Kearney, Neb. - The 7th-ranked Nebraska-Kearney volleyball team rebounded from a Friday night loss by sweeping Newman of Kansas (-12, -18, -19) and St. Cloud State (-12, -19, -15) Saturday at the Health & Sports Center.

The Lopers improve to 7-2 and joined St. Cloud (5-3) and Mesa State (5-3) as teams to go 3-1 in this year's UNK Fall Classic presented by Country Inn & Suites and Runza.

After losing in five sets to Mesa on Friday, UNK rebounded in style by rolling past both the Jets (3-6) early this afternoon.

Sophomore outside Ariel Krolikowski (Grand Island) had a team-high 12 kills and hit .346 with freshman middle Ellie Pesavento (Omaha Marian) providing six kills and a team-best .417 attack percentage.

There were only five lead changes in the match, all in the third set. Newman hit just .056 (23-17-108) as UNK dug up 57 balls and recorded four team blocks.

This evening, the Lopers faced a Husky squad that had won its first three matches in the tournament. However, UNK hit .315 (43-8-111) to never seriously be challenged.

Also, some strong severing by sophomore Kaleigh Anderson (Lincoln) threw SCSU off its game. The Southwest grad served up nine straight points in the first set, to erase a 6-3 deficit, and then served 10 straight points in the third set.

Senior middle Jeri Walkowiak (Grand Island) had 16 kills and hit .483 with Pesavento having eight kills in 15 swings, good for a .533 hitting efficiency. Defensively, four Lopers reached double digit dig totals, including Krolikowski (12) and Anderson (10).

UNK begins RMAC play next week when N.M. Highlands (Thurs.), CSU-Pueblo (Fri.) and Adams State (Sat.) visit.

Other Saturday Scores
Mesa State 3, Quincy of Illinois 0 (-17, -22, -16)
Mesa State 3, Newman 0 (-21, -20, -18); NU went 1-3 in the tourney
St. Cloud 3, Quincy 0 (-18, -15, -24); QU went 0-4 in the tourney

All-Tourney Team
Tara King, Mesa (MVP)
Meagan Bosch, Mesa
Kayla Tschida, SCSU
Ashley Shields, SCSU
Walkowiak, UNK
Krolikowski, UNK
Cola Svec, UNK