Huskies meet Nebraska in the other rematch: NCAA volleyball regional semifinal

Washington-Nebraska: Now there's a rematch filled with drama, history and intensity — and we're not talking about football.

Washington and Nebraska, two major powers in volleyball, meet at Edmundson Pavilion at 7 p.m. Friday in a regional semifinal of the NCAA tournament.

"I don't know if it's like USC-Notre Dame or Michigan-Ohio State in football," said UW coach Jim McLaughlin, "but it's probably close."

The pairing presents an intriguing Sweet 16 matchup that re-connects foes who twice in the past five years have tangled in memorable postseason showdowns.

2005: Third-seeded Washington (31-1), in its fifth season under McLaughlin, is given at best a modest chance to upend taller, tradition-rich, top-seeded Nebraska (33-1) in the national title match in San Antonio. The vast majority of the Alamodome's 8,482 fans wear Cornhuskers red.

Yet UW All-American setter Courtney Thompson drills the match's first two serves at the ankles of Nebraska's top hitters, giving Washington a 2-0 lead and prompting Nebraska coach John Cook to call an early timeout. The match's tone is set.

The Huskies polish off the Cornhuskers in straight sets, becoming the first team to sweep six straight postseason opponents 3-0 in a single NCAA tournament.

2008: Playing in front of 5,325 fans in a regional final at Hec Ed, fifth-seeded Washington roars to a 2-0 lead against fourth-seeded Nebraska. UW's fourth trip to the Final Four in five years seems assured.

UW, though, loses the next two sets. In the decisive fifth set, the Huskies race out to a 3-0 lead and stretch it to 9-3. Nebraska responds with a 9-0 run to lead 12-9. Washington ties it at 13 but drops the final two points. The match-ending dagger comes on a Nebraska ace.

"I thought it was over," Cook said of Nebraska's 9-3 deficit in the fifth. In the other locker room, heartbreak blankets the Huskies. McLaughlin, after conceding that the loss was tough to accept, added, "It will probably be tough for a while."

Friday: Unseeded Washington (23-8), in an up phase of what has been an up-and-down season (eight is UW's highest loss total since 2003), has momentum and a home-court advantage as it awaits its latest tango with Nebraska (29-2), 2010's No. 2 overall seed.

Last Saturday the Huskies, passing consistently and attacking with authority, resembled past Washington dynamos as they convincingly swept another traditionally strong program, 15th-seeded Hawaii, in a second-round match.

Four Washington players who played in the 2008 loss form the core of the 2010 squad: setter Jenna Hagglund (10th nationally in assists per set), outside hitters Kindra Carlson (30th in kills per set) and Becky Perry, all seniors now, and junior middle blocker Bianca Rowland (10th in hitting percentage). Nebraska returns five players, four of them seniors.

For Hagglund, Carlson and Perry, it is their last chance to reach a Final Four. Hagglund, UW's Jake Locker-like main offensive cog, was asked before the season how much she wants to play in a Final Four. "A lot," she said.

McLaughlin says UW's focus is on the present.

"We're preparing the way we always do," he said. "I don't say, 'OK, let's rewind and think deeply about the past.' We're in the moment. That's the only way we can prepare accurately.

"You don't want to get out of control emotionally and make bad choices. You can't look back. You can't look ahead. Today is the day when we've got to get a little bit better in a couple of areas. I told them we've been to the cleaners (the regular season). Now we've just got to iron out the last few wrinkles."

#/Nebraska/Washington

NCAA tournament/82-25/31-13

Tournament winning pct./.766 (2nd in NCAA)/.705 (9th)

Sweet 16 streak/17 straight years/6 of past 8 years

National championships/3 (1995, 2000, 2006)/1 (2005)

Overall since 2005/182-17 (.915)/162-29 (.848)

2010 record/29-2/23-8

Rank in coaches' poll/No. 3/No. 11

Tournament seeding/No. 2/Unseeded