Lincoln -- The Nebraska volleyball team returns to action this weekend, as it travels to Colorado for a pair of matches. The Huskers, who opened the spring campaign with a victory over Florida Atlantic on March 21, head to Denver for the Noodle’s and Company College Volleyball Challenge at the Gold Crown Field House on Saturday, April 5.
The Huskers are one of eight schools participating in the one-day event, joining Wyoming, Colorado State, Denver, Northern Colorado, Metro State, New Mexico and Regis. The Huskers will play two matches on Saturday, taking on New Mexico at 10:30 a.m. (central) and Colorado State at Noon.
"We’ve had two weeks of tough practices and are looking forward to getting on the court again and being on the road with the team," Assistant Coach Lizzy Stemke said. "We have several players in new roles this spring and for our younger players, getting match experience will only help them prepare for the fall."
According to Stemke, the tournament format provides opportunities for the Huskers to work on different facets of the game, as rotations and substitutions are different from regular matches and teams have an hour for each match.
"This allows us to work on a number of things, such as lineups and using different players in certain rotations," Stemke said. "It allows us an opportunity to evaluate in game conditions and for the teams, it is some great competition in a fun atmosphere. With the number of teams competing and the setting, it will almost be like club days."
New Mexico went 16-13 overall and 7-9 in the Mountain West Conference under first-year head coach Jeff Nelson in 2007. The Lobos are led by outside hitter Jeanne Fairchild, who earned All-MWC honors a year ago. Colorado State has been a regular in the NCAA Tournament, qualifying for postseason play in each of the last 13 years. CSU went 23-8 last year and won the Mountain West Conference title. The Rams reached the second round of the tournament before falling to Michigan.
Nebraska’s final team competition of the spring will come on Saturday, April 12, when the Huskers take on the Kentucky Wildcats at the NU Coliseum, beginning at 7 p.m. Kentucky, coached by former Husker assistant Craig Skinner, has made three straight trips to the NCAA Tournament and finished the 2007 season with a 22-10 record. Tickets for the Kentucky match are on sale through the NU Athletic Ticket Office with prices set at $10 (adults) and $8 (youth and senior citizens). UNL students will be admitted free with a valid ID.
Last Time Out: Huskers Open Spring Season With Sweep of Florida Atlantic: The Huskers concluded a week of training with a sweep of Florida Atlantic on March 21, winning a scrimmage by scores of 25-16, 29-27, 25-22 and 15-8 on March 21. While no stats were kept, Nebraska Coach John Cook was pleased with the performance, as the Huskers had been training in Florida throughout spring break.
"It was good to see our team in game situations and we got better and smoother as the game went along," Cook said. "Our serving, passing and defense were really strong and I was especially pleased with our serving so early in the season."
Cook said Huskers said it was a valuable week for a team that is replacing four All-Americans, as the development of young players such as Brooke Delano, Lindsey Licht, Tara Mueller and Jordan Wilberger will be a primary focus in the spring.
Former Husker Wraps Up Trip with USA National Team: Former Husker All-American Tracy Stalls helped Team USA compile a 5-3 record on its eight-match exhibition tour of China earlier this week. Stalls has been with the USA Volleyball program since January. Stalls started at middle blocker in all eight maches for Team USA totaling five kills, three blocks and a pair of aces in the team’s finale against Chinese professional team JiangSu. Team USA’s three-week training tour of China was designed to allow the coaches to evaluate a younger group of players in preparation for Olympic Games roster selections. The United States qualified for the 2008 Olympic Games, to be held Aug. 8-24 in Beijing, by finishing with a bronze medal at the 2007 FIVB World Cup. Stalls also kept an online journal of the team’s trip to China and fans can read more on USAvolleyball.org.
Anderson Named to A2 National Team: Husker volleyball recruit Sydney Anderson was selected as one of 22 players chosen for the U.S. Women’s Senior A2 National Team program on March 28. The 22 players will be split into two 11-member squads during training sessions prior to competing in the USA Volleyball Adult Open Championships May 24-31 in Atlanta. Anderson, who signed with Nebraska last November, is one of three repeat members on the U.S. Women’s Senior A2 National Team. Anderson, who trained with the U.S. Women’s National Team in Colorado Springs, played at the University of Utah in 2006. She averaged 12.45 assists, 2.77 digs and 0.76 blocks per game and was named the AVCA West Region Freshman of the Year and Mountain West Conference Setter of the Year in 2006.