Tuesday Morning Sports – 9/26/2023

HUSKER FRESHMAN EARNS TWO CONFERENCE AWARDS:

Nebraska freshman setter Bergen Reilly was named the Big Ten Setter of the Week and the Big Ten Freshman of the Week.

Reilly led the Huskers to sweeps of No. 21 Ohio State and No. 12 Minnesota over the weekend by averaging 12.67 assists per set, 1.67 digs per set and 0.83 blocks per set.

In the 3-0 win against the Buckeyes on Friday, Reilly had 37 assists as the Huskers hit .333. On Sunday, Reilly showed her defensive prowess, totaling 39 assists with eight digs and four blocks, including a solo stuff. 

The freshman setter from Sioux Falls, S.D. led the Huskers to a .268 hitting percentage for the week. Reilly has set the Huskers to a .294 hitting percentage this season, which ranks second in the Big Ten and among the top 10 nationally. 

UNK CROSS COUNTRY INVITE RESULTS:

The UNK High School Cross Country meet wrapped on Monday from the Kearney Country Club with plenty of area talent showing off. 

In girls results, Kearney High ended 3rd overall while Grand Island was ninth in Class A. Class B’s York, Hastings, and Lexington placed third, fifth, and twelfth respectively. Kearney Catholic was fifth, Aurora seventh, Broken Bow eleventh, and Gothenburg thirteenth in Class C. Finally, in Class D, Elm Creek ended eighth, and Ravenna in twelfth.

For boys final results, Grand Island was fifth and Kearney tenth in Class A, while Class B had Lexington as the runner-up, Hastings in fifth, and Northwest tenth. Class C’s team champion was Gothenburg, Holdrege ended seventh, Minden eighth, and Aurora twelfth. Finally Class D saw Axtell as the runner-up, Doniphan-Trumbull in fourth, Nebraska Christian in eighth, GICC in eleventh, and Wood River in twelfth.

Full results and photo galleries from the event can be found at KGFW and Central Nebraska Today.

LOPER VOLLEYBALL STAYS IN TOP TEN:

The latest Division II AVCA Coaches Poll was released on Monday, with the UNK Volleyball team staying within the Top Ten rankings. 

UNK (13-1) moved up a spot to No. 9 from last week’s rankings and remains the highest ranked MIAA team. The Lopers went 3-0 last week with home wins over Doane, No. 20 Central Oklahoma, and Pittsburg State. 

Washburn (9-2) fell from No. 13 to No. 15 after losing to Central Missouri. Central Oklahoma – despite falling to UNK – moved up to No. 20 one spot higher than last week. 

Wayne State (11-1) remains the top team for the second consecutive week. 

NEBRASKA VOLLEYBALL REMAINS LOCKED AT No. 2 BEHIND BADGERS:

Nebraska Volleyball received six first place votes but continues to chase Wisconsin in this week’s AVCA Coaches Poll. 

The Huskers (11-0) are off to their best start since 2016 and have won four straight ranked matches. Nebraska placed behind No. 1 Wisconsin as the Badgers claimed the top spot for the fifth week in a row with fifty-eight first place votes. 

Nebraska has defeated the No. 3 (Stanford), No. 13 (Minnesota), No. 16 (Creighton), No. 22 (Ohio State), and No. 23 (Kentucky) teams in the country as of this week’s poll. 

The Huskers are at No. 17 Purdue on Friday for their fifth consecutive ranked match of the season. 

NEBRASKA FOOTBALL MONDAY PRACTICE COMMENTS – MATT RHULE:

RHULE – MICHIGAN PREVIEW; INJURY UPDATE:

Husker football head coach Matt Rhule opened his comments to the media during his Monday presser, giving an injury update and previewing the No. 2 Michigan Wolverines…

Nebraska hosts Michigan at 2:30 PM at Memorial Stadium on Saturday.

RHULE – RUSHING OFFENSE, DEFENSE IS GOOD BLUEPRINT:

Nebraska Football head coach Matt Rhule was asked at his Monday presser how the efficient rushing offense and defense aid in building the program…

The Huskers are No. 6 in rushing yards per contest and No. 1 in the country in rushing defense. 

RHULE – COPYING MICHIGAN PROGRAM:

Matt Rhule was asked at his Monday presser about what aspects of the Michigan football team he would like to emulate in relating to the Big Red…

Nebraska has ran the ball as efficiently as Michigan this season – if not better – with the Wolverines at No. 49 in rushing yards per game at 168 while Nebraska averages 235. 

RHULE – TOMMI HILL IS DYNAMIC, EXPLOSIVE:

One of Nebraska Football’s most dynamic players is receiver/corner combo Tommi Hill, according to head coach Matt Rhule. Rhule stated Monday that he thinks Hill is a difference maker on both sides of the ball…

Nebraska trusts Hill with the kickoff return duties after the season-ending injury to Rahmir Johnson.

RHULE – HAARBERG CONTINUES TO IMPROVE; KNOWS OPTION WELL:

Nebraska Football head coach Matt Rhule still has some time to choose his starting quarterback for the Huskers matchup against Michigan, as Rhule added that the Kearney Catholic alum Heinrich Haarberg has been impressive to watch in his improvement…

Haarberg is 2-0 as a starter having committed two turnovers in fumbles lost, but also rumbled for over 150 rushing yards last week leading Nebraska in yardage the past two weeks.

RHULE – BEST QUARTERBACK WILL START:

Nebraska Football continues to evaluate their quarterback situation between Heinrich Haarberg and Jeff Sims. Head Coach Matt Rhule addressed the scenario during his Monday press conference…

Rhule has stayed consistent in his message despite Sims being dressed and available for the Louisiana Tech contest last week.

NFL SCHEDULE/RESULTS:

MONDAY RESULTS:

Philadelphia Eagles 25-11 Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Cincinnati Bengals 19-16 Los Angeles Rams

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL SCHEDULE:

TUESDAY SCHEDULE:

Los Angeles Dodgers @ Colorado Rockies – 2:10 PM

Cincinnati Reds @ Cleveland Guardians – 5:10 PM

Washington Nationals @ Baltimore Orioles – 5:35 PM

Pittsburgh Pirates @ Philadelphia Phillies – 5:40 PM

Kansas City Royals @ Detroit Tigers – 5:40 PM

New York Yankees @ Toronto Blue Jays – 6:07 PM

Tampa Bay Rays @ Boston Red Sox – 6:10 PM

Miami Marlins @ New York Mets – 6:10 PM

Chicago Cubs @ Atlanta Braves – 6:20 PM

Arizona Diamondbacks @ Chicago White Sox – 6:40 PM

Oakland Athletics @ Minnesota Twins – 6:40 PM

St. Louis Cardinals @ Milwaukee Brewers – 6:40 PM

Los Angeles Dodgers @ Colorado Rockies – 7:40 PM

Texas Rangers @ Los Angeles Angels – 8:38 PM

San Diego Padres @ San Francisco Giants – 8:45 PM

Houston Astros @ Seattle Mariners – 9:05 PM

Buffalo County Results & Schedules:

THIS WEEK IN BUFFALO COUNTY SPORTS:

MONDAY:

High School Sports:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • Cross Country: UNK XC Invite
    • GIRLS – 3rd
    • BOYS – 10th
• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • Cross Country: UNK XC Invite
    • GIRLS – 5th
    • BOYS – 27th
• AMHERST:
  • Cross Country: UNK XC Invite
    • GIRLS – 34th
    • BOYS – 42nd
• PLEASANTON:.
  • Cross Country: UNK XC Invite
    • GIRLS – 27th
    • BOYS – DNF
• SHELTON:
  • Cross Country: UNK XC Invite
    • GIRLS – DNP
    • BOYS – 45th
• ELM CREEK:
  • Cross Country: UNK XC Invite
    • GIRLS – 8th
    • BOYS – DNP
• RAVENNA:
  • Cross Country: UNK XC Invite
    • GIRLS – 12th
    • BOYS – DNF

TUESDAY:

High School Sports:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • Softball: v. Hastings @ Patriot Park – 6:30 PM
  • Volleyball: v. Lincoln East @ Kearney High School – 6:30 PM
    • KGFW Pregame at 6:30 PM
• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • Girls Golf: @ Adams Central Invite @ Southern Hills Golf Course – 10 AM
  • Boys Tennis: v. KCHS Invite @ Harmon Park – 10 AM
  • Volleyball: @ GICC – 5 PM
  • Softball: @ Southern Valley Triangular – 5:30 PM
• AMHERST:
  • Volleyball: v. Southern Valley – 5 PM
  • Softball: @ Southern Valley Triangular – 5:30 PM
• PLEASANTON:.
  • Volleyball: @ Blue Hill – 6 PM
• GIBBON:
  • Girls Golf: @ Ravenna Invite – 10 AM
  • Volleyball: @ Kenesaw – 7 PM
• SHELTON:
  • Volleyball: v. Overton Triangular (v. Overton, v. Giltner) – 5 PM
• ELM CREEK:
  • N/a
• RAVENNA:
  • Girls Golf: @ Ravenna Invite – 10 AM
  • Volleyball: v. Doniphan-Trumbull – 7 PM

College Athletics:

• UNK LOPERS:
  • Women’s Golf: @ NCAA Central Regional Preview @ Bartlesville, OK
  • Volleyball: v. Fort Hays State @ Health & Sports Center – 6 PM
• HASTINGS COLLEGE BRONCOS:
  • Women’s Golf: v. Hastings College Invite – 10 AM
  • Men’s Golf: v. Hastings College Invite – 10 AM
• NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS:
  • N/a

KGFW Sports Schedule:

• Sports Nightly (6 PM – 6:30 PM)
• Kearney Volleyball v. Lincoln East (6:30 PM – 9 PM)