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Posted at 6:06 p.m., Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Texas ends Nebraska's 30-match volleyball win streak

Advertiser Staff and News Services

After getting swept in their first meeting on Sept. 12 in Lincoln, Neb., the Texas Longhorns returned the favor last night before a crowd of 4,286 at Gregory Gym in Austin, Texas.

Destinee Hooker had 17 kills and Juliann Faucette 13, as the fifth-ranked Longhorns handed the top-ranked Cornhuskers their first loss of the season, 30-22, 30-25, 30-20 in a Big 12 Conference match.

"We haven't been pushed all year, said Nebraska coach John Cook on Texas' Web site. "We got pushed tonight and we didn't know how to push back. That's the bottom line. It's disappointing and it's disappointing to see this team not be able to push back."

With the win, Texas (15-3, 11-1 Big 12) forged into a tie with Nebraska (19-1, 11-1 Big 12) at the top of the Big 12 standings.

The Cornhuskers, the last remaining unbeaten team in the country, lost for the first time since Nov. 11, 2006, at Colorado, a span of 30 matches. Since then, Nebraska had dropped only six games in that span prior to last night's sweep and none in the last 17 matches.

Sarah Pavan led Nebraska with 17 kills, but the Cornhuskers hit a season-low .145, nearly .200 points below their national-best .343 hitting entering last night's match and were swept for the first time since losing to Washington in the 2005 NCAA championship match.

Hooker hit .455 on 33 swings and Faucette contributed seven digs and three blocks, as Texas out-blocked Nebraska, 12.5-7, and hit .371.

The Longhorns' victory in the first game snapped Nebraska's streak of 53 consecutive games won. The Cornhuskers were coming off a home sweep of No. 11 Hawai'i on Sunday before a NCAA regular-season record crowd of 13,396 at a soldout Devaney Center.

University of Texas and Nebraska Web sites contributed to this report.