavericks (20-12 overall, 10-9 MIAA) with 16 kills and Emily Myers added a double-double (31 assists, 10 digs).

Angie Reicks paced UNO with 28 digs and Sara Kampschnieder had 13 to help hold the Bulldogs (23-11, 11-7) to .161 hitting on the match.

The Mavs will return home to wrap up the regular season Friday at Sapp Fieldhouse as they host Central Missouri at 7 p.m.

UNO (20-12, 10-9 MIAA)...................18 26 25 16

At Truman (23-11, 11-7)..................25 28 21 25

UNO (kills-aces-blocks): Myers 2-0-0, Mach 6-0-2, Thommes 16-3-0, Kampschnieder 5-0-0, Goeser 6-0-1, Hanssen 2-0-3, Reicks 0-1-0, Uhing 3-0-1, Ebke 2-0-0. Totals 42-4-7.

T: Graybeal 16-0-3, Sharpe 9-0-4, Petak 1-0-0, Sinclair 8-2-2, Barker 3-0-1, Briseno 4-0-1, Hattey 12-0-2. Totals 53-2-13.

Set assists: UNO 37 (Myers 31, Kampschnieder 4, Goeser 2), T 49 (Graybeal 3, Petak 22, Sinclair Barker 1, Tholen 19, Bruno 1, Hattey 2).

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