Huskers Take on No. 18 Kansas State, No. 9 Colorado State

Match: #22: No. 3 Nebraska (20-1, 14-0) vs. No. 18 Kansas State (15-7, 9-4)
NU Coliseum ? Saturday, Nov. 6 ? 6 p.m.
Tickets: Sold Out (51st consecutive sellout at the NU Coliseum)
Radio: Pinnacle Sports Network (B107.3 FM in Lincoln and Omaha) and Huskers.com
Live Internet Video: Live Video Streaming on HuskersNside.com, for more info, visit Huskers.com
Television: State-wide in Nebraska on NETV
Live Stats: Huskers.com
Series Record: Nebraska leads, 67-3, dating back to Oct. 11, 1975
Last Meeting: Nebraska won, 3-1 (28-30, 30-21, 30-25, 30-23) in Manhattan on Oct. 13
Coach Cook vs. Kansas State: 8-3

Match: #23:  No. 3 Nebraska vs. No. 9 Colorado State (19-2)
NU Coliseum ? Sunday, Nov. 7 ? 5 p.m.
Tickets: Sold Out (52nd consecutive sellout at the NU Coliseum)
Radio: Pinnacle Sports Network (B107.3 FM in Lincoln and Omaha) and Huskers.com
Live Internet Video: Live Video Streaming on HuskersNside.com, for more info, visit Huskers.com
Television: CSTV Live National Telecast (Ch. 610 on DirecTV; Ch. 305 on Time Warner Cable in Lincoln) and also simulcast state wide on Nebraska Educational Television ? Live Stats: Huskers.com
Series Record: Nebraska leads, 5-1, dating back to Sept. 28, 1984
Last Meeting: Nebraska won, 3-1 (29-31, 30-21, 30-26, 26-34) at the NU Coliseum on Dec. 7, 2001
Coach Cook vs. Colorado State: 2-0

Huskers Take on No. 18 Kansas State, No. 9 Colorado State
The third-ranked Nebraska volleyball team faces its toughest test to date this season, taking on No. 18 Kansas State and ninth-ranked Colorado State on consecutive days. The Huskers (20-1, 14-0 Big 12) will host the Wildcats (15-7, 9-4 Big 12) Saturday at 6 p.m. before taking on Colorado State (19-2, 10-1 Mountain West) in a pivotal non-conference showdown Sunday at 5 p.m. Both games will be carried on the Pinnacle Sports Radio Network, including B107.3 FM in Lincoln, and will be shown state-wide on Nebraska Educational Television.

Fans across the country can see Sunday’s broadcast live on College Sports Television (CSTV), as the match will be showcased on the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Match of the Week with Carter Blackburn (play-by-play) and Heather Cox (color). CSTV is available in Lincoln on both Time Warner Cable (Ch. 305) and on DirecTV (Ch. 610) and for more locations nationally, log on to Collegesports.com.

Storylines
?- The Huskers climbed from fourth to third in this week’s CSTV/USA Today Coaches poll released Monday. The Huskers were fourth the past three weeks before passing Minnesota, which fell to fifth following a loss to Wisconsin, in this week’s poll. The Huskers have been ranked in every weekly poll since its inception in 1982.

?- Nebraska enters the weekend with an unblemished 7-0 record against teams ranked in the USA Today/CSTV Top 25. The Huskers have not played a ranked team since going five games at No. 10 Texas on Oct. 23.

?- The Huskers will be looking to avenge last season’s home loss to Kansas State, when the Wildcats ended Nebraska’s 78-match Big 12 winning streak last October. It is one of only three conference losses since the NU Coliseum opened in 1975.

?- Nebraska has won its last 17 Big 12 matches dating back to Nov. 23, 2003.

?- With its No. 9 ranking in this week’s poll, Colorado State will be the highest ranked regular-season opponent to face the Huskers at the NU Coliseum since No. 7 UCLA lost a 3-0 match to the Huskers on Sept. 9, 2001.

?- Nebraska has improved its serving in recent contests, averaging 2.46 service aces per game over the last four matches, lifting its season average from 1.26 SA/gm per game to 1.49 SA/gm (eighth in the Big 12). The Huskers had a season-high 10 aces in a sweep of Texas Tech on Wednesday.

? - Nebraska has now held six opponents below .000 hitting this season, including the Huskers’ last matches at Iowa State (-.089) and Texas Tech (-.055). Iowa State’s -.089 hitting was the lowest against a Husker team since the Big 12 was formed in 1996.

?- On Wednesday against Texas Tech, Nebraska enjoyed its 50th consecutive sellout at the NU Coliseum. In all, a total of 212,253 fans have seen Husker volleyball at the Coliseum during the building’s sellout streak. The Huskers are only the second program in women’s collegiate athletics to sell out 50 straight contests in thier primary home arena, joining UConn women’s basketball, which has a streak of 111 consective home sellouts (Gampel Pavilion and the Harford Civic Center).

?- After reaching 1,000 digs in last Saturday’s win over Iowa State, Jennifer Saleaumua will look to climb NU’s career digs list this weekend. Saleaumua has 1,022 digs to rank sixth on NU’s all-time list and needs 11 digs to pass Billie Winsett (1,032, 1992-95) for fifth on NU’s career list.

?- Sarah Pavan 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 five players have led the Huskers in kills over their last nine matches: Christina Houghtelling (Oklahoma), Sarah Pavan (four times), Tracy Stalls (Iowa State), Jennifer Saleaumua (Texas and Iowa State) and Dani Mancuso (Colorado).

Husker Probable Starters
L - #1 Amanda McCormick (5-8, So., Muncie, Ind.) - Co-captain who is in her second year as a starter at libero and leads the Big 12 with 4.57 digs per game. She has reached double figures in her last 10 matches and 19 times this season. Her 25 digs against Texas A&M on Sept. 25, tied Mandy Monson for the second-most digs by a Husker in a three-game match. McCormick, who is bidding to become the first Husker to lead the Big 12 in digs, had 17 digs on Wednesday and tops the Big 12 with 4.76 digs per game in league play.

MB - #8 Melissa Elmer (6-2, Jr., Fort Wayne, Ind.) - Returning AVCA All-American who anchors the Huskers’ blocking corps and averages 2.83 kills and a Big 12-high 1.80 blocks per game. Elmer tops NU in hitting percentage (.351), an average that ranks sixth in the Big 12. She has had two double-figure block matches this season, including 10 in a sweep at Iowa State on Oct. 30. She ranks 10th on NU’s career chart with 443 and 10th in career block assists. She has reached double figures in kills nine times, including five 13-kill efforts, most recently against Texas Tech on Nov. 3. 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 18 matches at middle blocker and ranks fourth in the Big 12 with 1.56 blocks per game. She leads all Big 12 freshman in both blocks and hitting percentage (.340, seventh) and has four double-digit kill efforts this season. She has had at least five blocks in 13 matches, including eight at No. 10 Texas on Oct. 20. She notched her first career double-double at Baylor on Oct. 23 with 10 kills and 10 digs. She hit a career-best .824, including a career-high 14 kills against Iowa State on Oct. 16. The effort 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 competing with the U.S. National Team in several tournaments, 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 13.14 assists per game while averaging 2.56 digs per game. She leads the team with 11 double-doubles (assists-digs), including a 66-assist, 10-dig effort at Kansas State on Oct. 13. Her 66 assists tied for 17th on NU’s all-time single-match list (seventh in four-game matches) and is one of seven 50-assist matches this season. She guides an offense that ranked second in the Big 12 in hitting percentage (.285) and third in kills per game (17.10). Busboom totaled 700 assists in 2003, which is the second most by any Husker freshman, while splitting time with Michelle Lynch in the 6-2 offense.

OPP - #9 Sarah Pavan (6-5, Fr., Kitchener, Ontario) - The Big 12 Preseason co-Freshman of the Year, Pavan is third in the Big 12 with a team-best 4.49 kills per game. She also leads the Huskers in aces (18) and is third in blocks per game (1.20). Pavan has led NU in kills 13 times, including five 20-kill efforts - as she has been in double figures 18 times in 21 matches. Her best effort of the year came in a sweep of No. 11 Texas A&M on Sept. 25, when she had 23 kills on .500 hitting. She also had 23 kills on .356 hitting in a win at No. 16 Kansas State on Oct. 13 and a season-high 24 kills vs. Florida A&M and Baylor. She recorded her first double-double vs. FAMU when she set highs in kills (24) and digs (15). 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 (4.04) and third in kills (3.12) per game. She is also second on the team with seven double-doubles, giving her 30 in her career. She ranks sixth on NU’s all-time digs list (1,022) and recently became the first Husker to reach 1,000 digs before her senior year. Saleaumua earned Big 12 Player-of-the-Week honors on Oct. 25, highlighted by a 19-kill performance at No. 10 Texas, when she hit .450 and added 11 digs. 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 - #7 Dani Mancuso (6-2, So., Omaha, Neb.) - Mancuso splits time at outside hitter, ranking third on the team with 3.05 kills per game while adding 2.29 digs and a team-high 0.36 aces per game. Mancuso shined in NU’s win at No. 16 Kansas State on Oct. 13 with a career-high 22 kills on .559 hitting. She made her first Big 12 start of the year on Oct. 17 versus Colorado, delivering a match-high 18 kills and seven digs while hitting .424. She also had her first career double-double vs. Florida A&M on Sept. 10 with 16 kills and 11 digs. As a freshman, she started NU’s final 10 contests in 2003, averaging 2.01 kills and 1.72 digs per game in that stretch.

-or- #3 Christina Houghtelling (6-2, So., Cambridge, Neb.) - Sophomore who moved from middle blocker to outside hitter in 2004 and has made 14 starts, averaging 2.79 kills, 2.18 digs and 0.31 service aces per game. She has seven matches with at least 10 kills, including a career-high 15 kills on .433 hitting in a sweep of Oklahoma on Oct. 9. She also had her first career double-double against Baylor on Oct. 6 with 12 kills and a career-best 13 digs. She has come off the bench in NU’s last two matches, averaging 5.00 kills per game in limited duty while hitting .438 (10-3-16) in that stretch.

Scouting Kansas State
The Wildcats head to Lincoln with a 15-7 overall mark and is tied for fourth with Missouri (9-4). The Wildcats are 18th in this week’s national poll and are guided by Susie Fritz, who is 86-29 in four years at Kansas State and has guided the Wildcats to three NCAA Tournament appearances. The Wildcats are led by senior Vali Hejjas, a first-team All-Big 12 selection in 2003 who tops KSU with 3.67 kills per game this fall. All-American setter Gabby Guerre is one of the league’s top players and averages 11.28 assists, 1.68 kills, 2.19 digs and 0.68 blocks per game.

NU-KSU Series
The Huskers are 67-3 all-time versus KSU, and 54 of those victories have been two- (11) or three-game (43) sweeps. In 1999, the Wildcats defeated NU in five games in Lincoln, becoming the first Big Eight/Big 12 team to defeat Nebraska at the NU Coliseum during the regular season and ruining the Huskers’ 101-0 mark against league schools at the Coliseum. Last season, the Wildcats won both meetings, snapping the Huskers’ 78-game Big 12 winning streak in the first meeting and winning for the first time in 30 tries in Manhattan in the second match-up. NU won the first meeting, 3-1, in Manhattan on Oct. 13.

Scouting Colorado State
Head Coach Tom Hilbert (194-41 in eight seasons at CSU) beings the Rams into this weekend with a 19-2 record heading into Friday night’s match at Wyoming. Colorado State, which is 2-2 against ranked teams, has won its last six matches and has lost only once since losing to Minnesota in its season opener. The Rams rank among the national leaders in kills per game (17.41, ninth), hitting percentage (.299, seventh), assists (16.17, fifth) and blocks (3.07, 19th). CSU features one of the country’s top setters in Melissa Courtney, who is eighth nationally in assists (13.93 per game), while three players (Tess Rogers, Katie Jo Shirley-Cahoon and Becky Sarauer) all average more than three kills per game.

NU-Colorado State Series
The Huskers have won five of the six previous meetings with the Rams, including the most recent meeting during the 2001 NCAA Regional Semifinals in the Coliseum. Nebraska has won the last three meetings - all at the NU Coliseum - dating back to 1996. CSU’s only win in the series was a 3-1 decision in Fort Collins on Oct. 3, 1987.

Texas Tech Recap
Melissa Elmer and Sarah Pavan combined for 27 kills on .558 hitting, as third-ranked Nebraska celebrated its 50th consecutive sellout at the NU Coliseum in grand style with a 30-10, 30-14, 30-22 victory over Texas Tech Wednesday evening.

The Huskers (20-1, 14-0 Big 12) thrilled a sellout crowd of 4,110 with a dominant effort, holding Texas Tech in negative hitting number the entire match, as the Red Raiders (8-12, 4-10 Big 12) finished with a -.055 hitting percentage in the loss ? the sixth opponent to be held in negative numbers this season.

Elmer matched her season high with 13 kills on .579 hitting and added five blocks, while Pavan recorded match highs in kills (14), blocks (five) and service aces (three) while hitting .542.

The Huskers were sharp in nearly every facet, hitting .324 and out-blocking Texas Tech, 10-4, while adding a season-high 10 service aces in recording their 17th consecutive win. NU also held Texas Tech, who was second in the Big 12 in service aces, to none in posting its 17th straight win over Texas Tech.