Nebraska Opens 2001 Season at State Farm/NACWAA Classic

Lincoln -- The top-ranked Nebraska volleyball team opens the 2001 season Friday at 7 p.m. against fifth-ranked Hawaii in the first semifinal match of the State Farm Volleyball Classic presented by NACWAA. The four-team tournament also includes No. 4 Wisconsin and No. 12 Pacific, who will face each other at 9 p.m. Friday.

The winners of the semifinal matches will advance to the championship final Saturday at 9 p.m., following the 7 p.m. consolation match.
Highlights from Fridays matches will air Saturday, Aug. 25 at 9:30 p.m. on ESPN2. The championship match will be aired Monday, Aug. 27 at 7:30 p.m., also on ESPN2.

The State Farm/NACWAA Classic presents a challenging start for the Huskers in their quest for a second straight national title. Now in its seventh year, the 2001 tournament field includes four 2000 conference champions -- three of which advanced to the 2000 NCAA Final Four -- including national champion NU, runner-up Wisconsin and Hawaii. The 2001 State Farm/NACWAA Classic also features the 2000 AVCA Coach of the Year (John Cook), the 2000 AVCA Player of the Year (Greichaly Cepero), three league players of the year (Cepero - 2000 Big 12; Nancy Metcalf - 1999 Big 12; and Wisconsins Sherisa Livingston - 2000 Big Ten), three 2000 conference freshmen of the year, seven AVCA All-Americans and 13 all-conference players from a year ago.

Nebraska, which is making its NCAA-leading fourth appearance at NACWAA, will be considered the team to beat this weekend after producing one of the most successful seasons in NCAA history last year. The 2000 Huskers, 34-0, became just the second team ever in NCAA Division I volleyball to finish a season undefeated with a national championship. The Huskers swept 26 opponents and were pushed to five games just four times during the title run.

2001 Huskers Briefly
The Huskers enter 2001 looking to build on one of the most successful seasons in school history. In head coach John Cooks first year at the helm, NU became just the second team in NCAA Division I volleyball history to finish a season undefeated with a national title. AVCA Player-of-the-Year Greichaly Cepero and All-Americans Laura Pilakowski and Amber Holmquist return from the 2000 squad, as well as two-time AVCA All-American Nancy Metcalf, who redshirted the 2000 season after training with the U.S. National Team. First-team All-Big 12 selection Jenny Kropp also returns.

Other returning letterwinners include junior defensive specialist Lindsay Wischmeier, who was the only Husker to play in all 110 of NUs games in 2000; sophomore outside hitter Anna Schrad, who started five matches last season; junior outside hitter Pam Krejci and sophomore defensive specialist Jenae Dowling.

Transfers Sara Westling, a Lincoln Northeast graduate, and Amy Sibbernsen, an Omaha native who started 19 matches at Michigan State last season, also bring collegiate experience.

The Huskers will be joined by the nations third-ranked recruiting class, led by Allyne Rebholz, the Big 12 preseason freshman of the year. Melissa Elmer, Michelle Lynch and Sara Parks make up the class.

All-America U
Nebraska enters the 2001 season as the only team in Division I with four All-Americans in its starting lineup. Junior setter Greichaly Cepero and junior outside hitter Laura Pilakowski earned first-team All-America honors in 2000, while junior middle blocker Amber Holmquist was recognized on the second team. Joining the three 2000 All-Americans is Nancy Metcalf, a first-team All-America selection in 1998 and 1999. Metcalf, the 1999 Big 12 Player of the Year, redshirted 2000 after training with the U.S. National Team during the offeason.

The Nebraska volleyball program has now earned 38 AVCA All-America certificates, the second-highest total of any Division I institution. A total of 21 Huskers have earned All-America status, ranking Nebraska second all-time in total All-America athletes.

Nebraska in NACWAA
The Huskers have appeared in the NACWAA Classic three times previously and played host to the tournament in 1999 and also in 1995, the events inaugural season. NU owns a 2-4 all-time record in the tournament and finished as the runner-up in both 1995 and 1996. The Huskers last appearance at NACWAA was their most unsuccessful, as NU finished 0-2 with losses to Pacific and Penn State.

A Look at No. 5 Hawaii
Nebraska will open the 2001 season Friday against Hawaii in a rematch of the squads 2000 NCAA semifinals clash. The Rainbow Wahine, ranked fifth in the AVCA/USA Today Top 25 Preseason Coaches poll, returns four starters and eight letterwinners from their 2000 Final Four team. However, Hawaii will be without first-team AVCA All-American and Western Athletic Conference player-of-the-year Lily Kahumoku, who will redshirt in 2001.

With Kahumoku on the sidelines, outside hitter Kim Willoughby and middle blocker Maja Gustin, the Western Athletic Conference co-freshmen of the year, will likely lead Hawaii offensively. Willoughby, who averaged 3.14 kills per game and 3.02 digs per game, ended the season with seven straight double doubles. Gustin led the Wahine with 1.60 blocks per game and swung for a .400 hitting percentage or better 14 times during her freshman campaign.

Hawaii is coached by Dave Shoji, who is 741-139-1 in 26 years at the helm. Shoji has guided the Wahine to 18 NCAA Tournament appearances.
4The Series: Nebraska is 4-3 all-time against Hawaii, and John Cook owns a 1-1 career record against UH.

4The Last Time: The Huskers defeated Hawaii, 3-1, Dec. 14. in a 2000 NCAA Final Four match. Jenny Kropp led Nebraska with 10 blocks and 16 kills on .438 hitting. Kahumoku led UH with 18 kills, while Willoughby added 15.

A Look at No. 12 Pacific
The Huskers could face Pacific Saturday in what would be the first meeting between the two squads since the 1999 State Farm/NACWAA Classic, when the Tigers defeated NU, 3-2, in Lincoln.

Pacific, ranked 12th in the AVCA/USA Today Preseason Top 25 Coaches poll, returns four starters from the 2000 squad that went 28-4 and advanced to the NCAA Regionals for the 18th time in school history. Jennifer Joines, the 2000 Big West Freshmen of the Year, led the Tigers with 4.13 kills per game and 1.60 blocks per game in 2000. First-team All-Big West selection Jamie Hamm also returns. Hamm, an outside hitter from Bellevue, Neb., led Pacific with 4.44 digs per game to go with 2.67 kills per game in for the Big West champions in 2000.

Jayne McHugh enters her first season as Pacifics head coach after serving as an assistant and later as an associate head coach for 13 seasons. McHugh takes over for John Dunning, who left to become the head coach at Stanford. Dunning was 437-102 in 16 years with the Tigers.

4The Series: Pacific leads the series, 5-9-1. The Tigers are one of 13 of the 149 schools that have winning records against NU. Seven of the last eight matches have gone at least four games.

4The Last Time: Pacific defeated NU, 3-2, April 27 in the 1999 State Farm/NACWAA Classic in Lincoln. Pacifics Elsa Stegemann led both teams with 26 kills, while Nancy Metcalf led NU with 25 kills and 18 digs.

A Look at No. 4 Wisconsin
The Huskers could face Wisconsin Saturday in what would be a rematch of the 2000 NCAA national championship match. The Badgers enter the 2001 season ranked fourth in the AVCA/USA Today Top 25 Preseason Coaches poll, their highest preseason mark ever.

UW ended the 2000 season ranked second in the USA Today poll with a 33-4 mark after falling to Nebraska, 3-2, in the national title match Dec. 16. The Badgers will be without three starters from that team, including 1999 second-team All-American Jenny Maastricht and the 2000 Big Ten Freshman of the Year Claudia Rodriguez. But Wisconsin does return Lizzy Fitzgerald, who was a unanimous selections to this years 12-member preseason All-Big Ten team. Fitzgerald averaged 13.76 assists per game last season en route to Wisconsins Big Ten title. First-team All-American Sherisa Livingston, the Big Tens top returnee in kills, with a 5.19 kills-per-game average last year, will not make the trip due to academic reasons.

The Badgers are coached by Pete Waite, who is 55-14 in two years at the helm.

4The Series: Nebraska is 11-1-1 all-time against Wisconsin, but two of the last three matches have gone five games in the NCAA Tournament. John Cook, who went 195-73 in eight seasons at UW, is 1-0 against his former team.

4The Last Time: The Huskers defeated Wisconsin, 3-2, Dec. 16 in the 2000 NCAA championship match. Laura Pilakowski led NU with a 23 kills, including the match-winner. Livingston posted 19 kills, and Fitzgerald notched 46 assists and 11 digs.

History in the Making?
Nebraska enters the 2001 season on a 34-match winning streak, which is tied for seventh in NCAA Division I volleyball history. The Huskers need 10 wins to tie and 11 wins to break the 11-year-old NCAA record streak of 44 consecutive matches won, which was set by Penn State from Aug. 31, 1990 to Dec. 7, 1990. It wont be an easy task. Nebraskas first eight opponents are ranked in the AVCA/USA Today Coaches top 20, including four in the top 10. But if NUs winning streak continues, the Huskers would tie the NCAA record Sept. 19 at Colorado and break the mark Sept. 25 at home against Creighton.

Shes Back ...
One of the most dynamic attackers in school history, senior Nancy Metcalf (formerly Meendering) missed the 2000 national title run but returns after a one-year absence to fill the right-side position for the Huskers in 2001. The 1999 Big 12 Player of the Year, Metcalf redshirted in 2000 after training with the U.S. National Team during the offseason.
In her first appearance at the NU Coliseum since 1999, Metcalf pounded a match-best 17 kills and swung at a .500 clip Aug. 18 in the Huskers annual Red/White scrimmage. The two-time AVCA All-American also added 12 digs.
Nancy has just gone to another level, NU Coach John Cook said. Every time she takes a swing, she can kill it. It doesnt matter where the ball is. Her arm swing has gotten faster, and she sees the block so well. She makes it look easy, and its just impressive to watch.
Metcalf already owns five offensive school records, including single-season kills per game with 5.09 in 1999, but Cook expects Metcalf to showcase more of an all-around game in 2001. The Hull, Iowa native used her season on the sideline to perfect a jump serve and to develop into one of Nebraskas best defensive players, Cook said. And in 2001, the Husker coaching staff will ask her to become a primary passer for the first time in her career.

Return Trip
Ironically, Sara Westling will play her first match for Nebraska Friday when the Huskers face her first collegiate team, Pacific, on the court where she last played competitively. The sophomore middle blocker competed for the Tigers as a freshman in 1999. Westling saw action in 24 games and 15 matches for UOP, averaging 0.79 kills per game on a .245 hitting percentage. The Lincoln, Neb., native transferred to NU last year and redshirted the 2000 season.

Playing in front of her hometown crowd for the first time in three seasons Aug. 18 in the Huskers Red/White scrimmage, Westling led both teams with three blocks and three service aces.

Block Party
NU Coach John Cook has said that in 2001, Nebraska could become the best blocking team in NCAA history. The Huskers return their top three blockers from a team that dominated opponents at the net in 2000 with a nation-leading 4.15 blocks per game. NU was the only team in the nation to have three players ranked in the NCAA top 20 in blocks per game, including Amber Holmquist (first, 1.98), Jenny Kropp (sixth, 1.63) and Greichaly Cepero (18th, 1.48). The Huskers broke Big 12 Conference single-season records for blocks per game, block assists and total blocks, and Nebraska broke single-season school records for blocks per game (4.23) and block assists (741).

The Huskers will add Nancy Metcalf, who redshirted the 2000 season, into the mix. Metcalf posted 139 blocks assists in 1999, which ranks eighth on the NU single-season charts.

Everyones Favorite
Nebraska was the unanimous pick to win the 2001 Big 12 title, and four Huskers were selected as preseason honorees in a vote by the leagues head coaches released by the conference office Aug. 7.The defending national champion Huskers, who have won four of a possible five Big 12 championships since the conferences inception, received 10 of 11 first-place votes in the preseason poll. Texas A&M was picked to finish second, followed by Colorado. Kansas State and Missouri tied for fourth in the balloting. The voting was based on a point system, with 10 points awarded to the first-place team and one to the last-place team. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own team or players.

Three of the seven players on the preseason All-Big 12 squad were Huskers. NU junior setter Greichaly Cepero received the nod for conference preseason player of the year for the second straight season after leading Nebraska to a 34-0 record and the nations second-best hitting percentage (.312) in 2000. Joining Cepero were Laura Pilakowski, an AVCA first-team All-American outside hitter, and Nancy Metcalf, a two-time AVCA first-team All-American on the right side. Nebraska outside hitter Allyne Rebholz was voted the Big 12 Preseason Freshman of the Year. Rebholz, a 6-foot-1 outside hitter, was twice named the Indiana Metro Player of the Year and was a two-time member of the U.S. Junior National Team.

Top Dog
The Huskers were voted No. 1 in the AVCA/USA Today Coaches Top 25 preseason poll released Aug. 13. The vote marked the first time in school history that Nebraska has held the top spot in the preseason poll, and extended the Huskers streak of consecutive weeks ranked No. 1 to 15. NU is one of just three teams to be ranked in the AVCA poll for all 235 weeks, 207 of which have been in the top 10.

Rocky Road
Nebraska plays an extremely competitive schedule in 2001, and the first three weeks are especially tough. NUs first eight opponents are ranked in the top 20 of the AVCA/USA Today Coaches poll, including four who are ranked in the top 10.

The Huskers open at the prestigious State Farm/NACWAA Classic Aug. 24-25 against No. 5 Hawaii in a rematch of the teams 2000 national semifinals match. NU then plays either national runner-up and fourth-ranked Wisconsin, or No. 12 Pacific, the events host. The following weekend, the Huskers return to California to face two more 2000 NCAA Tournament teams, No. 8 Long Beach State and No. 13 UC Santa Barbara.
Nebraska opens its home slate Sept. 7-9 with the US Bank/Arbys Classic and will No. 7 UCLA, No. 17 Pepperdine and No. 20 Notre Dame. Overall, the Huskers are scheduled to play 11 matches against ranked opponents, and six matches against teams that received votes in the preseason poll.

Super Setter
Greichaly Cepero virtually redefined the setter position as a sophmore last year and had one of the most successful seasons by a setter in school history, guiding the Huskers to a No. 1 ranking, a 34-0 record and a .312 hitting percentage (second in the nation) in her first season at the position. Seven Huskers swung for a .308 hitting percentage or better under the direction of Cepero.
Cepero was the only setter ranked in the top 10 of three different Big 12 categories during the regular season. She was 10th in hitting percentage, ninth in assists per game and third in blocks per game. A unique setter because of her blocking ability, Cepero was the only setter in the country to rank among the nations top 20 in blocking (18th, 1.48 per game). Cepero led Nebraska in solo blocks with 28 and was responsible for 34 percent of the Huskers total blocks (161 of 477.5).

For the season, the Dorado, Puerto Rico, native, averaged 11.90 assists, 2.14 digs, 1.48 blocks and 1.83 kills per game. In conference matches, Cepero tallied 1.68 blocks per game and 2.03 kills per game. Cepero led NU with 12 double-doubles, three of which were triple-doubles. She fell one dig or one kill short of a triple-double four times. Cepero was just one kill short of the schools first quadruple-double when she produced nine kills, 46 assists, 10 digs and 11 blocks at Texas Oct. 22.

Cepero capped her incredible season with countless awards. She was named the Honda Award winner for volleyball, the AVCA Player of the Year, a first-team AVCA All-American, the Big 12 Female Athlete of the Year, the Big 12 Player of the Year, the NCAA Tournament Central Regional MVP, a Second-Team Academic All-District VII selection and a First-Team Academic All-Big 12 selection.

Cepero became the seventh NU setter to earn All-America honors and the first to be named player of the year. Husker setters have combined to win 13 All-America awards.

Performance Testing
Junior outside hitter Laura Pilakowski broke the all-time, all-sport female record with 702 vertical jump points and also set an NU volleyball record with a 28-inch vertical jump during preseason performance testing Aug. 10.

Pilakowskis school-record 702 vertical jump points total was 104 points higher than any other Husker. The Columbus, Neb., native also led the team in the 40-yard dash (5.40 seconds), 40-yard dash points (557), the pro agility run (4.56 seconds), pro agility run points (474) and the vertical jump (28 inches). Senior All-American Nancy Metcalf posted team-best marks for the 10-yard dash (1.79 seconds) and 10-yard dash points (484).

Overall, the Huskers improved their performance index scores by an average of 80 points, and they improved their team vertical jump average by over an inch.

Nebraska Coach John Cook
John Cook enters his second season as the Nebraska head coach after guiding the Huskers to one of the most successful seasons in NCAA history in 2000. Cook, who was named the AVCA Coach of the Year, guided the Huskers to a 34-0 record as they became just the second team in NCAA history to cap an undefeated season with a national title.

Nebraska was ranked No. 1 in the AVCA/USA Today Top 25 poll for a record 14 straight weeks and broke single-season school records for wins and winning percentage. Sophomore setter Greichaly Cepero earned AVCA National Player-of-the-Year honors. Three Huskers won AVCA All-America certificates, and five Nebraska players were named to the All-Big 12 teams. Laura Pilakowski earned Verizon/CoSIDA Academic All-America honors, and a conference-best seven Huskers earned Academic All-Big 12 recognition.

Cook took over the Nebraska head coaching job after serving as associate head coach during the 1999 season. Before returning to Nebraska in 1999, he led Wisconsin to six straight postseason appearances in seven seasons as the Badgers head coach.

Cooks accomplishments at Wisconsin earned him praise as one of the games top young coaches. He built the Badger program into a top-10 program during his seven-year career in Madison, which included back-to-back trips to the NCAA regional finals in 1997 and 1998.

Cook, 44, is 195-73 all-time and compiled a 161-73 record at the helm of the Badgers, including an 89-51. He was named the Big Ten Co-Coach and AVCA District 2 Coach of the Year in 1997 after leading the Badgers to a share of the Big Ten title with a 19-1 mark and school-record 30-3 overall record.

Cook coached four All-Americans, nine AVCA All-District award winners, 11 All-Big Ten honorees and two Big Ten freshmen of the year at UW. He also coached 21 academic All-Big Ten selections during his seven seasons.

A graduate of the University of San Diego, Cook earned his bachelors degree in history in 1979. He completed his masters degree in teaching and coaching effectiveness from San Diego State in 1991.
Cook and his wife Wendy, a former two-time All-America setter at San Diego State, are the parents of two children, Lauren, 10, and Taylor, 7.

Rally Scoring
Colorado Springs, Colo. -- The National Association for Girls and Women in Sports, the official rule-making body for womens collegiate volleyball, has released its 2001-2002 NAGWS Official Rules, Interpretations & Officiating Rulebook.

The most noticeable difference this season will be the move from sideout volleyball to a rally scoring format where each play will result in a point. The first four games will be scored to 30 points, with the winner holding a two-point lead. The fifth and deciding game will be played to 15 with the winner leading by two points.

Further, the collegiate game will mimic the international game with the let serve. A served ball will remain in play if it hits the net and continues its path to the oppositions court.
The international pursuit, an experimental rule for 2001-2002, can be implemented in a match by agreement of both coaches. The rule allows for a player to retrieve a ball (on second contact) that has crossed the plane of the net to the opponents free space, provided that player does not touch the opponents court and sends the ball back to their court, over or outside the antennas, for an opportunity for the third contact.

2000 in Review
Nebraska produced one of the most successful seasons in NCAA history in 2000, posting a 34-0 record and winning the national title in a year full of highlights. In 2000, Nebraska:

• Joined the 1998 Long Beach State team as just the second squad in NCAA history to finish the season with an undefeated record and a national championship. LBS finished the season 36-0 with a 3-2 win over Penn State in the 1998 NCAA title match.
• Became the only team east of California to win two national championships. Texas and Penn State have each won one. Stanford has won four, and UCLA, Hawaii, Long Beach State and Pacific have won three.
• Advanced to the NCAA Championship match for the fourth time in seven tries. The Huskers own a 47-17 all-time NCAA Tournament record. In the past six seasons, the Huskers have produced a 23-4 postseason record. NUs seven Final Four appearances are tied for third with Pacific and Long Beach State in NCAA history behind Stanford (12) and UCLA (10).
• Broke the school record for consecutive victories in the modern-day era of five-game matches with its win against Hawaii. NU produced 36 straight wins in 1976, when all contests were played as two-out-of-three matches.
• Claimed both AVCA Division I major national honors, with NU Coach John Cook winning the AVCA Coach-of-the-Year award, and sophomore setter Greichaly Cepero claiming AVCA Player-of-the-Year honors. Amber Holmquist earned second-team All-America honors, while Laura Pilakowski earned first-team All-America honors and second-team Academic All-America honors.
• Led the nation in blocking (4.15 per game) and ranked second nationally in hitting percentage (.312).
• Held the No. 1 ranking in the AVCA/USA Today Coaches poll for 14 straight weeks.
• Swept 26 of its 34 opponents. Only three teams, then-No. 3 UCLA, No. 17 Kansas State, South Carolina and Wisconsin took NU to five games.
• Posted a 13-0 against ranked foes.
• Won its 23rd Big Eight/Big 12 championships in 25 seasons. Nebraska has won four of the five Big 12 championships - all but the 1997 title.

2001 State Farm/NACWAA Classic, Aug. 24-25, Stockton, Calif.
Aug. 24: No. 1 Nebraska vs. No. 5 Hawaii, 7 p.m.;
No. 12 Pacific vs. No. 4 Wisconsin, 9 p.m.
Aug. 25: Consolation Match: 7 p.m.; Championships Match, 9 p.m.