Huskers Ready to Battle Two Texas Schools This Week

Lincoln -- The No. 2 Nebraska volleyball team will look to keep its 13-match winning streak alive this week with matches against two Texas schools. The Huskers will play host to Texas Wednesday at the NU Coliseum. The 7 p.m. match will be televised live by NETV. Saturday, Nebraska travels to Lubbock, Texas, to face Texas Tech in a 7 p.m. match at the United Spirit Arena.

Texas has traditionally provided Nebraska with the toughest challenge of any Big 12 team. The Huskers are 16-11 all-time against UT, and 12 of the matches have gone four or more games. Nebraska faced Texas in the 1995 NCAA national title match, winning the fourth game, 16-14, for the programs first national championship.

The Huskers are 14-1 all-time against Texas Tech and have not lost to the Red Raiders since 1996. Last season, Tech was one of just four conference teams to take Nebraska past three games.

NU, which is coming off a sweep of Kansas and a four-game win at No. 17 Texas A&M last week, has continued to roll past teams since its Sept. 1 loss at now-No. 1 Long Beach State. Nebraska has won 39 of its last 40 games, sweeping 12 of 13 opponents. The Huskers lead the league with a .328 hitting percentage, and they have held Big 12 teams to a meager .073 mark.

Junior outside hitter Laura Pilakowski led the Huskers with 4.00 kills per game on a .377 hitting percentage and 3.43 digs per game last week. Pilakowski produced season highs in kills (16) and digs (18) against A&M. Senior middle blocker Jenny Kropp hit .636 last week, posting 22 kills and just one error in 33 attacks.

Streaking Huskers

• The Huskers have won 38 consecutive home matches, including 36 straight matches at the NU Coliseum. The streak is the second-longest in the nation. Northern Iowa ranks first with 41 straight wins, and Ball State is third with 37.
  
• NU Head Coach John Cook is 28-0 in the Big 12 Conference.
  
• Nebraska has won 13 consecutive matches and 39 of its last 40 games.
  
• Nebraska has won 38 straight Big 12 matches.
  
• Junior defensive specialist Lindsay Wischmeier has played in a team-best 83 consecutive matches.
  
• Nebraska has out-blocked its opponent in 69 straight matches. The Huskers were last out-blocked by Texas A&M Oct. 2, 1999.

Quick Sets
The latest on the Nebraska starting lineup:

• Laura Pilakowski has been the Huskers top offensive weapon over the past three matches, averaging a team-best 3.70 kills per game on a .408 hitting percentage. The junior outside hitter has also posted a team-high 3.10 digs per game in NUs last three contests.
  
• Jenny Kropp is averaging a team-best 1.90 blocks per game against ranked opponents. The senior middle blocker ranks second nationally and first in the Big 12 with 1.84 blocks per game.
  
• Nancy Metcalf leads NU with seven double-doubles. She also leads the Huskers in kills per game (4.22), digs per game (3.06) and service aces per game (0.43).
  
• Amber Holmquist is on track to break her own Big 12 record of 2.14 blocks per game. The junior middle blocker is averaging 2.39 per game in league matches.
  
• Greichaly Cepero is the only setter who ranks among the Big 12 leaders in blocks per game. Her 2001 average of 1.20 blocks per game is seventh in the league.
  
• Anna Schrad is hitting .382 in Nebraskas last three matches, a difference of +.126 from her season average of .208. The sophomore outside hitter ranks third on the team with 2.78 digs per game.
  
• Lindsay Wischmeier has played in a team-best 83 consecutive matches. The junior defensive specialist is fourth on the team with 2.55 digs per game.
  For more detailed information on Nebraskas starting lineup, please see pages 6-8.

A Look at Texas (10-6 Overall, 5-4 Big 12)
Texas is 10-6 overall and 5-4 in the Big 12 Conference. The Longhorns biggest win came against then-No. 11 Brigham Young, Sept. 1, in five games, but UT went on to lose to three ranked teams -- No. 9 Florida, No. 16 Texas A&M and No. 23 Colorado.

Eleven of the 14 players on Texas roster are freshmen or sophomores, and the Longhorns statistical leaders are all freshmen. Outside hitter Mira Topic leads UT with 4.50 kills per game and 3.74 digs per game. Freshman middle blocker Bethany Howden averages 4.09 kills per game on a team-best .336 hitting percentage, and freshman setter Abbie Schindler averages 12.90 assists per game.

• The Coach: Texas is coached by Jerritt Elliott, who is in his first season at Texas. Elliott led USC to the Final Four last season while serving as interim head coach.
  
• The Series: Texas has traditionally provided Nebraska with the toughest challenge of any Big 12 team. The Huskers are 16-11 all-time against UT, and 12 of the matches have gone four or more games.
  Nebraska faced Texas in the 1995 NCAA national title match, winning the fourth game, 16-14, for the programs first national championship.
  
• The Last Time: The Huskers defeated Texas, 4-1, Oct. 22, 2000 in Austin. Five Huskers recorded double-figure kill totals, led by Laura Pilakowskis 18. Greichaly Cepero produced her first triple-double of the season, notching 45 assists, 13 digs and 12 kills on a .524 hitting percentage.

Dont Go There
The most consistent and intimidating element of the Huskers game in recent years has been their block. Nebraska has out-blocked its opponents in an incredible 69 consecutive matches, going 66-3 during the streak. The last time NU lost a blocking battle was Oct. 2, 1999, when it fell to Texas A&M, 3-2.

In Big 12 statistics released Oct. 15, Nebraska led the league with an incredible 4.94 blocks per game. Second-place Texas owns a 3.04 blocks-per-game mark. Junior middle blocker Amber Holmquist ranks first individually (2.39 bpg), followed by Jenny Kropp (second, 1.88 bpg), Greichaly Cepero (third, 1.48) and Nancy Metcalf (6th, 1.32). The Huskers have out-blocked their Big 12 opponents 123.5-26.0 (4.94-1.04 per game) in 2001. If Nebraska continues its current pace, it will capture its fifth Big 12 blocking title.

The 2000 Huskers were statistically the best blocking squad in Nebraska and Big 12 Conference history. In 2000, NU set a new school record with 4.20 blocks per game and a new Big 12 record with 4.36 blocks per game in conference matches. The Huskers won the NCAA blocking title, and Holmquist claimed the NCAA individual blocking title with 1.98 blocks per game -- which was also a school record. Holmquist, who owns single-match conference records for block assists and total blocks, shattered the Big 12 record with 2.14 blocks per game in league matches. The Big 12s top three blockers were NU players -- Holmquist, Kropp (1.73 bpg) and Cepero (1.68 bpg).

Hitting Deficiency
Nebraska has stifled teams with its defense this season. Opponents are hitting just .103 against Nebraska in 2001. Only one team, No. 1 Long Beach State, has hit better than .153 against Nebraska this season. The Huskers have held eight of their opponents to less than .100 at the net, including No. 5 UCLA, which hit just .091 against NU. Nebraska leads the Big 12 Conference in opponent attack percentage, holding league teams to .072.

League Leaders
In the Big 12 Conference statistics released Monday, Oct. 15, Nebraska led the league in hitting percentage (.328), blocks per game (4.94) and opponent hitting percentage (.072). Junior middle blocker Amber Holmquist ranked first in blocks per game (2.39) and second in hitting percentage (.412) in conference matches, and junior middle blocker Jenny Kropp ranks first in hitting percentage (.444) and second in blocks per game (1.88). Other Huskers who rank among the leagues leaders include Nancy Metcalf (fifth in kills per game, sixth in blocks per game and eighth in hitting percentage), Greichaly Cepero (third in blocks per game, sixth in assists per game) and Laura Pilakowski (fourth in hitting percentage).

Home Sweet Home
The Huskers have won 38 consecutive matches at home, and 36 straight matches at the NU Coliseum (NU defeated Colorado, 3-0, last season at the Bob Devaney Sports Center). Nebraskas last loss in Lincoln was a five-game defeat to Kansas State Sept. 22, 1999. The Huskers have gone undefeated at home 11 times in program history and have been perfect at home five times in the past seven years.

The Big 12s Best
Nebraska is looking to capture its fifth Big 12 Conference title in six seasons in 2001. The Huskers have won four Big 12 championships and 23 Big 12/Big Eight conference titles in the past 25 years. Nebraska owns an all-time record of 377-32-1 (.919) against Big 12 schools, and NU is 92-9 against Big 12 schools since the leagues inception in 1996. The Huskers have lost just once at the NU Coliseum in Big 12 history, a 1999 five-game defeat to Kansas State.

Full House
Nebraska drew 8,976 fans, the largest crowd in NCAA Division I volleyball this season, for its sweep of Oklahoma Saturday, Oct. 6, at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.

NU, which has broken the all-time NCAA regular-season attendance record three times at the Devaney Center, shattered the nations previous 2001 attendance mark of 7,723, which was set Sept. 2 when Hawaii hosted UCLA. The Huskers normally play in the 4,200-seat NU Coliseum.

Overall, Nebraska ranks second nationally in attendance with 4,672 fans per contest. Hawaii is first with 6,580. Wisconsin, Florida and Long Beach State round out the top five.

All-America U
Nebraska is 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 redshirted in 2000 after training with the U.S. National Team during the offseason. 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 Coach John Cook
John Cook (209-74) is in his second year 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, 44, has continued his success in 2001, as the Huskers have gone 15-1, defeating eight ranked teams. Cook has improved his Nebraska record to 49-1, and he is 28-0 in Big 12 matches.

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 compiled a 162-73 record at the helm of the Badgers, including an 89-51 Big Ten record. 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.