Box Score

KEARNEY, Neb. — No. 6 Nebraska-Kearney (21-1 overall, 11-1 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) needed just one hour to sweep Fort Lewis (5-15, 2-10) tonight, winning 25-13, 25-8, 25-11.

“Our third match this weekend just showed our lack of mental toughness for this young group,” said eighth-year FLC head coach Shelly Aaland. “We allowed the fans and the big game atmosphere that they produce there get the better of us and didn't perform very well.”

She added that her squad was awed by things like the smoke machine and the giant Lopers head that have the UNK team runs out onto the court in pregame. FLC's freshman class was making its first-ever trip to Kearney, home of the perennial national powerhouse Lopers.

Using a balanced attack, the Lopers hit .389 for the match, including a whopping .621 in the first set – one that saw them register 19 kills and just one attack error. Haley Lake and Ellie Pesavento led the way with nine kills each.

The Skyhawks, in contrast, hit just .012 with 21 kills and 20 errors.

Fort Lewis was led by freshman right side hitter Stephani Sonka, who had seven kills – one-third of FLC's team total.

The game ended a three-game road trip through some of the RMAC East's top teams. The Skyhawks finished 0-6 against the East Division in 2011.

Fort Lewis returns to RMAC West action next weekend when it embarks on its final road trip of the season. The Skyhawks travel to Western State (5-14, 2-9) at 7 p.m. Friday before continuing on to Colorado State-Pueblo (10-10, 6-6) at 2 p.m. next Saturday. Aaland said she hopes to have the services of starting libero Jenna Kinzer, who didn't travel on this trip due to a back injury.