Huskers and Michigan Set for 7:30 p.m. on Pink Night

The fourth-ranked Nebraska volleyball team welcomes No. 24 Michigan to the Bob Devaney Sports Center for a 7:30 p.m. match on Saturday, the Huskers' annual "Pink Night" match. The match was originally scheduled to start at 7 p.m. but was pushed back 30 minutes to accommodate fans and staff coming from the 2:30 p.m. Husker football game. Saturday night’s match will be televised on NET and streamed online with a BTN Plus ($) subscription. John Baylor and Diane Mendenhall will have the radio call on Husker Sports Network (107.3 FM in Lincoln and 105.9 FM in Omaha). A free live audio stream and live stats are available at Huskers.com.

Nebraska (13-2, 4-1 Big Ten) earned a 3-1 win against Michigan State on Wednesday night at the Devaney Center. NU dropped the first set but responded by winning the next three on the strength of its block and serve. The Huskers had a season-high eight service aces and posted 13 blocks for their fourth straight match with double-digit blocks. Kadie Rolfzen had a season-high 18 kills, while Kelsey Fien had 13 kills and a career-high five blocks. Amber Rolfzen matched her season best of eight blocks. The Huskers are 8-0 at home this season and have won 15 straight at home dating back to last season. With a 4-1 record in the Big Ten, the Huskers are in second place behind Purdue, the only unbeaten team in conference play.

Michigan (13-3, 3-2 Big Ten) won 3-2 at Iowa on Wednesday night after fending off four match points in the third set. Iowa won the first two sets and had a 24-22 lead in the third before Michigan rallied. The Wolverines have won two straight matches after trailing 2-0, as they came back to beat Michigan State last Saturday. After starting 10-0, Michigan is 3-3 in their last six matches.

About the Huskers
• Nebraska leads the Big Ten with 16.02 digs per set and ranks 52nd in the nation.
• Nebraska is averaging a league-best 2.7 blocks per set in Big Ten play. The Huskers are holding Big Ten opponents to .176 hitting, second-best in the conference.
• The Huskers are hitting .266 on the season to rank third in the Big Ten and 22nd nationally.
• Nebraska averages 14.14 kills per set, which ranks fourth in the conference and 25th in the nation.
• Libero Justine Wong-Orantes averages a team-best 4.29 digs per set and has played every set in 60 consecutive matches dating back to her freshman season in 2013. Wong-Orantes had a career-high 30 digs to lead the Husker comeback effort at No. 1 Penn State on Oct. 2. She was named the espnW National Player of the Week and Big Ten Co-Defensive Player of the Week.
• Two-time All-American Kadie Rolfzen is putting up a team-best 3.17 kills per set along with 2.62 digs per set. The junior has 31 career double-doubles and was the B1G Co-Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 21.
• Middle blocker Amber Rolfzen leads the team with 63 blocks. Her 1.50 blocks per set is second in the Big Ten and 12th nationally. Her block average is the best by a Husker since Melissa Elmer’s school-record 2.17 in 2005.
• Setter Kelly Hunter guides the Husker attack with 11.20 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. Hunter has notched 50 or more assists four times this season.
• True freshman outside hitter Mikaela Foecke averages 2.81 kills per set and led the Huskers against Penn State with a career-high 22 kills on a team-high 57 swings. Foecke has won two Big Ten Co-Freshman of the Week honors.
• Outside hitter Kelsey Fien, an All-Big performer in 2014, is averaging 2.52 kills per set. Fien had a career-high 19 kills against Oregon on Sept. 5.
• Senior middle blocker Cecilia Hall is putting up 1.89 kills per set on the season with a .299 hitting percentage.

Scouting Michigan
Michigan is led by middle blocker Abby Cole, who averages 2.96 kills and 1.27 blocks per set. A 6-5 junior, Cole had 19 and 12 kills in the matches against Nebraska last year. Caroline Knop, a 5-8 outside hitter, adds 2.72 kills and 2.98 digs per set. Setter Carly Warner provides 7.08 assists per set. The Wolverines are second in the Big Ten, behind the Huskers, in digs per set (15.54 per set). Michigan averages more attacks per set than any team in the conference (36.49), but is 11th in hitting percentage (.228).

Wong-Orantes Moving Up Career Digs Chart
Junior Justine Wong-Orantes ranks seventh in school history with 1,093 career digs entering the match. With 19 more, she will pass current director of operations Lindsay (Wischmeier) Peterson for sixth. Wong-Orantes surpassed 1,000 career digs at Iowa State on Sept. 19, becoming the fastest Husker to reach 1,000 digs, doing so in just 75 matches.

Rolfzen Closing in on 1,000 Kills
Junior Kadie Rolfzen enters the match with 947 career kills. She is aiming to become the 21st player in Husker history to reach 1,000 career kills and just the ninth to do so before her senior season. The last Husker to reach the 1,000-kill plateau before her senior season was Jordan Larson as a junior in 2007.