The Spartans advanced to Thursdays semifinals to face No. 20 Baylor, | Forum

LINCOLN, Neb. Mike Alstott Jersey . -- A day after Nebraskas volleyball season nearly came to an end at the hands of Big Ten rival Penn State, the Huskers looked like they were putting on a clinic against Washington.All the drama, huge points, and subsequent relief that marked the Huskers five-set escape on Friday was processed into confidence. It helped them to a 3-0 domination of the Huskies on Saturday.Its a muscle, or toughness, that you develop when you go through something like that, Nebraska coach John Cook said of his Huskers rallying from down two sets and two match points to the Nittany Lions in the regional semifinals. You just get stronger.I told them that before [Saturdays] match, You guys have another level, you just dont know it. And its going to come out tonight. Did it ever. Nebraska won 25-16, 25-10, 25-21 over the Pac-12 regular-season champions, beating Washington in the regional final for the second year in a row. The Huskers hit .437, and they held the Huskies to .088 -- and its hard to pick which one of those stats is more impressive. Washington is a very good team, but you couldnt tell by watching how much Nebraska controlled everything.So this was the match with which the Huskers seniors said goodbye to the sold-out (as always) Devaney Center and hello to another final four.Nebraska, the No. 1 overall seed, is going to the national semifinals for the second year in a row and 13th time total. The defending national champions will be seeking the programs fifth NCAA title, and theyre trying to do one of the few things the Huskers havent done in this sport: win back-to-back championships.Washington was a program the Huskers knew well, but their national semifinal opponent is even more familiar: former conference mate and No. 4 seed Texas, which made its 12th final four with a sweep of Creighton in the Austin regional final.Texas and Nebraska battled in the Big 12 until the Huskers moved to the Big Ten in 2011. They met in the NCAA final last year, won in a sweep by Nebraska. Nebraska also swept Texas at the start of this season, in the VERT Challenge in Eugene, Oregon, in August. Nebraska leads the series with Texas 32-21.While regional host schools Nebraska and Texas advanced after surviving five-set matches in Fridays semifinals, Wisconsin did not. The No. 3 Badgers lost a 2-0 lead to sixth-seeded Stanford in Saturdays final in Madison, Wisconsin, and fell 15-9 in the fifth set. The loss ended the great college career of Wisconsin setter Lauren Carlini, who led the Badgers to the final four as a freshman.Stanford is the only school that has more national semifinal appearances than Nebraska -- the Cardinal now have 20, with six NCAA titles.Stanford will face No. 2 seed Minnesota, which had the least drama of any of the top seeds in advancing to the final four. The Gophers swept No. 10 seed UCLA in Saturdays final after beating No. 15 Missouri 3-1 in the semifinals. Minnesota is in the final four for the fifth time in program history and for the second season in a row. The Gophers lost to Texas in the national semifinals last year.Nebraskas Kadie Rolfzen had 10 kills and seven digs Saturday to go along with her 14 kills and 18 digs on Friday, and she was named the Lincoln regionals most outstanding player. A first-team All-American last year, she is one of four Huskers seniors, along with her twin sister, Amber.In Fridays victory, Amber had a kill and then teamed with junior setter Kelly Hunter for a block on the two match points that Nebraska saved against Penn State. Saturday, Amber had five kills and four block assists.We knew we had that fight in us from [Friday], Kadie Rolfzen said. It was something I felt throughout the whole day. The result didnt surprise me. ... We were really excited, and we were just playing loose.The Rolfzen sisters are natives of Nebraska and have been committed to the program since they were 14. But two transfers from the Lone Star State did a lot in this regional, too, for the Huskers.Briana Holman, who is from DeSoto, Texas, played two seasons at LSU, then transferred to Nebraska last year and had to sit out while the Huskers won the NCAA title. She had 17 kills and four block-assists against Penn State.Andie Malloy, whos from Allen, Texas, played one season at Iowa State, then two at Baylor before spending her senior season at Nebraska.Even though I was only here for a year, I got to experience the best fans in college volleyball, said Malloy, who had a team-high 15 kills Saturday. The atmosphere that has been built here with this program is surreal, and its been fun to be a part of. Charles Sims Jersey . Pence singled in the winning run with no outs in the ninth inning to give the Giants a 7-6 victory over the San Diego Padres on Sunday. Chris Baker Jersey . -- Canadian Andrew Wiggins got the ball on the wing, made a nifty spin move and then let go with a soft floater from about 10 feet that swished through the net in Allen Fieldhouse. http:///...meis-winston-jersey/ . Once again Jordan Cieciwa (@FitCityJordan) and I (@LynchOnSports) go head to head in our picks. Last weekend at UFC Fight Night 32 my #TeamLynch got the best of #TeamJC by a score of 9-6. Let us know which side youre on for UFC 167 use the hashtag #TeamLynch or #TeamJC on Twitter. PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas -- Michigan State coach Tom Izzo can see the positives and negatives all jumbled together for his 24th-ranked Spartans, from the good stretches where the ball goes inside to the bad ones when his team fires up quick 3-point attempts.Its still not smooth for us, the Hall of Fame coach said after Wednesdays 73-62 victory over St. Johns in the Battle 4 Atlantis. It might not be for a while.Freshman Miles Bridges had 22 points and a season-high 15 rebounds to lead the Spartans (3-2), who used a 17-4 burst midway through the second half to pull away late and build a 67-53 lead with about 2 1/2 minutes left.Eron Harris added 14 points for the Spartans, while Tum Tum Nairn Jr. -- a native of nearby Nassau -- matched his career high of 13 points in his return to the Bahamas.Michigan State has had a bumpy start to the season, starting with a loss to Arizona on a last-second basket in the opener. The Spartans managed just 48 points in a loss to current No. 1 Kentucky and barely beat Florida Gulf Coast at home over the weekend. Its part of a tough opening month that concludes with a trip to preseason No. 1 Duke in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.Theres some frustrating moments, and its not all their fault, Izzo said. Its just the cards weve been dealt. ... Im asking a lot of these guys. And you know what? Im going to keep demanding it because thats what we do here.Marcus LoVett scored 20 points to lead the Red Storm (2-2), who shot around 31 percent and couldnt answer Michigan States clinching push.We tried everything -- inside, outside, we tried pick and roll, St. Johns coach Chris Mullin said. We got enough looks but didnt knock any down. When you shoot 30 percent, you arent going to win a game.BIG PICTURESt. Johns: When LoVett was hitting (13 points after halftime), St. Johns was right with Michigan State. But the Red Storm struggled most of the game, while Mullin particularly noted the teams eight assists as a sign of how the ball stuck.Thats really not the kind of game I want to play, Mullin said. Vincent Jackson Jersey. ichigan State: The performance of Bridges and fellow freshman Nick Ward could be a welcome sign of hope for Michigan States frontcourt, which is down two big men due to knee injuries. Ward finished with nine points and a season-high 11 rebounds, and the Spartans desperately need more games like that from them going forward.POLL IMPLICATIONSThe Spartans have slid significantly in the AP Top 25 from their No. 12 preseason spot, though they could start climbing again by getting through an Atlantis field that also includes No. 10 Louisville and No. 20 Baylor.DOMINANT BRIDGESThe 6-foot-7 Bridges had a double-double by halftime and finished 9 of 18 from the field, including 3 for 5 from 3-point range. He had three assists and one block in 35 minutes.Im just doing whatever Coach wants me to do, Bridges said. Wherever he puts me at, Im trying to create for others, score for myself, rebound. Like I said, if people double-team me, I can get my teammates open. Thats what I like to do: I like to see my teammates score more than I do.TUM TUMS BIG NIGHTNairn, a 5-foot-10 junior, had scored nine points through the first four games but blew past that with 11 after halftime. He hit 3 of 4 3-point attempts after never hitting more than one in any game in his career.There was also his highlight-reel moment when he threw down a huge dunk in transition to thrill the large gathering of family and friends on hand to catch his return to the Bahamas.UP NEXTSt. Johns: The Red Storm will face VCU on Thursday in the losers bracket on Day 2 of the three-games-in-three-days event.Michigan State: The Spartans advanced to Thursdays semifinals to face No. 20 Baylor, which beat VCU earlier Wednesday.---Follow Aaron Beard on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/aaronbeardap---More AP college basketball at http://collegebasketball.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-Top25 Cheap NFL JerseysCheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From ChinaCheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys China NFL Cheap Jerseys' ' '