1999 Season
Mandy Monson capped her Husker career w ith one of the best defensive seasons in school history. The starting outside hitter finished with 383 digs for the season, the third-best total in Nebraska single-season history and just seven shy of matching the school record set by Kate Crnich in 1996. Monson finished her career with 945 digs to rank seventh all-time at Nebraska.
The Wallace, Neb., native was second on the team with 226 kills and helped guide the Huskers to a second straight Big 12 title and a 27-6 overall record. Monson recorded double-figure kills in eight matches in 1999, including a season-best 16 against Kansas. She recorded 23 double-figure dig matches, including the team's top three individual marks (24 at Texas, 24 vs. UC Santa Barbara, and 23 at Florida). A First-Team GTE/CoSIDA Academic All-District selection, Monson was named to the SunTrust Invitational All-Tournament team after posting eight kills, four blocks and 23 digs in the championship against the sixth-ranked Gators.
1998 Season
Monson's junior season got off to a rough start when she sprained the medical collateral ligament in her knee in the team's second match of the season against No. 21 San Diego. Monson was limited to back-row action until the 18th match of the season but came on strong when it counted most and returned to the starting lineup against Texas following Nebraska's only regular-season loss. She responded with 11 kills, a .375 hitting percentage, 18 digs and three blocks.
After posting just 58 kills in the first 26 matches of the season, Monson had 57 (2.28 per game) in the final eight matches. She also averaged 4.12 digs per game over the same stretch, including a career-high 26 against Utah in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
Depsite her early-season trials, Monson finished the season with a team-high 3.06 digs per game. She was fifth on the team in total digs (214) and sixth in kills (114) and kills per game (1.63). She had three of the team's top four defensive performances, recording 26 digs vs. Utah, 25 at Colorado proved to be her best all-around performance of the year with 11 kills on 20 attacks with no errors to go along with her match-high 25 digs. She closed out the season with a bang, recording a season-high 12 kills against Penn State in the national semifinals. For the year, she recorded nine or more digs in 11 matches.
1997 Season
Monson was a consistent offensive and defensive force for the Huskers and led the team defensively with 338 dogs fpr a 3.25 per game average, the fourth-best average in a single season at Nebraska. She tallied 293 kills, the third-best total on the squad and was fifth on the team in hitting percentage (.253). She stepped up her play in conference matches, recording a .292 hitting percentage. Monson registered a career-best 19 kills, along with 20 digs, in a win at Texas Tech.
During the second half of conference play, Monson went on an offensive run, hitting an average of .353 in 11 matches. She finished with double-digit digs in 17 matches, including two matches with 20 or more digs. Monson was again strong at the end of the season, recording double-figure kills in eight of the last nine matches of the season. She was flawless at Missouri with seven kills, no errors and 10 attacks for a season-best .700 hitting percentage.
1996 Season
Monson saw limited action in her first season with the Huskers, appearing in 10 matches. She earned her first career start against Oklahoma and recorded a then-season-best five kills in her only start of the season.
High School
A two-time first-team all-state selection, Monson was the honorary captain of the 1995 Class D-2 all-state squad, as named by the Lincoln Journal Star and Omaha World-Herald. A 1995 Super-State selection by the Omaha World-Herald and Lincoln Journal Star, she was a Class D-1 second-team all-state pick as a sophomore and was named to the Class D-2 All-Tournament team in 1995. A three-sport standout, she lettered four years in volleyball, basketball and track and was a three-time, first-team all-conference volleyball player. During her four-year career, Monson recorded 957 kills, 326 blocks and 114 aces. She placed sixth in the 100-meter dash at the 1994 Nebraska state meet and earned a gold medal at the 1995 Nebraska state meet as a memeber of the 4X100-meter relay.