KEARNEY – Nebraska-Kearney volleyball coach Rick Squiers announced that setter Maggie Anderson will join the Lopers next season.

In the fall, UNK added three players to its 2012 roster in middle hitter Kalei Fertig (Kearney), setter Erin Seele (Johnstown, Colo.) and outside hitter Mari Jo “MJ” Massanet (Manhattan, Kans.).

Anderson, no relation to current Loper Kaleigh Anderson, helped the Lincoln Southwest Skyhawks to conference, city and district titles this year. Southwest finished with a 29-6 record as they also qualified for the Class A state tournament.

KEARNEY - The Nebraska-Kearney volleyball team wil hold its annual postseason banquet on Sunday, January 29th, 2012 and the event is open to the public.

Cost is $ 20.00 per person. Tickets can be purchased in the UNK main athletic office or the volleyball office. Both are located in the Health & Sports Center.

The banquet, starting at 5:00 p.m., will be held at Kearney's Holiday Inn and includes dinner, awards, coach and senior remarks and the 2011 highlight video.

KEARNEY — Nebraska-Kearney junior outside hitter Ariel Krolikowski and sophomore middle hitters Haley Lake and Ellie Pesavento have earned 2011 All-Central Region honors.

The trio was selected to the AVCA (American Volleyball Coaches Association) all-region team, which is chosen by a panel of head coaches.

Krolikowski (Grand Island) and Lake (Lincoln SE) were two of the 14 players selected with Pesavento (Omaha Marian) being one of six honorable mention choices.

KEARNEY - Junior outside hitter Ariel Krolikowski and sophomore middle blocker Haley Lake have been named to the 2011 AVCA (American Volleyball Coaches Association) All-American team.

The team is voted on by a panel of head coaches from around the country.

Lake (Lincoln SE) earns first-team honors while Krolikowski (Grand Island) was named an honorable mention. All-American. They are the 16th and 17th UNK players to earn some kind of All-American honor and the 13th and 14th to do so at the Division II level.

KEARNEY – The 4th-ranked Nebraska-Kearney volleyball team saw its 2011 season come to an end Thursday night as the Lopers fell in five sets to the Colorado School of Mines Orediggers in an NCAA Tournament first round match at the Health & Sports Center.

The opening day of the 64-team NCAA tourney, UNK was the top-seed in the ultra tough Central Regional.

For the second time this year, the Orediggers (19-10) managed to beat the Lopers (32-2) as junior outside Jackie Stabell recorded 29 kills, 15 digs and a block.

Winning an NCAA match for the first time in four tries, and picking up a victory in Kearney for the first time in five years, Mines stopped a two-match losing streak by scores of 26-24, 25-21, 25-27, 20-25, 15-11.

To view the rest of this story, a NebVolleyball.com Subscription is required. Please Click Here.

Click to view story on Sioux City Journal.

Tournament Pairings

At UNK Health and Sports Center, Kearney, Neb.
Today
Noon: No. 3 Minnesota-Duluth (27-3) vs. No. 6 Wayne State (23-7)
2:30 p.m.: No. 2 Concordia-St. Paul (28-2) vs. No. 7 Minnesota State (20-8)
5 p.m.: No. 4 Metro State (24-6) vs. No. 5 Southwest Minnesota State (23-6)
7:30 p.m.: No. 1 Nebraska-Kearney (32-1) vs. No. 8 Colorado School of Mines (18-10)
Friday
5 p.m.: UMD/WSC Winner vs. CSP/MSU Winner
7:30 p.m.: Metro/SWMS Winner vs. Mines/UNK Winner
Saturday
6 p.m.: Championship (Winner advances to Elite Eight)

"a href="http://kearneyhub.com/sports/local/article_314cc46e-1075-11e1-907c-001cc4c03286.html"_blank>Click to view story in Kearney Hub.

KEARNEY — At 32-1 and fresh off a second consecutive Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference title, one could assume the regional tournament for the University of Nebraska at Kearney volleyball team would be nothing more than a formality for the Lopers before the Elite Eight in two weeks.

But all bets are off starting Thursday when fourth-ranked UNK hosts the toughest regional on the NCAA Division II bracket.

KEARNEY — Three high school seniors have announced plans to play volleyball for the University of Nebraska at Kearney next fall, UNK coach Rick Squiers said.

The newcomers are middle hitter Kalei Fertig from Kearney High, setter Erin Seele from Roosevelt High School in Johnstown, Colo.; and outside hitter Mari Jo “MJ” Massanet from Manhattan High School in Manhattan, Kan.

“We’re pleased with our 2012 signees. Each will bring a unique blend of skills and talents to Loper volleyball. And, in addition to fulfilling several positional needs for our program, I’m most excited about the quality of people we have joining us next fall,” Squiers said.

KEARNEY — The 6th-ranked Nebraska-Kearney volleyball team used a balanced offensive attack to sweep Colorado-Colorado Springs (25-12, 25-22, 25-14) Friday night at the Health and Sports Center.

UNK (28-1, 16-1 RMAC) has now won 15 matches in a row and dropped just four sets during the streak (45-4). Coming off wins over Colorado Mines and Colorado Christian, UCCS drops to 15-12 (9-8 RMAC).

The Lopers controlled the first and third sets but the second featured 12 ties and six lead changes. A kill by sophomore outside Ashley Leitner gave UNK a seemingly comfortable 21-17 lead and forced the Mountain Lions to call its second timeout.

Click to view story on Grand Island Independent.

KEARNEY — Despite two top-10 teams squaring off in front of a NCAA Division II season-high volleyball crowd of 2,901, there simply wasn’t a whole lot of drama Tuesday night at the Health and Sports Center.

No. 6-ranked Nebraska-Kearney dominated three sets and No. 10 Wayne State had its way in one as the Lopers emerged with a 25-15, 18-25, 25-16, 25-17 victory, extending their winning streak to 14.