Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 Kearney, Neb. – The 15th-ranked Nebraska-Kearney volleyball team got big efforts from junior Annie Wolfe and sophomore Kaitlynn Thomas to beat Mary in four sets and Chadron State in three Friday at the Health & Sports Center.
 
The matches were part of the New Victorian Inn & Suites/Runza Fall Classic. Four other matches were played, resulting in 12 hours of almost continuous volleyball.
 
To beat a pesky Mary Marauder team (-17, 21-25, -17, -28) from Bismarck, N.D., UNK needed all 20 kills from Thomas (Ashland-Greenwood H.S.).
 
UNK took advantage of 12 UM (2-4) service errors and also recorded 12 more kills, 63-51. However, Mary hung around all afternoon thanks to nine team blocks and a .230 hitting efficiency.
 
In the pivotal fourth set, the Marauders led 24-22 but Kearney got a kill from Wolfe (Omaha Marian H.S.) and two from freshman Connar Newberry (McKinney, Texas) to reach set point.
 
Both clubs would then go back and forth reaching set points before the Lopers finished on a 3-0 run, highlighted by back-to-back kills by Thomas.
 
Hitting .285 as a team, UNK saw Thomas reach her career-high kill total in 41 swings. Having just five errors to hit .366, Thomas had nine more kills against the Eagles.
 
Besides Thomas vs. Mary, five different Lopers had between six-eight kills, including Wolfe and Newberry. Wolfe also dug up 11 balls with freshman setter Lindsey Smith (Dakota Dunes, SD) having 48 assists, eight digs, three blocks, three kills and an ace.
 
Against Chadron (1-5), the Lopers used a strong serve game to win in straight sets (-15, -12, -14). Kearney hasn't lost to CSC in volleyball since the mid-1980's, a stretch of over 60 consecutive wins.
 
Smith had a team-high four aces with senior setter/outside hitter Erin Seele (Johnstown, Colo.) having three and Wolfe adding two more. UNK hit a solid .337 (42-12-89) while CSC came in at .080. Offensively, Wolfe had a team-best 13 kills and hit .632.
 
UNK faces NW Oklahoma State and Sioux Falls on Saturday
 
Other Scores
Illinois-Springfield 3, Chadron 0 (-21, 22-25, -22, -21)
Sioux Falls 3, NW Oklahoma 1 (-15, -22, 24-26, -22)
Mary 3, NW Oklahoma 2 (-22, -21, 22-25, 21-25, -14)
Sioux Falls 3, Ill.-Springfield 0 (-28, -10, -14)