Nebraska Faces Iowa State at Devaney

#11 Nebraska (16-3, 8-2) vs. Iowa State (10-10, 2-7)
When: Saturday, Oct. 25, 5 p.m.
Where: Bob Devaney Sports Center
Series: NU leads, 63-0.
Last Meeting: NU won, 3-0, 9/24/03
Cook vs. Iowa State: 7-0.

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: A live video stream of the match will be available through HuskersNside. Click on Huskers.com to subscribe.

Lincoln -- No. 11 Nebraska will take a mid-week break from Big 12 Conference competition before facing Iowa State Saturday at 5 p.m. at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.

Nebraska has traditionally drawn large crowds when playing at the Devaney Center, and the top three regular-season attendance marks in NCAA Division I volleyball history were set at the Devaney Center, including the NCAA-record crowd of 12,504 that watched the Huskers sweep Colorado Nov. 4, 2003. NU has swept three straight teams at the Devaney Center and has not lost there since falling to Colorado in five games Oct. 7, 1997.

Halfway through the league season, NU is second in the Big 12 standings between Kansas State (7-1) and Missouri (7-2). The Huskers’ match against ISU kicks off a three-game stretch in which they will face the bottom three teams in this week’s Big 12 standings. However, following those contests, Nebraska will face two top-15 teams (Northern Iowa and Kansas State) and will play at Missouri and Texas A&M ? all in less than two weeks.

In conference matches, Nebraska leads all Big 12 teams in blocks (2.97 per game), service aces (2.08 per game) and opponent hitting percentage (.145). NU is the only league team that ranks first in three of the seven major statistical categories.

A pair of sophomores continue to highlight the Huskers’ run through the Big 12. Middle blocker Melissa Elmer ranks first in the conference with 1.63 blocks per game and is tied for eighth with a .325 hitting percentage. Outside hitter Jennifer Saleaumua is tied for second in the league with 3.78 digs per game.

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 13,595-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.

Come One, Come All ...
The Huskers hope for a season-high crowd Saturday when they take on Iowa State at the 13,595-seat Bob Devaney Sports Center. Nebraska often plays one match each season at the Devaney Center in order to provide fans who normally can’t attend regular-season matches a chance to watch the Huskers compete. The Huskers routinely sell out the 4,030-seat NU Colisuem, their usual home venue.

Nebraska matches at the Devaney Center have historically attracted some of the nation’s largest crowds, and NCAA volleyball attendance records have fallen twice. The 1995 Nebraska-Colorado match at the arena drew an NCAA-record 11,529 fans, and the Nov. 4, 2000, contest between the two squads surpassed the mark with 12,504 fans, which still stands as the NCAA regular-season attendance record.

NCAA Division I Volleyball Regular-Season Attendance Chart

Rk.

Match and Location

Date

Att. 1.

Nebraska vs. Colorado, Bob Devaney Sports Center, Lincoln, Neb.

Nov. 4, 2000

12,504 2.

Nebraska vs. Colorado, Bob Devaney Sports Center, Lincoln, Neb.

Oct. 22, 1995

11,529 3.

Nebraska vs. UCLA, Bob Devaney Sports Center, Lincoln, Neb.

Sept. 14, 1991

11,032 4.

Purdue vs. Western Michigan, West Lafayette, Ind.

Oct. 29, 1985

10,645 5.

Stanford vs. Hawaii & Long Beach State, Stan Sheriff Center, Honolulu, Hawaii

Oct. 24, 1999

10,252

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Iowa State Quickly (10-10, 2-7)
Iowa State is 10-10 overall and 2-7 in the conference after suffering a three-game loss to Kansas Oct. 18. ISU has already equaled its 2002 win total (10), and its two Big 12 wins are the most by an Iowa State team since the 1996 season when the Cyclones won three league matches. The Cyclones, who face Kansas State Wednesday, defeated Oklahoma and Texas Tech in four games for their two 2003 Big 12 wins.

ISU is led by junior outside hitter Brittany Dalager and senior outside hitter Renae Pruess, who average 3.24 and 3.19 kills per game, respectively. Defensively, Dalager ranks first on the team with 3.49 digs per game, while senior libero Dana Koziol is second with 3.44 digs per game. Koziol, a native of Norfolk, Neb., is the sister of former Husker Denise Koziol, a two-year letterwinner at NU in 1997 and 1998.

Coach Linda Crum is in her fifth season at Iowa State. She owns a 29-105 record.

Nebraska-Iowa State Series
The Huskers have never lost to Iowa State and own a perfect 63-0 mark against the Cyclones. Iowa State has won just 12 of 189 games in the history of the series, and Nebraska has swept the Cyclones in 17 consecutive matches. The Huskers held Iowa State to two points in a 3-0 win Nov. 13, 1999, which stood as a school record for fewest points allowed until the 2000 season.

Last Time: Nebraska 3, Iowa State 0
Nebraska hit a season-high .443 to defeat Iowa State, 30-25, 30-20, 30-14, Oct. 25 before 4,173 fans at the Omaha Civic Auditorium. Sophomore middle blocker Melissa Elmer was the most efficient Husker, as she pounded 11 kills on 15 attempts, which was good for a .733 hitting percentage.

Overall, five NU players hit over .400. Sophomore outside hitter Jennifer Saleaumua recorded 12 kills and hit .455, while junior outside hitter Ally Rebholz tallied nine kills on a .615 hitting percentage. The Huskers’ team hitting percentage was their highest in 27 matches. Setters Michelle Lynch and Dani Busboom combined for 49 assists.All of Nebraska’s available players saw action, including freshman libero/defensive specialist Amanda McCormick, who had been sidelined by an elbow injury since NU’s Aug. 30 win over Illinois State.

Rank and File
Nebraska fell to No. 11 in this week’s USA Today/AVCA Coaches poll after suffering back-to-back losses to eighth-ranked Kansas State and No. 24 Missouri. The ranking is the Huskers’ lowest since 1999, when they were voted No. 11 in the final poll of the season.

Nebraska is one of two teams that have been ranked in the USA Today/AVCA Coaches poll for all 291 weeks of its existence. The Huskers have been ranked in the top 10 for 260 of the 291 weeks, which ranks second behind Stanford’s 272. Nebraska has spent 38 weeks in the top spot, and its most recent No. 1 ranking was Sept. 24, 2001.

Elmer Emerging as All-America Candidate
Second-year starter Melissa Elmer is one of the Big 12’s best middle blockers and the Huskers’ top candidate for All-America honors. Elmer leads the Big 12 with 1.63 blocks per game and is tied for eighth in the league with a .325 hitting percentage. She is hitting .335 in Big 12 matches, which ranks sixth in the conference. Elmer also leads the Huskers with 25 service aces.

Elmer has been at her best in big matches, and she leads Nebraska in matches against ranked teams in kills per game (3.35), hitting percentage (.394), service aces per game (0.35) and blocks per game (1.24)

Elmer is one of just two middle blockers to have earned Big 12 Player-of-the-Week honors in 2003. She won the award Oct. 14 for her career performances against Kansas Oct. 8 and Kansas State Oct. 11. Elmer had a career-high 15 blocks at Kansas, the highest number of blocks by any player in the Big 12 Conference this season. The total ranks third all-time on the NU single-match performance charts behind former All-Americans Amber Holmquist (16, 2000) and Karen Dahlgren (18, 1984) and is also the highest by a Husker in the rally-scoring era.

Against KSU, Elmer posted a career-high 19 kills, seven more than any other player involved in the match.

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 (3.30) and digs per game (3.95), which ranks third in the conference. Saleaumua leads NU with eight double-doubles, and she is fifth on the team with 17 service aces.

Saleaumua posted a career-best 23 digs against Kansas State Oct. 11, then bettered the mark with 27 digs against Missouri Oct. 15, which is the second-highest total by a Big 12 player this season.

Offensively, Saleaumua has posted double-figure kill totals in 11 of her last 12 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.

Super Servers
Through 19 matches, Nebraska has compiled 133 service aces to its opponents’ 53 after amassing 169 in 33 matches last season. NU’s 2003 average of 1.96 service aces per game ranks second in the Big 12. In conference matches, the Huskers lead the Big 12 with 2.08 service aces per game. Nine Huskers own a service ace, and six have at least 15. Sophomore middle blocker Melissa Elmer leads NU with 25 aces, followed by freshman setter Dani Busboom with 24. Sophomore setter Michelle Lynch has 21.

Nebraska tied the 13-year-old school record for service aces in a three-game match with 16 at Texas Sept. 20. Lynch led the effort with five aces, while sophomore outside hitter Jennifer Saleaumua and freshman middle blocker Christina Houghtelling each had four.

Block Party
Nebraska entered its Oct. 8 match against Kansas averaging 2.94 blocks per game after posting at least 3.17 blocks per game in the previous three seasons. However, a dominant performance at the net against the Jayhawks pushed the Huskers over the 3.00 mark, and NU has not fallen below 3.00 since. Nebraska followed the KU performance with a solid 14 blocks against Kansas State Oct. 11, and NU ranked ninth in the Oct. 12 NCAA statistics. The Huskers totaled a season-high 22 team blocks against Kansas, which is the best mark by a Big 12 team this season. The total was the most by a Husker team in 83 matches. NU had 23 team blocks against Hawaii in the 2000 NCAA semifinals Dec. 14.

Although Nebraska’s blocking numbers are down in 2003, NU still leads the Big 12. Sophomore middle blocker Melissa Elmer, who ranked second in the Big 12 behind former NU All-American Amber Holmquist in blocks per game last season, leads NU and ranks first in the Big 12 and fourth nationally with 1.63 stops per game. Elmer had a career-high 16 blocks against Kansas.

Cook’s Winning Ways
Nebraska Coach John Cook has been amazingly successful during his four seasons at the helm, posting a 112-7 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 68-2 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.

All-America U
In 2002, at least three Nebraska players earned All-America status for the third straight season. Seniors Greichaly Cepero and Amber Holmquist were named to the first team, and senior Laura Pilakowski was recognized on the second team. In program history, 22 NU players have earned 45 AVCA All-America certificates, which ranks first nationally.

The 2003 season marks the first time since 2000 that the Huskers will not field a lineup that includes a returning All-American. Nancy Metcalf (Meendering) earned All-America honors in 1999 but redshirted the 2000 season.