Kearney, Neb. - The 3rd-ranked Nebraska-Kearney volleyball team dug itself out of an early hole to sweep Colorado School of Mines (-23, -16, -11) and advance to the 2009 RMAC Tournament finals Saturday night.

The three-day, eight-team tournament is being played at the Health & Sports Center. A crowd of 1,094 watched the Lopers (33-1) push its win streak to 27 straight matches. Earlier Friday, 23rd-ranked Metro State won a thriller over 2nd-seed Mesa State, 3-2 (-20, -18, 21-25, 17-25, -6)

UNK and the Roadrunners (23-7) will play tomorrow at 7:00 p.m.; the Lopers have beaten Metro twice this year.

Moment of the Match
Mines got out to an 11-3 lead in the first set, thanks to four kills and three blocks. UNK roared back, grabbing its first lead, 20-19, after a kill from senior outside Erica Burson.

The 'Diggers bounced back themselves, going on a 4-1 run to sit just two points from a 1-0 match lead. However, UNK scored the set's final four points, two on kills and two via unforced Mines errors.

Over the next two sets, UNK would trail only once with Mines scoring a total of 27 points

Lopers of the Match
Nikki Scott (Sr., MH, Broken Bow) - 10 kills in 20 swings, .350 attack pct.
Jeri Walkowiak (Jr., MH, Grand Island) - 8 kills in 18 swings, .389 attack pct., 4 assists, 3 blocks, 2 digs, 2 aces; becomes the 2nd Loper to reach 1,000 career kills (now at 1k even)
Kelsey Werner (Jr., OH/RS, Grand Island) - 9 kills in 14 swings, .500 attack pct., 3 digs, 3 blocks
Burson (Sr., OH, Gretna) - 8 kills in 25 swings, 4 digs
Cola Svec (Jr., S, Elkhorn) - 32 assists, 12 digs, 3 kills, .300 attack pct.

Opponent Notes
Middle Kaity Edmiston had 6 kills and 5 blocks
Outside Elisabeth Serra-Hsu had 8 kills and 3 digs