The No. 4 Nebraska volleyball team begins Big Ten action this week with a home-and-home series against the Iowa Hawkeyes. The two teams will begin conference play on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa. Wednesday’s match will be streamed online with a BTN Plus subscription. John Baylor and Diane Mendenhall will have the radio call on the Husker Sports Network (107.3 FM in Lincoln and 105.9 FM in Omaha). A free live audio stream and live stats will also be available at Huskers.com. The teams will meet again on Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.
The Huskers finished non-conference play on a six-match win streak after a 3-1 win (25-23, 21-25, 25-23, 25-11) at Iowa State on Saturday. Nebraska is off to a 9-1 start, its best start to a season since beginning 18-1 in 2011. NU also defeated in-state rival Creighton last week on Sept. 15, 3-0, at the CenturyLink Center in Omaha, the site of the 2015 NCAA Championship.
Iowa enters the match 10-3 and has won seven straight matches, the last four in sweeps. Iowa is receiving 24 votes in the AVCA Top 25 poll, putting them six spots outside the Top 25. The Hawkeyes are a perfect 7-0 at home, including a 3-1 win over in-state rival Iowa State on Sept. 11. Iowa also boasts a win at home over then-No. 25 Texas A&M, 3-1. The Hawkeyes’ three losses this season came consecutively, at Northern Illinois (1-3) on Aug. 30, at No. 11 Hawaii (1-3) and vs. No. 13 UCLA (0-3) on Sept. 5.
Nebraska leads the all-time series 20-0. The Huskers swept Iowa in both matches last year. The matchup in Iowa City on Sept. 27 went the Huskers’ way: 25-21, 25-13, 25-16. The only time Iowa has taken a set from the Huskers was Sept. 5, 1987. John Cook is 20-2 all-time vs. Iowa and 8-0 while coaching at Nebraska.
About the Huskers
• Nebraska had a season-best 12 blocks at Iowa State on Saturday, 10 coming in the final two sets. After averaging 1.96 blocks per set through the first seven matches, NU has put together 3.4 blocks per set over the last three matches.
• The Huskers are hitting .295 on the season to rank second in the Big Ten and ninth nationally. NU’s 14.81 kills per set also ranks second in the conference and is fourth in the nation. The Huskers rank second in the conference in digs per set as well (16.28).
• Two-time All-American Kadie Rolfzen is putting up a team-best 3.16 kills per set along with 2.78 digs per set. The junior has 28 career double-doubles. Rolfzen recorded a career-high eight blocks at Iowa State last Saturday and was rewarded with Big Ten Co-Defensive Player of the Week on Monday.
• Middle blocker Amber Rolfzen leads the team with 36 blocks. Her 1.64 blocks per set leads the Big Ten and would rank fourth nationally if she met the requirement for sets played. She is on pace to have the highest block average by a Husker since Melissa Elmer’s school-record 2.17 blocks per set in 2005. Since returning from injury on Sept. 11, Rolfzen has posted an average of 2.15 blocks per set.
• True freshman outside hitter Mikaela Foecke has posted six straight matches of double-digit kills, reaching a career-high 13 three times in that stretch. Foecke has a team-high 103 kills and averages 2.86 kills per set with a .367 hitting percentage. Foecke has won two straight Big Ten Co-Freshman of the Week honors. In two matches on Sept. 12, Foecke became the first Husker with double-digit kills and at least a .550 hitting percentage in back-to-back matches since Brooke Delano in 2010.
• Setter Kelly Hunter guides the Husker attack with 11.25 assists per set. The sophomore had a career-high 57 assists and nine kills in the comeback win against Oregon on Sept. 5. Hunter was named the B1G Setter of the Week on Aug. 31 and Nebraska Invitational MVP on opening weekend. She has a team-best four double-doubles, the latest coming at Iowa State last Saturday with a career-high 17 digs.
• Libero Justine Wong-Orantes averages 4.17 digs per set and has not made a reception error in her past three matches.
• Outside hitter Kelsey Fien, an All-Big performer in 2014, is averaging 2.96 kills per set with a .291 hitting percentage. Fien matched her career-high 19 kills and hit .390 against Oregon on Sept. 5.
Scouting Iowa
Iowa is led by 3.63 kills per set from junior outside hitter Lauren Brobst. Sophomore middle blocker Jess Janota adds 3.04 kills per set, while fellow middle Mikaela Gunderson chips in 2.24 kills and 0.96 blocks per set. The Hawkeyes are a vastly different team from last year’s 14-17 squad. Three starters returned, but Iowa welcomed in three transfers who are playing major roles this season. Annika Olsen, a sophomore defensive specialist from Georgia Tech, leads the team with 4.74 digs per set. Junior setter Loxley Keala, a Missouri transfer, records 11.59 assists per set and 1.98 digs per set. Finally, Ashley Mariani, a junior from Tennessee, contributes 1.89 kills per set and 0.5 blocks per set. Those three have played in every set for Iowa this season.