Nebraska Searching For Win at Baylor

#8 Nebraska (15-2, 7-1) at Baylor (2-5, 10-10)
When: Saturday, Oct. 18, 7 p.m.
Where: Ferrell Center
Series: NU leads, 15-0
Last Meeting: NU won, 3-0, 11/23/02
Cook vs. Baylor: 6-0.

Media Information
Television: None.
Radio: The match can be heard live on B107.3 FM in Lincoln and selected Pinnacle Sports Network affiliates. John Baylor will call the action, while NU volleyball Director of Operations Diane Mendenhall will provide color analysis.
Live Stats: Huskers.com.
Live Audio: Huskers.com.
Live Video: None.

Lincoln -- Eighth-ranked Nebraska enters its Saturday match at Baylor in need of a victory to stay in the Big 12 Conference race after dropping back-to-back five game matches to Kansas State and Missouri at the NU Coliseum. The loss to the Tigers was a tough one for the Huskers, who saw their 78-match winning streak against league teams end Saturday against KSU. The Missouri defeat marked the first time since 1997 that the Huskers have lost back-to-back matches to conference teams, and it also snapped NU's 44-match winning streak against the Tigers.

NU has been plagued by hitting errors offensively in the last two matches, recording 41 against the Wildcats and 44 against Missouri, the two-highest marks of the season.

However, the young Huskers continue to show promise while playing at times with four first-year starters on the court. Sophomore middle blocker Melissa Elmer leads the Big 12 with 1.68 blocks per game and ranks eighth in the league with a .331 hitting percentage. Elmer has was named the Big 12 Player of the Week Oct. 13 after averaging 2.33 blocks per game and 3.89 kills per game on an incredible .561 hitting percentage against Kansas and Kansas State last week.

Freshman libero Amanda McCormick made her first career start against Missouri and tallied 31 digs, the most by a player in the Big 12 Conference this season and the third-highest total in school history.

In conference matches, Nebraska leads all Big 12 teams in blocks (2.94 per game), service aces (2.06 per game) and opponent hitting percentage (.143). NU is the only league team that ranks first in three of the seven major statistical categories.

Nebraska has traditionally dominated Baylor and owns a 15-0 advantage in the series. NU has swept the Bears in 14 of those meetings and has dropped just one game in the series.

The Lineup: The Latest on Nebraska's Probable Starters

Outside Hitter

• #16 Anna Schrad (6-2, Sr., Lincoln, Neb.): Schrad leads the Huskers with 3.30 kills per game, and her 599 attempts are 102 more than any other Husker. Schrad averaged 2.65 kills per game last year.
• #26 Jennifer Saleaumua (5-11, So., National City, Calif.): Saleaumua is widely considered NU's top all-around player and best passer. She has led Nebraska in kills in five of the last eight matches, and she has led NU in digs in three of the last five matches. Saleaumua had a career-high 19 kills at KU Oct. 8, and she had a career-best 27 digs against Missouri Oct. 18.
• #13 Ally Rebholz (6-1, Jr., Indianapolis, Ind.): NU's starter on the right side, Rebholz ranks fourth on the team with 2.37 kills per game and second with 0.98 blocks per game. Rebholz shares time with redshirt freshman Kelsey Fautsch in NU's 6-2 offense.

Middle Blocker

• #8 Melissa Elmer (6-2, So., Fort Wayne, Ind.): Elmer averaged 2.33 blocks per game and 3.89 kills per game on an incredible .561 hitting percentage against Kansas and Kansas State last week. She posted a career-high 15 blocks at Kansas, the third-highest total in school history and the most blocks by any player in the Big 12 Conference this season. She leads the Big 12 with 1.68 blocks per game.
• #3 Christina Houghtelling (6-2, Fr., Cambridge, Neb.): Houghtelling became a fixture in the NU lineup after playing well off the bench against Georgia Tech Sept. 14. She started five matches before missing two with knee problems, then started again vs. Kansas State and Missouri. Houghtelling is averaging 1.80 kills per game. If Houghtelling doesn't start, senior middle blocker Sara Westling will get the nod.

Setter

• #2 Michelle Lynch (5-11, Sr., Jacksonville, Ill.): In her first season as a starter, Lynch leads NU with 7.45 assists per game. Lynch has started every match but shares setting duties with freshman Dani Busboom in Nebraska's 6-2 (two-setter) offense. Lynch ranks third on the team with 20 service aces, while Busboom ranks second with 23 aces.

Libero

• #1 Amanda McCormick (5-8, Fr., Muncie, Ind.): McCormick started in place of the injured Jenae Dowling Oct. 15 vs. Missouri and recorded 31 digs -- the third highest total in school history and the most by any player in the Big 12 this season.

The End of an Era
Nebraska's five-game loss to Kansas State Oct. 11 snapped several of the nation's most impressive conference winning streaks, including the following:

• Entering the KSU match, the Huskers had won 77 consecutive regular-season Big 12 matches, which ranks third in NCAA history. The streak started after NU's loss at Texas on Oct. 24, 1999. Nebraska won 10 straight conference matches to close the 1999 season, and went 20-0 in 2000, 2001, and 2002, and was 7-0 in 2003.
• The Huskers had won 78 straight matches against Big 12 teams (the Huskers defeated Kansas State in a non-conference match in the 2001 NCAA Tournament). Nebraska's 78-match league winning streak ranks fourth in NCAA history.
• NU had won 42 straight Big 12 matches at home, dating back to a five-game loss to Kansas State Sept. 22, 1999. After the KSU loss, Nebraska won its last nine Big 12 home matches that year, then won 10 in each of the next three seasons and had won three in 2003 before falling to the Wildcats again.
• John Cook had won 68 matches against Big 12 teams (67 regular season) as head coach.

35 Consecutive Sellouts
Nebraska owns a streak of 35 consecutive sellouts at the NU Coliseum. The Huskers sold out all 17 matches they played at the Coliseum last season (NU played one match at the 13,500-seat Bob Devaney Sports Center). NU ended the 2001 season with 10 straight sellout crowds at the Coliseum. The Huskers sold out every match at the Coliseum in 2001 except a Tuesday, Sept. 25 match against Creighton. NU has sold out all eight of its home matches in 2003.

Baylor Quickly (11-10, 3-5)
Baylor is 11-10 overall and 3-5 in the Big 12 after defeating Texas Tech in five games Wednesday night in Lubbock, Texas. The Bears' other conference wins were at Iowa State and at Kansas State Sept. 24, the biggest upset in the league yet the this season.

Senior outside hitter Tisha Schwartz ranks fourth in the Big 12 with 4.27 kills per game, and Schwartz has posted four straight double-doubles. Sophomore setter Emily Huston averages 11.67 assists per game and had a career-best 65 assists against Texas Tech. Baylor ranks fifth in the league with 2.54 blocks per game. Freshmen middle blockers Desiree Guillard-Young and Nicole LeBlanc both average over 1.00 blocks per game. Baylor head coach Brian Hosfeld owns a 128-121 record in his eighth season in Waco.

Nebraska-Baylor Series
Nebraska owns a 15-0 advantage in the Baylor series, NU's youngest in the Big 12. Nebraska has swept Baylor in 14 of 15 matches and has dropped just one game to the Bears. Baylor was the only Big 12 team to win a game in the NU Coliseum in 2001.

Last Time: Nebraska 3, Baylor 0
Seniors Amber Holmquist and Laura Pilakowski combined for 30 kills and hit .560 and .522, respectively, to lead Nebraska volleyball team to a 30-23, 30-19, 30-19, victory over Baylor at the Ferrell Center. The match lasted just one hour and 14 mintues. With the win, Nebraska captured at least a share of its sixth Big 12 championship. Nebraska has won five of a possible six Big 12 titles outright ? all but the 1997 title. NU has won 24 Big 12/Big Eight titles in 26 seasons.

Elmer Emerging as All-America Candidate
Second-year starter Melissa Elmer is beginning to produce the numbers NU coaches had hoped for, as she had the best week of her career against two of the Big 12's most impressive teams last week. Elmer averaged 2.33 blocks per game and 3.89 kills per game on an incredible .561 hitting percentage against Kansas and Kansas State. She drilled a career-best 19 kills against Kansas State and had a career-high 15 blocks at Kansas, the third-highest total in school history and the highest number of blocks by any player in the Big 12 Conference this season.

At KU Oct. 8, Elmer recorded career highs in kills (which she later bettered against KSU) and blocks in Nebraska's four-game win at Kansas. Elmer tallied 15 blocks (two solo, 13 assists), which bested her previous career-high by five and ranks third all-time on the NU single-match performance charts behind former All-Americans Amber Holmquist (16, 2000) and Karen Dahlgren (18, 1984). The total is the highest by a Husker in the rally-scoring era. Elmer also drilled 16 kills on a .577 hitting percentage in the victory, erring just once in 26 attempts.

Elmer was the Huskers' bright spot in a five-game loss to Kansas State Oct. 11. She posted a career-high 19 kills, seven more than any other player involved in the match. Elmer committed just two errors in 31 attempts for a .548 hitting percentage. She also added a service ace and six blocks. With the Huskers down two games to one against the Wildcats, Elmer single-handedly brought NU back in the third game. With NU leading, 20-17, she had a hand in seven of NU's last 10 points, producing four block assists and three kills, including the game-winner, to keep the Huskers in the match.

Elmer currently leads the Big 12 with 1.62 blocks per game. She is averaging 2.93 kills per game on a team-best .331 hitting percentage, which ranks eighth in the conference. Elmer also leads NU with 24 service aces.

Saleaumua Does Everything for NU
NU Coach John Cook has labeled Jennifer Saleaumua the Huskers' top all-around player, and the sophomore outside hitter is proving why during Big 12 Conference play. In league matches, Saleuamua has quietly taken over the team lead in kills per game (3.29) and digs per game (3.76). Saleaumua ranks fourth in the Big 12 in digs per game.

Saleaumua posted a career-best 23 digs against Kansas State Oct. 11, then bettered the mark with 27 digs against Missouri Oct. 15. Saleaumua has posted double-figure kill totals in 10 of Nebraska's last 11 matches after reaching the mark just once in NU's first six contests. She tallied a then-career-best 17 kills Sept. 17 to help Nebraska defeat Texas A&M in a come-from-behind victory. Oct. 8 at KU, Saleaumua recorded 19 kills on a .340 hitting percentage.

Saleaumua has hit over .400 in four of her last eight matches. She bettered her season-high hitting percentage in three straight matches from Sept. 20 to Sept. 27. She hit at a .407 clip at Texas Sept. 20 while leading NU with 13 kills. She bettered the mark with a .445 (12-2-22) hitting percentage against Iowa State Sept. 24, then topped that with a .476 (12-2-21) hitting percentage against Texas Tech.

Cook's Winning Ways
Nebraska Coach John Cook has been amazingly successful during his four seasons at the helm, posting a 111-7 record. Cook picked up his 100th victory as Nebraska head coach Sept. 5 when NU defeated New Orleans, 3-0.

Cook's only losses in his first three seasons were to 2001 NCAA champion Stanford, 2001 NCAA runner-up Long Beach State, 2002 NCAA champion USC and 2002 NCAA semifinal participant Hawaii. Cook has lost just two Big 12 Conference matches, going 67-1 and winning three league titles.

Cook was the AVCA Coach of the Year in 2000 after leading Nebraska to a 34-0 season and a national title. He was also named the 2001 Big 12 Coach of the Year. In 2001, NU posted a 31-2 mark and advanced to the NCAA semifinals. Last season, Nebraska also finished with a 31-2 record and advanced to the NCAA regional finals. The Huskers have won three Big 12 titles under Cook.