No. 2 Nebraska (19-1, 11-0) at No. 10 Texas (14-5, 9-2)
Wednesday, Oct. 27 • Gregory Gymnasium • 8 p.m.
TV: ESPNU Lincoln - (Time Warner: SD-235/HD-126 | DirecTV: SD/HD-208 | Dish Network: SD/HD-141)
Omaha - (Cox: SD-220/HD-737 | DirecTV: SD/HD-208 | Dish Network: SD/HD-141)
Radio: Husker Sports Network, including B107.3 FM in Lincoln and KTWI 93.3 FM in Omaha, and on Huskers.com
Live Stats: TexasSports.com
No. 3 Nebraska vs. No. 12 Iowa State
Saturday, Oct. 30 • NU Coliseum • 7:30 p.m.
TV: NET Lincoln - (Time Warner: SD-12/HD-112 | DirecTV: SD/HD-29 | Dish Network: SD/HD-12)
Omaha - (Cox: SD-12/HD-712 | DirecTV: 379 | Dish Network: 26)
Radio: Husker Sports Network, including B107.3 FM in Lincoln and KTWI 93.3 FM in Omaha, and on Huskers.com
Web Video: Huskers.com (Free Video)
Live Stats: Huskers.com
The No. 2 Nebraska volleyball team (19-1, 11-0) will be in search of a season sweep of the No. 10 Texas Longhorns (14-5, 9-2) for the first time since 2006 on Wednesday night in Austin. Scheduled for 8 p.m. at Gregory Gymnasium, the match will be shown nationally on ESPNU.
The Huskers enter the match as the Big 12's only undefeated team at 11-0, while the Longhorns sit in second place with a 9-2 conference record.
Nebraska will look to hand Texas its second home loss of the season as the Huskers are 7-0 on the road and Texas is 10-1 at home, with its lone loss coming on Sept. 3 to Illinois (1-3).
In Lincoln, ESPNU can be found on channel 235(SD)/112(HD), while in Omaha on Cox Communications it is channel 220(SD)/737(HD). For satellite customers ESPNU is DirecTV channel 208 and is channel 141 on DISH Network channel 12.
Fans can also listen to all of the action with John Baylor and Lindsay Peterson on the 25-station Husker Sports Network, including B107.3 FM in Lincoln and Twister 93.3 FM in Omaha. Fans outside the network will also be able to catch the live audio feed for free on Huskers.com.
Scouting the Longhorns
- Texas enters Wednesday night's match winners of six straight, with its last loss coming to Nebraska on Oct. 2 in Lincoln.
- The Longhorns lead the Big 12 in hitting percentage at .289 and are even better in conference matches with a league-high .298 hitting percentage.
- Senior Jennifer Doris has been a force during Big 12 matches with a conference high .492 hitting percentage as she has produced 70 kills on 126 swings, while only committing eight errors.
- Juliann Faucette put on a serving show on Aug. 27 when she pin-pointed a conference-high 7 aces in a sweep of TCU.
- Texas is the only Big 12 school to hold a winning record at home over Nebraska at 10-9.
The Last Meeting Between Nebraska and Texas (Oct. 2, 2010)
The No. 3 Nebraska volleyball team snapped a four-match losing streak to the No. 13 Texas Longhorns at the NU Coliseum 3-1 (25-20, 20-25, 25-19, 25-20) in front of a national TV audience on FSN.
Nebraska's pair of 6-5 right side hitters in Lindsey Licht and Morgan Broekhuis paced the Huskers with 13 kills apiece, while Hannah Werth and Brooke Delano also reached double-figured with 11 kills each. Werth added a match-high 18 digs to chart her sixth double-double of the season.
Lauren Cook fed the Husker attackers with a team-high 27 assists and Sydney Anderson was right behind her with 23 dishes. The Huskers' offense got stronger as the match went on, as they hit a match-high .417 in set four after failing to hit above .300 in the previous three sets.
Scouting the Huskers
- Nebraska is 19-1 overall in 2010 and remains the only undefeated team in the Big 12 this season at 11-0 entering Wednesday night's match with Texas.
- The Huskers are ranked No. 2 in the latest AVCA Coaches Poll after being ranked third for the past four weeks. It is the Huskers' highest ranking since they were ranked No. 2 in the preseason poll. Nebraska received six of the 60 available first-place votes this week and has been ranked in the top 10 all season.
- The Huskers are 17-0 this season when holding opponents below .200 hitting after the Huskers held Missouri to .152 hitting. Nebraska is 2-1 when opposing teams hit above .200.
- After hitting a season best .392 against Missouri, the Huskers are 180-0 under Head Coach John Cook when they hit .300 or better.
- Nebraska will trying to get to .500 on the road against Texas as the Longhorns hold a 10-9 advantage in Austin.
- The Huskers snapped a four-match losing streak to the Longhorns earlier this season with a 3-1 win in Lincoln.
- After posting double-digit blocks in nine of their first 14 matches the Huskers have hit double figured just twice in their last six matches.
- Junior middle blocker Brooke Delano leads the nation with a .446 hitting percentage and is ranked ninth in block per set at 1.44.
- The Huskers are ranked in the top-five nationally in three categories, including blocks (1st-3.19), kills (3rd-15.04) and assists (4th-14.07) per set.
- Only three times this season has a team hit above .200 against the Husker defense, including Florida (.270), Illinois (.216) and Texas (.272). Over the past five matches no team has hit better than .152, while two teams hit below .100.
- In conference matches the Huskers are tops in opponent hitting (.145), as well as assists (14.46), kills (15.38) and blocks (3.35) per set.
- Under Head Coach John Cook, the Huskers improved to 293-8 when winning the first set of the match after their 3-0 win over Missouri. The last time Nebraska won the first set and then lost the match was during the 2009 NCAA Regional Final, when Texas won 3-1 after NU took set one, 25-21.
- Four Huskers have combined for 15 double-doubles on the season, including eight from Hannah Werth, three each from Tara Mueller and Lauren Cook and one from Sydney Anderson.
- During Big 12 play Lauren Cook ranks third in the Big 12 with 0.30 service aces per set.
49 to Go
Dubuque, Iowa, native Kayla Banwarth is on her way to breaking NU's career record in digs, currently held by Jennifer Saleaumua (1,568).
A senior in 2010, Banwarth needed 383 digs entering this season to break the record is getting closer with every match.
Through 20 matches this season, Banwarth leads NU with 334 digs.
Last season, Banwarth compiled 570 digs, which nearly broke Dani Busboom's 2006 single-season record of 580.
Separation Week
With a two-match advantage in the Big 12 Conference the Huskers will have a chance to expand their lead this week when they face second-place Texas (9-2) on the road and third-place Iowa State (8-3) at home.
Nebraska will have its hands full as both teams are ranked in the AVCA top 15 this week with Texas ranked No. 10 and Iowa State No. 12. It is just the second time this season NU has played back-to-back ranked opponents. The Huskers opened 2010 against No. 14 Kentucky and No. 13 Florida.
Road Redemption
After dropping four straight matches to the Longhorns the Huskers snapped the streak with a 3-1 win earlier this season in Lincoln.
Now the Huskers will be looking for their first season sweep of Texas since the 2006 season. Nebraska will also look to snap a three-match road losing streak in Austin on Wednesday night, with the Huskers' last road win coming on Oct. 18, 2006 (3-2).
Delano Dialed In
Junior middle blocker Brooke Delano continues to swing a hot hand as she leads the NCAA with a .446 hitting percentage.
An All-American in 2009, Delano has hit .500 or better 10 times in 2010, including two matches where she hit over .700.
In her six matches in the month of October Delano is hitting at a .534 clip, with her worst match coming against Texas A&M where she still fired at .333. She has put away 64 kills on 103 attacks while committing just nine errors in the month.
Delano is looking to become just the fourth Husker in school history to hit .400 or better in a season. Tracy Stalls was the last Husker to do so when she set the NU single-season record in 2007 when she hit .473. Stalls also hit .400 in 2006.
The Great Wall
The Husker defense has shutdown opposing hitters all season and for it the Huskers are ranked No. 1 in the country in blocks with 3.19 per set. Nebraska has posted double-digit stuffs in 10 matches this season, including 15 or more in three matches.
During Big 12 play the Huskers have been even tougher on opposing attackers with 3.35 blocks per set. Texas ranks a distance second with 2.58 blocks per set during conference play.
Along with Brooke Delano's conference-best 1.43 blocks per set, which ranks ninth nationally, Jordan Wilberger and Lindsey Licht join Delano on the Big 12 top-10 list with 1.31 and 1.19 blocks per set, respectively.
Since Head Coach John Cook took over at Nebraska in 2000, the Huskers have earned the NCAA blocking title five times, including 2000, '01, '02, '04 and '05.
Total Team Effort
It is all about the team at Nebraska and it shows this season as the Huskers rank in the top-15 nationally in four categories, including three top-five rankings. What makes the feat even more impressive is the fact that Nebraska only has one player that ranks in the top 50 of any individual national category. Brooke Delano leads the nation in hitting percentage (.446) and ranks ninth in blocks per set (1.44).
Get Out the Broom
The Huskers have made quick work of their opponents of late as they have posted sweeps in five straight matches and in seven of their last 10 matches. Through 11 conference matches this season no team has taken Nebraska to a fifth set.
Werth the Wait
Sophomore Hannah Werth has come alive for the Huskers in her past three matches as she has hit .400 or better in every match, including .474 at Kansas State. Werth had hit below .000 in three of her previous four matches leading into the K-State match and hadn't hit above .300 since playing Kansas on Sept. 22.
Anderson Continues to Climb
Entering the season ranked ninth on Nebraska's career chart with 2,683 assists, senior Sydney Anderson's 424 assists this season have already moved her to seventh place on the career list with 3,107 dishes. With another 11 assists against Texas on Wednesday night, Anderson will overtake Lori Endicott (3,117) for sixth place. Anderson will then chase Christy Johnson, who sits fifth on the career list with 3,183 assists.
Temp Falls, Huskers Heat Up
Historically, the Huskers' two best months are September (287-25) and November (207-18), as they have all-time winning percentages of .920 in each. The Huskers are looking to carry their success from a 10-0 September this season into October, where NU is 6-0 and holds an all-time winning percentage of .896 (215-25).
The Huskers will be looking for their first perfect October since 2006 when they went 7-0. Head Coach John Cook is 86-6 all-time in the year's 10th month.
Taking Down Ranked Foes
Nebraska enters Wednesday night's match against No. 10 Texas with a 5-1 record this season against top-25 ranked teams. Nebraska is the only Big 12 school that is .500 or better against top-25 teams and is the only program with more than three wins against ranked teams.
The Longhorns have struggled this year against ranked opponents as they are 2-4 against the top 25 and are 1-4 versus top-10 programs. Texas' lone top-10 win was a 3-2 victory over then-No. 9 Iowa State in Austin on Sept. 29.
The Huskers only loss on the year came to then-No. 13 Florida at the Runza/AVCA Showcase. Florida is currently 18-1 and is ranked No. 1 in the latest AVCA Coaches Poll.
Commanding the Conference
Nebraska currently holds a 18-match winning streak in Big 12 matches dating back to last season. It is the seventh longest streak in the nation and longest streak for any team in the six BCS conferences.
Team (Wins) - Conference
1. Maryland Eastern Shore (36) - MEAC
2. Hawaii (33) - WAC
3. Central Arkansas (32) - Southland
4. Lipscomb (30) - Atlantic Sun
5. UNI (29) - Missouri Valley
6. Tulsa (19) - Conference USA
7. Nebraska (18) - Big 12
Head of the CLASS
Nebraska senior setter Sydney Anderson was named one of 10 finalists for the 2010 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award on Monday, Oct. 11 for women's volleyball.
A two-time AVCA All-American, Anderson was named to the preseason All-Big 12 list and is a two-time captain for the Huskers.
Fans can vote every day for Sydney at www.SeniorCLASSaward.com.
Numbers Don't Lie
The Nebraska volleyball team currently ranks third in the NCAA RPI rankings. The top five includes No. 1 Florida, No. 2 Illinois, No. 4 Penn State and No. 5 Northern Iowa.
No Place Like Home
The Huskers hold a home-court advantage at the Coliseum due to the Huskers' passionate fan base.
Nebraska currently holds a streak of 143 consecutive sellouts at the NU Coliseum, the longest sellout streak across all NCAA women's athletics. The Huskers averaged 5,197 fans per home contest last season (including a match at the Devaney Center) and are averaging 4,099 fans through seven matches at the Coliseum in 2010. Including the Devaney Center match this season against Illinois, the Huskers are averaging 4,960 fans per home contest.
Try to Take a Set
In Big 12 play this season the Huskers have won 33 of the 37 sets they've played. No other team in the conference has lost less than 10 sets in Big 12 play. Overall this season Nebraska is 59-11 in sets.
Tough on the Road
Nebraska is a perfect 7-0 in true road matches this season and is one of only six schools that remains undefeated on the road this season.
School (Record)
Tulsa (11-0)
Northern Illinois (8-0)
Nebraska (7-0)
Miss. Valley State (6-0)
Florida (5-0)
Hawaii (5-0)
Sharing the Kill
The 2010 Huskers ranked first in the Big 12 Conference and third nationally with 15.04 kills per set, but Nebraska doesn't have one player on the individual Big 12 top-10 list or national top-50 list.
Four Huskers average at least two kills per set, including Lindsey Licht (3.04), Brooke Delano (2.94), Hannah Werth (2.75) and Tara Mueller (2.18).
En Fuego
All-American Brooke Delano was on fire when the Huskers visited Missouri on Wednesday, Oct. 6, as the junior middle blocked put away 14 kills on 16 swings and had no errors.
Her .875 hitting percentage was the fourth-best individual performance all time and tops for a Huskers since Tracy Stalls tied Megan Korver's (1998) school record on Nov. 24, 2007 when she went a perfect 13-13 at the net. Stalls also hit .846 earlier in the same season with a 11-0-13 performance against Oklahoma.
Mighty Middles
Nebraska's middle blockers have been a force both offensively and defensively this season. Brooke Delano and Jordan Wilberger rank first (.446) and third (.364), respectively, in the Big 12 in hitting percentage and also rank first (1.44) and fourth (1.31) in blocks.
Dishing it Out
Setters Sydney Anderson and Lauren Cook have led the Huskers to a fourth-place ranking nationally and the top mark in the Big 12 Conference when it comes to assists with 14.07 per set.
With the Huskers running a 6-2 rotation, neither Anderson or Cook rank in the top-50 nationally or in the 10 top of the conference, but the pair has helped the Huskers rank 12th nationally and second in the Big 12 with a .285 hitting percentage.