A pair of throwing miscues from Charleston capped off Nebraska’s third late-inning comeback victory of the weekend as they took down the Cougars, 5-3, on Sunday afternoon to secure a series sweep at Patriots Point.

Nebraska (7-3) scored five runs on 10 hits with two errors, while College of Charleston (7-3) had three runs on seven hits and a pair of errors.

Silva reached in all five of his plate appearances and stole two bases to finish the weekend hitting .545 (6-for-11) at the plate for the Huskers. Dylan Carey went 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles, while Will Jesske drove in two runs and Tyler Stone launched his second home run of the season. Cayden Brumbaugh, Cole Evans, and Gabe Swansen each finished with a knock.

Will Walsh allowed three runs, all earned, on five hits with a pair of strikeouts in his 3.1 innings of work. Mason McConnaughey tossed 2.2 shutout frames, retiring 7 of 10 batters faced for the Huskers. Caleb Clark got a pair of outs in the seventh inning before Tucker Timmerman tossed a scoreless eighth to earn his second win of the season. Kyle Perry struck out the final two batters to record his second save this year.

Silva drew a walk for the Big Red in the opening frame and extended his on-base streak to 10 games, before a two-run shot from Trotter Harlan in the bottom half gave Charleston a 2-0 lead.

A one-out double from Carey put the first Husker in scoring position, but both teams went quietly in the second inning. Silva once again reached in the third frame, singling and stealing second before a flyout ended the top half.

The Cougars extended their advantage to 3-0 with an RBI single from Kevin Madden in the third inning. 

Stone led off the fourth with a solo shot, before an Evans’ single set the table for Carey’s sacrifice bunt, a staple of the Huskers offense this season. Jesske drove in the senior with an RBI single to center, drawing Nebraska within a run of Charleston.

Walsh surrendered a double and a walk to begin the fourth, before McConnaughey entered with runners on first and second and one out. The right-hander worked out of trouble unscathed, forcing a flyout and a strikeout to keep the Cougars off the board.

Nebraska evened the game in the sixth inning after an Evans’ walk and Carey single forced Charleston’s starter, Connor Campbell, out of the game. Jesske brought home his second run of the day after a Carey steal allowed him to spoil the double play effort and tie the game at three.

Following a leadoff walk in the bottom of the seventh inning, Clark relieved McConnaughey and quickly forced a strikeout and groundout. Timmerman made his team-leading sixth appearance of 2024 to get the Huskers out of a jam and strand a runner on third to end the frame.

The score remained 3-3 after the eight innings, with Swansen’s single breaking up six consecutive outs for both sides. However, Nebraska recaptured its magic from Thursday and Saturday as the Huskers rallied for a pair of runs in the top half of the ninth.

Brumbaugh led off the frame with a double before Silva gave the Big Red its first lead of the game, as a bunt single led to a throwing error from Emmet Bice, plating Brumbaugh. The outfielder then moved into scoring position on a wild pitch as another error by the Cougars plated Silva on Evans’ grounder to the short to put Nebraska up, 5-3.

Timmerman got the first out in the bottom of the ninth, but found himself in trouble after Charleston's Luke Wood singled and Dylan Johnson reached on a fielder's choice. Perry slammed the door on the Cougars comeback attempt with two straight punchouts to secure his second save of the season and a series sweep for Nebraska.

The Huskers gear up for their home opener next weekend at Haymarket Park with a three-game series against South Alabama on Friday-Sunday, March 8-10.

HUSKERS FALL IN FINAL SECONDS

Champaign, Ill. - The Nebraska women's basketball team rallied from a seven-point halftime deficit to take a seven-point fourth-quarter lead, but the Huskers were unable to knock down the winning shot in a 74-73 loss at Illinois on Sunday afternoon.

Jaz Shelley led Nebraska's big rally in the first 15 minutes of the second half, finishing with 23 points, five rebounds and eight assists, but her final three-point attempt from the deep left wing was off the mark as the Huskers finished the regular season 19-10 overall and 11-7 in the Big Ten. Illinois moved to 14-14 overall and 8-10 in the conference.

Nebraska also got 14 points and eight rebounds from Alexis Markowski, who scored NU's only two points in the final five minutes by hitting a pair of free throws with 2:33 left.

Natalie Potts contributed 14 points, five rebounds and a career-high four assists to help put the Huskers in position to win. 

Potts hit a pair of three-pointers early in the third quarter to set the tone for Nebraska's rally, then scored NU's first points of the fourth quarter to tie the game at 59 with 9:05 left. Shelley then scored four straight points before Potts scored again to give Nebraska a 65-59 edge with 6:35 left.

The Big Red also received a strong contribution with seven points from freshman Jessica Petrie, who finished with seven points including Nebraska's final field goal of the game on a layup with five minutes left to give the Huskers their biggest lead of the day at 71-64.

But Nebraska missed its final nine field goal attempts of the game and a pair of free throws with 25 seconds left. On the other end, Illinois got a basket from Camille Hobby, who finished with nine points, and back-to-back buckets from Gretchen Dolan, who scored five of her seven points in the game's closing minutes, while getting two free throws from Genesis Bryant and the game-winning free throw from Makira Cook.

Cook led Illinois with 20 points, six rebounds and five assists, while Bryant added 17 points, four boards and four assists. Kendall Bostic contributed a double-double with 12 points and 10 boards but was held scoreless by the Huskers in the second half.

Nebraska finished at 38.9 percent (28-72) from the field, including 30 percent (9-30) from three-point range. The Huskers also hit 8-of-11 free throws. The Big Red won the battle of the boards, 39-36, including a 15-9 edge on the offensive glass. NU also claimed the turnover fight, 8-7, in a well-played game by both teams.

The Illini finished at 46.8 percent (29-62) from the floor, including 7-of-16 threes (.438). Illinois also hit 9-of-10 free throws.

After a back-and-forth first half, Nebraska trailed 42-35 despite 10 points and six rebounds from Markowski and 10 points and four assists from Shelley. The Huskers hit just 37 percent (13-35) of their first-half shots, including just 27 percent (4-15) of their threes, but outworked Illinois 19-18 on the boards, 8-5 on the offensive glass.

Illinois answered by hitting 53 percent (18-34) of its shots, including 44.4 percent (4-9) of its threes. Bostic led the Illini with 12 first-half points on 6-of-7 shooting, while Cook added 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting, including 2-of-3 from long range. Illinois also won the first-half turnover battle, 4-3.

The Fighting Illini led 23-16 after one quarter before Nebraska opened the second period on a 10-0 run to take a 26-23 lead after a Shelley three-point play with 7:21 left in the half. But Illinois answered with a 10-0 run of its own with five points apiece from Bryant and Shay Bollin. The Illini went on to rebuild their seven-point lead at the half.

Nebraska will head to the Big Ten Tournament as the No. 5 seed and earn a first-round bye before playing on Thursday, March 7 at 2 p.m. in a game televised by the Big Ten Network.

HUSKERS LOSE TO NO. 14 MISSOURI

The Nebraska softball team got a solid outing from its freshmen pitchers Sunday but the Husker offense managed only one run in a 5-1 defeat to No. 14 Missouri.

Caitlin Olensky (2-2) pitched well in defeat. In a career-high 5.2 innings, Olensky allowed four runs on seven hits. Emmerson Cope pitched the final 1.2 innings and gave up one run.

Together, the freshmen held Missouri to five runs after the Tigers had scored 31 runs in their first three games of the weekend.

Offensively, Brooke Andrews went 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles. Billie Andrews went 1-for-2 and scored Nebraska's lone run while extending her hitting streak to 13 games. Bella Bacon and Katelyn Caneda added singles for the Big Red (8-10).

Laurin Krings (7-2) earned the win for Missouri (17-2). In a complete-game effort, Krings scattered five hits and allowed one run.

Missouri gave Krings all the support she would need with a two-run second inning. The Tigers scored on an RBI double and a sacrifice fly.

Nebraska got a run back in the bottom of the third. Billie Andrews drew a one-out walk and scored on an RBI double from her older sister Brooke.

The pitchers dominated over the next two innings before Missouri used a pair of RBI doubles to take a 4-1 lead in the top of the sixth. 

Nebraska returns to action next week when the Huskers travel to Arkansas for the Razorback Rumble.

Post-Game Notes

• Today's game marked Nebraska's seventh contest against a ranked opponent in the first 18 games of the season.
• Billie Andrews went 1-for-2 with a pair of walks. Her fifth-inning single extended her hittng streak to 13 games.
• Caitlin Olensky tossed a career-high 5.2 innings, eclipsing her previous career high of 4.0 innings. Olensky's 5.2 innings marked the second-longest outing by a Husker starting pitcher this season.

HUSKERS DEFEAT OMAHA, TIE DRAKE IN SPRING ACTION

Lincoln, Neb. - The Nebraska soccer team opened the spring season with a win over Omaha and a tie to Drake on Sunday at Hibner Stadium. 

Game 1: Omaha
NU started with Cece Villa in goal, along with Haley Peterson, Ella Guyott, Abbey Schwarz, Florence Belzile, Sadie Waite, Lauryn Anglim, Gwen Lane, Kayma Carpenter, Jordan Zade and Sarah Weber.

In a 55 minute match, the Huskers scored the lone goal as Peterson found the back of the net in the 11th minute off assists from Weber and Anglim, for the 1-0 victory. 

Game 2: Drake
NU began the 50 minute match again with the same starters. The game ended in a 0-0 tie, but the Huskers held the advantage in shots (16-2), corner kicks (10-2) and shots on goal (8-0). 

Up next, the Huskers hit the road to face Arkansas on Saturday, March 30, in Kansas City, Mo. Action is slated to begin at 12 p.m. (CT).

HUSKERS POST SEASON-BEST SCORE, SWEEP EVENT TITLES IN QUAD MEET

Lincoln, Neb. - The Nebraska women’s gymnastics team scored a season-best 197.125 to place first at its quad meet with North Carolina, Southeast Missouri State and Illinois State on Sunday afternoon at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.

NU also tied for every event title – Martina Comin on vault (9.850), Emma Spence on bars (9.925), Isabel Sikon, Allie Gard and Ayzhia Hall on beam (9.875) and Sophia McClelland and Comin on floor (9.925). Spence also claimed the all-around title with a 39.475 that tied her season high. 

The Huskers also posted or tied seven career highs – Whitney Jencks on bars (9.900) and floor (9.850), Emma Simpton on bars (9.900), Sikon on beam (9.875), Gard on beam (9.875), Comin on floor (9.925) and McClelland on floor (9.925). 

Along with registering its best team score of the season, NU earned its highest beam (49.300) and floor (49.450) total and tied its season-high bars total of 49.425.

Rotation One
NU started the afternoon on vault, registering a 48.950 as a team. Martina Comin led the Huskers with a 9.850, and Isabel Sikon and Emma Spence followed her, each with a 9.800. Ayzhia Hall notched a 9.775, and Csenge Bácskay (9.725) and Sophia McClelland (9.675) rounded out the lineup. 

Rotation Two
NU had an impressive rotation on bars, posting a 49.425 team score that tied its season best. Spence led the Big Red with a 9.925 that tied her season high, and Kinsey Davis, Whitney Jencks and Emma Simpton all earned a 9.900. Jencks’ marked a new career high and Simpton’s tied her career best. Bácskay and Clara Colombo finished out the rotation, both with a 9.800. Notably, today’s bars event marked the first time this season that four NU athletes scored a 9.900 or above on the same rotation.

Rotation Three
The Huskers scored their highest beam score of the season with a 49.300. Sikon, Allie Gard and Hall each notched a 9.875 – Sikon’s was a career high and Gard’s tied her career high. Spence posted a 9.850 to tie her season high, and Sophia McClelland registered a 9.825. Bácskay scored a 8.975 to round out the rotation. 

Rotation Four
The Big Red finished the day strong on floor, notching a season-best 49.450. Comin and McClelland each earned a 9.925, both tying their career highs. Spence tied her season high with a 9.900, and Jencks and Bácskay each scored a 9.850. Jencks’ tied her career high. Halle Rourke finished out the routine with a 9.700. 

Up Next
NU will stay at home to compete in the Ameritas Masters Classic on Saturday, March 9. The meet is slated to start at 6 p.m. (CT) and will be streamed on B1G+. The Big Red will honor Clara Colombo, Martina Comin and Kinsey Davis for their senior nights. The meet is also Nebraska’s alumni/retro night.

HUSKERS FINISH SECOND IN CALIFORNIA QUAD

Berkeley, Calif.- The No. 5 Huskers traveled West to the Bay Area where they competed against No. 8 California, No. 2 Stanford and No. 15 Air Force in a quad meet. Nebraska finished in second place, narrowly missing Stanford in first place (410.450). California finished in third place (394.850), and Air Force took fourth (386.800).

Notably, two Huskers earned event titles in the quad meet, highlighted by Huskers Cooper Giles on pommel horse (14.20) and Sam Phillips in the all-around (80.20). Seven Huskers worked to collect personal records in the competition.

Parallel Bars
The squad began on parallel bars where they registered 67.35, as a team. James Friedman led off the rotation, putting up a strong season-best of 13.50. Cole Partridge followed with a 12.90. Asher Cohen registered a 13.55 on the event. Sam Phillips earned eighth position after earning a 13.75. Taylor Christopulos capped the first rotation after notching a 13.65. 

High Bar
The Big Red moved on to high bar where they collected a 67.60, as a team. Max Odden opened the rotation with a 13.30. Partridge and Liang both registered a 13.35 for NU, tying in sixth position overall. Zac Tiderman put up a solid 13.85, taking second place overall. Phillips rounded off the event in third place with a strong score of 13.75.

Floor
The Huskers worked to collectively earn a 66.40 on floor. Nathan York acted as lead-off, scoring a 12.50. Luke James picked up the momentum for the Huskers by earning a 13.75, good for fifth. Chase Mondi followed with a 13.15. Phillips documented a 13.00, and Christopulos closed the rotation notching a strong second-place finish with a score of 14.00, respectively. 

Pommel Horse
Nebraska earned a team score of 65.65 on pommel horse. Cooper Giles highlighted the event after pocketing the title with a solid 14.20. Friedman competed first in the lineup, earning a score of 12.90. York collected a season-best on the event (13.50). Yanni Chronopoulos registered a 13.05. Christopulos put up a 13.20 and Phillips closed the rotation with a score of 11.70 on the event, respectively.

Rings
On rings, Nebraska showed out where the team collected a new season-best team score of 68.35. Highlighting the rotation, Hiser scored a 14.05, tying his personal best and landing in fourth. Friedman led off with a 13.15, a season-best score for the senior. Travis Wong fed off the energy, collecting a career-best score of 13.55 on the event. Cohen and Phillips both documented a strong 13.80 for the squad, tying in sixth overall and Phillips matching his personal best.

Vault
Ranking No. 1 in the country on vault, the Huskers collected a 71.60 team score in the competition. Mondi opened the rotation where he registered a 14.35 for NU, taking sixth overall. James maintained momentum by tying his personal best (14.45), good for third place. Phillips and Tiderman both followed closely after putting up a 14.20, tying for seventh place. Christopulos closed the competition in fourth with a score of 14.40 for the Huskers.

Up Next
Nebraska is headed back to their home territory to host Illinois in a dual meet at the Devaney Sports Center next Sunday, March 10. The meet will commence at 1 p.m. (CT) and will be available for live stream on B1G+. The competition will highlight the senior class and a t-shirt giveaway. General admission to the meet and Pepsi products are $1 as a part of the Pepsi Pack the House promotion.

HUSKERS FINISH LSU TOURNAMENT WITH TWO WINS

The Nebraska beach volleyball team wrapped up play at the Tiger Beach Challenge in Baton Rouge, La., with a pair of wins on Sunday.

The Huskers swept Central Arkansas, 5-0, and beat Houston Christian, 3-2, to improve to 8-3 this season. 

In the morning win over Central Arkansas, Lexi Rodriguez and Lindsay Krause won 21-13, 21-17 as the Huskers' No. 1 pair. Bergen Reilly and Ally Batenhorst earned a 21-11, 21-12 victory, and Merritt Beason and Skyler Pierce held on for a 21-13, 19-21, 15-11 win. Laney Choboy and Harper Murray rallied to win their No. 4 match, 19-21, 21-17, 15-4, and Olivia Mauch and Andi Jackson did the same, winning 15-21, 21-16, 15-10. 

The Huskers then picked up a thrilling comeback win over Houston Christian. After falling behind 2-0 after the Nos. 1 and 2 matches, the Huskers won the remaining three matches, all in three sets. Jackson and Mauch got NU on the board with a 22-20, 10-21, 17-15 win at No. 5, and Reilly and Batenhorst picked up a 21-15, 16-21, 15-10 victory to tie the match. Then Choboy and Murray rallied again after dropping set one to clinch the match with a 15-21, 21-15, 18-16 victory.

The Huskers will head to Hawaii this week for the Queen's Cup on Queen's Beach in Honolulu. Nebraska begins play on Thursday with a 1 p.m. (CT) match against No. 10 Hawaii and a 7:15 p.m. (CT) contest against Pepperdine. 

Nebraska 5, Central Arkansas 0
1. Rodriguez, Lexi/Krause, Lindsay (NEB) def. Katie Atkinson/Brooke Kuball (UCA) 21-13, 21-17
2. Reilly, Bergen/Batenhorst, Ally (NEB) def. Anna Linskey/Naya Tan (UCA) 21-11, 21-12
3. Beason, Merritt/Pierce, Skyler (NEB) def. Payton Sproule/Anna Collums (UCA) 21-13, 19-21, 15-11
4. Choboy, Laney/Murray, Harper (NEB) def. Madalyn Bass/Ella Weilert (UCA) 19-21, 21-17, 15-4
5. Mauch, Olivia/Jackson, Andi (NEB) def. Audrey Cathcart/Madelyn White (UCA) 15-21, 21-16, 15-10

Nebraska 3, Houston Christian 2
1. Kleymeyer, Kristen/Gilmour, Kristin (HCU) def. Rodriguez, Lexi/Krause, Lindsay (NEB) 21-16, 21-16
2. Alper, Mary/Bufkin, Abbey (HCU) def. Pierce, Skyler/Beason, Merritt (NEB) 21-18, 22-20
3. Reilly, Bergen/Batenhorst, Ally (NEB) def. Heilbrun, Rachel/Axelrod, Gabi (HCU) 21-15, 16-21, 15-10
4. Murray, Harper/Choboy, Laney (NEB) def. Griffith, Kylann/Palmer, Paige (HCU) 15-21, 21-15, 18-16
5. Mauch, Olivia/Jackson, Andi (NEB) def. Pearce, Audrey/Lockhardt, Tatum (HCU) 22-20, 10-21, 17-15
Exh. Armstrong, Killian/Silverthorn, Alisia (HCU) def. Boesiger, Maisie/Kenney, Kyla (NEB) 21-17, 21-17

HUSKERS IMPROVE TIMES AT MIZZOU

Six Husker swimmers finished competition at the Mizzou Last Chance Meet Sunday evening in Columbia, Mo.

Maia Hall improved her time in the 200 breaststroke with a time of 2:09.87. Hall remains second all-time for NU, only behind Penny Heyns (2:08.90; 1996). That marks Hall’s sixth B Standard in the 200 breaststroke this season. At the Big Ten Championships, Hall earned podium finishes in the 100 and 200 breaststroke, taking fifth in both. She added a time of 1:01.20 in the 100 breaststroke.

A freshman from Athens, Greece, Anna Vlachou set a career-best in the 100 butterfly and logged a seventh all-time finish for the Huskers (53.90).

Caitlin Cairns beat her career best in the 100 butterfly, clocking a 53.99 to move to ninth on the all-time list. The senior co-captain’s previous career-best was a 54.03, set at the Big Ten Championships.

JoJo Randby finished second in the 100 breaststroke prelims (1:00.87) and went on to finish third in the finals, with her second-fastest time of the season (1:00.56).

Caterina Bisiacchi swam a 4:50.51 in the 500 freestyle prelim and a 4:50.95 in the final.

Giulia Marchi finished first for the Huskers in the 200 freestyle prelims (1:50.48). She went on to finish fourth overall and dropped her time to 1:50.44.

The list of qualifiers for the 2024 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships will be released on Wednesday, March 6.