Huskers Return Home to Host Indiana, Purdue

INDIANA at NEBRASKA
Date: Nov. 9
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Lincoln, Neb.
Arena: NU Coliseum
Live Stats: Huskers.com
Live Radio: Husker Sports Network, Huskers.com
Web Stream: HuskersNSide (with $4.95 subscription)

PURDUE at NEBRASKA
Date: Nov. 10
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Location: Lincoln, Neb.
Arena: NU Coliseum
Live Stats: Huskers.com
Live Radio: Husker Sports Network, Huskers.com
Web Stream: BTN.com (with subscription)

The No. 9 Nebraska volleyball team returns home this weekend to host a pair of matches with Indiana and Purdue. The Huskers will take on the Hoosiers on Friday, Nov. 9 at 7 p.m., while NU will face the Boilermakers on Saturday, Nov. 10 at 7:30 p.m.

Nebraska leads the all-time series with Indiana, 4-1. The Huskers beat the Hoosiers 3-2 in their first match-up of the season on Oct. 6.

The Huskers lead the all-time series with Purdue 12-5. NU swept the Boilermakers on Oct. 5 in their first meeting of the season.

Friday's match will be available on HuskersNSide with a subscription of $4.95. Saturday's match will be available on BTN.com for fans who have purchased a subscription.

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

Nebraska student-athletes and Red Cross volunteers will be collecting donations for the local Red Cross between sets two and three on Friday night.

Last Time Out- Nebraska at Michigan State, 11/3/12

The Nebraska volleyball team (18-5, 10-4) dropped a five-set (13-25, 25-23, 18-25, 25-23, 15-17) heartbreaker to the Michigan State Spartans on Saturday evening.

The Huskers trailed 1-0 in the match and came back to even the match at two sets apiece twice before eventually falling in the fifth. With the loss, the Huskers dropped back-to-back conference matches for the first time since 2009.

Gina Mancuso led the Huskers for the second-straight night, recording 20 kills and six digs for NU. Meghan Haggerty notched nine kills, while Morgan Broekhuis had seven and Hayley Thramer notched six. Lauren Cook tabbed 49 assists for NU and Lara Dykstra led Nebraska defensively with 16 digs.

The Huskers hit .188 in the match, while Michigan State tallied a .283 hitting percentage. NU was out-dug 55-49 and was out-blocked 14-9.

Scouting the Indiana Hoosiers

• Indiana is 11-15 on the season and has a 3-11 Big Ten record. The Hoosiers are coming off of a weekend where they went 1-1 with a sweep at Northwestern and a 1-3 loss at Illinois.
• Against the Wildcats, Jordan Haverly led the Hoosiers with 15 kills, while Kelci Marschall had 12. Indiana's sweep was IU's first over a Big Ten team since 2010.
• In IU's loss to Illinois, Haverly posted 16 kills and 13 digs for her 12th double-double of the season, while Morgan Leach had 11 kills.
• Haverly leads Indiana on the year with 393 total kills and an average of 3.97 kills per set. Marschall also has 252 total kills and an average of 2.50 kills per set. Katie Gallagher guides the Hoosier offense with 648 total assists on the year and an average of 10.29 assists per set.
• Caitlin Hansen has a total of 352 digs for Indiana, posting an average of 3.56 digs per set. Marschall also leads the Hoosier block with 63 total blocks on the year.

Scouting the Purdue Boilermakers

• Purdue is 18-7 on the year and holds a 9-5 Big Ten record. The Boilermakers are coming off a weekend where they went 2-0 with a sweep over Northwestern and a 3-2 victory at Illinois.
• Against the Wildcats, Ariel Turner overcame a slow start to post a match-high 16 kills, while also tallying a team-best 17 digs. Catherine Rebarchak downed 11 kills and put up six blocks.
• In their five-set win against the Fighting Illini, the Boilermakers saw Rebarchak lead the way offensively with a career-high 18 kills, while Turner had 13 and Kiki Jones chipped in 10. With the victory, Purdue won its 13th-straight five-set match.
• Turner leads the Boilermakers on the year with 380 total kills and an average of 4.22 kills per set. She also has 243 digs and an average of 2.70 digs per set and 64 total blocks. Rachel Davis has guided the Purdue offense with 817 assists and an average of 8.78 assists per set.
• Carly Cramer has 376 total digs on the year and an average of 4.18 digs per set. Anna Drewry leads the Purdue block with a total of 92 blocks on the season including an average of 1.10 blocks per set.

Noting the Nebraska Cornhuskers

• Nebraska enters this Saturday's match with an 18-5 record and No. 9 national ranking. The Huskers are 10-4 in Big Ten play.
• The Huskers return first-team AVCA All-American Gina Mancuso and AVCA Honorable Mention All-Americans Lauren Cook, Hannah Werth and Morgan Broekhuis to the 2012 roster.
• Nebraska is the second-winningest program in Division I history with 1,158 wins and trails only UCLA (1,177) on the all-time list.
• The defending Big Ten Champion Huskers were picked as the favorite to win the Big Ten title in 2012, while Lauren Cook, Hannah Werth and Gina Mancuso were picked as All-Big Ten selections.
• Nebraska currently has 175 consecutive sellouts at the NU Coliseum, the longest sellout streak across all NCAA women's athletics. The Huskers averaged 4,522 fans per home contest last season.
• Nebraska has 10 players on its 2012 roster who were Volleyball Magazine Fab 50 selections, representing the top-50 players in that year's recruiting class. Five of the Huskers' last seven recruiting classes have ranked in the top five nationally, including the 2009 class that was ranked second by Prepvolleyball.com
• Nebraska continued its string of All-America success in 2011, as Gina Mancuso was named an AVCA All-American. Mancuso upped Nebraska's NCAA-leading totals to 35 players and 71 certificates. Nebraska has had at least one All-American every season since 1983, a total of 30 straight seasons, including 36 All-America awards in Cook's 12 years at Nebraska.

AVCA All-America Certificates

No.         School                   Awards

1.            Nebraska             71

2.            Stanford              65

3.            Penn State          54

4.            Hawaii                   52

5.            UCLA                     42

• Head Coach John Cook returns a loaded team in 2012 that lost only one starter from 2011 and returns eight letterwinners. His team finished 25-5 last season, while Cook has won over 91 percent (376-38) of his matches in 12 seasons as the Huskers' leader.

The Last Time Nebraska...

• Won a match 3-0: at Illinois, Oct. 21, 2012
• Won a match 3-1: vs. Minnesota, Oct. 14, 2012
• Won a match 3-2: vs. Penn State, Oct. 28, 2012
• Lost a match 0-3: at Purdue, Nov. 12, 2011
• Lost a match 1-3: vs. Ohio State, Sept. 26, 2012
• Lost a match 2-3: at Michigan State, Nov. 3, 2012
• Had 100 kills in a match: vs. Texas Tech, Oct. 26, 1996
• Had 200 attacks in a match: vs. Iowa State (200), Oct. 21, 2009
• Had .500-or-more hitting pct.: vs. Kansas (.523), Oct. 10, 2001
• Had 10-or-more service aces: at Texas A&M (11), Nov. 5, 2008
• Had 40-or-more total blocks: vs. UCLA (41), Sept. 14, 1991
• Had 100-or-more digs: vs. USC (109), Dec. 11, 2004

The Last Time a Husker...

• Had 30-or-more kills: Sarah Pavan (31) at Kansas State, Nov. 3, 2007
• Had 10-or-more blocks: Brooke Delano (10) at Oklahoma, Sept. 29, 2010
• Had 25-or-more digs: Lara Dykstra (28) vs. New Mexico State, Aug. 26, 2011
• Had two players with 20-or-more kills: Tara Mueller (24) and Jordan Larson (21) at Washington, Dec. 13, 2008
• Had a triple-double: Greichaly Cepero (10 kills, 38 assists, 12 digs) vs. Texas Tech, Sept. 25, 2002

Nebraska...

• Is 346-72 (.828) when winning a first set under John Cook and 44-28 (.611) when it loses the opening set
• Has spent 404 weeks in the top 10 and were ranked in the top 10 for 115 consecutive weeks (2004-Sept. 5, 2011)
• Nebraska has currently been ranked in the top 10 for 23 consecutive weeks (Sept. 12, 2011-present)
• Is 209-0 under John Cook when hitting .300 or better

Huskers Earn Big Ten Weekly Honors

Nebraska senior Lauren Cook and freshman Meghan Haggerty have both been honored by the Big Ten Conference with weekly Big Ten Awards. Cook was named the Big Ten Co-Player and Setter of the Week three times, while Haggerty has earned three Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors.

Cook guided the Husker attack to wins over Saint Louis (3-0), No. 1 UCLA (3-2) and Notre Dame (3-0) during the first weekend of play. She notched double-doubles in all three matches, including 56 assists and 22 digs against the Bruins. Cook averaged 10.7 assists, 4.4 digs and 0.4 blocks per set. She also tabbed 27 assists against Saint Louis and 35 against Notre Dame, helping Nebraska hit .365 against the Fighting Irish.

She earned Setter of the Week honors again after averaging 11.30 assists and 2.1 digs per set in road wins over No. 12 Purdue (3-0) and Indiana (3-2). She led the Huskers to a .348 hitting percentage on the weekend, including a .361 clip against the Boilermakers.

Cook tallied the honor for the second consecutive week after averaging 11.6 assists and 2.3 digs per set in wins over No. 10 Minnesota (3-1) and Wisconsin (3-0) over the weekend. She led the third-ranked Huskers to a .361 hitting percentage for the weekend, including a .396 clip against the Badgers, where she dished out 37 assists.

Haggerty earned Big Ten honors after she hit .545 against UC Irvine, recording seven kills on 11 swings to go along with four blocks to help Nebraska to a 3-0 victory. She also averaged 2.3 kills and 1.3 blocks per set. She earned the award for the second consecutive week after helping Nebraska to the 2012 Ameritas Players Challenge team title. She hit .600 for the week as the Huskers beat Oklahoma (3-0) and No. 19 Kentucky (3-1). She recorded an .818 hitting percentage against the Sooners, posting nine kills on 11 swings. She also averaged 2.4 kills and 1.6 blocks per set.

She was named Freshman of the Week again after posting 12 kills on .333 hitting and seven blocks in Nebraska's five-set win over No. 1 Penn State on Sunday. She also tallied five blocks and seven kills against Ohio State on Friday, as she averaged 1.3 blocks and 2.1 kills for the weekend.

Mancuso Named Senior Class Award Finalist

Nebraska senior outside hitter Gina Mancuso was named one of 10 finalists for the 2012 Senior CLASS Award for women's volleyball on Friday, Oct. 19. A 2011 AVCA All-American, Mancuso leads the Huskers in kills in 2012 and has five double-doubles on the year. She was named a second-team CoSIDA Academic All-District VII selection in 2011, also earning academic All-Big Ten accolades. She is a three-year member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, serving as the community outreach officer for the 2011-12 school year. 

Fan balloting consists of one-third of the total vote and is available right now on the award's official web site: www.seniorclassaward.com, while Mancuso's profile is listed here: www.seniorclassaward.com/athletes/gina_mancuso/.

Haggerty's Impressive Debut

Nebraska freshman Meghan Haggerty became just the eighth true freshman to start a season opener during Coach John Cook's career at Nebraska. She posted a team-high 17 kills against UCLA, notching a .600 hitting percentage (17-2-25). Her 17 kills were the most by a Nebraska middle blocker since Tracy Stalls tallied 17 (17-2-26) against UCLA during the 2006 National Semifinal match. 

She has not let up after her opening-weekend dominance. Haggerty posted nine kills on 11 swings for a .818 hitting percentage against Oklahoma on Sept. 6. With just one more kill she would have ranked 10th all-time on Nebraska's single-match individual hitting percentage list. She has been named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week three times in 2012.

She posted 11 kills on 25 swings against Penn State, notching five total blocks. In addition, she recorded six blocks against Ohio State. Haggerty recorded a stellar .700 hitting percentage against Michigan State, tabbbing eight kills on 10 swings. She notched a .778 clip against Illinois, posting seven kills on nine attacks and zero errors.

Against No. 1 competition, Haggerty has posted 29 kills, a hitting percentage of .469 and 10 blocks.

Haggerty Leading the Huskers in Hitting Efficiency

With Haggerty's .367 hitting percentage on the season and 319 total attacks, she leads the Huskers in hitting percentage on the season. She is the first freshman to lead a Nebraska team in hitting percentage since Amber Holmquist in 1999.

Tough Competition

With a match against No. 21 Purdue this Saturday, Nebraska will be taking on its 12th top-25 teams this season.

The Huskers hold an 8-3 record against top-25 teams, losing to No. 4 Penn State, No. 25 Iowa State and No. 20 Ohio State, but topping No. 1 UCLA and No. 19 Kentucky at the Coliseum, No. 24 Ohio State, No. 24 Michigan State, No. 12 Purdue, No. 10 Minnesota, No. 25 Illinois and No. 1 Penn State.

Werth Notches 1,000 Kills and Digs, Climbs Nebraska Records

Nebraska senior outside hitter Hannah Werth tallied 17 digs against the UCLA Bruins, surpassing the 1,000 career dig mark, becoming just the 11th Husker to reach that milestone. She has a total of 1,250 career digs, and ranks fifth all-time on the Nebraska career digs list.

Werth surpassed the 1,000 career kill mark in 2012; she has 1,159 career kills and is 13th on Nebraska's all-time list. She is also one of four Huskers, joining Jennifer Saleaumua, Jordan Larson and Eileen Shannon, to record 1,000 career digs and kills.

She is the only non-defensive specialist or libero who ranks in the top 10 in digs in the Big Ten Conference.

Mancuso Hot Against Top Competition

Gina Mancuso posted 16 kills against the Penn State Nittany Lions on Oct. 28. With that mark, she has at least 10 kills in all but one (Illinois- nine kills) of the Huskers' matches against ranked teams this year.

Saying Goodbye to the Coliseum

The 2011 season marks the Huskers' final season in the NU Coliseum before the team will move to the Bob Devaney Sports Center. The Coliseum has been the home for Nebraska volleyball since 1975 and provides a unique home-court advantage for NU.

Nebraska Too Much for Iowa

After grinding out a first-set win against Iowa on Oct. 17, the Huskers won the final two sets by more than 10 points. NU held Iowa to nine points in the final set, tying for the lowest point total by a Big Ten opponent, as Northwestern totaled nine points in the second set in 2011.

Huskers Limit Dukes

The Huskers held the Duquesne Dukes to 39 total points in their match on Sept. 7. Duquesne was out-scored 25-7, 25-12, 25-20 in the match. The fewest points allowed by the Huskers in a three-set match during the rally scoring era was 37 to Alabama A&M in 2005.

Huskers Named to Ameritas Players Challenge All-Tournament Team

Three Huskers earned a spot on the 2012 Ameritas Players Challenge All-Tournament Team including Gina Mancuso, Lauren Cook and MVP Hannah Werth.

Cook Reaches Milestones

The Huskers' match against the UC Irvine Anteaters was Head Coach John Cook's 400th match at Nebraska, he holds a 378-38 record at the helm of the Huskers. Nebraska's match with Michigan on Friday, Nov. 2 was Cook's 650th career match as a head coach.

Efficient Hitters

Nebraska has hit better than .300 in 11 out of 20 matches in 2012, including a .383 hitting percentage against Oklahoma, a .391 hitting percentage against No. 24 Michigan State and a .396 hitting percentage against Wisconsin.

Hot in September and November

Historically, the Huskers' two best months are September (303-28) and November (220-22), as they have all-time winning percentages of .915 and .909, respectively. NU has lost only seven matches in September since 2004, including none from 2005-08. After eight wins in September in 2012, the Huskers are 126-10 in the month under Head Coach John Cook. 

How the Huskers Rank

As of Nov. 4, Nebraska ranked third in the Big Ten in hitting percentage (.286) and third in assists (13.07). NU is also second in blocks (2.66), sixth in opponent hitting percentage (.201), eighth in digs (14.35) and fourth in kills (14.03). Individually, Meghan Haggerty is ninth in the conference in hitting percentage (.367), while Hayley Thramer is sixth in blocks (1.14), Gina Mancuso is 10th in kills (3.47) and sixth in aces (0.30) and Lauren Cook is third in the conference in assists (11.06). Hannah Werth also comes in 10th in digs (3.37).

As of Nov. 4, the Huskers rank 42nd nationally in assists per set (13.07) and are 11th in hitting percentage (.286), 31st in blocks per set (2.66) and 41st in kills per set (14.03). Individually, Cook ranks 35th in assists per set (11.06), while Haggerty is 43rd nationally in hitting percentage (.367).

Solid Senior Class

All-American Hannah Werth opened the season by leading Nebraska in kills against Saint Louis, while she then recorded 12 kills against UCLA, notched 11 against Notre Dame and posted 14 against Oklahoma. She also led Nebraska in digs against Colgate (12), UC Irvine (12) and Oklahoma (13). Werth led Nebraska defensively against Penn State, recording a team-high 16 digs. She posted 10 digs and five blocks against Ohio State. She tabbed nine kills on 15 swings for a .467 hitting percentage against Michigan State. She recorded a team-leading 16 digs against the Wolverines on Sept. 30. Werth notched a double-double against Indiana with 12 kills and 10 digs and recorded hitting percentages of .396 and .308 against Wisconsin and Minnesota. She led Nebraska in digs against Illinois, totaling a season-high of 18. She recorded two double-doubles against Ohio State and Penn State, including a career-high 27 digs against Penn State, which ranks 12th among the top 20 individual digs performances at Nebraska.

All-American Gina Mancuso led Nebraska in kills against Notre Dame, recorded 15 against UCLA, along with 16 digs, and notched 10 kills against Saint Louis. Mancuso tallied a .412 hitting percentage against Colgate, recording seven kills on 17 swings and also posting six digs. She came on strong for the Huskers against Duquesne and Kentucky with a team-high 15 kills against the Dukes and a team-high 17 kills against the Wildcats. She posted hitting percentages of .375 and .400, respectively. Mancuso led the Husker offense against Iowa State with 18 kills on 47 swings. She also posted 16 digs and three blocks. She led Nebraska against Penn State, recording 12 kills and 11 digs. She recorded 10 kills on 23 swings (.304) and nine digs against Ohio State. She led Nebraska against Michigan State with 12 kills on 25 swings for a .400 hitting percentage. Mancuso posted 12 kills and 16 digs against the Wolverines on Sept. 30. She led NU last weekend with 14 kills and 10 digs against both Purdue and Indiana. Mancuso notched three aces and eight kills against Wisconsin, while she led the Husker offense against Minnesota, posting 14 kills  (.343) and recording two service aces. She notched 12 kills and a .300 hitting percentage against Iowa. She led Nebraska in kills against Penn State, notching 16 in the match. She posted a season-high 20 kills in both of the Huskers' matches last weekend.

Lauren Cook was stellar for Nebraska against UCLA, posting 56 assists and 22 digs. She also notched three kills against the Bruins. Cook tabbed 43 assists in helping Nebraska beat No. 19 Kentucky. She has 10 double-doubles on the season. Cook finished with 44 assists and 10 digs against Penn State and 35 assists and 10 digs against Ohio State. She notched 39 assists and 11 digs against Michigan State. She paced the Husker offense with 48 assists against Michigan on Sept. 30, also recording 16 digs. Cook narrowly missed notching a triple-double against Minnesota, posting eight kills, 44 assists and 11 digs for the Huskers. She recorded 35 assists and two aces for the Huskers against the Hawkeyes. She posted over 50 kills against both Ohio State and Penn State. With 2,777 assists at Nebraska she ranks 10th all-time on Nebraska's career assist chart.

Paige Hubl joins Cook and Werth as one of three captains on the 2012 squad after being a key defensive contributor and serving specialist for the Huskers in 2011. She played in all 30 matches as a junior and posted 12 digs against Kansas State. Hubl notched two digs against Colgate, and posted an impressive performance against Duquesne on Sept. 7, recording a career-high 15 digs.

Allison McNeal is a talented middle blocker returning for the Huskers in 2012 after missing the 2011 season due to an injury. She started 17 matches in 2010, averaging 1.33 kills and 0.88 blocks per set. McNeal exploded offensively for Nebraska against Colgate, recording 10 kills on 14 swings for a .571 hitting percentage.  She also notched four total blocks in the match. McNeal posted eight blocks against Duquesne on Sept. 7.

Ostrander Makes Impact

Alicia Ostrander saw substantial playing time for the Huskers against Michigan State. She appeared in a match for just the seventh time during her Husker career, posting five kills and a solo block at a critical moment in the fifth set.

Huskers Find Even More Talent for 2012

Head Coach John Cook's 2012 Huskers include four talented additions. NU welcomes in true freshmen Kelsey Fien, Meghan Haggerty, Alexa Strange and Sheridan Zarda.

All four Huskers have seen valuable playing time this fall. Along with Haggerty's accomplishments, Zarda has been an asset for the Huskers defensively. Strange came on strong for NU against Indiana, totaling seven kills on nine swings (.778). Four of her kills came in the fifth set against the Hoosiers, as she helped the Huskers to the win. Fien had five kills for the Huskers against Michigan State, also recording four digs.

Broekhuis, Thramer Excel for Huskers

Broekhuis proved key for the Huskers in their win over defending NCAA Champion UCLA, notching 15 kills against the Bruins and the final two kills of the fifth set to seal the victory. She also recorded four service aces against Notre Dame. She was solid for the Huskers against UC Irvine, recording 16 kills on 29 swings for a .517 hitting percentage.  Broekhuis finished with 15 kills on 36 swings (.306) against Kentucky, also chipping in two service aces and three block assists. Broekhuis excelled for the Huskers against Ohio State, notching a team-high 12 kills on 27 swings (.370). She led the Huskers against Michigan, recording a team-leading 16 kills on 38 swings (.395) and eight blocks for the Huskers. Broekhuis led the Husker offense against Wisconsin as she had 12 kills on 27 swings (.370). She powered Nebraska with 10 kills and a .375 hitting percentage along with two aces and five block assists against Iowa, while putting up 10 kills and three aces against Illinois last Sunday. She led Nebraska against Ohio State, recording 19 kills in the match.

Thramer recorded a career-high 24 attacks against UCLA on Aug. 25. She also recorded seven kills and six total blocks against the Bruins and a hitting percentage of .467 the following day against Notre Dame. Thramer notched seven kills against Oklahoma and went on to record five blocks against Kentucky. She recorded a season-high nine kills against Iowa State, notching 22 swings for a .318 hitting percentage. She posted 10 kills against Penn State on Sept. 19, also totaling eight blocks. Thramer continued her impressive weekend with seven kills on 10 swings (.700) and three blocks against Ohio State. Thramer was errorless against the Spartans, as she recorded four kills on 10 swings and also notched four total blocks. She notched 12 kills on 20 attacks (.450) as she went on to record seven block assists in the match against the Wolverines on Sept. 30. She posted 10 kills and five blocks against Indiana on Oct. 6. Thramer's stellar work continued over the weekend as she had 11 kills on 20 swings for a .500 hitting percentage against Wisconsin, also posting six total blocks. She went on to record 10 kills on 19 swings (.421) against Minnesota, contributing seven blocks. Thramer notched six kills on 12 attacks and six blocks against Iowa, while posting eight block assists against Illinois.

Dykstra Sets Freshman Record, Leads in 2012

In her first season with the Huskers, Lara Dykstra took over the role of libero after all-time Nebraska digs leader Kayla Banwarth graduated in 2010. She set the NU freshman single-season digs record with 399 and finished second on the freshman single-season digs per set list with 3.59. Dykstra also recorded 15 or more digs eight times in 2011. Dykstra recorded 20 digs against UCLA on Aug. 25.

She led Nebraska defensively against Iowa State, posting a season-high 22 digs for the Huskers. She notched 15 digs for the Huskers against Wolverines on Sept. 30. Dykstra posted a team-high 13 digs against Minnesota. She currently has 612 career digs. She led Nebraska in digs against Michigan and Michigan State, recording 24 and 16, respectively.

Huskers Elect Team Captains

Nebraska seniors Lauren Cook, Paige Hubl and Hannah Werth were selected as the 2012 team captains for the Huskers.

Busboom-Kelly Returns to Nebraska

Dani Busboom-Kelly joined Head Coach John Cook's staff in July of 2012 after spending the previous season at Louisville. After successful coaching stints at Louisville and Tennessee, Busboom-Kelly returned to Nebraska where she was a standout libero and setter for the Huskers.