Huskers Take Winning Streak to Missouri

Nebraska at Missouri
No. 3 Nebraska at Missouri • Wednesday, Oct. 6 • Hearnes Center • 6:30 p.m.
TV:Metro Sports/NET 2 | Lincoln - (Time Warner: SD-17) Omaha - (Cox: SD-16)
Radio:  Husker Sports Network, including B107.3 FM in Lincoln and KTWI 93.3 FM in Omaha, and on Huskers.com
Web Video: MUTigers.com (Premium Subscription)
Live Stats: MUTigers.com

The No. 3 Nebraska volleyball team (14-1, 6-0) will look to extend its 13-match winning streak on the road this Wednesday with a 6:30 p.m. match against the Missouri Tigers (11-5, 3-3) at the Hearnes Center.

Both teams are coming off wins on Saturday, as Nebraska downed No. 13 Texas, 3-1, while Missouri swept Colorado. The Tigers are 1-2 at home this season during Big 12 play, while the Huskers are a perfect 3-0 on the road in conference matches.

Wednesday night's match will mark the first time Nebraska has met a north division opponent in two weeks after playing three straight matches against south division programs, including Baylor, Oklahoma and Texas.

Metro Sports out of Kansas City will be providing a broadcast of the match, which will be shared on NET2 in Nebraska. NET2 can be seen in Lincoln on Time Warner Cable channel 17 and is on channel 16 on Cox Communications in Omaha. A web stream of the match will also be available at MUTigers.com, but a subscription is required.

Fans can also listen to all of the action with John Baylor and Lindsey Peterson on the 25-station Husker Sports Network, including B107.3 FM in Lincoln and Twister 93.3 FM in Omaha. Fans outside the state will also be able to catch the live audio feed for free on Huskers.com.

Scouting Missouri

• Missouri enters Wednesday night's match with a 11-5 overall record and a 3-3 record in the Big 12 Conference.
• Missouri is 1-2 at home in conference play this season, as it dropped its first two Big 12 home matches to Iowa State and Texas, before sweeping Colorado on Saturday, Oct. 2. Overall, the Tigers are 4-2 at the Hearnes Center this season.
• True freshman Molly Kreklow, niece of Head Coach Wayne Kreklow, leads the Big 12 in assists this year at 11.91 per set. She has been even better during conference play with a conference-high 12.27 assists per set.
• The Tigers' 14.05 kills per set rank second to Nebraska's 15.18 kills per set in Big 12 Conference play.
• Senior Paola Ampudia leads the Tiger attack with 3.84 kills per set, which ranks third best in the Big 12.
• Four Tigers average 2.50 kills or more per set, including Paola Ampudia (3.84), Julianna Klein (2.89), Brittney Brimmage (2.78) and Lisa Henning (2.58).
• Missouri will be looking for its first win over Nebraska since Oct. 15, 2003.

Scouting Nebraska

• Nebraska is 14-1 overall in 2010 and remains the only undefeated team in the Big 12 this season at 6-0 entering Wednesday night's match at Missouri.
• The Huskers are ranked No. 3 in the latest AVCA Coaches Poll for the second straight week, their highest ranking this season since they were ranked No. 2 in the preseason poll.
• The Huskers are 12-0 this season when holding opponents below .200 hitting. Nebraska is 2-1 when opposing teams hit above .200.
• Nebraska has taken the last 13 meetings between the Huskers and Tigers, including nine sweeps during the streak.
• In 73 all-time meetings, the Huskers have posted 55 sweeps.
• Nebraska had won 44 straight matches against Missouri before the Tigers upset the Huskers in Lincoln in 2003.
• The Huskers are ranked in the top-five nationally in three categories, including blocks (2nd-3.16), kills (3rd-14.87) and assists (4th-13.91) per set.
• Nebraska has totaled double-digit blocks in eight of its last 10 matches, including a season-high 18 blocks at Oklahoma. The Huskers hit double-digits just once in their first five matches (11 against BYU) of 2010.
• In Big 12 play this season, Nebraska is ranks first or second in five of the seven major statistical categories.
• In conference matches the Huskers are tops in hitting percentage (.261) as well as assists (14.32), kills (15.18) and blocks (3.41) per set.
• Under Head Coach John Cook, the Huskers improved to 288-8 when winning the first set of the match after their 3-1 win vs. Texas. 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 12 double-doubles on the season, including six from Hannah Werth and three from Tara Mueller.
• The Huskers are 176-0 under Head Coach John Cook when hitting .300 or better after they hit .362 against Colorado on Sept. 18.
• Junior middle blocker Brooke Delano leads the Big 12 in hitting percentage (.422) and blocks per set (1.45). Nationally, Delano ranks eighth in both categories.
• The Huskers return three AVCA All-Americans in 2010, including seniors Sydney Anderson and Tara Mueller, as well as junior Brooke Delano.

The Last Meeting Between Nebraska and Missouri (Nov. 4, 2009)
The No. 10 Nebraska volleyball team put together one its best offensive performances of the season, sweeping Missouri, 3-0 (25-19, 26-16, 25-16) at the NU Coliseum.

Nebraska hit a season-best .451 on the night, as three Huskers finished in double figures in kills while all five primary attackers hit over .400. Sydney Anderson dished out 43 assists and added two of the Huskers eight aces as the Huskers .451 hitting percentage was the best since hitting .467 against UAB in 2008's NCAA Tournament.

Plenty to Go Around
As a team in 2010 the Huskers rank first in the Big 12 Conference and third nationally with 14.87 kills per set, but Nebraska doesn't have one player on the individual Big 12 top-10 list or national top-50 list.

Five Huskers average at least two kills per set, including Lindsey Licht (3.07), Brooke Delano (2.78), Hannah Werth (2.65), Tara Mueller (2.21) and Morgan Broekhuis (2.04).

Streaking
Nebraska currently holds the nation's eighth-longest winning streak in conference matches. After ending conference play last season on a seven-match winning streak and then starting 2010 with six straight wins, the Huskers have won 13 consecutive Big 12 matches.

With North Dakota's loss on Saturday snapping a 42-match conference winning streak, Hawaii now holds the top mark at 29  straight matches.

Team (Consecutive Conference Matches Won)
Hawaii - 29
Central Arkansas - 27
Lipscomb - 27
UNI - 24
Albany - 23
Notre Dame - 19
Nebraska - 13
Tulsa - 12
Duke - 10

Dubuque Digger
Dubuque, Iowa, native Kayla Banwarth is on her way to breaking NU's career record in digs, currently held by Jennifer Saleaumu (1,567). A senior in 2010, Banwarth needs just 382 digs in 2010 to break the mark and should have no problem achieving the feat after she compiled 570 digs in 2009. Her 570 digs nearly broke Dani Busboom's 2006 single-season record of 580.

Through 15 matches this season, Banwarth leads NU with 264 digs. The senior libero also ranks second in the Big 12 with 4.80 digs per set.

Tough on the Road
Nebraska is one of three programs nationally that is a perfect 6-0 on the road and one of only 12 schools that is undefeated in road contests.

School (Record)
Nebraska (6-0)
Creighton (6-0)
Tulsa (6-0)
California (5-0)
Stanford (5-0)
Miss. Valley State (5-0)
Northern Illinois (3-0)
Cleveland State (3-0)
Florida (3-0)
Wisconsin (3-0)
Hawaii (2-0)
Arizona (2-0)

Battle Tested
Nebraska is now 5-1 in 2010 against top-25 ranked teams after defeating No. 13 Texas.

Prior to the Texas match, Nebraska had posted wins over three other top-15 teams, including Iowa State, Kentucky and Illinois.

The Huskers only loss on the year came to then-No. 13 Florida at the Runza/AVCA Showcase.  Florida is currently 12-1 and is ranked No. 2 in the country.

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 13.91 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 21st nationally and second in the Big 12 in hitting percentage at .274.

Enough is Enough
After dropping four straight matches to Texas, including three last season, the Huskers ended their losing streak to the Longhorns with a 3-1 win in Lincoln on Saturday, Oct. 2.

During the NCAA era, Texas hold the two longest winning streaks over Nebraska, including a five-match streak from 1984-88 and its latest four-match streak from 2008-09.

Since Husker volleyball began in 1975, Missouri State holds the longest winning streak against Nebraska as the Bears won nine straight matches from 1975-1978.

Block Party
The Huskers rank second in the NCAA in blocks with 3.16 per set. It has been a team effort as only Brooke Delano ranks in the national top-50.

Along with Delano's 1.45 blocks per set, two other Huskers are averaging at least one stuff, including Lindsey Licht (1.16), Jordan Wilberger (1.15).

Since Head Coach John Cook took over in 2000, Nebraska has earned the NCAA blocking title five times, including 2000, '01, '02, '04 and '05.

Double-Dipper
Coming off a freshman season that saw her earn Big 12 Freshman of the Year, honorable-mention All-America and honorable-mention All-Big 12 honors, Hannah Werth has continued to put up solid numbers in 2010.

Through 15 matches, leads the team with six double-doubles, including three in Big 12 play.

After becoming the first Husker freshman to lead the team in kills per set (3.18) since Sarah Pavan in 2004, Werth ranks third on the team this season in kills (2.65) and is second on the team in digs with nearly three a set at 2.98.

Delano's Defense
After earning second-team AVCA All-America honors as a sophomore, junior Brooke Delano has continued to hold down the middle of the net for the Husker defense.

The Bellevue, Neb. native paces the Huskers in hitting percentage (.422) and blocks per set (1.45), with both marks ranking eighth nationally

Recently, Delano posted a career-best 10 blocks against Oklahoma on Sept. 29., which earned her Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week honors. It was the first time in over two years that a Huskers had totaled 10 blocks, as Amanda Gates was the last to do so on Sept. 17, 2008 against Kansas State.

Wake-Up Call
Nebraska has been slow out of the gates this year, as they have dropped the first set six times in 15 matches. On five occasions the Huskers have come back to win, including four matches where they've taken the next three sets. Against Illinois, the Huskers got down 0-2, before taking three straight at the Devaney Center.

The only time the Huskers lost after dropping the first set was during their five-set loss to Florida on the season's opening weekend.

Huskers Look to Stay Hot in October
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. In the month of October, Nebraska holds a  winning percentage of .894 (210-25).

This season the Huskers went a perfect 10-0 in September, the sixth time under Head Coach John Cook that the Huskers haven't lost a match in the month. Cook is now 110-7 all-time in the year's ninth month.

Currently the Huskers are 1-0 in October and will be looking for their first perfect month since 2006 when they went 7-0. Last season Nebraska went 6-2 in October.

Packing the House
The Nebraska volleyball team currently ranks second nationally in home attendance with an average of 5,401 fans per match. Through six matches, including a match at the Devaney Center, 28,252 fans have seen the Huskers play this season. Only national leader Hawaii (6,186 fans per contest) and Nebraska average more than 4,000 fans per match. Wisconsin ranks a distant third with 3,720 fans per match.

1. Hawaii (6,186)
2. Nebraska (5,401)
3. Wisconsin (3,720)
4. Penn State (3,705)
5. Florida (3,137)

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 140 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 4,103 fans through five matches at the Coliseum in 2010. Including the Devaney Center match this season against Illinois, the Huskers are averaging 5,401 fans per home contest.

The Other Blackshirts
The Nebraska football team isn't the only team on campus with a dominant defense, as the Husker volleyball team held Colorado to just seven points in the second set on Saturday, Sept. 18 at the NU Coliseum. It was the least amount of points a team have scored against the Huskers since the NCAA switched to 25-point rally scoring prior to the 2008 season. Nebraska had previously held a team to nine points on two occasions, including Tulane in 2009 and Kentucky in 2010's season opener.

Setter-U
Sydney Anderson had been the latest setter to shine in the scarlet and cream, as last season she became the eighth setter in NU history to earn multiple AVCA All-America honors.

A senior in 2010, Anderson will try to become just the third setter in school history to capture All-America three times during their career at NU. If she achieves the feat, Anderson would join Griechaly Cepero (2000-02) and Fiona Nepo (1996-98).

Staring on the Right Foot
Under Head Coach John Cook the Husker are a perfect 11-0 in Big 12 Conference openers after their win over Iowa State. Nebraska also extended it Big 12 home-opening record to 11-0 with a win over Colorado.