Young Huskers Developed Into Top 10 Team in 2003

The Huskers began 2003 searching for an identity. For the first time in three years, Nebraska entered a season without an All-American, without a veteran go-to player, and without the automatic confidence that goes along with a roster full of players who own national championship rings.

Nebraska did, however, have two new setters, three new starters, and five freshmen expecting to play significant roles.

With so much young talent, NU head coach John Cook opted to run a 6-2 (two-setter) offense to utilize as many players as possible. Freshman Dani Busboom and sophomore Michelle Lynch took over the setting duties, and seven Huskers who were first-year starters contributed on a regular basis, including outside hitters Dani Mancuso, Ally Rebholz and Kelsey Fautsch, middle blockers Sara Westling and Christina Houghtelling and liberos Jenae Dowling and Amanda McCormick.

Three returning starters ? middle blocker Melissa Elmer and outside hitters Anna Schrad and Jennifer Saleaumua ? provided the young group with a steady presence.

The mix proved a successful one for the Huskers, who finished the season with a 28-5 record, an 11-4 mark against NCAA Tournament teams, and an appearance in their 10th straight Sweet 16. And by the end of the season, the Huskers found their identity. They were one of the top 10 teams in the country.

Early-Season Success
Nebraska opened the season with two tournament titles. The Huskers took the Illinois State/Barker GMC Classic Aug. 29-30 with sweeps of Clemson and Illinois and a four-game win over Illinois State. New starters Rebholz, Busboom and Fautsch were all impressive at times during the opening weekend. Rebholz produced 11 blocks against Illinois and ranked second on the team with 2.20 blocks per game. Busboom kept opponents off-balance with her serve, as she recorded six aces. Fautsch recorded 2.20 kills per game on a team-best .381 hitting percentage.

Elmer was named the MVP of the tournament after averaging 3.00 kills per game and 2.40 blocks per game. Elmer was also one of the Huskers’ toughest servers, recording a team-best eight service aces.

NU followed the performance by winning the Nokia Sugar Bowl Classic Sept. 5-6 in New Orleans. The tournament was highlighted by another impressive performance by a new Husker and a historic win for Cook. In the first start of her young career, Mancuso pounded a match-high 16 kills on a sizzling .429 hitting percentage to lead the fifth-ranked Nebraska volleyball team to a 30-17, 30-16, 30-17 win over New Orleans Sept. 5.

And as Nebraska improved to 4-0 on the season, Cook picked up his 100th win as the Husker head coach to improve to 100-4 (.962) in four seasons with the Huskers.

After defeating six unranked teams on the road, the Huskers returned to Lincoln to play host to three ranked opponents in the Sept. 12-14 US Bank/Arby’s Classic, the first home tournament of the season. NU opened the weekend with a four-game win over Santa Clara, as Elmer pounded 15 kills and had nine blocks in the effort. Nebraska followed with a sweep of No. 17 Michigan State. NU dominated offensively, swinging for a then-season-best .331 hitting percentage.

However, the Huskers couldn’t carry their momentum into the finale Sept. 14 and fell to an experience Georgia Tech team in five games.The loss to the 10th-ranked Yellowjackets was Nebraska’s first regular-season defeat at home since Kansas State upset the Huskers Sept. 22, 1999. It was also Coach John Cook’s first regular-season home loss in his four years at Nebraska.

However, NU had several bright spots against Tech. Schrad and sophomore middle Elmer were both named to the all-tournament team. Schrad had 20 kills in the championship match, and Elmer averaged 3.17 kills per game for the weekend. Houghtelling came off the bench and posted nine kills against Georgia Tech in her first extensive action of the season.

Nebraska couldn’t dwell on the loss for long, as Texas A&M was scheduled to come to town for the teams’ Big 12 Conference opener Sept. 17. In a tough five-game match, Saleaumua came through for the Huskers with 17 kills and 20 digs, and NU improved to 6-1 in Big 12 openers.

The Huskers went on to pick up six more wins before mid-October.

Growing Pains
The Huskers took a 15-1 record into their Big 12 showdown with Kansas State on Oct. 11. NU came back from a two-game deficit against No. 12 KSU, but faltered in the fifth game and suffered a 30-22, 30-26, 19-30, 23-30, 15-8 loss to the Wildcats at the NU Coliseum.

Nebraska struggled offensively all night, committing 41 hitting errors and swinging for a then-season-low .137 hitting percentage. With the score tied 8-8 in game five, Kansas State scored five of its final seven points on four Nebraska attack errors and a service error.

The loss was Nebraska’s first to a Big 12 team since 1999 and snapped a 78-match conference winning streak. The loss was also snapped the Huskers’ 42-match Big 12 home winning streak and was head coach John Cook’s first league defeat in 68 matches.

Things didn’t get much better in NU’s Oct. 15 date with Missouri four days later at the Coliseum. Missouri came back from a 2-0 deficit to defeat Nebraska, 30-28, 30-24, 25-30, 29-31, 15-9, Wednesday night at the NU Coliseum, snapping its 44-match losing streak against the Huskers. The loss marked the first time since 1997 that Nebraska had lost two straight conference matches. It also marked the first time that NU had lost back-to-back matches since the 1999 season.

Nebraska bested Missouri in every statistical category except blocks, but the Huskers committed a season-high 44 hitting errors and swung for a .131 percentage. Elmer led NU with 17 kills on a .297 hitting percentage. McCormick started at libero in place of the injured Jenae Dowling and led Nebraska with a career-high 31 digs. McCormick’s total was the third-highest in school history and the most digs by an NU player since 1995. McCormick would remain NU’s starting libero for the remainder of the season.

The Huskers received a break in the schedule and concluded October with three straight wins over three Big 12 teams in the bottom half of the league -- Baylor, Iowa State and Texas Tech.

November to Remember

After a rocky October, the Huskers rebounded with an impressive run in November. NU went 8-1 during the month, including a 3-1 mark against ranks teams. Nebraska swept No. 12 Northern Iowa, No. 21 Texas A&M and #25 Missouri, taking the Aggies and Tigers down on their home courts. On the strength of the strong month, NU jumped two spots in the rankings from 11th to ninth.

The Huskers’ improvements were sparked by the most significant change in the lineup all season. Cook, responding to Mancuso’s continuous progress in practice, moved the Omaha Gross graduate into the lineup as Nebraska’s second left side hitter and switched Schrad to the right side, a position she had never played at NU. Rebholz and Fautsch continued to switch off at the other right side spot.

Nebraska debuted the lineup against Oklahoma Nov. 1 and won easily. Northern Iowa provided the Huskers with their first true test the next day, and NU passed with flying colors. The Huskers hit .304 against the Panthers in the sweep. Saleaumua was dominant in the win, as she drilled 18 kills on .500 hitting while adding 11 digs.

NU continued its offensive momentum at A&M, where they swung for a .315 mark in their first three-game win over the Aggies in Big 12 play. Schrad had great success in both matches, hitting .312 and .350, respectively.

By the time their Nov. 15 date at Kansas State rolled around, NU had won eight straight matches, tying their longest streak of the season. The Huskers received strong performances from Elmer (13 kills, .333 pct., 10 blocks) and Saleaumua (11 kills, 20 digs), but eventually fell in four games at Ahearn Field House to the Big 12 champions.

Elmer and Saleaumua had emerged All-America candidates by the end of the challenging month. After the Huskers closed November with wins over Kansas, Baylor and Colorado, the sophomores recognized with first-team All-Big 12 honors. In conference matches, Elmer led the league in hitting percentage (.379) and blocks per game (1.64) while averaging 3.10 kills per game. Saleaumua ranked second in the Big 12 with 3.99 digs per game and paced the Huskers with 3.38 kills per game on .265 hitting. The two also went on to earn AVCA All-District honors.

NCAA Tournament
After ending the regular season with a 26-4 record and a No. 9 national ranking, the Huskers gathered to watch the NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Tournament selection show on Nov. 30. Nebraska was seeded ninth overall in the tournament, but NU was one of just two top 16 seeds in the 2003 NCAA Tournament that was not selected to host the first and second rounds of the tournament.

Traveling didn’t prove to be a factor for the Huskers, who knew that two wins would guarantee a weekend in Lincoln for the NCAA regionals, as the Coliseum was one of four pre-determined host sites. NU, which was sent to Michigan State, swept Valparaiso Dec. 5 and Dayton Dec. 6 in the first and second rounds.

The outside hitters had big nights against the Crusaders, as Schrad tallied 15 kills and hit .483, while Mancuso added 14 kills and hit a career-best .571 against the Flyers. Elmer dominated the net with 15 kills on an NU postseason-record .737 hitting percentage. McCormick also produced a record-setting performance, breaking the NU postseason record for digs in a three-game match with 20 against Dayton. McCormick averaged 5.00 digs per game in the first and second rounds.

Nebraska hit .321 against Valparaiso and .463 against Dayton, marking only the third time this season that NU had hit over .300 in back-to-back contests.

The Huskers returned home to play host to perhaps the toughest regional in the tournament. The field including top-seeded and defending national champion USC, eighth-seeded UCLA and 16th-seeded Texas A&M. After USC swept the Aggies in the first regional semifinal match, the Huskers came out on fire against UCLA. Nebraska raced to a 15-5 lead as Schrad, Saleaumua and Elmer all produced easy kills.

UCLA closed it to 15-7 after Krystal McFarland and Heather Cullen blocked Mancuso and Cira Wright pounded a kill. But Elmer and Mancuso responded with kills, starting a stretch in which eight of the nine points were scored by Nebraska. NU eventually took a 30-20, first-game win.

However, the Bruins bounced back in game two and squeaked by with a 30-27 win. The momentum never swung back to the Huskers’ side. UCLA won games three and four by scores of 30-21 and 30-23, ending Nebraska’s season at 28-5.