HUSKER FOOTBALL INCHING HIGHER IN AP, COACHES POLLS:
Nebraska Football earned more respect in this week’s Top 25 polls.
Following the Huskers’ 34-3 victory over Northern Iowa on Saturday, Nebraska inched up to No. 22 in the USA Today Coaches Poll and to the same spot in the Associated Press Top 25. Nebraska was No. 24 in the Coaches Poll and No. 23 in the AP poll heading into Week Three.
The Huskers’ last ranked victory while being rated in the Top 25 came in late October 2011 as the No. 14 Big Red handled No. 11 Michigan State 24-3. Nebraska’s last ranked-on-ranked matchup was 2016, as No. 6 Ohio State dominated the No. 10 Huskers 62-3 in Columbus.
In the AP poll, seven Big Ten teams earned poll spots despite most teams dropping from their Week Two rankings. Conference teams included Ohio State (No. 3), Oregon (No. 9), Penn State (No. 10), USC (No. 11), Michigan (No. 18), Nebraska (No. 22), and Illinois (No. 24). Other Big Ten programs receiving votes included Iowa and Indiana.
HUSKER VOLLEYBALL SWEEPS ON WEEKEND, SETS UP STANFORD ON WEDNESDAY:
Husker Volleyball defeated Arizona State and Wichita State over the weekend, hammering the Shockers, 25-13, 25-12, 25-12 on Saturday. The Huskers also swept Arizona State on Friday.
That closed a 3-0 week for the Huskers ahead of Nebraska’s monster matchup with No. 2 Stanford Wednesday. It’s the fourth straight year Nebraska and Stanford will meet. Last year Nebraska won in four sets.
UNK VOLLEYBALL CONTINUES UNBEATEN START TO SEASON, HASTINGS ON TUESDAY:
The sixth-ranked Nebraska-Kearney volleyball team has now swept nine straight opponents after downing Oklahoma Christian (25-14, 25 -12, 25 -10) and Chadron State (25-13, 25-16, 25-13) Saturday at the Health & Sports Center.
These matches were part of the annual Rosella Meier Fall Classic and UNK again went 4-0 in the event to move to 9-0 on the young season. They wrap up a six-match homestand Tuesday night when Hastings (8-2) comes to town.
UNK held both of its Friday opponents to a negative hitting efficiency and almost did it again as the previously unbeaten OC Eagles finished up at -.020 (20-22-101) with Chadron at .069 (24-17-101). The Lopers averaged just under 18 digs per set while also recording 13 team blocks and serving up 11 aces.
UNK WOMEN’S SOCCER SETS SCORING RECORD AGAINST MINNESOTA-MOORHEAD:
The Nebraska-Kearney women’s soccer team scored four second half goals to down Minnesota State-Moorhead, 5-0, Sunday afternoon at Ron & Carol Cope Stadium.
The Lopers (3-0-1) have another undefeated weekend and will be home again as they host Western Colorado (Sept. 20) and Black Hills State, S.D. (Sept. 22). WCU is currently 1-3-0 and BHSU 0-2-2.
The five goals are the most scored by a UNK team in a game since the program began in 2009. The 2010 Lopers beat Colorado-Colorado Springs by a 6-2 count, but the tally included two own goals by UCCS. UNK also scored four goals in four different games between 2012-15.
DOLPHINS QB TAGOVAILOA TO SEE NEUROLOGIST AFTER THIRD CONCUSSION IN NFL:
Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa will see a neurologist this week after suffering his fourth diagnosed concussion in five years and his third while in the NFL, a person familiar with his plans told The Associated Press on Sunday.
Tagovailoa is focused on getting better and gathering information and isn’t thinking about retiring, according to the person who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity for privacy reasons.
Tagovailoa was injured on a scramble when he lowered his head and collided into Bills safety Damar Hamlin during Miami’s 31-10 loss to Buffalo on Thursday night.
NEBRASKA BASKETBALL TO KICK OFF SEASON WITH OPENING NIGHT OUTDOORS:
The tipoff of the 2024-25 season moves to the streets, as Opening Night presented by SCHEELS will take place on Friday, Oct. 4.
This interactive, fan-friendly event will take place on Canopy Street between R and Q Streets, as the street next to the Railyard near Pinnacle Bank Arena will be closed for the event. The event starts at 7 p.m. includes both the Husker men’s and women’s programs and is free to the public.
Opening Night will feature introductions of both Husker teams, remarks from Head Coaches Fred Hoiberg and Amy Williams and selected players, contests with players and fans and much more. In case of inclement weather, the event will be canceled.
Both Husker teams come off NCAA Tournament appearances in 2023-24 and have many of their key returnees back this season.
THOUGHT THE PAC 12 WAS DEAD? THINK AGAIN! 4 NEW POTENTIAL MEMBERS:
The Pac-12 is ready to begin its rebuild, targeting Boise State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Colorado State of the Mountain West, with those schools applying for membership as soon as this week, two people with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press on Wednesday night.
The people spoke on condition of anonymity because the conference’s plans and discussions with possible new members were not being made public.
The Pac-12 is currently a two-school conference, with Oregon State and Washington State the only remaining members after the league was picked apart last year by other power conferences.
NCAA rules allow for a conference to operate with only two schools for two years. Teresa Gould was hired to be the Pac-12 commissioner earlier this year, leading a slimmed down league office.
Leaders at Oregon State and Washington State have insisted since the conference collapsed last year their priority was to rebuild.
HUSKER VOLLEYBALL WINS IN-STATE BARN BURNER AGAINST CREIGHTON:
The No. 5 Nebraska volleyball team won a 3-2 thriller against No. 9 Creighton on Tuesday night, 25-19, 25-16, 31-33, 16-25, 15-10, in front of a crowd of 8,924 at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.
Nebraska improved to 6-1 on the season while Creighton suffered its first loss to fall to 5-1.
The Huskers were balanced offensively with Harper Murray (16 kills), Andi Jackson (15 kills), Lindsay Krause (15 kills) and Merritt Beason (14 kills) leading the way. Murray had a double-double with her 16 kills and 14 digs, and Jackson had career highs in both kills (15) and blocks (8) while hitting .379. Krause added five blocks, and Beason hit .306. Rebekah Allick chipped in nine kills and hit .333.
Bergen Reilly had a career-high 57 assists to go with 13 digs, three blocks and three kills. Lexi Rodriguez put up a season-best 21 digs. Laney Choboy added 12, and Olivia Mauch had seven.
Nebraska had a .234 hitting percentage in the match, and Creighton hit .209.
Norah Sis had 24 kills and 11 digs for Creighton. Ava Martin totaled 17 kills and 17 digs.
UNK OPENS UP HOME STRETCH WITH SWEEP OF PERU STATE:
The now sixth-ranked Nebraska Kearney volleyball team got 13 kills from sophomore outside Carly Purdy and 19 players took to the court in a sweep of Peru State (25-10, 25-13, 25-18) Tuesday night at the Health & Sports Center.
This was the home opener for the Lopers who host the annual Rosella Meier Fall Classic this weekend. The opponents will be Chadron State, Missouri Southern, Mary (N.D.) and Oklahoma Christian.
UNK was hitting over .400 heading into the third set and got kills from 11 different players. Purdy (North Platte) had the hottest hand, reaching her match-high total in 23 swings (.478 pct.). Next, junior outside Emilee Lane (Hays, Kan.) had eight kills and hit .333 with senior outside Asha Reiger (Newton, Kan.) at five kills in just eight attempts (.625 pct.).
HASTINGS COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL PLAYERS EARN GPAC HONORS:
Hastings Colleges’ Miriam Miller received the GPAC Defender of the Week and Alexis Pontine received the GPAC Setter of the Week, as announced by the conference yesterday.
Miller, a senior from Lincoln, Nebraska, led the Broncos defensively by registering 64 digs in three contests, including 25 digs in the conference opening sweep of Doane. She averaged 8.33 digs per set against Doane and 7.67 digs per set against MidAmerica Nazarene. Out of her 35 receive attempts, she did not commit a single error. Miller also added nine assists and five aces during the week.
Pontine, a junior from Ignacio, Colorado, registered 93 assists across the Broncos three games this week leading to a 2-1 record. Against Doane, she recorded 39 assists, averaging 13 assists per set. For the week she averaged 10.33 assists per set. Pontine also added two kills, one of which led to a match point against Doane.
POCHETTINO HIRED TO LEAD USMNT:
Former Tottenham and Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino was hired Tuesday to succeed Gregg Berhalter as U.S. men’s national team coach, 21 months before the Americans host the 2026 World Cup.
A 52-year-old Argentine, Pochettino became the 10th U.S. coach in 14 years and its first foreign-born leader since Jurgen Klinsmann from 2011-16. Pochettino has coached Espanyol in Spain (2009-12), Southampton (2013-14), Tottenham (2014-19) and Chelsea (2023-24) in England and Paris Saint-Germain in France (2021-22), leaving after winning a Ligue 1 title.
“It’s about the journey that this team and this country are on,” Pochettino said in a statement released by the USSF. “The energy, the passion, and the hunger to achieve something truly historic here — those are the things that inspired me.”
Pochettino had an initial meeting with USSF CEO JT Batson and sporting director Matt Crocker in Barcelona that stretched for five hours and had been in negotiations since mid-August. Crocker was Southampton’s academy director when Pochettino started at that club.
NEBRASKA VOLLEYBALL RANKED FIFTH IN AVCA POLL:
Nebraska Volleyball fell to fifth in the latest edition of the AVCA Volleyball poll that was released yesterday. The Huskers dropped three spots from second.
The new No. 1 is Pittsburgh, followed by Stanford, Penn State, and Louisville.
Last week’s No. 1, Texas, fell all the way to sixth.
NEBRASKA NO. 1 PLAYER COMMITS TO HUSKERS:
The No. 1 player in the state of Nebraska for the class of 2025 has officially committed to the Cornhuskers. Omaha Westside Linebacker Christian Jones, a four-star recruit, announced his commitment yesterday.
Jones, the No. 19 linebacker in the country according to 247Sports, picked the Huskers over USC, Boston College, Iowa, and Iowa State.
KEARNEY HIGH TO BUILD ADDITION TO SUPPORT GIRLS WRESTLING:
Kearney High School will build an addition for its women’s wrestling program.
The 28,704-square-foot KHS flex space addition will be constructed on the south end of Kearney High School. This cutting-edge facility will house dedicated spaces for the new girls’ wrestling team, a JROTC air rifle range, and an indoor drill area for JROTC cadets, providing essential room for these growing programs. Additionally, the indoor addition will serve as a versatile venue for extracurricular activities like marching band, competitive dance, athletic teams, and other student groups.
“With the addition of the girls wrestling team and the JROTC program, it’s crucial that we provide spaces that meet the needs of these programs and provide even more opportunities for our students,” said Superintendent Jason Mundorf. This will provide our girls wrestling program with their own wrestling room for practices and our JROTC program with a required air rifle range for marksmanship practice. The flex space will be an amazing facility for our drill team to practice for competitions in as well as a tremendous resource for our other extracurricular and co-curricular programs. There is little doubt this facility will be one of the most utilized spaces on the Kearney High footprint and an incredible addition to an already fantastic facility. We really appreciate the Board’s commitment to supporting our programs and the facilities for them.”
Designed by Wilkins Architecture Design Planning of Kearney, the $10.3 million project will be funded through a seven-year lease-purchase agreement with a local bank, with annual repayments of approximately $2 million.
In addition to the new addition at KHS, KPS is also addressing the needs of Central Elementary with the construction of a new south entrance.
NEBRASKA RANKED IN POLLS FOR FIRST TIME SINCE 2019:
Nebraska thrashed Colorado, 28-10, and the nation has taken notice.
The Associated Press ranked the Huskers No. 23 while the coaches poll listed NU No. 24, marking the first time since early in the 2019 season that the Huskers have been in the polls. The No. 23 ranking is the highest for Nebraska since late in 2016.
The Huskers have started 2-0 for the first time since 2016. Nebraska is next in action Saturday at 6:30 p.m. against FCS foe Northern Iowa.
UNK FOOTBALL DEFEATS NORTHWEST MISSOURI:
Graduate quarterback Reagan Jones accounted for three touchdowns and 215 yards of total offense, and the Nebraska-Kearney defense recorded another second half shut out to help the Lopers beat 22nd-ranked Northwest Missouri State, 21-14, Saturday night at Ron & Carol Cope Stadium.
The Lopers (2-0) pick up their fifth all-time win over the Bearcats who fall to 0-2 for the first time since 1995. UNK also beat Northwest for the second time in the last three meetings at Foster Field.
Jones (Wichita) ran 14 times for a game-high 74 yards and had second half scoring runs of two and 12 yards. In the first quarter, he threw a 26-yard TD pass to junior back Zane Schawang (Waverly). He finished 15 of 30 for 141 yards and completed passes to seven different teammates. This was his fourth time playing Northwest, a rival of his former school of Missouri Western.
UNK is off next Saturday before hosting Central Oklahoma on Sept. 21.
KHS BOYS SOCCER RECOGNIZED FOR WORK IN CLASSROOM:
Kearney High School’s Boys Soccer Team has been recognized with the United Soccer Coaches Association’s National Team Academic Award for the 2023-24 academic year. This prestigious accolade marks the eighth consecutive season that the Bearcats have achieved this honor, making them the only high school boys’ soccer team in Nebraska to do so.
“I am immensely proud of our soccer student-athletes again this year,” said Jeff Ganz, Principal of Kearney High School. “This award highlights our dedication to nurturing well-rounded individuals who thrive both academically and athletically. Coach Steinbrook has cultivated an environment where education is as highly valued as athletic achievement year after year.”
In total, 291 soccer teams (116 boys and 175 girls) nationwide achieved a team grade point average of 3.25 or higher, qualifying for the United Soccer Coaches Team Academic Award for the 2023-24 academic year.
The KHS Boys Soccer Team achieved an impressive collective GPA of 3.46, significantly surpassing the 3.25 threshold required for the award. The team’s GPA is calculated by averaging the GPAs of all players.
HILL DETAINED BEFORE ARRIVING TO DOLPHINS GAME, OFFICER ON LEAVE:
Miami Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill was handcuffed and placed face down on a street outside the team’s stadium after he was stopped for speeding and reckless driving Sunday morning before the Dolphins’ first game of the season, an incident that left the star wide receiver baffled and resulted in a police officer being placed on administrative leave.
The officer, who was not identified, was one of at least three involved in detaining Hill. Some fans saw Hill being handcuffed and captured video on their way to the game, and it quickly went viral on social media.
Miami-Dade Police director Stephanie V. Daniels said she had launched an internal affairs investigation.
Hill starred on the field for the Dolphins, catching seven passes for 130 yards — including an 80-yard touchdown that helped Miami rally for a 20-17 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. Hill celebrated the score by mimicking being handcuffed.
MONDAY KGFW Sports Schedule:
- High School Coaches Show 5-6PM (KGFW)
- Sports Nightly, 6-8PM (KGFW)
