On May 21st and 22nd, the best of Nebraska High School Class D boys’ golfers will unite in North Platte for the NSAA State Championship Golf Tournament. The two-day event is expected to draw 90-105 golfers from across the state to the Lake Maloney Golf Course. Tee times will begin from holes 1 and 10 at 9:00am on Tuesday, May 21st . Just under 100 competitors participated in the championship tournaments in 2021 and 2022. Class D, which is comprised of the smallest schools with boys’ golf programs, many located in out-state Nebraska, traditionally travels very well. Many fans, friends and family make the trip to North Platte to watch the competition. Based on a formula provided by the National Association of Sports Commissions, the participants and their followers account for an estimated $40,000 in direct travel spending in North Platte each year. Lisa Burke, Executive Director of the Visitors Bureau said, “This tournament kicks off at the perfect time of year, when the peak summer travel season is just beginning. Attracting hundreds of additional visitors to our community, for two or three days in May, benefits our retail shops, service stations, restaurants, and lodging. The money the visitors spend is spent a number of times throughout North Platte, benefiting the entire community.” This year’s event wouldn’t be possible without the help of our sponsors: Wilkinson Companies – Best Western Plus &amp; Holiday Inn Express, Pepsi, Mike Sides with Clear Frontier, NebraskaLand National Bank, Birdwood Beef, Northwestern Energy, Hild Propane, Premier Toyota, Hampton Inn by Hilton, Equitable Bank, Farm Bureau Financial – Jay Engel, Sandhills Physical Therapy, Tru by Hilton, Lindemeier Law Office, Gateway Realty, La Quinta, Hershey State Bank, Edward Jones, Professional Financial Advisors, Title Services of the Plains, NP Party Bus, and Farm Credit Services of America. Additionally, Visit North Platte and Lake Maloney Golf Course will be hosting the NSAA Class C Girls State Golf Championship Tournament in October of 2024, 2025, and 2026. Follow Visit North Platte on Facebook for upcoming information on events in Lincoln County. You can also view our event calendar at https://www.visitnorthplatte.com/events/.&nbsp;

Story by NSAA CommunicationsOn May 21st and 22nd, the best of Nebraska High School Class D boys’ golfers will unite in North Platte for the NSAA State Championship Golf Tournament. The two-day event is expected to draw 90-105 golfers from across the state to the Lake Maloney Golf Course. Tee times will begin from holes 1 and 10 at 9:00am on Tuesday, May 21st . Just under 100 competitors participated in the championship tournaments in 2021 and 2022. Class D, which is comprised of the smallest schools with boys’ golf programs, many located in out-state Nebraska, traditionally travels very well. Many fans, friends and family make the trip to North Platte to watch the competition. Based on a formula provided by the National Association of Sports Commissions, the participants and their followers account for an estimated $40,000 in direct travel spending in North Platte each year. Lisa Burke, Executive Director of the Visitors Bureau said, “This tournament kicks off at the perfect time of year, when the peak summer travel season is just beginning. Attracting hundreds of additional visitors to our community, for two or three days in May, benefits our retail shops, service stations, restaurants, and lodging. The money the visitors spend is spent a number of times throughout North Platte, benefiting the entire community.” This year’s event wouldn’t be possible without the help of our sponsors: Wilkinson Companies – Best Western Plus &amp; Holiday Inn Express, Pepsi, Mike Sides with Clear Frontier, NebraskaLand National Bank, Birdwood Beef, Northwestern Energy, Hild Propane, Premier Toyota, Hampton Inn by Hilton, Equitable Bank, Farm Bureau Financial – Jay Engel, Sandhills Physical Therapy, Tru by Hilton, Lindemeier Law Office, Gateway Realty, La Quinta, Hershey State Bank, Edward Jones, Professional Financial Advisors, Title Services of the Plains, NP Party Bus, and Farm Credit Services of America. Additionally, Visit North Platte and Lake Maloney Golf Course will be hosting the NSAA Class C Girls State Golf Championship Tournament in October of 2024, 2025, and 2026. Follow Visit North Platte on Facebook for upcoming information on events in Lincoln County. You can also view our event calendar at https://www.visitnorthplatte.com/events/.&nbsp;

Bringing Sports Tourism to North Platte through Golf

Story by NU Athletic Communications

The Nebraska women’s soccer team welcomed forward Gracie English and defender Reese Snowden to the team on May 13, as the pair joins Anya McKay, Maddy Osborn and Rin Sato as additions to the 2024 Husker squad.&nbsp;

English joins the Huskers as a graduate transfer after competing at Saint Louis in her freshman and sophomore years and Missouri State for her junior and senior seasons. With the Billikens, she helped the team to two conference titles before starting 16 of 20 games and scoring two goals and three assists at Missouri State the following year. In her senior season, English started all 19 games, tallied a team-leading seven goals with three assists and tied the program record with five game-winning goals. She led the conference in shots and shots on goal percentage, and earned MVC All-Conference First-Team honors.&nbsp;

In high school, English played for Coach James Chambers at Belleville East High School in Belleville, Ill. She scored 16 goals in one season as a junior and during her career, earned first-team all-conference, all-sectional and McDonald’s Soccer Student-Athlete of the Week honors.&nbsp;

Snowden, a previous commit to Kansas State, will provide depth to the Husker backfield. The Manhattan, Kan., native helped Manhattan High School to three-straight Kansas Class 6A fourth-place finishes, while being recognized as a three-time KHSSA Class 6A All-State Second Team selection and three-time All-State selection. Snowden tallied 48 goals and 28 assists, while collecting Centennial League Player of the Year honors. Additionally, she was named to the 2023 All-Centennial League First Team.&nbsp;

On the club side, Snowden played for Coach Colin Bulwich at Sporting Blue Valley ECNL, where she helped the team to a third-place finish at the 2022 ECNL Nationals.&nbsp;

Story by NU Athletic CommunicationsThe Nebraska women’s soccer team welcomed forward Gracie English and defender Reese Snowden to the team on May 13, as the pair joins Anya McKay, Maddy Osborn and Rin Sato as additions to the 2024 Husker squad.&nbsp;English joins the Huskers as a graduate transfer after competing at Saint Louis in her freshman and sophomore years and Missouri State for her junior and senior seasons. With the Billikens, she helped the team to two conference titles before starting 16 of 20 games and scoring two goals and three assists at Missouri State the following year. In her senior season, English started all 19 games, tallied a team-leading seven goals with three assists and tied the program record with five game-winning goals. She led the conference in shots and shots on goal percentage, and earned MVC All-Conference First-Team honors.&nbsp;In high school, English played for Coach James Chambers at Belleville East High School in Belleville, Ill. She scored 16 goals in one season as a junior and during her career, earned first-team all-conference, all-sectional and McDonald’s Soccer Student-Athlete of the Week honors.&nbsp;Snowden, a previous commit to Kansas State, will provide depth to the Husker backfield. The Manhattan, Kan., native helped Manhattan High School to three-straight Kansas Class 6A fourth-place finishes, while being recognized as a three-time KHSSA Class 6A All-State Second Team selection and three-time All-State selection. Snowden tallied 48 goals and 28 assists, while collecting Centennial League Player of the Year honors. Additionally, she was named to the 2023 All-Centennial League First Team.&nbsp;On the club side, Snowden played for Coach Colin Bulwich at Sporting Blue Valley ECNL, where she helped the team to a third-place finish at the 2022 ECNL Nationals.&nbsp;

Husker Soccer welcomes English, Snowden for 2024

Reid Loop (11), 74Landon Kmoch (11), 76Cole Graham (12), 79Kolton Koetter (11), 85Trenton Raile (10), 90

Axel Andersen (11), 75Braeden Dyer (9), 80Cole Redding (10), 80Brayden Underwood (11), 85Decker Shestak (12), 89

Thomas Dredla (12), 79Wisley Mooc (12), 80GrahamNoah Shaddick (11), 81Blake Grasmick (11), 84Isaiah Jones (12), 86

<h2>Class B-4</h2>Individual Qualifiers:1. Reid Loop (11), McCook, 742. Hayden Russman (12), Cozad, 753. Axel Andersen (11), Adams Central, 754. Landon Kmoch (11), McCook, 765. John Maser (11), Gering, 776. Cole Martin (12), Northwest, 787. Cole Graham (12), McCook, 798. Thomas Dredla (12), Scottsbluff, 799. Wisley Mooc (12), Scottsbluff, 8010. Cole Redding (10), Adams Central, 8010. Braeden Dyer (9), Adams Central, 8010. Benjamin Yocom (12), Cozad, 8010. Caleb Castillo (12), Ogallala, 80Qualifying Teams:McCook, 314Coach: Ben VetrovskyReid Loop (11), 74Landon Kmoch (11), 76Cole Graham (12), 79Kolton Koetter (11), 85Trenton Raile (10), 90Adams Central, 320Coach: Rod HartmanAxel Andersen (11), 75Braeden Dyer (9), 80Cole Redding (10), 80Brayden Underwood (11), 85Decker Shestak (12), 89Scottsbluff, 324Coach: Brock EhlerThomas Dredla (12), 79Wisley Mooc (12), 80GrahamNoah Shaddick (11), 81Blake Grasmick (11), 84Isaiah Jones (12), 86Individual Qualifiers:CozadCoach: Jayce DuelandHayden Russman (12), 75GeringCoach: Danny O'BoyleJohn Maser (11), 77NorthwestCoach: Jake HerrmannCole Martin (12), 78OgallalaCoach: Zac WhiteCaleb Castillo (12), 80CozadCoach: Jayce DuelandBenjamin Yocom (12), 80Final Team Scores:McCook, 314Adams Central, 320Scottsbluff, 324Gering, 330Northwest, 345Holdrege, 347Alliance, 348Cozad, 350Sidney, 366Ogallala, 367Hastings, 388Lexington, 389

District Boy's Golf Class B

1. Nash Malone (10), Kearney Catholic, 69

2. Tate Redinger (11), Kearney Catholic, 73

5. Jackson Dunham (11), Kearney Catholic, 76

8. Zaybreon Hansen (11), Perkins County, 81

10. Gavin Wisnieski (11), Chase County, 83

10. Will Hogeland (11), Kearney Catholic, 83

Nash Malone (10), 69Tate Redinger (11), 73Jackson Dunham (11), 76Will Hogeland (11), 83Cale Krohn (11), 89

Austin Adelung (12), 76Cope Smith (10), 76Kyler Jones (11), 85Braylon Russell (11), 86Chase Korth (12), 87

Broc Berry (12), 76Zane Cullers (11), 84Andrew Gothard (11), 86Tobin Meyer (10), 88Trey Hendrickson (12), 91

<h2>Class C-5</h2>Individual Qualifiers:1. Nash Malone (10), Kearney Catholic, 692. Tate Redinger (11), Kearney Catholic, 733. Cael Peters (12), Mitchell, 754. Cope Smith (10), Amherst, 765. Jackson Dunham (11), Kearney Catholic, 766. Austin Adelung (12), Amherst, 767. Broc Berry (12), Chadron, 768. Zaybreon Hansen (11), Perkins County, 819. William VanBoening (10), Alma, 8210. Gavin Wisnieski (11), Chase County, 8310. Will Hogeland (11), Kearney Catholic, 8310. Jack White (9), Broken Bow, 83Qualifying Teams:Kearney Catholic, 301Coach: Darrell DunhamNash Malone (10), 69Tate Redinger (11), 73Jackson Dunham (11), 76Will Hogeland (11), 83Cale Krohn (11), 89Amherst, 323Coach: Brian FisherAustin Adelung (12), 76Cope Smith (10), 76Kyler Jones (11), 85Braylon Russell (11), 86Chase Korth (12), 87Chadron, 334Coach: CJ BachBroc Berry (12), 76Zane Cullers (11), 84Andrew Gothard (11), 86Tobin Meyer (10), 88Trey Hendrickson (12), 91Individual Qualifiers:MitchellCoach: Nick KuxhausenCael Peters (12), 75Perkins CountyCoach: Mark JolliffeZaybreon Hansen (11), 81AlmaCoach: Brendan JohnsenWilliam VanBoening (10), 82Broken BowCoach: Riley WeemsJack White (9), 83Chase CountyCoach: Marissa McDanielGavin Wisnieski (11), 83Final Team Scores:Kearney Catholic, 301Amherst, 323Chadron, 334Broken Bow, 347Gothenburg, 362Hi-Line, 362Alma, 366Bridgeport, 367Mitchell, 371Valentine, 373Chase County, 381Perkins County, 384Hershey, 441Gordon-Rushville, NTS

District Boy's Golf Class C

2. Colin Cooksley (12), Anselmo-Merna, 80

3. Bryson Gadeken (12), Neligh-Oakdale, 80

5. Brady Haake (11), Sandhills/Thedford, 81

7. Dawson Doggett (12), South Loup (Callaway/Arnold), 86

8. Chase Furstenau (12), Neligh-Oakdale, 86

9. Cache Gracey (12), South Loup (Callaway/Arnold), 87

10. Ethan Weems (12), Sandhills Valley, 87

Bryson Gadeken (12), 80Chase Furstenau (12), 86Corbin Hoefer (10), 93Jacob Henery (12), 96Kegan Payne (12), 98

Dawson Doggett (12), 86Cache Gracey (12), 87Joseph Sallach (12), 94Haydn Stretesky (10), 98Harper Johnson (11), 100

Colin Cooksley (12), 80Aaron Bartak (12), 83Barrett McIntyre (9), 104Quinten Myers (12), 105Adyson Priest (12), 122

Coach: Taylor Stech Co-op w/Wheeler Central

Coach: Mark Otten (Co-op w/Keya Paha Co.)

5. Braxton Hammond (12), Southern Valley, 85

6. Brayden Melchert (10), Hitchcock County, 85

8. Ashton ParkerJohnson (12), Hitchcock County, 86

Tyson Essex (11), 75Gavin Norris (11), 80Grady Keeshan (9), 95Luke Larson (11), 98Zachary Rademaker (12), 102

Brayden Melchert (10), 85Jack Baker (10), 85Ashton ParkerJohnson (12), 86Mason Schilke (11), 92Darin Neben (12), 96

Braden Fleischman (12), 82Alexander Banzhaf (12), 89Brody Fleischman (11), 89Eli Luther (10), 92Jace Jeffries (11), 112

<h2>Class D-3</h2>Individual Qualifiers:1. William Jesse (11), CWC, 732. Colin Cooksley (12), Anselmo-Merna, 803. Bryson Gadeken (12), Neligh-Oakdale, 804. Keian Fischer (9), North Central, 805. Brady Haake (11), Sandhills/Thedford, 816. Aaron Bartak (12), Anselmo-Merna, 837. Dawson Doggett (12), South Loup (Callaway/Arnold), 868. Chase Furstenau (12), Neligh-Oakdale, 869. Cache Gracey (12), South Loup (Callaway/Arnold), 8710. Ethan Weems (12), Sandhills Valley, 87Qualifying Teams:Neligh-Oakdale, 355Coach: Dexter HanzelBryson Gadeken (12), 80Chase Furstenau (12), 86Corbin Hoefer (10), 93Jacob Henery (12), 96Kegan Payne (12), 98South Loup (Callaway/Arnold), 365Coach: Jarod Rush (Co-op w/Arnold)Dawson Doggett (12), 86Cache Gracey (12), 87Joseph Sallach (12), 94Haydn Stretesky (10), 98Harper Johnson (11), 100Anselmo-Merna, 372Coach: Spencer GoodmanColin Cooksley (12), 80Aaron Bartak (12), 83Barrett McIntyre (9), 104Quinten Myers (12), 105Adyson Priest (12), 122Individual Qualifiers:CWCCoach: Taylor Stech Co-op w/Wheeler CentralWilliam Jesse (11), 73North CentralCoach: Mark Otten (Co-op w/Keya Paha Co.)Keian Fischer (9), 80Sandhills/ThedfordCoach: Mick Hartwig (Co-op w/Sandhills)Brady Haake (11), 81Sandhills ValleyCoach: Gary HalsteadEthan Weems (12), 87Final Team Scores:Neligh-Oakdale, 355South Loup (Callaway/Arnold), 365Anselmo-Merna, 372North Central, 372CWC, 375Ainsworth, 392Sandhills Valley, 394Elgin Public/Pope John, 399Burwell, 403Niobrara/Verdigre, 427Boyd County, 431Riverside, 475Central Valley, 475Stuart, NTSSandhills/Thedford, NTS&nbsp;<h2>Class D-4</h2>Individual Qualifiers:1. Tyson Essex (11), Loomis, 752. Gavin Norris (11), Loomis, 803. Kamden Bose (12), Southern Valley, 814. Braden Fleischman (12), Overton, 825. Braxton Hammond (12), Southern Valley, 856. Brayden Melchert (10), Hitchcock County, 857. Jack Baker (10), Hitchcock County, 858. Ashton ParkerJohnson (12), Hitchcock County, 869. Colton Sedlacek (12), Southwest, 8610. Ethan Morgan (12), Axtell, 88T10. Micah Gerlach (10), Cambridge, 88T10. Tyce Pate (11), Medicine Valley, 88Qualifying Teams:Loomis, 348Coach: Gene SamuelsonTyson Essex (11), 75Gavin Norris (11), 80Grady Keeshan (9), 95Luke Larson (11), 98Zachary Rademaker (12), 102Hitchcock County, 348Coach: Adam WrightBrayden Melchert (10), 85Jack Baker (10), 85Ashton ParkerJohnson (12), 86Mason Schilke (11), 92Darin Neben (12), 96Overton, 352Coach: Brian FleischmanBraden Fleischman (12), 82Alexander Banzhaf (12), 89Brody Fleischman (11), 89Eli Luther (10), 92Jace Jeffries (11), 112Individual Qualifiers:Southern ValleyCoach: Jeremy EppKamden Bose (12), 81Southern ValleyCoach: Jeremy EppBraxton Hammond (12), 85SouthwestCoach: Dennis HengenColton Sedlacek (12), 86CambridgeCoach: Lyle CalvertMicah Gerlach (10), 88AxtellCoach: Donnie MillerEthan Morgan (12), 88Medicine ValleyCoach: Jason MaierTyce Pate (11), 88Final Team Scores:Loomis, 348Hitchcock County, 348Overton, 352Southern Valley, 371Southwest, 372Dundy County Stratton, 375Bertrand, 383Arapahoe, 396Wilcox-Hildreth, 401Cambridge, 421Elm Creek, 430Pleasanton, 470Medicine Valley, 493Maywood-Hayes Center, NTS&nbsp;<h2>Class D-5</h2>Individual Qualifiers:1. Kyler Lusche (11), Kimball, 802. Dax Powell (12), Hemingford, 803. Rhett Flack (11), Crawford, 824. Gavin Hunt (12), Garden County, 825. Landon Norberg (12), Kimball, 856. Landon Shepherd (10), North Platte St. Patrick's, 857. Jacob Bryner (10), Hemingford, 888. Jacob Walker (10), Mullen, 909. Brecken Erickson (12), North Platte St. Patrick's, 9010. Easton Smith (9), Sutherland, 90Qualifying Teams:Hemingford, 363Coach: Taryn WoodDax Powell (12), 80Jacob Bryner (10), 88Owen Plog (10), 91Drew Varner (12), 104Jake Eggers (10), 112North Platte St. Patrick's, 368Coach: Brendan LynesLandon Shepherd (10), 85Brecken Erickson (12), 90Thomas Gale (12), 94Timothy Blakely (9), 99Michael Furmanski (10), 107Kimball, 374Coach: Chuck ChristensenKyler Lusche (11), 80Landon Norberg (12), 85Connor Deboodt (11), 101Bransyn Kiefer (11), 108Ryker Behrend (10), 117Individual Qualifiers:CrawfordCoach: Ryan OsmotherlyRhett Flack (11), 82Garden CountyCoach: Doug LeopoldGavin Hunt (12), 82MullenCoach: Mike BrownJacob Walker (10), 90SutherlandCoach: Spencer ProulxEaston Smith (9), 90Final Team Scores:Hemingford, 363North Platte St. Patrick's, 368Kimball, 374Sutherland, 376Crawford, 394Garden County, 422

District Boy's Golf Class D

Nebraska men’s track and field won the Big Ten Outdoor Championship on Sunday at the U-M Track and Field Stadium in Ann Arbor, Mich. with 136 total points. The team victory gives the Husker men their first back-to-back outdoor conference team wins since the 2009 and 2010 seasons. Powered by Darius Luff and Tyus Wilson titles, the men finished exactly 50 points ahead of the second-place team.

The women placed second with 115.33 total points, earning their highest outdoor finish since 2015.

Tyus Wilson won the high jump, clearing a personal-best 7-6 (2.29m). That mark leads the NCAA and moves him to third on the all-time list. Freshman Mason Kooi improved his personal-best, jumping 7-0 ¼ (2.14m) to finish third and Reid Nelson placed eighth with a height of 6-11 (2.11m).

Rhianna Phipps brought home her first Big Ten title, going a personal-best 43-11 3/4 (13.40m) in the triple jump. That moved her up to eighth in school history, while Ashley McElmurry posted the ninth-best triple jump mark in school history. She finished as runner-up with her 43-10 1/2 (13.37m). Lotavia Brown made it three Huskers in the top five, jumping 42-7 1/2 (12.99m) to grab fifth place.

Darius Luff evened his lifetime best to earn his third Big Ten title. The time of 13.25 in the 110m hurdles is second in the NCAA and sixth in the world right now. The senior from Lincoln, Neb. first ran that time at the Drake Relays, where he broke the school record. Brithton Senior added a top-five finish, clocking a 13.81 to place fourth. Johanna Ilves ran a personal-best 13.42 in the 100m hurdles to cross the line seventh and move to eighth on the all-time list.

In the men’s triple jump, the Big Red put three in the top six, with Terrol Wilson exploding for a big 53-10 ¼ (16.41m) on his third attempt. That mark earned Wilson his highest Big Ten meet finish, moved him to fourth on the all-time list and put him at seventh in the NCAA so far this season. Micaylon Moore added a solid performance, going a personal-best 53-6 ¼ (16.31m) to claim bronze and take over the No. 5 spot on the all-time list. Jeremiah Charles jumped 51-10 (15.80m) on his first attempt to place sixth.

Cade Moran went far on his final discus attempt, hitting a personal-best of 196-9 (59.96m) to take silver. The freshman also climbed to seventh all-time with that distance. Brett Schwartz joined Moran in the final, throwing 178-3 (54.35m) to finish ninth. Nebraska combined for 10 points in the women’s discus, with Kalynn Meyer launching a 179-1 (54.60m) to place fourth for the second-straight year. Amelia Flynt added a fifth-place finish with a 174-9 (53.26m) and Kellyn Kortemeyer finished eighth with a 163-1 (49.72m). This marks Kortemeyer’s first conference meet competing and Flynt’s highest placement at a Big Ten meet.

Garrett Kaalund broke his own school record in the men’s 200m final, cruising to a wind-aided 20.33 to take fourth. The sophomore ran the fastest wind-legal time in Nebraska history in the prelims, with a 20.50. In the women’s 400m hurdles final, freshman Abrielle Artley earned crucial team points with a personal-best 58.14. That time made her the fourth-fastest finisher and was the ninth-fastest in school history.

Niko Schultz claimed his highest individual Big Ten meet finish in the 800m, running a 1:48.62 to bring in three team points. Berlyn Schutz covered the track in 4:17.94 in the women’s 1500m to finish sixth. The freshman from Lincoln, Neb. was the bronze medalist in the mile at the indoor conference meet. She also holds the school record in the mile.&nbsp;

Nick Bryant ran a 47.11 in the men’s 400m final to finish fifth and Tyrell Pierce finished in a time of 47.55 to take ninth. In the men’s 100m final, Jeremiah Smith placed ninth.

In the women’s 5000m, freshman Ali Bainbridge was NU’s top finisher, placing 14th with a 16:40.02. Sadio Fenner finished 21st in the men’s 5000m with a time of 14:49.66.

Luff, Kavian Kerr, Kaalund and Smith teamed up to clock the fourth-fastest 4x100m relay time in school history with a 39.31 to finish second. The women (Velecia Williams, Arianna Walker, Seven Hicks, Bariborve Deebom) placed ninth with a 45.10.

The men’s 4x400m relay (Pierce, Schultz, Jacob Hyde, Bryant) teamed up for a sixth-place finish with a 3:08.14. The NU women (Artley, Arianna Walker, Ilves, Meghan Walker) clocked a 3:39.98 to finish 10th.

Next, select Huskers will take on the NCAA West Preliminary Round, hosted in Fayetteville, Ark. May 22-25. Athletes in the top 48 of their respective event will qualify for the meet at John McDonnell Field. Additionally, the best 24 relay times advance to the NCAA preliminaries. Athletes with the top 12 times/marks and the best 12 relay teams at both the East and West First Rounds sites will qualify for the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon.Nebraska's 2024 Big Ten Outdoor ChampionsTyus Wilson, High Jump, 7-6 (2.29m)Darius Luff, 110m Hurdles, 13.25Rhianna Phipps, Triple Jump, 43-11 3/4 (13.40m)Axelina Johansson, Shot Put, 60-8 (18.49m)Rhema Otabor, Javelin, 189-5 (57.75m)

Story by NU Athletic CommunicationsNebraska men’s track and field won the Big Ten Outdoor Championship on Sunday at the U-M Track and Field Stadium in Ann Arbor, Mich. with 136 total points. The team victory gives the Husker men their first back-to-back outdoor conference team wins since the 2009 and 2010 seasons. Powered by Darius Luff and Tyus Wilson titles, the men finished exactly 50 points ahead of the second-place team.The women placed second with 115.33 total points, earning their highest outdoor finish since 2015.Tyus Wilson won the high jump, clearing a personal-best 7-6 (2.29m). That mark leads the NCAA and moves him to third on the all-time list. Freshman Mason Kooi improved his personal-best, jumping 7-0 ¼ (2.14m) to finish third and Reid Nelson placed eighth with a height of 6-11 (2.11m).Rhianna Phipps brought home her first Big Ten title, going a personal-best 43-11 3/4 (13.40m) in the triple jump. That moved her up to eighth in school history, while Ashley McElmurry posted the ninth-best triple jump mark in school history. She finished as runner-up with her 43-10 1/2 (13.37m). Lotavia Brown made it three Huskers in the top five, jumping 42-7 1/2 (12.99m) to grab fifth place.Darius Luff evened his lifetime best to earn his third Big Ten title. The time of 13.25 in the 110m hurdles is second in the NCAA and sixth in the world right now. The senior from Lincoln, Neb. first ran that time at the Drake Relays, where he broke the school record. Brithton Senior added a top-five finish, clocking a 13.81 to place fourth. Johanna Ilves ran a personal-best 13.42 in the 100m hurdles to cross the line seventh and move to eighth on the all-time list.In the men’s triple jump, the Big Red put three in the top six, with Terrol Wilson exploding for a big 53-10 ¼ (16.41m) on his third attempt. That mark earned Wilson his highest Big Ten meet finish, moved him to fourth on the all-time list and put him at seventh in the NCAA so far this season. Micaylon Moore added a solid performance, going a personal-best 53-6 ¼ (16.31m) to claim bronze and take over the No. 5 spot on the all-time list. Jeremiah Charles jumped 51-10 (15.80m) on his first attempt to place sixth.Cade Moran went far on his final discus attempt, hitting a personal-best of 196-9 (59.96m) to take silver. The freshman also climbed to seventh all-time with that distance. Brett Schwartz joined Moran in the final, throwing 178-3 (54.35m) to finish ninth. Nebraska combined for 10 points in the women’s discus, with Kalynn Meyer launching a 179-1 (54.60m) to place fourth for the second-straight year. Amelia Flynt added a fifth-place finish with a 174-9 (53.26m) and Kellyn Kortemeyer finished eighth with a 163-1 (49.72m). This marks Kortemeyer’s first conference meet competing and Flynt’s highest placement at a Big Ten meet.Garrett Kaalund broke his own school record in the men’s 200m final, cruising to a wind-aided 20.33 to take fourth. The sophomore ran the fastest wind-legal time in Nebraska history in the prelims, with a 20.50. In the women’s 400m hurdles final, freshman Abrielle Artley earned crucial team points with a personal-best 58.14. That time made her the fourth-fastest finisher and was the ninth-fastest in school history.Niko Schultz claimed his highest individual Big Ten meet finish in the 800m, running a 1:48.62 to bring in three team points. Berlyn Schutz covered the track in 4:17.94 in the women’s 1500m to finish sixth. The freshman from Lincoln, Neb. was the bronze medalist in the mile at the indoor conference meet. She also holds the school record in the mile.&nbsp;Nick Bryant ran a 47.11 in the men’s 400m final to finish fifth and Tyrell Pierce finished in a time of 47.55 to take ninth. In the men’s 100m final, Jeremiah Smith placed ninth.In the women’s 5000m, freshman Ali Bainbridge was NU’s top finisher, placing 14th with a 16:40.02. Sadio Fenner finished 21st in the men’s 5000m with a time of 14:49.66.Luff, Kavian Kerr, Kaalund and Smith teamed up to clock the fourth-fastest 4x100m relay time in school history with a 39.31 to finish second. The women (Velecia Williams, Arianna Walker, Seven Hicks, Bariborve Deebom) placed ninth with a 45.10.The men’s 4x400m relay (Pierce, Schultz, Jacob Hyde, Bryant) teamed up for a sixth-place finish with a 3:08.14. The NU women (Artley, Arianna Walker, Ilves, Meghan Walker) clocked a 3:39.98 to finish 10th.Next, select Huskers will take on the NCAA West Preliminary Round, hosted in Fayetteville, Ark. May 22-25. Athletes in the top 48 of their respective event will qualify for the meet at John McDonnell Field. Additionally, the best 24 relay times advance to the NCAA preliminaries. Athletes with the top 12 times/marks and the best 12 relay teams at both the East and West First Rounds sites will qualify for the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon.Nebraska's 2024 Big Ten Outdoor ChampionsTyus Wilson, High Jump, 7-6 (2.29m)Darius Luff, 110m Hurdles, 13.25Rhianna Phipps, Triple Jump, 43-11 3/4 (13.40m)Axelina Johansson, Shot Put, 60-8 (18.49m)Rhema Otabor, Javelin, 189-5 (57.75m)

Husker men win second-straight B1G Outdoor Championship

Story by Supernovas Communications

GRAND RAPIDS, MI.-&nbsp;Rookie&nbsp;Paige Briggs&nbsp;had one of her best efforts of the season with a 17-kill performance as the&nbsp;Omaha Supernovas&nbsp;dropped a 16-25, 25-23, 25-23, 24-26, 10-15 five-set contest to the Grand Rapids Rise (12-12) Sunday night at Van Andel Arena.&nbsp;

Omaha ends the regular season 16-8 including a 3-1 season series win over the Rise as the Supernovas regroup ahead of the first&nbsp;Pro Volleyball Federation Championship&nbsp;to take place in Omaha on May 15 and May 18. Omaha is locked in as the No. 2 seed and will face the San Diego Mojo (13-11) Wednesday night at the&nbsp;CHI Health Center&nbsp;in downtown Omaha at 8:30 p.m. The No. 4 seed Rise will face No. 1 seed Atlanta Vibe at 6 p.m. CDT on the same night.&nbsp;

Briggs was the standout performer in a match that saw all of Omaha’s 14-person active roster get playing time. The Western Kentucky graduate earned all those kills in four sets as the usual starting seven for the Supernovas were subbed out after a 25-16 defeat in the opening set. No one else reached double-digit kills for Omaha, but another rookie in middle blocker&nbsp;Sophie Davis&nbsp;excelled with nine kills on a .316 hitting percentage.&nbsp;

Allison Mayfield&nbsp;finished with eight kills on the afternoon to go with nine digs.&nbsp;Jess Schaben-Lansman&nbsp;added six kills and seven digs while&nbsp;Bethania de la Cruz&nbsp;and&nbsp;Stephanie Samedy&nbsp;each chipped in three.&nbsp;

Hristina Vuchkova&nbsp;led the middle with four of Omaha’s eight blocks for a match high. She also added six kills on a .250 clip. Setter&nbsp;Sydney Hilley&nbsp;ran the show from set two onwards, dishing out 43 assists with 10 digs, three kills and one block.&nbsp;Gabby Thompson&nbsp;came in to relieve&nbsp;Kendall White&nbsp;at libero and finished with a team-high 16 digs&nbsp;

In total, the Omaha offense hit .211 with eight blocks and four aces. Grand Rapids hit .276 with nine blocks as well as four aces.&nbsp;

Claire Chaussee paced the Rise attack with a match-high 20 kills on a .444 clip along with nine digs. Opposite Morghan Fingail finished with 10 kills off the bench while Emiliya Dimitrova chipped in nine kills. Erika Pritchard added eight kills while Symone Abbott also had eight kills, but on a .500 hitting percentage.&nbsp;

Set 1:&nbsp;Samedy earned the first Omaha kill to tie the set at one before de la Cruz put down her league-leading 32nd ace of the season. De la Cruz later put down her first kill to give the Supernovas a 4-3 lead. The two teams exchanged points before former Husker Kayla Coffey swatted down a middle attack to put Grand Rapids ahead 8-7 going into a media timeout. De la Cruz hit a shot down the line to tie the set. Nuneviller hammered her first kill to equal things at 10. The Rise popped off for a 5-0 run from there as Chaussee recorded two more kills and middle Marin Grote took care of an overpass to go up 15-10. Nuneviller posted another kill to end the run, but another net violation put the lead at 16-11 Grand Rapids going into the second media timeout. Pritchard and Grote put down back-to-back kills to extend the lead to 18-11. Samedy added consecutive kills to cut the lead to five, but a 3-0 run by the Rise made it an insurmountable lead at 21-13. De la Cruz and Dixon each added one more kill, but Chaussee put away her seventh kill of the set to give Grand Rapids a 25-16 opening-set win.&nbsp;

The Rise hit .586 with 17 kills and only one error on 28 swings. Grand Rapids posted two blocks, but no aces. Chaussee recorded her seven kills on 10 swings while Pritchard added four.&nbsp;

Omaha hit .267 with zero blocks and one ace. De la Cruz and Samedy paced the offense with three kills each while Nuneviller and Dixon had two kills apiece.&nbsp;

Set 2:&nbsp;After a slew of Omaha lineup changes, Davis put down a kill off the slide to give the Supernovas a quick 1-0 lead.&nbsp;Maggie Cartwright&nbsp;slammed down a kill to equal the set at three. New setter Hilley came up with a solo block while Cartwright added her second kill to give Omaha a 6-5 lead. The Rise went on a 3-0 run including a Caffey kill to go up 8-6 into the first media timeout. Chaussee extended the run to four with her ninth kill. Vuchkova and Mayfield secured back-to-back blocks to end the run. Briggs and Vuchkova earned consecutive kills to tie the set at 12, but a 3-0 run followed for Grand Rapids as Ashley Evans earned a setter dump and Pritchard roofed a block. Briggs added another kill to end the run, but another Pritchard kill put the Rise up 16-13 going into the second media timeout. Back-to-back kills from Mayfield and Davis fueled a 4-0 run to give the Supernovas an 18-17 advantage. Chaussee used a back-row attack to tie the set at 18. Briggs muscled back-to-back kills to give Omaha a 22-21 edge before Mayfield added another kill to put the lead at 23-21. Evans put down a setter dump after feeling the block’s pressure to make it 23-22, but a Vuchkova slide made it set point for Omaha. A net violation by Caffey on a block gave the Supernovas the second set win to even up the match.&nbsp;

Omaha hit .395 with 18 kills and only three hitting errors along with three blocks and no aces. Briggs and Mayfield had five kills each as they combined to hit .409 in the set.&nbsp;

Grand Rapids .255 with two blocks and zero aces. Chaussee added eight more kills to her total on a .429 clip.&nbsp;

Set 3:&nbsp;Briggs opened up the set with another kill with Mayfield adding another two points later. Schaben-Lansman slammed down her first kill of the match in her first few points to give Omaha a 3-2 lead. Briggs added a kill to tie the set at four. A Hilley setter dump began a 3-0 run for the Supernovas as Vuchkova added a block and Briggs recorded another kill to go up 7-5. A Grote slide kill ended the run, but a Vuchkova tally gave the Supernovas an 8-6 lead going into the first media timeout. The Rise came out to rally for a 5-2 run including an Evans ace and a pair of kills from Chaussee to even the set at 11. Schaben-Lansman pounded an out-of-system ball for Omaha to take a 14-13 lead. Hilley and Evans exchanged setter dumps before Briggs put down a kill to give the Supernovas a 16-15 lead going into the second media timeout. Tied at 17, Omaha mounted a 3-0 run as Briggs and Schaben-Lansman each added a kill, plus a Vuchkova solo block forced a Rise timeout at 20-17, Supernovas. Each team exchanged 2-0 runs to make it 22-19 Omaha. Fingail entered the match and delivered a kill to cut the Supernovas advantage to one before a Briggs kill and ace put Omaha at set point. The Rise fought back with a Pritchard kill and Grote ace to put the score at 24-23 Omaha to force a timeout. That timeout turned out to be fruitful as it forced a Grote service error to give the Supernovas a 25-23 set win and 2-1 match lead.

Omaha hit .275 with two blocks and the one Briggs ace. The Ortonville, Michigan native paced the offense with six kills on a .333 clip while Schaben-Lansman added three kills.&nbsp;

Grand Rapids hit .244 with two aces and no blocks. Chaussee led her team for the third-straight set with five kills while Dimitrova chipped in four.&nbsp;

Set 4:&nbsp;Davis opened up the set with a kill off a slide attack. A service and hitting error by the Rise gave the Supernovas a 3-1 lead. Another Davis kill kicked off a 3-0 run for Omaha as Schaben-Lansman put down a block and Briggs added a kill to put the Supernovas up 6-2. A net violation put the score at 7-3, but Grand Rapids rallied back with a 4-0 run to tie the set at seven. After Omaha took a 9-8 lead off a Rise hitting error, Grand Rapids mounted a 4-0 run off a Fingail kill and block to take a 12-9 advantage. An ace by Alyssa Jensen put the lead at 14-11 Grand Rapids, but Davis began a 3-0 run for Omaha with a cross body kill. That was followed by a Mayfield ace and Briggs kill to cut the lead to one. Briggs tied the set at 15 before an Abbott termination gave the Rise a 16-15 edge going into the second media timeout. A pair of Abbott kills fueled a 4-1 run for the Rise who took a 20-17 lead. Back-to-back Grand Rapids errors cut the lead to one, but another 3-1 run put the lead at 23-20 for the Rise. Omaha fired back with a 3-0 run stamped by a Schaben-Lansman block. Fingail gave the Rise set point, but Briggs fought it off with a kill. Consecutive kills from Molly Lohman and Fingail gave Grand Rapids the 26-24 set win to force a decisive fifth.&nbsp;

The Rise hit .090 with two blocks and two aces. Fingail and Abbott paced the offense with five kills apiece.&nbsp;

Omaha finished with a .083 hitting percentage with a trio of blocks and the lone Mayfield ace. The rookies Davis and Briggs each had a team-high five kills.&nbsp;

Set 5:&nbsp;Schaben-Lansman posted a kill, but the Rise fired off for a 5-2 run to begin the set. A hitting error and Briggs kill cut the Rise lead to 7-5, but a Shannon Scully tool off the block upped the lead to three at 8-5. Back-to-back points from a Vuchkova kill and Briggs ace leveled the lead to one, but consecutive kills from Abbott put the lead back at 10-7. Schaben-Lansman put down another kill to make it 12-10, but a 3-0 run by Grand Rapids sealed the five-set win for the Rise.&nbsp;

The Supernovas return to Omaha for the semifinals of the first Pro Volleyball Federation Championship. Omaha will take on the San Diego Mojo in the second semifinal on Wednesday, May 15 at the CHI Health Center. First serve is set for 8:30 p.m. CDT and will be televised on CBS Sports Network. Fans can listen to all the action live on the Supernovas Radio Network led by its flagship station 93.7 The Ticket.&nbsp;

Story by Supernovas CommunicationsGRAND RAPIDS, MI.-&nbsp;Rookie&nbsp;Paige Briggs&nbsp;had one of her best efforts of the season with a 17-kill performance as the&nbsp;Omaha Supernovas&nbsp;dropped a 16-25, 25-23, 25-23, 24-26, 10-15 five-set contest to the Grand Rapids Rise (12-12) Sunday night at Van Andel Arena.&nbsp;Omaha ends the regular season 16-8 including a 3-1 season series win over the Rise as the Supernovas regroup ahead of the first&nbsp;Pro Volleyball Federation Championship&nbsp;to take place in Omaha on May 15 and May 18. Omaha is locked in as the No. 2 seed and will face the San Diego Mojo (13-11) Wednesday night at the&nbsp;CHI Health Center&nbsp;in downtown Omaha at 8:30 p.m. The No. 4 seed Rise will face No. 1 seed Atlanta Vibe at 6 p.m. CDT on the same night.&nbsp;Briggs was the standout performer in a match that saw all of Omaha’s 14-person active roster get playing time. The Western Kentucky graduate earned all those kills in four sets as the usual starting seven for the Supernovas were subbed out after a 25-16 defeat in the opening set. No one else reached double-digit kills for Omaha, but another rookie in middle blocker&nbsp;Sophie Davis&nbsp;excelled with nine kills on a .316 hitting percentage.&nbsp;Allison Mayfield&nbsp;finished with eight kills on the afternoon to go with nine digs.&nbsp;Jess Schaben-Lansman&nbsp;added six kills and seven digs while&nbsp;Bethania de la Cruz&nbsp;and&nbsp;Stephanie Samedy&nbsp;each chipped in three.&nbsp;Hristina Vuchkova&nbsp;led the middle with four of Omaha’s eight blocks for a match high. She also added six kills on a .250 clip. Setter&nbsp;Sydney Hilley&nbsp;ran the show from set two onwards, dishing out 43 assists with 10 digs, three kills and one block.&nbsp;Gabby Thompson&nbsp;came in to relieve&nbsp;Kendall White&nbsp;at libero and finished with a team-high 16 digs&nbsp;In total, the Omaha offense hit .211 with eight blocks and four aces. Grand Rapids hit .276 with nine blocks as well as four aces.&nbsp;Claire Chaussee paced the Rise attack with a match-high 20 kills on a .444 clip along with nine digs. Opposite Morghan Fingail finished with 10 kills off the bench while Emiliya Dimitrova chipped in nine kills. Erika Pritchard added eight kills while Symone Abbott also had eight kills, but on a .500 hitting percentage.&nbsp;Set 1:&nbsp;Samedy earned the first Omaha kill to tie the set at one before de la Cruz put down her league-leading 32nd ace of the season. De la Cruz later put down her first kill to give the Supernovas a 4-3 lead. The two teams exchanged points before former Husker Kayla Coffey swatted down a middle attack to put Grand Rapids ahead 8-7 going into a media timeout. De la Cruz hit a shot down the line to tie the set. Nuneviller hammered her first kill to equal things at 10. The Rise popped off for a 5-0 run from there as Chaussee recorded two more kills and middle Marin Grote took care of an overpass to go up 15-10. Nuneviller posted another kill to end the run, but another net violation put the lead at 16-11 Grand Rapids going into the second media timeout. Pritchard and Grote put down back-to-back kills to extend the lead to 18-11. Samedy added consecutive kills to cut the lead to five, but a 3-0 run by the Rise made it an insurmountable lead at 21-13. De la Cruz and Dixon each added one more kill, but Chaussee put away her seventh kill of the set to give Grand Rapids a 25-16 opening-set win.&nbsp;The Rise hit .586 with 17 kills and only one error on 28 swings. Grand Rapids posted two blocks, but no aces. Chaussee recorded her seven kills on 10 swings while Pritchard added four.&nbsp;Omaha hit .267 with zero blocks and one ace. De la Cruz and Samedy paced the offense with three kills each while Nuneviller and Dixon had two kills apiece.&nbsp;Set 2:&nbsp;After a slew of Omaha lineup changes, Davis put down a kill off the slide to give the Supernovas a quick 1-0 lead.&nbsp;Maggie Cartwright&nbsp;slammed down a kill to equal the set at three. New setter Hilley came up with a solo block while Cartwright added her second kill to give Omaha a 6-5 lead. The Rise went on a 3-0 run including a Caffey kill to go up 8-6 into the first media timeout. Chaussee extended the run to four with her ninth kill. Vuchkova and Mayfield secured back-to-back blocks to end the run. Briggs and Vuchkova earned consecutive kills to tie the set at 12, but a 3-0 run followed for Grand Rapids as Ashley Evans earned a setter dump and Pritchard roofed a block. Briggs added another kill to end the run, but another Pritchard kill put the Rise up 16-13 going into the second media timeout. Back-to-back kills from Mayfield and Davis fueled a 4-0 run to give the Supernovas an 18-17 advantage. Chaussee used a back-row attack to tie the set at 18. Briggs muscled back-to-back kills to give Omaha a 22-21 edge before Mayfield added another kill to put the lead at 23-21. Evans put down a setter dump after feeling the block’s pressure to make it 23-22, but a Vuchkova slide made it set point for Omaha. A net violation by Caffey on a block gave the Supernovas the second set win to even up the match.&nbsp;Omaha hit .395 with 18 kills and only three hitting errors along with three blocks and no aces. Briggs and Mayfield had five kills each as they combined to hit .409 in the set.&nbsp;Grand Rapids .255 with two blocks and zero aces. Chaussee added eight more kills to her total on a .429 clip.&nbsp;Set 3:&nbsp;Briggs opened up the set with another kill with Mayfield adding another two points later. Schaben-Lansman slammed down her first kill of the match in her first few points to give Omaha a 3-2 lead. Briggs added a kill to tie the set at four. A Hilley setter dump began a 3-0 run for the Supernovas as Vuchkova added a block and Briggs recorded another kill to go up 7-5. A Grote slide kill ended the run, but a Vuchkova tally gave the Supernovas an 8-6 lead going into the first media timeout. The Rise came out to rally for a 5-2 run including an Evans ace and a pair of kills from Chaussee to even the set at 11. Schaben-Lansman pounded an out-of-system ball for Omaha to take a 14-13 lead. Hilley and Evans exchanged setter dumps before Briggs put down a kill to give the Supernovas a 16-15 lead going into the second media timeout. Tied at 17, Omaha mounted a 3-0 run as Briggs and Schaben-Lansman each added a kill, plus a Vuchkova solo block forced a Rise timeout at 20-17, Supernovas. Each team exchanged 2-0 runs to make it 22-19 Omaha. Fingail entered the match and delivered a kill to cut the Supernovas advantage to one before a Briggs kill and ace put Omaha at set point. The Rise fought back with a Pritchard kill and Grote ace to put the score at 24-23 Omaha to force a timeout. That timeout turned out to be fruitful as it forced a Grote service error to give the Supernovas a 25-23 set win and 2-1 match lead.Omaha hit .275 with two blocks and the one Briggs ace. The Ortonville, Michigan native paced the offense with six kills on a .333 clip while Schaben-Lansman added three kills.&nbsp;Grand Rapids hit .244 with two aces and no blocks. Chaussee led her team for the third-straight set with five kills while Dimitrova chipped in four.&nbsp;Set 4:&nbsp;Davis opened up the set with a kill off a slide attack. A service and hitting error by the Rise gave the Supernovas a 3-1 lead. Another Davis kill kicked off a 3-0 run for Omaha as Schaben-Lansman put down a block and Briggs added a kill to put the Supernovas up 6-2. A net violation put the score at 7-3, but Grand Rapids rallied back with a 4-0 run to tie the set at seven. After Omaha took a 9-8 lead off a Rise hitting error, Grand Rapids mounted a 4-0 run off a Fingail kill and block to take a 12-9 advantage. An ace by Alyssa Jensen put the lead at 14-11 Grand Rapids, but Davis began a 3-0 run for Omaha with a cross body kill. That was followed by a Mayfield ace and Briggs kill to cut the lead to one. Briggs tied the set at 15 before an Abbott termination gave the Rise a 16-15 edge going into the second media timeout. A pair of Abbott kills fueled a 4-1 run for the Rise who took a 20-17 lead. Back-to-back Grand Rapids errors cut the lead to one, but another 3-1 run put the lead at 23-20 for the Rise. Omaha fired back with a 3-0 run stamped by a Schaben-Lansman block. Fingail gave the Rise set point, but Briggs fought it off with a kill. Consecutive kills from Molly Lohman and Fingail gave Grand Rapids the 26-24 set win to force a decisive fifth.&nbsp;The Rise hit .090 with two blocks and two aces. Fingail and Abbott paced the offense with five kills apiece.&nbsp;Omaha finished with a .083 hitting percentage with a trio of blocks and the lone Mayfield ace. The rookies Davis and Briggs each had a team-high five kills.&nbsp;Set 5:&nbsp;Schaben-Lansman posted a kill, but the Rise fired off for a 5-2 run to begin the set. A hitting error and Briggs kill cut the Rise lead to 7-5, but a Shannon Scully tool off the block upped the lead to three at 8-5. Back-to-back points from a Vuchkova kill and Briggs ace leveled the lead to one, but consecutive kills from Abbott put the lead back at 10-7. Schaben-Lansman put down another kill to make it 12-10, but a 3-0 run by Grand Rapids sealed the five-set win for the Rise.&nbsp;The Supernovas return to Omaha for the semifinals of the first Pro Volleyball Federation Championship. Omaha will take on the San Diego Mojo in the second semifinal on Wednesday, May 15 at the CHI Health Center. First serve is set for 8:30 p.m. CDT and will be televised on CBS Sports Network. Fans can listen to all the action live on the Supernovas Radio Network led by its flagship station 93.7 The Ticket.&nbsp;

Briggs blasts 17 kills as Supernovas drop regular season finale to Grand Rapids

District Track and Field Class C-9

District Track and Field Class C-8

If you love baseball and the idea of sharing your home with a professional baseball player, this is an opportunity for you! The North Platte 80s Professional Baseball Team is currently searching for Host Families for our 2024 season. Our players travel from all over the United States to spend a summer here with the North Platte 80s. They are Northern Stars, Southern Stars, rising stars, falling stars, shooting stars and athletes with stars in their eyes. A vital part of a successful season is to have host families provide housing for the players, giving them support and a family atmosphere for the summer. We work extremely hard, and take pride in providing our players with a safe, comfortable family environment. These young men will have a positive influence in our community and in your home. Many past Host Families have developed friendships with the players they have welcomed into their homes and have enjoyed watching their player progress in their careers. This is a great opportunity to receive an inside look at the trials and tribulations of a professional baseball player. The baseball season begins in May and ends early- to mid-August (depending on how far into the play-offs the team gets).&nbsp; In addition to the rewards of forming a lifelong relationship with your player, the 80s would like to thank you with a very special Host Family Appreciation Package especially for our supporters of this program. As a Host Family, here is what we ask of you:

If you love baseball and the idea of sharing your home with a professional baseball player, this is an opportunity for you! The North Platte 80s Professional Baseball Team is currently searching for Host Families for our 2024 season. Our players travel from all over the United States to spend a summer here with the North Platte 80s. They are Northern Stars, Southern Stars, rising stars, falling stars, shooting stars and athletes with stars in their eyes. A vital part of a successful season is to have host families provide housing for the players, giving them support and a family atmosphere for the summer. We work extremely hard, and take pride in providing our players with a safe, comfortable family environment. These young men will have a positive influence in our community and in your home. Many past Host Families have developed friendships with the players they have welcomed into their homes and have enjoyed watching their player progress in their careers. This is a great opportunity to receive an inside look at the trials and tribulations of a professional baseball player. The baseball season begins in May and ends early- to mid-August (depending on how far into the play-offs the team gets).&nbsp; In addition to the rewards of forming a lifelong relationship with your player, the 80s would like to thank you with a very special Host Family Appreciation Package especially for our supporters of this program. As a Host Family, here is what we ask of you:<ul>
 <li>Provide a player with their own room for the season.</li><li>Provide access to a washer and dryer if possible.</li><li>Provide access to a bathroom</li><li>Provide access to a kitchen</li><li>Provide a safe and comfortable environment.</li><li>Cheer for him at the games whenever possible.</li>
 </ul>

Want to Join The 80s Family?

District Track and Field results for Class D-8

District Track and Field results for Class D-7

Story by UNK Athletic Communications

Kearney, Neb. –&nbsp;Nebraska-Kearney junior&nbsp;Juliana Botero Molina&nbsp;shot a 14-over 230 to finish in 18th place at the&nbsp;<a href="https://results.golfstat.com/public/leaderboards/gsnav.cfm?pg=team&amp;tid=29168" target="_blank">2024 NCAA Central Regional</a>&nbsp;Wednesday in Bartlesville, Okla. The three-day, 54-hole tournament was hosted by Rogers State at the par 72 Hillcrest C.C. (5,921 yards). The Bartlesville area was hit by a tornado Monday night, so play was delayed by four hours on Tuesday for course cleanup. The top three teams advance to the NCAA Division II Championships May 21-25 in Orlando. Also headed that way are the top two individuals not on one of the advancing teams. This year's qualifiers are Henderson (Ark.) State, Southwestern Oklahoma State and RSU with the individuals being Ellen Spinger of Arkansas Tech (3-over 219) and Auguatana's Molly Stevens (7-over 223). Stevens won a playoff over Mia Rallo of Central Missouri to earn the last NCAA spot. While Botero Molina (Colombia) won't be making a trip to Florida, she did set a new UNK single season stroke record (76.14). Former teammate Faviola Gonzalez held the mark at 77.04, set during the 2021-22 season. Molina is also on pace to set a new career stroke mark as her current average of 77.22 leads all past and present Lopers. The 2024 MIAA Champion and a finalist for the UNK Women's Athlete of the Year, Botero Molina had rounds of 76, 78 and 76. Her tourney featured eight birdies and 28 pars. Next, she carded a birdie on her 54th hole, the par 5 ninth hole (470 yards), and had four straight pars on Monday., Finally, Botero Molina was just 1-over on par 5 holes.&nbsp;HSU (894), SWOSU (900) and Rogers (907) paced the field of nine teams with a total of 53 golfers taking part. This year, a new rule allows teams to sub, so some golfers only competed in a round or two.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Story by UNK Athletic CommunicationsKearney, Neb. –&nbsp;Nebraska-Kearney junior&nbsp;Juliana Botero Molina&nbsp;shot a 14-over 230 to finish in 18th place at the&nbsp;<a href="https://results.golfstat.com/public/leaderboards/gsnav.cfm?pg=team&amp;tid=29168" target="_blank">2024 NCAA Central Regional</a>&nbsp;Wednesday in Bartlesville, Okla. The three-day, 54-hole tournament was hosted by Rogers State at the par 72 Hillcrest C.C. (5,921 yards). The Bartlesville area was hit by a tornado Monday night, so play was delayed by four hours on Tuesday for course cleanup. The top three teams advance to the NCAA Division II Championships May 21-25 in Orlando. Also headed that way are the top two individuals not on one of the advancing teams. This year's qualifiers are Henderson (Ark.) State, Southwestern Oklahoma State and RSU with the individuals being Ellen Spinger of Arkansas Tech (3-over 219) and Auguatana's Molly Stevens (7-over 223). Stevens won a playoff over Mia Rallo of Central Missouri to earn the last NCAA spot. While Botero Molina (Colombia) won't be making a trip to Florida, she did set a new UNK single season stroke record (76.14). Former teammate Faviola Gonzalez held the mark at 77.04, set during the 2021-22 season. Molina is also on pace to set a new career stroke mark as her current average of 77.22 leads all past and present Lopers. The 2024 MIAA Champion and a finalist for the UNK Women's Athlete of the Year, Botero Molina had rounds of 76, 78 and 76. Her tourney featured eight birdies and 28 pars. Next, she carded a birdie on her 54th hole, the par 5 ninth hole (470 yards), and had four straight pars on Monday., Finally, Botero Molina was just 1-over on par 5 holes.&nbsp;HSU (894), SWOSU (900) and Rogers (907) paced the field of nine teams with a total of 53 golfers taking part. This year, a new rule allows teams to sub, so some golfers only competed in a round or two.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Botero Molina has memorable Junior campaign

Story by NU Athletic Communications&nbsp;

Nebraska women's golfer Kelli Ann Strand closed the NCAA Cle Elum Regional with a final-round 76 to for 24th overall in a 66-player field on Wednesday.

Strand, a sophomore from Challis, Idaho, ended the 54-hole tournament with a 225 (+9) to match fellow individual competitors Emma Bunch (New Mexico State), Riana Mission (San Francisco) and Sabrina Iqbal (Colorado) along with two other golfers in a six-way tie for 24th.

Strand capped her second season at Nebraska with a school-record 71.53 stroke average over 32 rounds, breaking the record she set a year ago (72.05). Strand's tie for 24th was the best individual finish by a Husker women's golfer at an NCAA Regional since JC Stevenson (T14th) and Elli Brown (T22nd) notched top-25 finishes for the Huskers at the 2008 NCAA Central Regional in Austin, Texas (May 8-10). Last season, Strand tied for 30th individually at the NCAA Raleigh Regional.

Strand became just the third golfer in Husker history to own a pair of top-30 finishes in NCAA Regional play, joining first-team All-American Sarah Sasse (T13th, 2000; T8th, 2001; T5th, 2003) and Amy Roux (T27th, 2000; T29th, 2001).&nbsp;

Stanford ran away with the NCAA Cle Elum Regional title with a three-round total of 847 (-17), which was 18 strokes better than runner-up Duke (865). Virginia finished 29 strokes behind the Cardinal in third at 876, while Arizona State (885) and San Jose State (887) rounded out the top-five teams. Those five schools advanced to the upcoming 30-team NCAA Championship at the Omni La Costa Resort &amp; Spa in Carlsbad, Calif. (May 17-22).

Long Beach State's Jasmine Leovao, who finished eighth individually with a three-round total of 218 (+2), also advanced to the national championship as the top individual on a non-advancing team from the regional.

Rachel Heck led a Stanford squad that claimed four of the top-five spots, closing with a 54-hole score of 208 (-8) to claim a four-stroke victory over teammate Kelly Xu (212) on the par-72, 6,306-yard layout of the Tumble Creek Club at the Suncadia Resort in Cle Elum. Stanford's Megha Ganne and Paula Marin Sampedro tied for third with Virginia's Amanda Sambach at 214 (-2).

Story by NU Athletic Communications&nbsp;Nebraska women's golfer Kelli Ann Strand closed the NCAA Cle Elum Regional with a final-round 76 to for 24th overall in a 66-player field on Wednesday.Strand, a sophomore from Challis, Idaho, ended the 54-hole tournament with a 225 (+9) to match fellow individual competitors Emma Bunch (New Mexico State), Riana Mission (San Francisco) and Sabrina Iqbal (Colorado) along with two other golfers in a six-way tie for 24th.Strand capped her second season at Nebraska with a school-record 71.53 stroke average over 32 rounds, breaking the record she set a year ago (72.05). Strand's tie for 24th was the best individual finish by a Husker women's golfer at an NCAA Regional since JC Stevenson (T14th) and Elli Brown (T22nd) notched top-25 finishes for the Huskers at the 2008 NCAA Central Regional in Austin, Texas (May 8-10). Last season, Strand tied for 30th individually at the NCAA Raleigh Regional.Strand became just the third golfer in Husker history to own a pair of top-30 finishes in NCAA Regional play, joining first-team All-American Sarah Sasse (T13th, 2000; T8th, 2001; T5th, 2003) and Amy Roux (T27th, 2000; T29th, 2001).&nbsp;Stanford ran away with the NCAA Cle Elum Regional title with a three-round total of 847 (-17), which was 18 strokes better than runner-up Duke (865). Virginia finished 29 strokes behind the Cardinal in third at 876, while Arizona State (885) and San Jose State (887) rounded out the top-five teams. Those five schools advanced to the upcoming 30-team NCAA Championship at the Omni La Costa Resort &amp; Spa in Carlsbad, Calif. (May 17-22).Long Beach State's Jasmine Leovao, who finished eighth individually with a three-round total of 218 (+2), also advanced to the national championship as the top individual on a non-advancing team from the regional.Rachel Heck led a Stanford squad that claimed four of the top-five spots, closing with a 54-hole score of 208 (-8) to claim a four-stroke victory over teammate Kelly Xu (212) on the par-72, 6,306-yard layout of the Tumble Creek Club at the Suncadia Resort in Cle Elum. Stanford's Megha Ganne and Paula Marin Sampedro tied for third with Virginia's Amanda Sambach at 214 (-2).

 Strand takes top 25 finish at NCAA Regional

Nebraska surrendered eight unanswered runs in the eighth and ninth innings, as the Huskers fell 10-6 vs. South Dakota State on Wednesday night at Hawks Field at Haymarket Park.

Nebraska (30-17) totaled six runs, 12 hits and an error, while South Dakota State (18-25) scored 10 runs on 14 hits.

Case Sanderson reached in four of his five plate appearances, extending his on-base streak to 19 games. Rhett Stokes notched a three-hit game, while Ben Columbus and Gabe Swansen each added a pair of hits. Joshua Overbeek drove in two runs from the leadoff spot, including a solo home run.

Jackson Brockett pitched three innings, allowing one run on two hits with a pair of strikeouts. Caleb Clark surrendered one run on one hit and punched out four Jackrabbits in 1.1 innings of relief. Evan Borst, Jalen Worthley, Kyle Froehlich and Kyle Perry teamed up to throw three scoreless innings.

Rans Sanders recorded an out, while Casey Daiss was tagged with the loss after giving up four runs on four hits in 0.2 innings. Grant Cleavinger and Bobby Olsen combined to record the final two outs.

Nebraska grabbed a 1-0 lead in the opening inning after four consecutive one-out walks to Sanderson, Columbus, Tyler Stone and Dylan Carey.

The Jackrabbits tied the game at one with a pair of hits in the second inning. A two-out double on a misplayed pop-up in front of the plate set up an RBI single to right that locked the game at one.

The Huskers immediately got the run back with Overbeek’s 406-foot solo blast off the videoboard in the bottom of the second.

NU doubled its lead in the fourth after an RBI groundout from Overbeek brought home Riley Silva to make it 3-1. Silva was plunked to begin the frame, while a groundout and wild pitch moved the junior to third.

SDSU came within a run in the fifth inning after an RBI double down the left-field line plated the Jackrabbits’ second run of the night.

Garrett Anglim reached with a two-out walk in the fifth, before Silva ripped an RBI triple down the left-field line to grow the lead to 4-2 for the Big Red.

Overbeek drew a full-count walk to start the bottom of the sixth and came around to score on Columbus’ sacrifice fly to left, building the lead to 5-2.

The Jackrabbits loaded the bases with three singles in the seventh, but Perry escaped the threat with a strikeout to maintain the three-run advantage.

Silva reached on a fielder’s choice and moved to third on a wild pitch, setting up Stokes’ RBI single to right field in the bottom of the seventh.

A single and a fielding error, followed by a three-run homer to right brought the Jackrabbits within a run in the top of the eighth.

SDSU then grabbed a 10-6 lead with five runs on five hits in the top of the ninth. Four straight singles, followed by a three-run homer gave the Jackrabbits their first lead of the night.

The Huskers loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth inning on a pair of singles and hit-by-pitch, but were unable to capitalize to end the game.&nbsp;

Nebraska welcomes Indiana to Lincoln this weekend for the final home weekend series of the season at Hawks Field at Haymarket Park. First pitch of Friday’s series opener between the Huskers and Hoosiers is scheduled for 6:02 p.m.

Story by NU Athletic CommunicationsNebraska surrendered eight unanswered runs in the eighth and ninth innings, as the Huskers fell 10-6 vs. South Dakota State on Wednesday night at Hawks Field at Haymarket Park.Nebraska (30-17) totaled six runs, 12 hits and an error, while South Dakota State (18-25) scored 10 runs on 14 hits.Case Sanderson reached in four of his five plate appearances, extending his on-base streak to 19 games. Rhett Stokes notched a three-hit game, while Ben Columbus and Gabe Swansen each added a pair of hits. Joshua Overbeek drove in two runs from the leadoff spot, including a solo home run.Jackson Brockett pitched three innings, allowing one run on two hits with a pair of strikeouts. Caleb Clark surrendered one run on one hit and punched out four Jackrabbits in 1.1 innings of relief. Evan Borst, Jalen Worthley, Kyle Froehlich and Kyle Perry teamed up to throw three scoreless innings.Rans Sanders recorded an out, while Casey Daiss was tagged with the loss after giving up four runs on four hits in 0.2 innings. Grant Cleavinger and Bobby Olsen combined to record the final two outs.Nebraska grabbed a 1-0 lead in the opening inning after four consecutive one-out walks to Sanderson, Columbus, Tyler Stone and Dylan Carey.The Jackrabbits tied the game at one with a pair of hits in the second inning. A two-out double on a misplayed pop-up in front of the plate set up an RBI single to right that locked the game at one.The Huskers immediately got the run back with Overbeek’s 406-foot solo blast off the videoboard in the bottom of the second.NU doubled its lead in the fourth after an RBI groundout from Overbeek brought home Riley Silva to make it 3-1. Silva was plunked to begin the frame, while a groundout and wild pitch moved the junior to third.SDSU came within a run in the fifth inning after an RBI double down the left-field line plated the Jackrabbits’ second run of the night.Garrett Anglim reached with a two-out walk in the fifth, before Silva ripped an RBI triple down the left-field line to grow the lead to 4-2 for the Big Red.Overbeek drew a full-count walk to start the bottom of the sixth and came around to score on Columbus’ sacrifice fly to left, building the lead to 5-2.The Jackrabbits loaded the bases with three singles in the seventh, but Perry escaped the threat with a strikeout to maintain the three-run advantage.Silva reached on a fielder’s choice and moved to third on a wild pitch, setting up Stokes’ RBI single to right field in the bottom of the seventh.A single and a fielding error, followed by a three-run homer to right brought the Jackrabbits within a run in the top of the eighth.SDSU then grabbed a 10-6 lead with five runs on five hits in the top of the ninth. Four straight singles, followed by a three-run homer gave the Jackrabbits their first lead of the night.The Huskers loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth inning on a pair of singles and hit-by-pitch, but were unable to capitalize to end the game.&nbsp;Nebraska welcomes Indiana to Lincoln this weekend for the final home weekend series of the season at Hawks Field at Haymarket Park. First pitch of Friday’s series opener between the Huskers and Hoosiers is scheduled for 6:02 p.m.

Huskers falter late against SDSU

District Track and Field results Class B

District Track and Field Results for Class A

Nebraska's Kelli Ann Strand opened with a two-under-par 70 to put herself in the top five in the individual standings after the first 18 holes at the NCAA Cle Elum Women's Golf Regional in Washington on Monday.

Strand, a sophomore from Challis, Idaho, recorded four birdies and an eagle along with nine pars while overcoming four bogeys to produce her 70 on the 6,306-yard layout of the Tumble Creek Club at the Suncadia Resort in Cle Elum. She began the day with pars on No. 1 and No. 2 before notching a birdie on the 320-yard, par-4 third hole. She bogeyed No. 4, but after a par on No. 5 she went back under par with her second birdie on the front nine on the 370-yard, par-4 sixth hole.

A bogey on No. 7 put her back at even, before a birdie on No. 8 and a par on No. 9 allowed her to take the turn to the back at 35 (-1). Bogeys on No. 10 and 13 around pars on No. 11 and 12 put her above par for the first time on Monday, but she quickly rallied for a birdie on the par-5, 528-yard 14th hole to get back to even.

Strand followed with pars on No. 15, 16 and 17, before unleashing an eagle on the par-5, 485-yard 18th hole to close out her round in a five-way tie for fifth among the 66 golfers in the regional field.

Duke's Anne Chen carded Monday's top individual round at the NCAA Cle Elum Regional with a 67 (-5) that featured six birdies and 11 pars against just one bogey. Stanford's Paula Martin Sampedro and Lily Hirst from Kansas sit just one shot back of Chen at 68 (-4), while Virginia's Celeste Valinho put up a 69 (-3) to sit alone in fourth.&nbsp;

Strand joins Beth Coulter (Arizona State), Andee Avery (Long Beach State), Kelly Xu (Stanford) and Phoebe Brinker (Duke) in a tie for fifth, two strokes ahead of six golfers tied for 10th at even-par 72.

Strand's 70 (-2) was the best round among the six individuals on non-qualifying regional teams in Cle Elum. Colorado's Sabrina Iqbal is tied for 44th at 77 (+5), while her CU teammate Morgan Miller and San Francisco's Riana Mission are tied for 51st at 78 (+6). New Mexico State's Emma Bunch, who was the top seed among the individuals in the Cle Elum Regional, is tied for 57th at 79 (+7), while Washington State's Madelyn Gamble rounded out the individuals with an 80 (+8) in a tie for 60th.

Duke put together Monday's best team round with a 282 (-6), while Stanford sits two strokes back at 284 (-4). Arizona State fired an even-par 288, while Virginia rounds out the top four at 289 (+1).

Action continues with the second round at the NCAA Cle Elum Regional on Tuesday, with Strand set to take the course at 12:50 p.m. (CT). Live scoring will be available on Huskers.com from GolfStat.

Story by NU Athletic CommunicationsNebraska's Kelli Ann Strand opened with a two-under-par 70 to put herself in the top five in the individual standings after the first 18 holes at the NCAA Cle Elum Women's Golf Regional in Washington on Monday.Strand, a sophomore from Challis, Idaho, recorded four birdies and an eagle along with nine pars while overcoming four bogeys to produce her 70 on the 6,306-yard layout of the Tumble Creek Club at the Suncadia Resort in Cle Elum. She began the day with pars on No. 1 and No. 2 before notching a birdie on the 320-yard, par-4 third hole. She bogeyed No. 4, but after a par on No. 5 she went back under par with her second birdie on the front nine on the 370-yard, par-4 sixth hole.A bogey on No. 7 put her back at even, before a birdie on No. 8 and a par on No. 9 allowed her to take the turn to the back at 35 (-1). Bogeys on No. 10 and 13 around pars on No. 11 and 12 put her above par for the first time on Monday, but she quickly rallied for a birdie on the par-5, 528-yard 14th hole to get back to even.Strand followed with pars on No. 15, 16 and 17, before unleashing an eagle on the par-5, 485-yard 18th hole to close out her round in a five-way tie for fifth among the 66 golfers in the regional field.Duke's Anne Chen carded Monday's top individual round at the NCAA Cle Elum Regional with a 67 (-5) that featured six birdies and 11 pars against just one bogey. Stanford's Paula Martin Sampedro and Lily Hirst from Kansas sit just one shot back of Chen at 68 (-4), while Virginia's Celeste Valinho put up a 69 (-3) to sit alone in fourth.&nbsp;Strand joins Beth Coulter (Arizona State), Andee Avery (Long Beach State), Kelly Xu (Stanford) and Phoebe Brinker (Duke) in a tie for fifth, two strokes ahead of six golfers tied for 10th at even-par 72.Strand's 70 (-2) was the best round among the six individuals on non-qualifying regional teams in Cle Elum. Colorado's Sabrina Iqbal is tied for 44th at 77 (+5), while her CU teammate Morgan Miller and San Francisco's Riana Mission are tied for 51st at 78 (+6). New Mexico State's Emma Bunch, who was the top seed among the individuals in the Cle Elum Regional, is tied for 57th at 79 (+7), while Washington State's Madelyn Gamble rounded out the individuals with an 80 (+8) in a tie for 60th.Duke put together Monday's best team round with a 282 (-6), while Stanford sits two strokes back at 284 (-4). Arizona State fired an even-par 288, while Virginia rounds out the top four at 289 (+1).Action continues with the second round at the NCAA Cle Elum Regional on Tuesday, with Strand set to take the course at 12:50 p.m. (CT). Live scoring will be available on Huskers.com from GolfStat.

 Strand shoots strong opening round at NCAA Regional

Story by UNK Athletic Communications&nbsp;

Kearney, Neb. –&nbsp;The 15th-ranked Nebraska-Kearney women's tennis team is back in the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ncaa.com/news/tennis-women/article/2024-05-06/2024-ncaa-dii-womens-tennis-championship-bracket-scores-schedule" target="_blank">NCAA Tournament</a>&nbsp;for the first time since 2018 and for the 12th time in program history.

UNK (19-5) is the top seed in the six-team Central Region and will play either fourth-seed Northwest Missouri or fifth-seed Augustana at Harmon Park this Saturday, May 11. First serve time is set for 2 p.m. 

The Bearcats (21-4) and Vikings (18-4) will square off Friday in Harmon at noon. In the Central, the top two seeds each host a three-team regional with the winners advancing to the "Sweet 16" May 20-24 in Altamonte Springs, Fla. Washburn is the two seed in the region with their bracket featuring Southeastern Oklahoma State and Missouri Western. UNK is 6-11 all-time in the NCAA's, reaching the "Sweet 16" in 2009, 2010 and 2012. 

The Lopers are 2-0 at Harmon in the NCAA's, winning matches in 2010 (vs. Augustana) and 2012 (vs. Western New Mexico).During the regular season, the Lopers won at Northwest by a 5-2 score and lost at Augustana, 4-3, in a match played indoors. The win over Northwest snapped a seven-match losing streak in the series with UNK not having beaten Augie since that 2010 NCAA match.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Story by UNK Athletic Communications&nbsp;Kearney, Neb. –&nbsp;The 15th-ranked Nebraska-Kearney women's tennis team is back in the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ncaa.com/news/tennis-women/article/2024-05-06/2024-ncaa-dii-womens-tennis-championship-bracket-scores-schedule" target="_blank">NCAA Tournament</a>&nbsp;for the first time since 2018 and for the 12th time in program history. UNK (19-5) is the top seed in the six-team Central Region and will play either fourth-seed Northwest Missouri or fifth-seed Augustana at Harmon Park this Saturday, May 11. First serve time is set for 2 p.m. The Bearcats (21-4) and Vikings (18-4) will square off Friday in Harmon at noon. In the Central, the top two seeds each host a three-team regional with the winners advancing to the "Sweet 16" May 20-24 in Altamonte Springs, Fla. Washburn is the two seed in the region with their bracket featuring Southeastern Oklahoma State and Missouri Western. UNK is 6-11 all-time in the NCAA's, reaching the "Sweet 16" in 2009, 2010 and 2012. The Lopers are 2-0 at Harmon in the NCAA's, winning matches in 2010 (vs. Augustana) and 2012 (vs. Western New Mexico).During the regular season, the Lopers won at Northwest by a 5-2 score and lost at Augustana, 4-3, in a match played indoors. The win over Northwest snapped a seven-match losing streak in the series with UNK not having beaten Augie since that 2010 NCAA match.&nbsp;&nbsp;

UNK aiming for fourth Sweet 16 trip

KEARNEY, NE.&nbsp;–&nbsp;The Tri-City Storm completed the first phase of the 2024 USHL Draft Monday evening by making ten selections in the ten-round draft of 2008-born players. The Storm drafted six forwards, three defensemen, and one goaltender in Monday’s draft. Phase II of the 2024 USHL Draft will begin tomorrow at 11:00 am CT. The USHL Draft is comprised of two separate Phases, beginning with Phase I, which consists of ten rounds of “Futures” age players, who will be Under-17 players for the next season. Only players born in 2008 are eligible to be selected in this year’s Phase I Draft. Phase II is open to players of all ages who are eligible to play junior hockey, and who are not currently on the Protected List of a Member Club. The Phase II Draft continues until all Member Clubs have filled their Initial Protected List to a total of forty-five players,&nbsp;including those who were previously protected from the Member Club’s affiliate list.&nbsp;Ilya Morozov, 15, Forward, from Moskva, Russia, was signed to a tender agreement for the 2024-2025 season on December 14th, 2023. The signing replaced Tri-City’s 1st&nbsp;Round draft selection in Monday’s Phase I Draft. Morozov skated in forty-nine games this season with the Windy City Storm. He netted thirty-three goals and notched forty-one assists for seventy-four total points. Morozov previously skated for Orbita Zelenograd in Zelenograd, Russia before beginning his career in North America. Morozov scored five goals and recorded three assists for eight total points for Team Moskva U15 in the 2022-2023 Federal Districts Cup. He also scored four goals and recorded five assists for nine total points in the 2021-2022 edition of the event for Moskva's U14 team. Morozov is 6'1", 154 lbs., and is a lefthanded shot.&nbsp;Levi Harper, 15, Defenseman, from Tampa, Florida, was the Storm’s first selection in Monday’s Phase I Draft. Harper was selected 22nd&nbsp;overall in the 2nd round by Tri-City. He scored nine goals and recorded twenty-three points for thirty-two total points in fifty-six games played this season for the Shattuck St. Mary’s Sabres 15U team (AAA, Faribault, Minnesota). Harper scored two goals and notched twenty-one assists for twenty-three total points in forty-two games played last season for Shattuck St. Mary’s 14U squad. He is the younger brother of current Storm defenseman Brandt Harper. He is 5’9”, 143 lbs., and is a righthanded shot.&nbsp;Will Bent, 16, Forward, from Dover, Massachusetts, was Tri-City’s next selection in Monday’s draft. Bent was drafted 37th&nbsp;overall in the 3rd round, and was the first forward selected by the Storm. He scored fifty-one goals and recorded forty-two assists for ninety-three total points in fifty-eight games played this season for Mount St. Charles Academy’s 15U team (AAA, Woonsocket, Rhode Island). Bent also netted thirty-seven goals and notched thirty-eight assists for seventy-five total points in fifty-two games played last season for the 14U team at Mount St. Charles. He previously skated for the Boston Jr. Eagles program (AAA, Wellesley, Massachusetts) before his time with Mount St. Charles. Bent is 6’1”, 190 lbs., and is a righthanded shot.&nbsp;Ben MacBeath, 16, Defenseman, from Calgary, Alberta, was the second defenseman drafted by the Storm in Monday’s Phase I Draft. He was selected 39th overall in the 3rd&nbsp;round. MacBeath scored six goals and notched twenty-three assists for twenty-nine total points in twenty-six games played this season for the Edge School Mountaineers U18 team (Prep, Calgary, Alberta). MacBeath scored seven goals and recorded thirty-six assists for forty-three total points in twenty-eight games played last season for Yale Hockey Academy’s 15U squad (Prep, Abbotsford, British Columbia). He is 6’0”, 170 lbs., and is a lefthanded shot.&nbsp;Trevor Theuer, 16, Forward, from Clarkston, Michigan, was selected 41st overall in the 3rd&nbsp;round of the 2024 USHL Phase I Draft by the Storm. Theuer was the third player selected by the Storm during Monday’s 3rd round. He scored twenty-four goals and recorded forty-five assists for sixty-nine total points in fifty-six games played this season for the Honeybaked 15U program (AAA, Farmington Hills, Michigan). Theuer also previously skated for the 14U and 13U Honeybaked teams. He is 5’10”, 172 lbs., and is a lefthanded shot.&nbsp;Ryder Fetterolf, 16, Goaltender, from Sewickley, Pennsylvania, was the only netminder selected by Tri-City in Monday’s Phase I Draft. Fetterolf was selected 52nd&nbsp;overall in the 4th&nbsp;round. Fetterolf appeared in forty-one games this season in goal for Gilmour Academy (Prep, Gates Mills, Ohio). He recorded a GAA (Goals Against Average) of 2.63, and a Save Percentage (SV%) of .915%. Fetterolf previously played for the Pittsburgh Penguins Elite 13U team (AAA, Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania). He is 6’0”, 165lbs., and catches with his left hand.&nbsp;Matthew Krayer, 15, Forward, from Concord, Massachusetts, was the next forward selected by the Storm in the Phase I Draft. He was drafted 67th overall in the 5th&nbsp;round during Monday’s draft. Matthew is the younger brother of Dylan Krayer, who was selected 145th&nbsp;overall by the Storm in the 10th&nbsp;round of the 2023 USHL Phase I Draft, and skated in two games with the team this season as an affiliate list callup. Matthew scored thirty-two goals and notched forty-seven assists for seventy-nine total points in fifty-six games played this season for Mount St. Charles Academy’s 15U team (AAA, Woonsocket, Rhode Island). He also scored twenty-nine goals and recorded thirty-four assists for sixty-three total points in fifty-seven games played for the team last season. Krayer previously skated for the Middlesex Islanders’ 13U program (AAA, Tyngsborough, Massachusetts). He is 5’9”, 160 lbs., and is a lefthanded shot.&nbsp;Jackson Strukel, 15, Defenseman, from Duluth, Minnesota, was drafted 82nd overall in the 6th&nbsp;round by Tri-City, and was the final defenseman selected by the Storm in the first Phase of the 2024 USHL Draft. Strukel netted eleven goals and recorded twenty-four assists for thirty-five total points in twenty-eight games played this season for Hibbing/Chisholm High School (HS, Hibbing, Minnesota). Strukel scored twenty-seven goals and notched thirty-six assists for sixty-three total points in forty-eight games played last season for the Hibbing-Chisholm Bantam program (A, Hibbing, Minnesota). &nbsp;He is 5’9”, 16l lbs., and is a lefthanded shot.Tri-City executed a trade with the Green Bay Gamblers during the 7th round of Monday’s Phase I Draft. The Storm traded the 97th&nbsp;overall pick in the 2024 USHL Phase I Draft to the Gamblers in exchange for the 100th &amp; 132nd&nbsp;overall picks in the 2024 USHL Phase I Draft.&nbsp;Hunter Rudolph, 16, Forward, from West Fargo, North Dakota, was selected 100th&nbsp;overall by the Storm in the 7th&nbsp;round of the Phase I Draft following Tri-City’s mid-draft transaction with Green Bay. Rudolph netted twenty-seven goals and notched thirty assists for fifty-seven total points in fifty-one total games played this season for NorthStar Christian Academy’s 16U team (AAA, Alexandria, Minnesota). He also previously skated for Team North Dakota and MN North Dakota AAA programs. Rudolph is 5’7’’, 130 lbs, and is a lefthanded shot. &nbsp;Jake Gustafson, 16, Forward, from San Jose, California, was the Storm’s penultimate pick of the 2024 USHL Phase I Draft. Gustafson was selected 112th overall in the 8th&nbsp;round by Tri-City, and was the ninth selection made by the Storm in Monday’s draft. He scored thirty-four goals and recorded twenty-nine assists for sixty-three total points in forty-three games played this season for the San Jose Jr. Sharks 15U program (AAA, San Jose California). Gustafson scored twenty-eight goals and notched twenty-three assists for fifty-one total points in thirty-six games played during the 2022-2023 season for the Jr. Sharks’ 14U program. He is 6’2”, 161 lbs., and is a righthanded shot.&nbsp;Nolan Duskocy, 16, Forward, from Ellington, Connecticut, was Tri-City’s final selection in the first phase of this year’s USHL Draft. He was drafted 132nd&nbsp;overall in the 9th&nbsp;round by the Storm. Duskocy scored twenty-seven goals and notched thirty-four assists for sixty-one total points in sixty-two games played this season with Bishop Kearney Selects’ 15U squad (AAA, Rochester, New York). He also netted thirty-nine goals and recorded thirty-six assists for seventy-five total points in seventy-four games played during the 2022-2023 season for Bishop Kearney’s 14U team. Duskocy is 6’1”, 165 lbs., and is a righthanded shot.“First off, a warm welcome to all of our new players and families who were selected this evening, and&nbsp;congratulations! It is great to complete an extremely important part of our team-building process today, and add quality talent and human beings to our organization. We are thrilled for the future of our roster and program. I cannot thank our scouting and coaching staff enough for the countless hours and time they've put into helping make these important decisions for the future of the Storm.”- General Manager Jason Koehler.

Signups are now underway for the Storm’s 2024 USHL Futures Camp at the Orbit Ice Arena in Palatine, Illinois. The camp is open to any interested 2009 or 2010-born player. The three-day development and exposure camp will be held August 2nd&nbsp;through August 4th, 2024. Camp spots will fill fast and are on a “first come, first served” basis. Once positions at the camp are filled, registrants will be locked out from signing up for those positions. Visit&nbsp;<a href="http://www.stormhockey.com/" target="_blank">www.StormHockey.com</a>&nbsp;for additional information, and to register for the camp.

Season Tickets to the Storm’s 25th&nbsp;Anniversary Season are on sale now and can be purchased by contacting a member of the Storm Sales Staff at 308-338-8144. Pricing, and the Season Ticket Order Form for the 2024-2025 season, can be found online at&nbsp;<a href="https://stormhockey.com/sports/2022/8/19/season-tickets.aspx" target="_blank">https://stormhockey.com/sports/2022/8/19/season-tickets.aspx</a>. Skate to&nbsp;<a href="http://www.stormhockey.com/" target="_blank">www.StormHockey.com</a>&nbsp;for more information regarding the Tri-City Storm organization. The Tri-City Storm is presented by Viaero Wireless.&nbsp;&nbsp;

KEARNEY, NE.&nbsp;–&nbsp;The Tri-City Storm completed the first phase of the 2024 USHL Draft Monday evening by making ten selections in the ten-round draft of 2008-born players. The Storm drafted six forwards, three defensemen, and one goaltender in Monday’s draft. Phase II of the 2024 USHL Draft will begin tomorrow at 11:00 am CT. The USHL Draft is comprised of two separate Phases, beginning with Phase I, which consists of ten rounds of “Futures” age players, who will be Under-17 players for the next season. Only players born in 2008 are eligible to be selected in this year’s Phase I Draft. Phase II is open to players of all ages who are eligible to play junior hockey, and who are not currently on the Protected List of a Member Club. The Phase II Draft continues until all Member Clubs have filled their Initial Protected List to a total of forty-five players,&nbsp;including those who were previously protected from the Member Club’s affiliate list.&nbsp;Ilya Morozov, 15, Forward, from Moskva, Russia, was signed to a tender agreement for the 2024-2025 season on December 14th, 2023. The signing replaced Tri-City’s 1st&nbsp;Round draft selection in Monday’s Phase I Draft. Morozov skated in forty-nine games this season with the Windy City Storm. He netted thirty-three goals and notched forty-one assists for seventy-four total points. Morozov previously skated for Orbita Zelenograd in Zelenograd, Russia before beginning his career in North America. Morozov scored five goals and recorded three assists for eight total points for Team Moskva U15 in the 2022-2023 Federal Districts Cup. He also scored four goals and recorded five assists for nine total points in the 2021-2022 edition of the event for Moskva's U14 team. Morozov is 6'1", 154 lbs., and is a lefthanded shot.&nbsp;Levi Harper, 15, Defenseman, from Tampa, Florida, was the Storm’s first selection in Monday’s Phase I Draft. Harper was selected 22nd&nbsp;overall in the 2nd round by Tri-City. He scored nine goals and recorded twenty-three points for thirty-two total points in fifty-six games played this season for the Shattuck St. Mary’s Sabres 15U team (AAA, Faribault, Minnesota). Harper scored two goals and notched twenty-one assists for twenty-three total points in forty-two games played last season for Shattuck St. Mary’s 14U squad. He is the younger brother of current Storm defenseman Brandt Harper. He is 5’9”, 143 lbs., and is a righthanded shot.&nbsp;Will Bent, 16, Forward, from Dover, Massachusetts, was Tri-City’s next selection in Monday’s draft. Bent was drafted 37th&nbsp;overall in the 3rd round, and was the first forward selected by the Storm. He scored fifty-one goals and recorded forty-two assists for ninety-three total points in fifty-eight games played this season for Mount St. Charles Academy’s 15U team (AAA, Woonsocket, Rhode Island). Bent also netted thirty-seven goals and notched thirty-eight assists for seventy-five total points in fifty-two games played last season for the 14U team at Mount St. Charles. He previously skated for the Boston Jr. Eagles program (AAA, Wellesley, Massachusetts) before his time with Mount St. Charles. Bent is 6’1”, 190 lbs., and is a righthanded shot.&nbsp;Ben MacBeath, 16, Defenseman, from Calgary, Alberta, was the second defenseman drafted by the Storm in Monday’s Phase I Draft. He was selected 39th overall in the 3rd&nbsp;round. MacBeath scored six goals and notched twenty-three assists for twenty-nine total points in twenty-six games played this season for the Edge School Mountaineers U18 team (Prep, Calgary, Alberta). MacBeath scored seven goals and recorded thirty-six assists for forty-three total points in twenty-eight games played last season for Yale Hockey Academy’s 15U squad (Prep, Abbotsford, British Columbia). He is 6’0”, 170 lbs., and is a lefthanded shot.&nbsp;Trevor Theuer, 16, Forward, from Clarkston, Michigan, was selected 41st overall in the 3rd&nbsp;round of the 2024 USHL Phase I Draft by the Storm. Theuer was the third player selected by the Storm during Monday’s 3rd round. He scored twenty-four goals and recorded forty-five assists for sixty-nine total points in fifty-six games played this season for the Honeybaked 15U program (AAA, Farmington Hills, Michigan). Theuer also previously skated for the 14U and 13U Honeybaked teams. He is 5’10”, 172 lbs., and is a lefthanded shot.&nbsp;Ryder Fetterolf, 16, Goaltender, from Sewickley, Pennsylvania, was the only netminder selected by Tri-City in Monday’s Phase I Draft. Fetterolf was selected 52nd&nbsp;overall in the 4th&nbsp;round. Fetterolf appeared in forty-one games this season in goal for Gilmour Academy (Prep, Gates Mills, Ohio). He recorded a GAA (Goals Against Average) of 2.63, and a Save Percentage (SV%) of .915%. Fetterolf previously played for the Pittsburgh Penguins Elite 13U team (AAA, Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania). He is 6’0”, 165lbs., and catches with his left hand.&nbsp;Matthew Krayer, 15, Forward, from Concord, Massachusetts, was the next forward selected by the Storm in the Phase I Draft. He was drafted 67th overall in the 5th&nbsp;round during Monday’s draft. Matthew is the younger brother of Dylan Krayer, who was selected 145th&nbsp;overall by the Storm in the 10th&nbsp;round of the 2023 USHL Phase I Draft, and skated in two games with the team this season as an affiliate list callup. Matthew scored thirty-two goals and notched forty-seven assists for seventy-nine total points in fifty-six games played this season for Mount St. Charles Academy’s 15U team (AAA, Woonsocket, Rhode Island). He also scored twenty-nine goals and recorded thirty-four assists for sixty-three total points in fifty-seven games played for the team last season. Krayer previously skated for the Middlesex Islanders’ 13U program (AAA, Tyngsborough, Massachusetts). He is 5’9”, 160 lbs., and is a lefthanded shot.&nbsp;Jackson Strukel, 15, Defenseman, from Duluth, Minnesota, was drafted 82nd overall in the 6th&nbsp;round by Tri-City, and was the final defenseman selected by the Storm in the first Phase of the 2024 USHL Draft. Strukel netted eleven goals and recorded twenty-four assists for thirty-five total points in twenty-eight games played this season for Hibbing/Chisholm High School (HS, Hibbing, Minnesota). Strukel scored twenty-seven goals and notched thirty-six assists for sixty-three total points in forty-eight games played last season for the Hibbing-Chisholm Bantam program (A, Hibbing, Minnesota). &nbsp;He is 5’9”, 16l lbs., and is a lefthanded shot.Tri-City executed a trade with the Green Bay Gamblers during the 7th round of Monday’s Phase I Draft. The Storm traded the 97th&nbsp;overall pick in the 2024 USHL Phase I Draft to the Gamblers in exchange for the 100th &amp; 132nd&nbsp;overall picks in the 2024 USHL Phase I Draft.&nbsp;Hunter Rudolph, 16, Forward, from West Fargo, North Dakota, was selected 100th&nbsp;overall by the Storm in the 7th&nbsp;round of the Phase I Draft following Tri-City’s mid-draft transaction with Green Bay. Rudolph netted twenty-seven goals and notched thirty assists for fifty-seven total points in fifty-one total games played this season for NorthStar Christian Academy’s 16U team (AAA, Alexandria, Minnesota). He also previously skated for Team North Dakota and MN North Dakota AAA programs. Rudolph is 5’7’’, 130 lbs, and is a lefthanded shot. &nbsp;Jake Gustafson, 16, Forward, from San Jose, California, was the Storm’s penultimate pick of the 2024 USHL Phase I Draft. Gustafson was selected 112th overall in the 8th&nbsp;round by Tri-City, and was the ninth selection made by the Storm in Monday’s draft. He scored thirty-four goals and recorded twenty-nine assists for sixty-three total points in forty-three games played this season for the San Jose Jr. Sharks 15U program (AAA, San Jose California). Gustafson scored twenty-eight goals and notched twenty-three assists for fifty-one total points in thirty-six games played during the 2022-2023 season for the Jr. Sharks’ 14U program. He is 6’2”, 161 lbs., and is a righthanded shot.&nbsp;Nolan Duskocy, 16, Forward, from Ellington, Connecticut, was Tri-City’s final selection in the first phase of this year’s USHL Draft. He was drafted 132nd&nbsp;overall in the 9th&nbsp;round by the Storm. Duskocy scored twenty-seven goals and notched thirty-four assists for sixty-one total points in sixty-two games played this season with Bishop Kearney Selects’ 15U squad (AAA, Rochester, New York). He also netted thirty-nine goals and recorded thirty-six assists for seventy-five total points in seventy-four games played during the 2022-2023 season for Bishop Kearney’s 14U team. Duskocy is 6’1”, 165 lbs., and is a righthanded shot.“First off, a warm welcome to all of our new players and families who were selected this evening, and&nbsp;congratulations! It is great to complete an extremely important part of our team-building process today, and add quality talent and human beings to our organization. We are thrilled for the future of our roster and program. I cannot thank our scouting and coaching staff enough for the countless hours and time they've put into helping make these important decisions for the future of the Storm.”- General Manager Jason Koehler.Signups are now underway for the Storm’s 2024 USHL Futures Camp at the Orbit Ice Arena in Palatine, Illinois. The camp is open to any interested 2009 or 2010-born player. The three-day development and exposure camp will be held August 2nd&nbsp;through August 4th, 2024. Camp spots will fill fast and are on a “first come, first served” basis. Once positions at the camp are filled, registrants will be locked out from signing up for those positions. Visit&nbsp;<a href="http://www.stormhockey.com/" target="_blank">www.StormHockey.com</a>&nbsp;for additional information, and to register for the camp.Season Tickets to the Storm’s 25th&nbsp;Anniversary Season are on sale now and can be purchased by contacting a member of the Storm Sales Staff at 308-338-8144. Pricing, and the Season Ticket Order Form for the 2024-2025 season, can be found online at&nbsp;<a href="https://stormhockey.com/sports/2022/8/19/season-tickets.aspx" target="_blank">https://stormhockey.com/sports/2022/8/19/season-tickets.aspx</a>. Skate to&nbsp;<a href="http://www.stormhockey.com/" target="_blank">www.StormHockey.com</a>&nbsp;for more information regarding the Tri-City Storm organization. The Tri-City Storm is presented by Viaero Wireless.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Storm completes first phase of USHL Draft

HENDERSON, NV. -&nbsp;The&nbsp;Omaha Supernovas (15-7)&nbsp;earned a sweep of the Vegas Thrill (8-15) for the second-straight match (25-16, 25-23, 25-16) to win the season series and officially claim the No. 2 seed in the upcoming&nbsp;Pro Volleyball Federation Championship. The season’s inaugural championship will take place at the&nbsp;CHI Health Center&nbsp;in Omaha on May 15 and May 18.&nbsp;

Omaha will either take on the Grand Rapids Rise, Columbus Fury or San Diego Mojo in the semifinal showdown at 8:30 p.m. on May 15.&nbsp;

The Supernovas were boosted by a .286 team hitting percentage which is the third-highest clip they’ve achieved this season and the highest since hitting .299 against the Orlando Valkyries on Feb. 18. Team captain&nbsp;Brooke Nuneviller&nbsp;led the offensive charge with a match-high 10 kills to go with 14 digs and one block. Nuneviller was the only player to reach double-digit kills from either side. Opposite&nbsp;Stephanie Samedy&nbsp;added nine kills while Olympian&nbsp;Bethania de la Cruz&nbsp;posted seven kills and her league-leading 30th ace of the season.&nbsp;

The two Omaha middle blockers&nbsp;Tori Dixon&nbsp;and&nbsp;Hristina Vuchkova&nbsp;had another extremely efficient night from the middle. Dixon put down seven kills on a .375 clip and two blocks while Vuchkova earned four kills on a .500 hitting percentage along with a match-high four blocks. The two middles have combined for 27 kills on a .426 clip over the two-match road trip.&nbsp;

Setter&nbsp;Natalia Valentín-Anderson&nbsp;handed out 32 assists in three sets as well as 15 digs and one kill. Libero&nbsp;Kendall White&nbsp;dug out 12 balls on the night. The Supernovas finished with seven team blocks and two aces.&nbsp;

Rookie outside hitter Hannah Maddux paced the Thrill offense with nine kills while opposite Khat Bell finished with eight. Middle Berkeley Oblad posted eight kills on 22 swings with no errors for a .364 hitting percentage. The Thrill finished with five blocks and three aces in their home finale.&nbsp;

Set 1:&nbsp;The Supernovas shot out to a 7-3 advantage out of the gate as Dixon slammed down two kills while de la Cruz and Samedy added their first kills of the match. Bell earned a pair of kills to end the run, but a slew of hitting errors gave Omaha a 9-4 edge. Vuchkova tallied her first kill of the match off an overpass. Another hitting error made it an 11-4 Supernovas lead, forcing a Vegas timeout. De la Cruz added two more kills to extend the Supernovas run to 7-1. Nuneviller put down her first kill to give Omaha a 15-6 lead. Bell later fueled a 5-1 run for the Thrill which also included a McKenna Vicini ace. Vuchkova posted another kill while a Vegas hitting error halted the Thrill momentum. Vuchkova used the slide for her third kill of the set while de la Cruz earned a crafty kill to force a Vegas timeout at 23-15, Omaha. De la Cruz gave the Supernovas set point before a Bell hitting error gave Omaha the 25-16 set win.&nbsp;

The Supernovas hit .412 with only one hitting error on 34 swings as well as one block, but no aces. De la Cruz paced the offense with five kills while Vuchkova and Samedy each finished with three.&nbsp;

Vegas hit .094 with one block and one ace. Bell posted four kills while rookie Maddux had three.&nbsp;

Set 2:&nbsp;Maddux gave Vegas a 3-2 lead early, but the Supernovas answered with a 7-1 run. Nuneviller earned four kills in that burst, including three straight while Dixon earned an ace to give Omaha a 9-4 lead. Nuneviller added her fifth kill before the halfway point of the set. The Thrill used the hard serving from Payton Caffrey to garner momentum serving an ace as part of a 5-1 run to get within two. A 4-1 run from Vegas tied the match at 18 as Vicini dropped in another ace while Oblad and Caffrey put down kills. A kill by setter Alisha Glass Childress and Maddux extended the Vegas lead to 20-18, but de la Cruz responded with back-to-back kills to tie the set again. The Thrill took a 22-21 advantage off an Omaha four-hit violation, but a 3-0 run off a trio of hitting errors gave the Supernovas a 24-22 lead. Maddux slammed down a kill to make it second set point for Omaha, but Samedy shut the door with a tool off the block for a 25-23 set two win.&nbsp;

The Supernovas hit .200 with three blocks and the lone Dixon ace. Nuneviller came alive for six kills in the set on a .455 hitting percentage.&nbsp;

Vegas hit .175 with three blocks and two aces. Oblad put down five kills on 10 swings for a .500 clip while Maddux added three kills.&nbsp;

Set 3:&nbsp;The Supernovas kept their momentum into the third set as Dixon started things off with a block. Samedy followed up with a kill while a Vegas hitting error quickly gave Omaha a 3-0 lead. Oblad ended the run at three with a kill. Dixon and Nuneviller each added one more kill while another Maddux hitting woe lifted the Supernovas lead to 6-1, forcing a Thrill timeout. Vegas answered with back-to-back points of a Maddux kill and Bell block. Three more errors extended the Omaha lead to 10-4 before the Thrill picked up the slack with a 5-1 run including two more kills from Bell. After getting back within three at 14-11, the Supernovas went on a run of their own as Dixon put down two more kills and earned a block to force a Vegas timeout at 18-12. Vuchkova came up with a block and a kill while Nuneviller and Samedy tacked on another termination to lengthen the Omaha run to six-straight points to go up 22-13. A service error gave the Supernovas match point before another Vegas hitting mistake gave Omaha the match win at 25-16.&nbsp;

The Supernovas return to Omaha for their home finale against the Columbus Fury on Thursday, May 9 at the CHI Health Center. First serve is set for 7 p.m. CDT with News Channel Nebraska providing television coverage. Fans can listen to all the action live on the Supernovas Radio Network led by its flagship station 93.7 The Ticket.&nbsp;

Story by Supernovas CommunicationsHENDERSON, NV. -&nbsp;The&nbsp;Omaha Supernovas (15-7)&nbsp;earned a sweep of the Vegas Thrill (8-15) for the second-straight match (25-16, 25-23, 25-16) to win the season series and officially claim the No. 2 seed in the upcoming&nbsp;Pro Volleyball Federation Championship. The season’s inaugural championship will take place at the&nbsp;CHI Health Center&nbsp;in Omaha on May 15 and May 18.&nbsp;Omaha will either take on the Grand Rapids Rise, Columbus Fury or San Diego Mojo in the semifinal showdown at 8:30 p.m. on May 15.&nbsp;The Supernovas were boosted by a .286 team hitting percentage which is the third-highest clip they’ve achieved this season and the highest since hitting .299 against the Orlando Valkyries on Feb. 18. Team captain&nbsp;Brooke Nuneviller&nbsp;led the offensive charge with a match-high 10 kills to go with 14 digs and one block. Nuneviller was the only player to reach double-digit kills from either side. Opposite&nbsp;Stephanie Samedy&nbsp;added nine kills while Olympian&nbsp;Bethania de la Cruz&nbsp;posted seven kills and her league-leading 30th ace of the season.&nbsp;The two Omaha middle blockers&nbsp;Tori Dixon&nbsp;and&nbsp;Hristina Vuchkova&nbsp;had another extremely efficient night from the middle. Dixon put down seven kills on a .375 clip and two blocks while Vuchkova earned four kills on a .500 hitting percentage along with a match-high four blocks. The two middles have combined for 27 kills on a .426 clip over the two-match road trip.&nbsp;Setter&nbsp;Natalia Valentín-Anderson&nbsp;handed out 32 assists in three sets as well as 15 digs and one kill. Libero&nbsp;Kendall White&nbsp;dug out 12 balls on the night. The Supernovas finished with seven team blocks and two aces.&nbsp;Rookie outside hitter Hannah Maddux paced the Thrill offense with nine kills while opposite Khat Bell finished with eight. Middle Berkeley Oblad posted eight kills on 22 swings with no errors for a .364 hitting percentage. The Thrill finished with five blocks and three aces in their home finale.&nbsp;Set 1:&nbsp;The Supernovas shot out to a 7-3 advantage out of the gate as Dixon slammed down two kills while de la Cruz and Samedy added their first kills of the match. Bell earned a pair of kills to end the run, but a slew of hitting errors gave Omaha a 9-4 edge. Vuchkova tallied her first kill of the match off an overpass. Another hitting error made it an 11-4 Supernovas lead, forcing a Vegas timeout. De la Cruz added two more kills to extend the Supernovas run to 7-1. Nuneviller put down her first kill to give Omaha a 15-6 lead. Bell later fueled a 5-1 run for the Thrill which also included a McKenna Vicini ace. Vuchkova posted another kill while a Vegas hitting error halted the Thrill momentum. Vuchkova used the slide for her third kill of the set while de la Cruz earned a crafty kill to force a Vegas timeout at 23-15, Omaha. De la Cruz gave the Supernovas set point before a Bell hitting error gave Omaha the 25-16 set win.&nbsp;The Supernovas hit .412 with only one hitting error on 34 swings as well as one block, but no aces. De la Cruz paced the offense with five kills while Vuchkova and Samedy each finished with three.&nbsp;Vegas hit .094 with one block and one ace. Bell posted four kills while rookie Maddux had three.&nbsp;Set 2:&nbsp;Maddux gave Vegas a 3-2 lead early, but the Supernovas answered with a 7-1 run. Nuneviller earned four kills in that burst, including three straight while Dixon earned an ace to give Omaha a 9-4 lead. Nuneviller added her fifth kill before the halfway point of the set. The Thrill used the hard serving from Payton Caffrey to garner momentum serving an ace as part of a 5-1 run to get within two. A 4-1 run from Vegas tied the match at 18 as Vicini dropped in another ace while Oblad and Caffrey put down kills. A kill by setter Alisha Glass Childress and Maddux extended the Vegas lead to 20-18, but de la Cruz responded with back-to-back kills to tie the set again. The Thrill took a 22-21 advantage off an Omaha four-hit violation, but a 3-0 run off a trio of hitting errors gave the Supernovas a 24-22 lead. Maddux slammed down a kill to make it second set point for Omaha, but Samedy shut the door with a tool off the block for a 25-23 set two win.&nbsp;The Supernovas hit .200 with three blocks and the lone Dixon ace. Nuneviller came alive for six kills in the set on a .455 hitting percentage.&nbsp;Vegas hit .175 with three blocks and two aces. Oblad put down five kills on 10 swings for a .500 clip while Maddux added three kills.&nbsp;Set 3:&nbsp;The Supernovas kept their momentum into the third set as Dixon started things off with a block. Samedy followed up with a kill while a Vegas hitting error quickly gave Omaha a 3-0 lead. Oblad ended the run at three with a kill. Dixon and Nuneviller each added one more kill while another Maddux hitting woe lifted the Supernovas lead to 6-1, forcing a Thrill timeout. Vegas answered with back-to-back points of a Maddux kill and Bell block. Three more errors extended the Omaha lead to 10-4 before the Thrill picked up the slack with a 5-1 run including two more kills from Bell. After getting back within three at 14-11, the Supernovas went on a run of their own as Dixon put down two more kills and earned a block to force a Vegas timeout at 18-12. Vuchkova came up with a block and a kill while Nuneviller and Samedy tacked on another termination to lengthen the Omaha run to six-straight points to go up 22-13. A service error gave the Supernovas match point before another Vegas hitting mistake gave Omaha the match win at 25-16.&nbsp;The Supernovas return to Omaha for their home finale against the Columbus Fury on Thursday, May 9 at the CHI Health Center. First serve is set for 7 p.m. CDT with News Channel Nebraska providing television coverage. Fans can listen to all the action live on the Supernovas Radio Network led by its flagship station 93.7 The Ticket.&nbsp;

Supernovas sweep Thrill again to take season series

North Platte, Neb. - North Platte natives Jack Hughes, Reece Perry and Scott Blaesi have qualified for the 2024 High School Fishing National Championships taking place in South Carolina.

Hughes, Perry and boat captain Blaesi won SAF Nebraska High School state fishing tournament on May 5th at Merritt Reservoir near Valentine. As a team, their&nbsp;total bag weighed 9.95 pounds. The trio will participate in the 2024&nbsp;High School Fishing National Championships on June 19-22 at Lake Hartwell in South Carolina.

Also qualifying from Nebraska for the&nbsp;High School Fishing National Championships is&nbsp;Gage Overton &amp; Kaden Wilhelmson from McCook High School. Overton and Wilhelmson participated in last year's national championships in Wisconsin.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/5/1715024621535.jpeg" alt="L-R: Jack Hughes, Scott Blaesi and Reece Perry. (Photo courtesy of Riley Hughes)" />
 <figcaption>L-R: Jack Hughes, Scott Blaesi and Reece Perry. (Photo courtesy of Riley Hughes)</figcaption>
 </figure>North Platte PostNorth Platte, Neb. - North Platte natives Jack Hughes, Reece Perry and Scott Blaesi have qualified for the 2024 High School Fishing National Championships taking place in South Carolina.Hughes, Perry and boat captain Blaesi won SAF Nebraska High School state fishing tournament on May 5th at Merritt Reservoir near Valentine. As a team, their&nbsp;total bag weighed 9.95 pounds. The trio will participate in the 2024&nbsp;High School Fishing National Championships on June 19-22 at Lake Hartwell in South Carolina.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/5/1715026653668.jpeg" alt="L-R: Gage Overton and Kaden Wilhelmson (Courtesy Photo)" />
 <figcaption>L-R: Gage Overton and Kaden Wilhelmson (Courtesy Photo)</figcaption>
 </figure>Also qualifying from Nebraska for the&nbsp;High School Fishing National Championships is&nbsp;Gage Overton &amp; Kaden Wilhelmson from McCook High School. Overton and Wilhelmson participated in last year's national championships in Wisconsin.

North Platte, McCook high school fishing teams moving on to South Carolina for the 2024 High School Fishing National Championships

ROSEMONT, Ill. – The Big Ten Conference has announced the full 12-team, single-elimination bracket for the 25th Big Ten Softball Tournament, presented by DirecTV that will take place May 8-11 at the University of Iowa’s Bob Pearl Field in Iowa City, Iowa.&nbsp;

Northwestern (33-10, 19-3 Big Ten) is the No. 1 seed for this year’s tournament after earning its 10th Big Ten Championship and third in a row on Sunday. The Wildcats have won three Big Ten Tournament titles (1982, 2008, 2023) and will open this year’s tournament on Thursday with a quarterfinal contest at 11 a.m. (CT) live on the Big Ten Network against the winner of Wednesday’s first-round game between No. 12 Illinois and No. 5 Minnesota.&nbsp;

Michigan (38-16, 17-5) is the No. 2 seed for this year’s Big Ten Tournament. The Wolverines have won a conference-record 10 Big Ten Tournament championships, most recently in 2019. They will open this year’s Big Ten Tournament slate at 4:30 p.m. (CT) Thursday, playing live on the Big Ten Network against the winner of Wednesday’s first-round matchup between tenth-seeded Maryland and No. 7&nbsp;seed Penn State. &nbsp;

Rutgers (33-21, 14-9) is the No. 3 seed for the Big Ten Tournament, the Scarlet Knights’ highest seed ever as part of their fifth Big Ten Tournament appearance. Rutgers opens postseason play with a quarterfinal matchup against the winner of No. 11 Wisconsin and No. 6 Ohio State on Thursday at 7 p.m. (CT) on Big Ten Network. &nbsp;

Rounding out the top four seeds is Nebraska (29-22,12-9), claiming the last of the tournament byes into the quarterfinal round. Nebraska won its first Big Ten Tournament title in 2022 and will begin its postseason quest Thursday at 1:30 p.m. (CT), playing live on the Big Ten Network against the winner of Wednesday’s first-round matchup between ninth-seeded Purdue and No. 8 seed Indiana. &nbsp;

&nbsp;&nbsp;
All 11 games of this year’s Big Ten Tournament will not only be televised live to a national audience on the Big Ten Network, but will also be available on the FOX Sports app.&nbsp;

&nbsp;&nbsp;
For more information on this year’s tournament, visit the Big Ten Tournament Central page at <a href="http://www.bigten.org/softball" target="_blank">bigten.org/softball</a>.&nbsp;
&nbsp; &nbsp;
The 2024 Big Ten Softball Tournament, presented by DirecTV schedule is as follows:&nbsp;

Wednesday, May 8 (First Round)&nbsp;

Game 1 (#9 Purdue vs. #8 Indiana) – 11 a.m. CT (BTN)&nbsp;

Game 2 (#12 Illinois vs. #5 Minnesota) – 1:30 p.m. CT (BTN)&nbsp;

Game 3 (#10 Maryland vs. #7 Penn State) – 4:30 p.m. CT (BTN)&nbsp;

Game 4 (#11 Wisconsin vs. #6 Ohio State) – 7 p.m. CT (BTN)&nbsp;

Thursday, May 9 (Quarterfinal)&nbsp;

Game 5 (#1 Northwestern vs. Game 1 winner) – 11 a.m. CT (BTN)&nbsp;

Game 6 (#4 Nebraska vs. Game 2 winner) – 1:30 p.m. CT (BTN)&nbsp;

Game 7 (#2 Michigan vs. Game 3 winner) – 4:30 p.m. CT (BTN)&nbsp;

Game 8 (#3 Rutgers vs. Game 4 winner) – 7 p.m. CT (BTN)&nbsp;

&nbsp;&nbsp;
Friday, May 10 (Semifinals)&nbsp;

Game 9 (Game 5 vs. Game 6 winner) – 4 p.m. CT (BTN)&nbsp;

Game 10 (Game 7 vs. Game 8 winner) – 6:30 p.m. CT (BTN)&nbsp;

&nbsp;&nbsp;
Saturday, May 11 (Championship)&nbsp;

Game 11 (Game 9 vs. Game 10 winner) – 3 p.m. CT (BTN)&nbsp;

&nbsp;&nbsp;
NOTES: All times Central (local to the site) … dates and times are approximate and subject to change … Big Ten Network (BTN) games are also available on the FOX Sports app … for more information, please visit the tournament web site at bigten.org/sb&nbsp;

Story by NU Athletic CommunicationsROSEMONT, Ill. – The Big Ten Conference has announced the full 12-team, single-elimination bracket for the 25th Big Ten Softball Tournament, presented by DirecTV that will take place May 8-11 at the University of Iowa’s Bob Pearl Field in Iowa City, Iowa.&nbsp;Northwestern (33-10, 19-3 Big Ten) is the No. 1 seed for this year’s tournament after earning its 10th Big Ten Championship and third in a row on Sunday. The Wildcats have won three Big Ten Tournament titles (1982, 2008, 2023) and will open this year’s tournament on Thursday with a quarterfinal contest at 11 a.m. (CT) live on the Big Ten Network against the winner of Wednesday’s first-round game between No. 12 Illinois and No. 5 Minnesota.&nbsp;Michigan (38-16, 17-5) is the No. 2 seed for this year’s Big Ten Tournament. The Wolverines have won a conference-record 10 Big Ten Tournament championships, most recently in 2019. They will open this year’s Big Ten Tournament slate at 4:30 p.m. (CT) Thursday, playing live on the Big Ten Network against the winner of Wednesday’s first-round matchup between tenth-seeded Maryland and No. 7&nbsp;seed Penn State. &nbsp;Rutgers (33-21, 14-9) is the No. 3 seed for the Big Ten Tournament, the Scarlet Knights’ highest seed ever as part of their fifth Big Ten Tournament appearance. Rutgers opens postseason play with a quarterfinal matchup against the winner of No. 11 Wisconsin and No. 6 Ohio State on Thursday at 7 p.m. (CT) on Big Ten Network. &nbsp;Rounding out the top four seeds is Nebraska (29-22,12-9), claiming the last of the tournament byes into the quarterfinal round. Nebraska won its first Big Ten Tournament title in 2022 and will begin its postseason quest Thursday at 1:30 p.m. (CT), playing live on the Big Ten Network against the winner of Wednesday’s first-round matchup between ninth-seeded Purdue and No. 8 seed Indiana. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
All 11 games of this year’s Big Ten Tournament will not only be televised live to a national audience on the Big Ten Network, but will also be available on the FOX Sports app.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
For more information on this year’s tournament, visit the Big Ten Tournament Central page at <a href="http://www.bigten.org/softball" target="_blank">bigten.org/softball</a>.&nbsp;
&nbsp; &nbsp;
The 2024 Big Ten Softball Tournament, presented by DirecTV schedule is as follows:&nbsp;Wednesday, May 8 (First Round)&nbsp;Game 1 (#9 Purdue vs. #8 Indiana) – 11 a.m. CT (BTN)&nbsp;Game 2 (#12 Illinois vs. #5 Minnesota) – 1:30 p.m. CT (BTN)&nbsp;Game 3 (#10 Maryland vs. #7 Penn State) – 4:30 p.m. CT (BTN)&nbsp;Game 4 (#11 Wisconsin vs. #6 Ohio State) – 7 p.m. CT (BTN)&nbsp;Thursday, May 9 (Quarterfinal)&nbsp;Game 5 (#1 Northwestern vs. Game 1 winner) – 11 a.m. CT (BTN)&nbsp;Game 6 (#4 Nebraska vs. Game 2 winner) – 1:30 p.m. CT (BTN)&nbsp;Game 7 (#2 Michigan vs. Game 3 winner) – 4:30 p.m. CT (BTN)&nbsp;Game 8 (#3 Rutgers vs. Game 4 winner) – 7 p.m. CT (BTN)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
Friday, May 10 (Semifinals)&nbsp;Game 9 (Game 5 vs. Game 6 winner) – 4 p.m. CT (BTN)&nbsp;Game 10 (Game 7 vs. Game 8 winner) – 6:30 p.m. CT (BTN)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
Saturday, May 11 (Championship)&nbsp;Game 11 (Game 9 vs. Game 10 winner) – 3 p.m. CT (BTN)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
NOTES: All times Central (local to the site) … dates and times are approximate and subject to change … Big Ten Network (BTN) games are also available on the FOX Sports app … for more information, please visit the tournament web site at bigten.org/sb&nbsp;

2024 Big Ten Softball Tournament bracket released 

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Oneil Cruz hit a two-run homer to highlight a four-run sixth inning, powering the Pittsburgh Pirates past the Colorado Rockies 5-3 on Sunday for a series win.

Cruz sent a slider from Ryan Feltner (1-3) 429 feet to right-center, bouncing his fifth of the season off the roof of a bar beyond the stands to put Pittsburgh ahead 4-3. He also had a double for his first game with multiple extra-base hits in 35 games this season.

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 </figure>PITTSBURGH (AP) — Oneil Cruz hit a two-run homer to highlight a four-run sixth inning, powering the Pittsburgh Pirates past the Colorado Rockies 5-3 on Sunday for a series win.Cruz sent a slider from Ryan Feltner (1-3) 429 feet to right-center, bouncing his fifth of the season off the roof of a bar beyond the stands to put Pittsburgh ahead 4-3. He also had a double for his first game with multiple extra-base hits in 35 games this season.Before hitting a ball into the Allegheny River in the ninth inning of a 3-2 series-opening loss Friday, Cruz had two doubles in 17 games between homers.“I think the one thing we have to realize with Oneil is he does a lot of things that look easy,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “So, at times, he gets the moniker of, like, ‘The body language is bad.’ He cares. I mean, he's locked in. But I do think getting a couple of hits, having a couple of good games, your confidence will definitely tick back up.”After the homer, Rowdy Tellez hit a double to right before scoring on a single from Jack Suwinski. Feltner, who gave up five runs on eight hits in 5 2/3 innings, began the inning by allowing a single to Connor Joe and a double to Bryan Reynolds in the first four pitches. Joe scored on a grounder from Ke’Bryan Hayes.The Pirates took the final two of the three-game set, their first series victory since winning two of three against Baltimore from April 5-7. The Rockies, who have lost seven of eight, have yet to win a series.“Unable to get the big hit throughout the course of the game a couple of times,” Colorado manager Bud Black said. “That's been a killer for our offense. Somewhere along the line, we've got to get a couple of guys hot.”Luis Ortiz (2-1) was perfect in 1 2/3 innings after replacing Pittsburgh starter Bailey Falter with one out in the sixth. David Bednar picked up his sixth save, allowing a two-out double from Sean Bouchard before striking out Jake Cave in the ninth.Jacob Stallings and Bouchard put Colorado ahead 3-0 on back-to-back home runs off Falter in the second inning. Stallings drove in two runs by taking a sinker 414 feet into the bushes in center; Bouchard sent a fastball 400 feet into the left-field bleachers.Falter gave up three runs on six hits.“Would like to have a couple pitches back,” Falter said. “These guys are good hitters. They're all here for a reason, just like us. ... After the third, settled down pretty well and felt like we did a pretty good job.”Cruz doubled off the top of the Clemente Wall in right with one out in the fourth and Hayes scored the Pirates’ first run when Tellez grounded back to Feltner, who had allowed one hit through three innings.“Everything was working today,” Feltner said. “Felt good with my stuff, overall. Just need to finish stronger.”UP NEXTRockies: RHP Dakota Hudson (0-5, 5.93) will start Tuesday, returning home for a three-game series against San Francisco.Pirates: RHP Mitch Keller (2-3, 5.18) will take the mound Monday to start a three-game series against the Angels.