COLBY, Kan. – The Western Nebraska Community College women’s basketball team put three players in double figures in posting their third victory of the season after dropping Colorado Northwestern Community College 58-41 in the second day of the Ambassador Classic in Colby, Kan.

Jess Samorodova paced all scorers with 14 points followed by Idil Ozbayrak with 12 points and Gritt Ryder with 10 points.

WNCC head coach Dave Harnish said they once again played pretty good first-half defense, but they still have to improve their shooting.

“Defensively, I thought we were strong all game, holding then to 22 points in the first half, and I think the defense was pretty solid,” Harnish said. “We played well and caused 36 turnovers. What we aren’t doing is capitalizing the turnovers into points. We are still struggling in that part. We also had 22 turnovers.”

The Cougars held a slim 27-22 halftime lead and then came out in the second half and played strong defense, holding the Spartans to just 19 points.

The Cougars had a balanced scoring attack in the game. After the three double figure scorers, Jessica Aratani and Shalisa Moffit each had six points.

The Cougars nailed just 1 of 7 from the 3-point area and were 13 of 24 from the free throw line. Ozbayrak had a team high nine steals, while Samorodova had nine rebounds, followed by six each from Ryder and Ashley Stevens.

Harnish said he is pleased to be unbeaten right now, especially with the number of freshmen and newcomers that are on the team.

“You have to be happy being 3-0 especially how we are playing defense,” Harnish said. “Now, if we can get our offense going we will be a pretty good team right now.”

The Cougars, 3-0, will wrap up the Ambassador Classic on Saturday when they face Fort Carson Army Base at 1 p.m. WNCC will then return home to host Colorado Christian junior varsity on Tuesday at 6 p.m.

WNCC (2-0)                        27 31 – 58

CO Northwestern            22 19 – 41

WNCC

Kelsey Doddridge 3, Shalisa Moffit 6, Jessica Aratani 6, Lauren Rivera 1, Idil Ozbayrak 12, Jess Samorodova 14, Gritt Ryder 10, Mikayla Brower 2, Ashley Stevens 2, Katie Kerkhoff 2.

Lincoln, Neb.- The No. 9 Nebraska volleyball team (19-5, 11-4) took down the Indiana Hoosiers 3-1 (25-11, 18-25, 25-13, 25-22) Friday night in front of 4,109 fans at the NU Coliseum.

Morgan Broekhuis led the Huskers on the night with 10 kills on 21 attacks with a .429 hitting percentage. Gina Mancuso and Hannah Werth both recorded nine kills, while Lara Dykstra led the team defensively with 16 digs and Lauren Cook tabbed 36 assists. Meghan Haggerty led the Husker block with eight block assists, while Hayley Thramer had two solo blocks and five block assists.

The Huskers notched a .236 hitting percentage on the night, while Indiana hit .072. Nebraska out-blocked IU 17-8 and out-dug the Hoosiers 58-52.

The Huskers took an 8-3 lead in the first set on a double stuff block by Werth and Haggerty. Nebraska kept the momentum as a block by Mancuso and Thramer pushed NU to a 12-6 lead, while an error by the Hoosiers made it 16-8, NU. A solo block by Werth made it 21-9 as Nebraska went on to close on IU 25-11 in the first set.

Haggerty had three kills for NU in set one, while Mancuso, Broekhuis and Werth all had two. Nebraska out-blocked Indiana 8-1, while posting a .350 hitting percentage.

Indiana took a 4-1 lead early in the second set, while the Huskers cut the Hoosiers lead to 11-8 on a kill by Haggerty. Two long rallies resulted in kills for IU as the Huskers trailed 15-9 and called a timeout. A kill by Werth made it 16-11, Indiana, while Mancuso cut the Hoosier lead to 22-16. The Huskers would not be able to muster enough of a comeback though as Indiana took the second set 25-18.

Thramer and Werth both notched three kills in the second set, while Cook tabbed 10 assists. Nebraska was out-blocked 3-2 and posted a .135 hitting percentage.

A service ace by Dykstra gave Nebraska a 6-2 lead in the third set, while back-to-back kills from Mancuso put Nebraska up 13-6. A kill from Haggerty made it 19-11, NU, as Nebraska surged on and used a double-stuff block by Haggerty and Mancuso to take the third set 25-13.

Mancuso had four kills in the third set, while Broekhuis had three. Nebraska notched a .258 hitting percentage, while Indiana was held to a -.065 hitting percentage and just three team blocks.

Broekhuis helped the Huskers to a 5-2 lead on a solo block. Indiana came back to tie the set at 8-8, but NU went ahead 10-9 on a kill by Cook. Broekhuis put NU within one at 16-15, Indiana, while a kill by Werth tied the set at 20-20. A kill by Broekhuis and attack error by the Hoosiers sealed the 25-22 fourth-set win and gave Nebraska the match 3-1.

Cook, Broekhuis and Werth had three kills in the fourth set, while Cook also tabbed 10 assists. Nebraska notched a .257 hitting percentage for the set and out-blocked Indiana 3-1.

Nebraska returns to action Saturday night as the Purdue Boilermakers come to the Coliseum for a 7:30 p.m. match that will be available on BTN.com with a subscription.

CHADRON – Regis University’s Katie Klein had 13 kills and Caite Breaux added 11 more as the No. 14 Rangers turned back Chadron State in their Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference match 20-25, 25-12, 25-17, 25-14 Friday evening in Chadron.

Chadron State (5-23, 2-16 RMAC) will host No. 23 Metro State in the season finale tonight (Saturday). First serve is set for 6 p.m.

On Friday, the Rangers, now 21-8 overall and 15-3 in the RMAC, dropped a tightly contested first set but controlled the remainder of the match, thanks in large part to their service game.

Regis served 11 aces – Rebecca Sponcil had a match-high four and Klein and Makayla Higgins each added three more – and received 10 more points after Chadron State service errors.

For the match, Regis hit .149 while Chadron State had a hitting percentage of .110.

Erika Roybal and Lexi Hoagland paced the Eagles’ offense with nine kills apiece and Mollie Jones, who had a team-high 17 digs, added eight more.

Also for Chadron State, Justine Ackie had 22 set assists and Mallory Irvine had four blocks.

Alex Helmbrecht, Sports Information Director

Lincoln, Neb. – The Nebraska football team continued their preparations on Thursday afternoon for this weekend’s cross-divisional matchup with Penn State. The Huskers split between the Hawks Championship Center and the Ed and Joyanne Gass practice fields, practicing for just over 90 minutes in helmets and shorts.

Following practice, Head Coach Bo Pelini met with members of the media, discussing how the Blackshirts would adjust to PSU’s tendency to go for it in fourth down situations.

“We’re going to play the next down and treat it like another third down snap if that’s the way they choose to go,” Pelini said. “I’ve looked at all the fourth downs and the situations. We’ll be ready if they do.”

Pelini also addressed why the Nittany Lions have allowed so few sacks of quarterback Matt McGloin this season.

“He’s a real quick-rhythm thrower,” Pelini said. “He gets the ball in and out; a lot of quick rhythm passing game. Hopefully we can challenge and get on some routes, and they can hold the ball a little bit longer.”

Four Nebraska team members (Rex Burkhead, Sean Fisher, Jake Long and Spencer Long) were selected to the Capitol One Academic All-District 7 football team on Thursday. When asked for his thoughts on the academic awards earned by his team, Pelini said it sets a high bar for the rest of the team to achieve as well.

“I’d like that list to keep growing,” Pelini said. “We put a high value on what these kids are doing academically and what we ask them to do. It’s a good example for the rest of the football team, because that’s what they’re here to do first. First and foremost, you’re a student.”

The Huskers will conduct a final walk-through practice on Friday afternoon before facing the Nittany Lions on Saturday. The game will be broadcast regionally on ABC and ESPN2, with kick-off set for 1:30 p.m. MST, with radio coverage on AM 1400, KCOW in Alliance.

2010 Alliance High School graduate Michael Peltz began his career with the University of Nebraska men’s basketball team on Nov. 7 when the Husker beat Midland University of Fremont, 68-40, at the Devaney Center in Lincoln.

Peltz played 18 minutes.  He scored 3 points, pulled down 3 rebounds and committed 2 fouls.

Here is Peltz’ profile from Huskers.com.

2012-13 (Outlook)
A late addition to the Husker basketball roster, junior college transfer Mike Peltz joined the team prior to the start of practice in October. A walk-on, Peltz will add depth to the Husker backcourt which looks to replace their top two point guards from a year ago.

Before Nebraska
Peltz was a two-year captain at Western Nebraska Community College in Scottsbluff, Neb., playing for Coach Russ Beck. As a sophomore in 2011-12, Peltz averaged 7.5 points, 6.2 assists, 4.9 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game in helping WNCC to a 26-7 record and the school’s first national ranking since 2005. Peltz ranked fifth nationally in the NJCAA in assists and had a 3.5 assist-to-turnover ratio running an offense which featured five players that averaged double figures. One of five players who are playing Division I basketball this season, he had 10 games with at least eight assists, including a season-best 15 assist effort against Oglala Lakota College when he also had 12 points and 10 rebounds. It was one of three triple-doubles he recorded during his junior college career. Offensively, he reached double figures seven times, including a season-high 20 points against Lake Region State College. As a freshman, he averaged 7.0 points, 2.4 assists and 3.9 rebounds per game in 29 contests. Peltz also excelled in the classroom, carrying a 3.83 GPA and had the highest GPA among male athletes at WNCC.

Peltz played at Alliance High School, where he averaged 23 points, eight rebounds and four assists per game as a senior for Coach Michael Baker to earn district MVP and honorable-mention all-state honors by the Lincoln Journal Star. Peltz was also a Class B all-state selection as a junior, averaging 19 points per game, as he led Class B in scoring in both his junior and senior campaigns. A three-year starter, Peltz totaled over 1,000 career points in high school. He also played football as a wide receiver, earning all-conference honors before missing most of his senior year because of an injury. He also garnered academic all-state honors in each of his final three years at Alliance High School.

Personal
Mike Peltz is the son of Terry and Yvette Peltz and was born on Feb. 12, 1992, in Alliance, Neb. He has three older brothers, Al, Butch and TJ. Butch was a four-year starting safety at Nebraska-Kearney in football who ranks among the school’s career tackle leaders, while TJ also played basketball at Western Nebraska CC for a season and served as an assistant coach at the school. Mike chose to walk-on at Nebraska after receiving scholarship offers from nearly a dozen Division II programs, and chances to walk on at other Division I programs. He is majoring in sociology at Nebraska.

Chadron State College’s Glen Clinton has been named to the 2012 Capital One Academic All-District Four Football Team as voted on by members of the College Sports Information Directors of America.

To be eligible for the all-academic team, which recognizes the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performances athletically and in the classroom, a student-athlete must maintain at least a 3.3 cumulative GPA. Since Clinton earned first team recognition in his district, he’ll advance to the national ballot.

Clinton, a junior tailback from Cody, Wyo., who has a 3.58 GPA in biology, is having his finest collegiate season. He has rushed for 1,180 yards and seven touchdowns while helping lead the Eagles to an 8-2 record and a national ranking in both polls.

The Academic All-District teams are divided into eight geographic districts across the United States and Canada. This is the second year of the expanded Academic All-America program as CoSIDA moves from recognizing a University Division (Division I) and a College Division (all non Division I) and doubles the number of scholar-athletes honored. The teams include NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II and NCAA Division III participants, while the College Division team combines NAIA, Canadian and two-year schools.

Alex Helmbrecht, Sports Information Director

Chadron State College’s Mollie Jones has been named to the 2012 Capital One Academic All-District Six Volleyball Team as voted on by members of the College Sports Information Directors of America.

To be eligible for the all-academic team, which recognizes the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performances athletically and in the classroom, a student-athlete must maintain at least a 3.3 cumulative GPA.

Since Jones earned first team recognition in her district, she’ll advance to the national ballot.

Jones a senior outside hitter from Longmont, Colo., has a 3.90 GPA in legal studies. For the season, she has 199 kills and 261 digs.

Allan Schmaltz, Sports Information Graduate Assistant

CHADRON – The Chadron State College volleyball team will host its final two matches of the 2012 season this weekend against a pair of nationally-ranked Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference foes.

The Eagles will meet No. 14 Regis at 7 p.m. on Friday and No. 23 Metro State Saturday at 6 p.m.

Friday’s match against Regis, the top ranked team in the South Central Region, has been designated as Parent’s Night.

The five seniors on the CSC volleyball team – Ashley Bargen, Kristina Harter, Lexi Hoagland, Mallory Irvine andMollie Jones – will be honored before Saturday’s match with Metro State.

Both of this weekend’s visitors won when the Eagles played them in Denver in mid-September.

Regis is 20-8 overall and 14-3 in the conference. Metro is 16-9 and 11-6.  CSC interim coach Janel Baily said her team hopes to finish the season “on a good note.”

The Eagles certainly got that off to a strong start when they shook off a first set loss at South Dakota Mines and rallied to win the next three. Tuesday’s victory improved them to 5-22 on the season.

Alex Helmbrecht, Sports Information Director