No. 4 Huskers Return Home to Face Colorado

Match: #19: No. 4 Nebraska (17-1, 11-0 Big 12) vs. Colorado (10-8, 5-6)
NU Coliseum ? Wednesday, Oct. 27 ? 7 p.m.

Tickets: Limited GA seats are available by calling the NU Ticket Office at 800-8-Big Red or on the Internet at Huskers.com
Radio: Pinnacle Sports Network (B107.3 FM in Lincoln and Omaha) and Huskers.com
Live Internet Video: Live Video Streaming is on HuskersNside.com, for more info, visit Huskers.com
Television: State-wide in Nebraska on NETV
Live Stats: Huskers.com
Series Record: Nebraska leads, 38-5, and has won the last 13 meetings
Last Meeting: Nebraska won, 3-0 (30-25, 30-25, 30-23) in Boulder on Sept. 22
Coach Cook vs. Colorado: 9-1

Match: #20: No. 4 Nebraska (17-1, 11-0 Big 12) at Iowa State (8-12, 1-10)
Ames, Iowa ? Hilton Coliseum ? Saturday, Oct. 30 ? 4 p.m.

Live Stats: Huskers.com
Radio: Pinnacle Sports Network (B107.3 FM in Lincoln and Omaha) and Huskers.com
Live Internet Video: Live Video Streaming is on HuskersNside.com, for more info, visit Huskers.com
Series Record: Nebraska leads, 65-0 dating back to Nov. 9, 1975
Last Meeting: Nebraska won, 3-0 (30-16, 30-21, 30-19) at the Devaney Center on Oct. 16.
Coach Cook vs. Iowa State: 9-0

No. 4 Huskers Return Home to Face Colorado; Head to ISU
Lincoln -- For the first time since Oct. 9, the Nebraska volleyball team returns to the cozy confines of the NU Coliseum, as the Huskers (17-1, 11-0 Big 12) play host to Colorado (10-8, 5-6 Big 12) Wednesday evening. Since a 3-0 sweep of Oklahoma that day, the Huskers have played in five different sites, including North Platte, Manhattan, Kan., Austin, Texas, and Waco, Texas - while building a two-match lead in the Big 12 race.

Wednesday’s match will be carried on the Pinnacle Sports Network, including B107.3 FM in Lincoln, with John Baylor and Diane Mendenhall calling the action. The match will also be shown state-wide on Nebraska Educational Television with Kevin Kugler and Kathi Weiskamp describing all of the action. In addition, fans with high-speed Internet access can watch all of the action on HuskersNside, a subscription-based website of the NU Athletic Department, as every regular-season match will be carried on the website.

The Huskers come into the week with a 17-1 record and a 14-match winning streak after posting wins at No. 10 Texas and Baylor last week. The Buffaloes, at 10-8 overall, have dropped their last three matches, including road losses at Oklahoma and Missouri.

 

Storylines

?- One Husker is on pace to achieve a historic milestone on Wednesday, as Jennifer Saleaumua comes into the Colorado match with 988 career digs. She needs only 12 digs to become the seventh Husker to reach 1,000 career digs, and will become the first NU player to reach the 1,000 mark before her senior season. She is second on the team with an average of 4.08 digs per game.

?- The Huskers have won 14 straight Big 12 matches dating back to last season and have won their last 13 matches against Colorado, dating back to 1998. In fact, Colorado is 0-14 at the NU Coliseum, as the Buffaloes’ only win in Lincoln came at the Devaney Center in 1997.

?- Freshman Sarah Pavan now has five 20-kill efforts this season, which is the most since Laura Pilakowski had five during the Huskers’ national championship run in 2000. In fact, Pavan’s total tops the entire team total of 20-kill efforts during the 2003 (three), 2002 (none) and 2001 (four) seasons.

?-Nebraska has used its depth to its advantage, as four players have led the Huskers in kills over their last six matches: Christina Houghtelling (Oklahoma), Sarah Pavan (Creighton, Kansas State and Baylor), Tracy Stalls (Iowa State) and Jennifer Saleaumua (Texas).

?- Nebraska had out-blocked 23 straight opponents dating back to last season before Baylor snapped the streak in Waco on Saturday, outblocking NU, 14-11.

? - Nebraska had held 14 straight opponents under .200 hitting before Texas hit .229 - nearly .100 points under its Big 12-leading average (.316) - last Wednesday. NU has allowed opponents to hit just .103 this season, which is on pace for the lowest opponent total in school history (.106 in 2001).

Husker Probable Starters

L - #1 Amanda McCormick (5-8, So., Muncie, Ind.) - Sophomore co-captain returned as Nebraska’s starter at libero and leads the Big 12 with 4.61 digs per game. She has reached double-figure totals in digs in 16 of NU’s 18 matches, including 25 against No. 11 Texas A&M on Sept. 25, 21 at No. 10 Texas on Oct. 20 and 20 vs. Florida A&M on Sept. 10. Her 25 digs against the Aggies tied Mandy Monson for the second-most ever by a Husker in a three-game match. McCormick also paces the Big 12 in digs in league matches at 4.89 per game after an 11-dig effort at Baylor on Saturday. McCormick is looking to become the first Husker to lead the Big 12 in digs.

MB - #8 Melissa Elmer (6-2, Jr., Fort Wayne, Ind.) - Returning AVCA All-American who anchors the Huskers’ blocking corps and averages 2.85 kills and a Big 12-high 1.77 blocks per game. Elmer tops NU in hitting percentage (.352), a total that is fifth in the Big 12. She had at least five blocks in 11 of the Huskers’ last 12 matches, including a season-high 10 blocks against Iowa State on Oct 16. With her seven blocks against Baylor on Saturday, Elmer now has 425 career blocks, good for 10th on NU’s career list. Elmer matched her season high with 13 kills and hit .423 in the win over Baylor. She earned All-Big 12 honors in 2003, leading NU with 1.59 blocks per game along with a .352 hitting percentage. Elmer, who was named the Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year by the league coaches, spent the spring working with the U.S. National Training Team.

MB - #11 Tracy Stalls (6-3, Fr., Arvada, Colo.) - Stalls has started 16 matches at middle blocker and is fourth in the Big 12 with 1.52 blocks per game. She has had at least five blocks in 10 matches, including a season-high eight blocks on four occasions, most recently against No. 10 Texas on Oct. 20. Stalls recorded her first career double-double with 10 kills and a season-best 10 digs in Saturday’s win at Baylor. She set then-season highs in kills (12) and blocks (eight) while hitting .579 in a four-game win at Kansas State on Oct. 13 before hitting an amazing .824 with a career-best 14 kills (14-0-17) against Iowa State on Oct. 16. Her hitting percentage against the Cyclones tied for fourth on NU’s all-time list and the highest percentage in the Big 12 in 2004. Stalls served a two-year stint in the U.S. National Developmental program in Colorado Springs, Colo., after graduating from high school in 2002. She competed with the U.S. National Team in several tourneys, including the 2003 Pan American Games and the 2004 Yeltsin Cup.

S - #18 Dani Busboom (5-11, So., Cortland, Neb.) - Busboom enters the week ranked second in the Big 12 with 13.33 assists per game. She leads the team with 11 double-doubles, including a 66-assist, 10-dig effort at Kansas State on Oct. 13. Her 66 assists not only were a career high, but tied for 17th on NU’s all-time single-match assist list (seventh in four-game matches). She has had 50 or more assists seven times, including 64 at Notre Dame on Sept. 4, 59 in Wednesday’s win over No. 10 Texas and 58 in Saturday’s win over Baylor. She also averages 2.64 digs and 0.54 blocks per game. She guides an offense that ranked second in the Big 12 in hitting percentage (.284) and in kills per game (17.28). Busboom totaled 700 assists in 2003, which is the second most by any Husker freshman.

RS - #9 Sarah Pavan (6-5, Fr., Kitchener, Ontario) - The Big 12 Preseason co-Freshman of the Year, Pavan leads the Huskers and is second in the Big 12 in kills per game (4.69). She has had 10 or more kills 17 times while pacing the Huskers in that category 12 times. Pavan matched her season high with 24 kills - her fifth 20-kill match of the year - along with a pair of service aces against Baylor on Saturday. She dominated in a sweep over No. 11 Texas A&M on Sept. 25, recording 23 kills on .500 hitting with four blocks and eight digs. She had 23 kills on .356 hitting while adding five blocks at No. 16 Kansas State on Oct. 13. Despite battling the flu, she had 18 kills and five blocks at No. 10 Texas. In league matches, she is third in kills (4.70), and sixth in blocks (1.41) and hitting percentage (.331). She recorded her first career double-double with 24 kills and 15 digs against Florida A&M on Sept. 10. Considered by many to be the nation’s top freshman, Pavan has been a member of the Canadian National Team since July of 2003 - at age 16.

OH - #26 Jennifer Saleaumua (5-11, Jr., National City, Calif.) - Two-time All-Big 12 outside hitter who is second on the team in digs (4.14) and kills (3.06 per game). She has seven double-doubles (kills and digs) this year, including four in the last six matches. Saleaumua had season highs in both digs (24) and service aces (three) at Baylor on Saturday and needs 12 more digs to reach 1,000 in her career. She had one of the best efforts of her career at No. 10 Texas last Wednesday, matching a career high with 19 kills on .450 hitting and adding 11 digs in the five-game win. Saleaumua had 18 kills at No. 25 Notre Dame on Sept. 4. Saleaumua led the Huskers in kills (3.27) and digs (3.90) per game in 2003. Her 441 digs were a school record, breaking the previous mark of 390 by Kate Crnich in 1996.

OH - #3 Christina Houghtelling (6-2, So., Cambridge, Neb.) - Sophomore who moved from middle blocker to outside hitter in 2004 and has started all 11 of NU’s Big 12 contests. She averages 2.67 kills, 2.14 digs and 0.30 service aces per game. She started slowly at Texas, but finished with 12 kills, including eight in the final two games, and two service aces. Houghtelling led Nebraska in kills against Oklahoma in NU’s last home game on Oct. 9 with a career-high 15 kills on .433 hitting. She recorded her first career double-double against Baylor on Oct. 6 with 12 kills and a career-high 13 digs. Houghtelling shined in the win at No. 24 Kansas on Sept. 29, setting then-career highs in kills (13) and hitting percentage (.500).

Scouting Colorado

The Buffaloes come into Wednesday’s match looking to break a three-game losing streak that has seen them dip to 10-8 overall and 5-6 in league play. Colorado, which was ranked for a portion of the season, was 10-5 before suffering losses to Oklahoma, Texas A&M and Missouri. CU is the only team other than NU that has won a game in Austin this season, taking the Longhorns to five games before falling to Texas. The Buffaloes are 2-3 against ranked teams, including wins over San Diego and Kansas State.

Head Coach Pi’i Aiu (147-84 in eight years at CU) leads a talented group that is in the upper half of the Big 12 in nearly every category, including fourth in hitting percentage (.253) and kills per game (16.13). Outside hitters Allie Griffin (4.28 k/gm) and Maragda Santillana (4.24 k/gm) rank fourth and fifth, respectively, in the league in kills. Sophomore setter Ashley Nu’u is fourth in the league in assists.

Nebraska-Colorado Series

Nebraska has enjoyed the upper hand in the series against CU, winning 38 of the 43 matches between the schools. The Huskers have won 13 straight matches against CU and are 20-2 in the last 22 meetings with the Buffaloes. The Huskers had won 24 straight games dating back to 1999 before CU won a 30-15 decision (game 2) in last year’s match in Boulder. CU is 0-14 all-time at the NU Coliseum.

Last Meeting: Nebraska 3, Colorado 0

Sarah Pavan and Jennifer Saleaumua combined for 28 kills on .417 hitting, as seventh-ranked Nebraska posted a 30-25, 30-25, 30-23 victory over No. 25 Colorado at the Coors Event Center.

Pavan led the Huskers with a match-high 16 kills and hit .478 while adding six blocks, while Saleaumua joined the freshman in double figures with 12 kills, eight digs and a .360 hitting percentage. The Huskers out hit Colorado, .323-.092, in recording their 13th straight win over the Buffaloes.

In addition to the strong performance from its outside attackers, Melissa Elmer also shined for NU. She finished with eight kills and matched a season high with eight blocks. Elmer and Tracy Stalls, who had seven blocks and four kills, helped the Huskers control the net by a 16-8 margin. Allie Griffin led CU (6-4, 1-2 Big 12) with 13 kills, but the Buffaloes were held to under .100 hitting in two of the three games.

Baylor Recap

Sarah Pavan tied a career-high with 24 kills, while Melissa Elmer matched a season high with 13 kills, leading No. 4 Nebraska to a 30-19, 28-30, 30-18, 30-26 victory over Baylor Saturday evening.

Pavan, who matched her season high set in a four-game loss to Florida A&M on Sept. 10, hit .326 with a pair of service aces and four blocks, as NU improved to 17-1 overall and 11-0 in the Big 12. She moved past NU All-Americans Virginia Stahr (266, 1986) and Allison Weston (277, 1992) for second place on NU’s all-time freshman kills list.

Elmer matched her season high in kills set three other times, as she finished the night with 13 kills on .423 hitting. She added seven blocks, including three solos, and two of the Huskers’ season-high nine service aces. Dani Mancuso finished with 12 kills while Tracy Stalls added 10 kills and 10 digs, as NU out-hit Baylor, .248-.105 Jennifer Saleaumua also turned in a solid effort with a match-high and season-high 24 digs, eight kills and three aces.