For a long time, they played in the same conference. But now Nebraska is in the Big Ten, and Missouri in the SEC. Sunday, they both played exciting five-set NCAA volleyball matches that could be key to conference titles. Theres still a long way to go, of course, but the past weekend was big for the Tigers and the Cornhuskers.Missouri atop the SECKentucky was riding a 13-match winning streak coming into Mizzou on Sunday, but the Tigers got off to a fast start by taking the first two sets. The Wildcats responded by winning the next two.Then it came down to a fifth-set battle in which Tigers senior outside hitter Carly Kan took over. She had five of her 17 kills in that set, leading Mizzou to a 15-12 victory.Kan is a native of Hawaii, yet went all the way to Missouri because she loved the coaching staff and team atmosphere. At 5-foot-9, Kan is a bit small these days for an outside hitter. But her role model in that regard is former Hawaii star Kanani Danielson, who finished her career for the Rainbow Wahine in 2011 as a three-time AVCA first-team All-American. The 5-10 Danielson had 1,760 kills for Hawaii; Kan is at 1,527 for Mizzou.While the Wildcats streak was snapped, the Tigers now have won 13 in a row. Theyre 18-3 overall and 9-0 in the SEC. Sundays victory didnt quite get Missouri into this weeks AVCA Top 25, but that could come if the Tigers can extend their streak. Wednesday, theyre on the road at last years SEC champion, Texas A&M (9 p.m. ET, ESPNU). The Aggies stand fourth in the SEC behind Missouri, Kentucky and Florida.Nebraska solidifies No. 1The top ranking in the AVCA poll was a hot potato for the past few weeks, but it stayed put Monday.The Huskers, who started the season ranked No. 1, dropped to third in the Oct. 3 poll after a loss to Ohio State. But Nebraska went back to No. 1 on Oct. 17 after both Minnesota and Wisconsin had taken a turn in the top spot.Those two teams visited a packed-as-usual Devaney Center over the weekend, and Nebraska beat them both. The matches were quite different. The Huskers crushed it in a 3-0 sweep Friday against the Badgers, who had trouble getting anything going. Contrast that to Sunday, when Nebraska prevailed in a gritty 3-2 win over Minnesota.The Gophers looked a lot more like themselves than they did in a surprisingly difficult, come-from-behind 3-2 victory at Iowa on Friday. Nebraska vs. Minnesota had the look of a national championship match, with some thrilling rallies and great plays from both sides.Perhaps the ultimate decider was defense. Huskers senior Justine Wong-Orantes set a school record for digs in a match with 35. Shes now 35 away from becoming Nebraskas career leader in that category.The Huskers also had a season-high 17 blocks against Minnesota, led by Briana Holmans 10.But the overall star of the weekend for the Huskers was senior middle blocker Amber Rolfzen. She had a career-high 16 kills against Wisconsin, and then equaled that with 16 more against Minnesota. That earned her the Big Ten player of the week award Monday.Nebraska is now tied atop the Big Ten at 9-1 with Penn State, which lost 3-2 at Michigan on Saturday. The Wolverines Carly Skjodt had a career-high 27 kills in that match.By the way, the Huskers and the Nittany Lions still have two meetings this season: Nov. 4 at Penn State and Nov. 16 at Nebraska.Texas vs. Kansas, Part 2Texas remains atop the Big 12 at 8-0, but it hasnt been easy for the Longhorns. They have just one sweep in their conference matches, vs. TCU. And three of their last five matches have gone five sets.The most recent was Friday at Texas Tech, which is winless in the Big 12. But the Red Raiders pushed the Longhorns the distance after winning the fourth set 28-26. Texas won the fifth set 15-7, but it was still a little too close for comfort for the Longhorns.Meanwhile, Kansas is 7-1, with its only loss coming at Texas on Sept. 24. Now its almost time for the rematch. No. 2-ranked Texas visits No. 6 Kansas on Saturday (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN3).First up, though, its Oklahoma for the Longhorns on Wednesday, while the Jayhawks are at Texas Tech that night.Irish testCoach Jim McLaughlin left Washington, where he won a national championship in 2005, to try to turn Notre Dame into a true volleyball powerhouse. In his second season with the Irish, hes already made great progress.Last year, Notre Dame was 7-25 overall and 2-18 in the ACC. This year, the Irish are 18-4 and 9-1, tied with Florida State for second in the league behind 10-0 North Carolina.The Irish gave the visiting Tar Heels a run for their money on Oct. 14, but UNC escaped 15-13 in the fifth set. This weekend, Notre Dame is host to Miami and Florida State.Meanwhile, out WestNo. 17 Stanford is an uncharacteristic 6-4 and tied for fifth in Pac-12 play. But its been kind of a weird season overall in the conference. The Cardinal have a chance to make up some ground this week. Theyll host league-leading Washington, 8-2 and ranked No. 7, on Wednesday. Then Stanford takes on No. 18 Washington State -- which is tied for third at 7-3 with UCLA and Oregon -- on Friday.San Diego remains unbeaten atop the West Coast Conference, but the match of the year in conference play is Friday. No. 5 San Diego travels to Provo, Utah, to face No. 16 BYU. 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Jeff Teague led the Hawks (1-5) with 17 points and eight assists and Al Horford had 12 points and seven rebounds. Mike Scott scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half.PHILADELPHIA -- The Marlins got shut down by a pitcher who could help them down the stretch.Jeremy Hellickson struck out eight in eight impressive innings, Tyler Goeddel hit a two-run homer and the Philadelphia Phillies beat Miami 4-1 on Wednesday night.Hellickson (7-7) allowed one run and five hits, improving his value as the Aug. 1 trade deadline approaches. The Marlins could be among the teams interested.Hes a guy thats got good mix with his changeup, Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. The guy thats able to change speeds like that and kind of yo-yo us, weve had some issues with. (Adam) Wainwright did it to us the other day, a lot of slow stuff, and we just didnt seem to have the game plan we needed with those guys.Miamis Wei-Yin Chen (5-4) gave up four runs and 11 hits in 5 1/3 innings.Chris Johnson hit a solo homer in the fifth for the Marlins.Goeddel snapped an 0-for-16 slump with an opposite-field shot to right to give the Phillies a 2-0 lead in the first. He lined an RBI single to right to make it 3-0 in the second.Peter Bourjos had a sacrifice fly in the sixth.Hellickson didnt need much support. He shut down the Marlins for his first win since July 1.Hellickson, who started on opening day, is likely to be traded to a contending team in the next 10 days. He signed a $7 million, one-year deal with the Phillies in the offseason.The 29-year-old right-hander is 3-3 with a 3.00 ERA in his last seven starts.Just kiind of got handcuffed all night offensively, Mattingly said.ddddddddddddJeanmar Gomez finished for his 26th save in 29 tries.STATSGoeddels three RBI are a career best. The homer was his first hit since July 1. ... 2B Cesar Hernandez snapped an 0-for-20 slump with an infield single in the second inning. He finished 3 for 4. ... Giancarlo Stanton was 0 for 4 and is 1 for 12 in the series. ... Marlins C J.T. Realmuto is batting .368 (32-87) with a .415 on-base percentage over his last 21 games played. ... Christian Yelich is batting .364 (32-88) in 21 career games in Philadelphia.STANDINGSThe Marlins lost (51-43) for just the second time in nine games. They lead the Mets by one game for the second wild-card spot in the NL. The Phillies (44-52) are eight games behind Miami.MR. 3000Ichiro Suzuki flied out to deep right-center as a pinch-hitter in the eighth inning. He remains at 2,994 career hits.TRAINERS ROOMMarlins: Mattingly said 2B Dee Gordon is fine after cramping in his leg forced him to leave a game early at Triple-A New Orleans. Gordon is serving an 80-game suspension for a positive drug test and is eligible to rejoin Miami on July 28.UP NEXT:RHP Tom Koehler (6-8, 4.68 ERA) starts for the Marlins while RHP Jerad Eickhoff (6-10, 3.76) goes for the Phillies in the series finale Thursday. ' ' '