Huskers Begin Difficult Big 12 Stretch

Matches 15-16
#7 Nebraska (14-1, 6-0) at Kansas (11-5, 3-2)
When: Saturday, Oct. 4, 7 p.m.
Where: Horejsi Family Athletics Center
Series: NU leads, 70-0
Last Meeting: NU won, 3-0, 11/20/02
Cook vs. Kansas: 6-0

#7 Nebraska (14-1, 6-0)  vs. #12 Kansas State (14-3, 4-1)
When: Saturday, Oct. 11, 5 p.m.
Where: NU Coliseum
Series: NU leads, 66-1
Last Meeting: NUwon, 3-0, 11/30/02
Cook vs. Kansas State: 7-1 (7-0 at Nebraska).

Media Information
Television: None.
Radio: Both matches can be heard live on B107.3 FM in Lincoln and select 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 (vs. KSU).
Live Audio: Huskers.com (both matches).
Live Video: HuskersNside will offer a live video stream of the Kansas match on a subscription-basis. To learn more, go to Huskers.com and click on HuskersNside.

Huskers Begin Difficult Big 12 Stretch
The seventh-ranked Nebraska volleyball team begins a difficult stretch in its Big 12 Conference schedule this week. The Huskers will face three of the league's top five teams in seven days. NU travels to to Kansas (11-5, 3-2) Oct. 8 for a 7 p.m. match, then faces No. 12 Kansas State (14-3, 3-1) and Missouri (12-3, 5-1) at the NU Coliseum.

Nebraska enters the difficult week playing some of its best volleyball of the season. The Huskers have won 17 straight Big 12 games. NU has swept its last five opponents and won the final two games in a five-game win over Texas A&M Sept. 17. NU, which is averaging a .270 hitting percentage, has hit over .275 in each of its last five matches. The Huskers have hit better than .360 in three of those five. Setters Michelle Lynch and Dani Busboom have engineered an extremely balanced attack. In Big 12 play, six hitters are averaging between 1.75 and 3.45 kills per game.

NU has also been aided in recent matches by the growing dominance of its right side hitters. Despite playing in just three rotations each in the Huskers' 6-2 offense, junior right side hitter Ally Rebholz and redshirt freshman right side hitter Kelsey Fautsch ranked first and second on the team, respectively, in kills and hitting percentage in NU's last two contests. Rebholz averaged 3.00 kills per game on a .455 hitting percentage against Colorado and Oklahoma, while Fautsch posted 2.83 kills per game and hit .406. Rebholz ranks second in the Big 12 with a .397 hitting percentage in conference matches.

Defensively, the Huskers have held their last four opponents to less than .115 at the net. Oklahoma could only muster a .046 efficiency against NU, the lowest mark against the Huskers in the past 10 matches.

The Lineup: The Latest on Nebraska's Probable Starters

Outside Hitter

• #16 Anna Schrad (6-2, Sr., Lincoln, Neb.): Schrad leads the Huskers with 3.52 kills per game, and her 456 attempts are 99 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 four of the last five matches, and she has led NU in digs in the last two matches.
• #13 Ally Rebholz (6-1, Jr., Indianapolis, Ind.): NU's starter on the right side, Rebholz has emerged as an impact player. Rebholz ranks second in the Big 12 with a .397 hitting percentage in league matches. She leads the team with nine solo blocks and ranks second with 1.12 blocks per game. Rebholz shares time with redshirt freshman Kelsey Fautsch in NU's 6-2 offense. Fautsch leads NU with a .325 hitting percentage.

Middle Blocker

• #8 Melissa Elmer (6-2, So., Fort Wayne, Ind.): Often the Huskers' fifth option on offense last season, Elmer has emerged as a go-to threat in 2003. Elmer is averaging 2.73 kills per game on a .292 hitting percentage. She leads the Big 12 with 1.57 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 ranked fourth in the Sept. 29 Big 12 statistical rankings with a .386 hitting percentage. Houghtelling ranks among the team leaders with 12 service aces despite playing in just 30 of NU's 51 games this season.

Setter

• #2 Michelle Lynch (5-11, Sr., Jacksonville, Ill.): In her first season as a starter, Lynch leads NU with 7.41 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 has been jump serving in recent matches and recorded a career-best five aces at Texas Sept. 20. She is tied for third on the team with 17 service aces, while Busboom ranks second with 20 aces.

Libero

• #6 Jenae Dowling (5-6, Sr., Fort Wayne, Ind.): Dowling leads the Huskers with 3.55 digs per game in her first season as a starter. The mark ranks fifth in the conference.

Big 12 Streaks to Watch
The Huskers carry several streaks into this week's matches, including:

• NU head coach John Cook is 66-0 in the Big 12 Conference with three league championships.
• Nebraska has won five straight Big 12 titles and six of a possible seven crowns. NU has won the Big 12 every year since the conference's inception, except 1997.
• The Huskers have won 76 consecutive regular-season Big 12 matches and 77 straight matches against Big 12 teams. NU's last regular-season loss to a Big 12 opponent was 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. Nebraska's 76-match league winning streak ranks third in NCAA history.
• NU has 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.
• Nebraska has won 17 straight Big 12 games. NU has swept its last five opponents and won the final two games in a five-game win over Texas A&M Sept. 17.

33 Consecutive Sellouts
Nebraska owns a streak of 33 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 five of its home matches in 2003.

Kansas Quickly (11-5, 3-2)
Kansas enters the week with an 11-5 overall record and a 3-2 mark in the conference. The Jayhawks lost in five games at Missouri last week before winning, 3-1, at Texas Tech. KU is tied with Texas for fourth in the Big 12 standings.

The Jayhawks are led by freshman outside hitter Janaina Correa, who averages 3.90 kills per game on a .262 hitting percentage. Junior middle blocker Ashley Michaels owns a team-best .337 hitting percentage while averaging 3.02 kills per game. The Jayhawks are hitting .246 under setters Ashley Bechard (11.15 apg) and Andi Rozum (8.86 apg).

Ashley Bechard is the daughter of KU Head Coach Ray Bechard, who owns a 96-73 record in his sixth season with the Jayhawks.

Nebraska-Kansas Series
Series Notes: Nebraska has never lost to Kansas, and the Huskers' 70 wins against the Jayhawks are the most versus any opponent in school history ... The Huskers have swept KU 58 times, including 43 three-game sweeps ... Kansas has won only 13 games in the history of the series, taking the Huskers to five games just one time on Nov. 23, 1990.

Last Meeting: Senior middle blocker Amber Holmquist pounded 14 kills on a .458 hitting percentage to lead No. 4 Nebraska to a 30-22, 30-21, 30-20 victory at Kansas. Holmquist also tallied six blocks. Freshman right side hitter Jennifer Saleuamua added 11 kills for Nebraska while swinging at a .450 clip. With a match-high 12 digs, Saleaumua produced her first double-double of the season. Freshman middle blocker Melissa Elmer totaled six blocks for NU, which out-blocked the Jayhawks 13-6.

Right Side Hitters Right on the Mark
Right side hitters Ally Rebholz and Kelsey Fautsch are putting up big numbers despite playing in just three rotations each in the Huskers' 6-2 offense. Their impact on the NU offense was especially important in three-game wins over Colorado and at Oklahoma last week, as the two ranked first and second in kills and hitting percentage. Rebholz, a 6-2 junior, led the team with 3.00 kills per game and hit .455, while Fautsch, a 6-1 redshirt freshman, recorded 2.83 kills per game while swinging at a .406 clip.

In conference matches, Rebholz is averaging 2.90 kills per game and ranks second in the league with a .397 hitting percentage. Fautsch is third on the squad with a .344 hitting percentage in conference matches, but she leads the Huskers on the season with a .325 mark.

Saleaumua Heats Up
NU Coach John Cook has labeled Jennifer Saleaumua as 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 (3.45) and digs per game (3.55). She is hitting .335 against conference teams and has compiled eight service aces, which ranks fourth on the team and is the highest among the Huskers who don't jump serve. Saleaumua ranks ninth in the Big 12 in service aces and sixth in digs.

Although she is known more for her defensive play, Saleaumua has been hurting teams with her offense in recent weeks. She has posted double-figure kill totals in seven of Nebraska's last eight matches after reaching the mark just once in NU's first six contests. Saleaumua, who averaged 2.42 kills per game in her first six matches, has recorded 3.29 kills per game in her last eight. She tallied a career-best 17 kills Sept. 17 to help Nebraska defeat Texas A&M in a come-from-behind victory.

Saleaumua has hit over .400 in four of her last five 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.

Super Servers
Through 15 matches, Nebraska has compiled 114 service aces to its opponents' 38. The Huskers have already amassed nearly 65 percent of their 2002 service aces total (169 in 33 matches). NU's 2003 average of 2.24 service aces per game ranks second in the Big 12. In conference matches, the Huskers lead the Big 12 with 2.90 service aces per game. Nine Huskers own a service ace, and six have at least 12. Sophomore middle blocker Melissa Elmer leads NU with 23 aces, followed by freshman setter Dani Busboom with 20. Sophomore setter Michelle Lynch has 17.

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.

Super Jump Servers
Opponents have had a difficult time handling the Husker jump servers. Sophomore setter Michelle Lynch, freshman setter Dani Busboom and freshman middle blocker Christina Houghtelling have tallied 45 of Nebraska's 114 service aces. Busboom (20) and Lynch (17) rank second and third on the team, respectively, while Houghtelling is sixth. Two factors make the mark all the more impressive ? Houghtelling has played in just 30 of NU's 51 games, while Lynch did not jump serve in Nebraska's first nine matches.

Aces Up, Blocks Down
Nebraska is averaging 2.94 blocks per game in 2003 after leading the nation with at least 3.10 blocks per game in each of the past three seasons.

However, the Huskers' serving may be partly responsible for the dip in blocking numbers, as NU is averaging an impressive 2.24 service aces per game. In fact in Big 12 play, Nebraska is averaging more service aces per game (2.90) than blocks per game (2.55). As a result, league teams are averaging just 37.10 attack attempts per game against NU, compared to 38.33 in 2002.

Block Party
Although Nebraska's blocking numbers are down in 2003, NU still leads the Big 12 with 2.94 blocks per game. Against Illinois Aug. 30, the Huskers produced 20 team blocks, a mark they reached just once last season. Opponents are hitting just .105 against the Husker block.

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 with 1.57 stops per game. Junior right side hitter Ally Rebholz is emerging as a top blocking threat, as she ranks eighth in the Big 12 with 1.12 blocks per game.

Cook's Winning Ways
Nebraska Coach John Cook has been amazingly successful during his four seasons at the helm, posting a 110-5 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. The Huskers have played 377 games during Cook's tenure, winning 334 and losing just 43 (.885).

Cook has never lost a Big 12 Conference match, going 66-0 and winning three league titles. NU has dropped just 13 of the 209 conference games they have played over the past three seasons, good for a .941 winning percentage.

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.

Youth Movement
With a lineup low on experience and depth at some positions, Nebraska's freshmen have been asked to play immediately. Setter Dani Busboom (Cortland, Neb.), middle blocker Christina Houghtelling (Cambridge, Neb.), outside hitter Dani Mancuso (Omaha, Neb.) and right side hitter Kelsey Fautsch (Chisago Lakes, Minn.), a redshirt freshman, have all contributed significantly this season.

Busboom has played more than any other freshman in the Huskers' 6-2 offense, sharing the setting duties with sophomore Michelle Lynch. Busboom is averaging 5.43 assists per game and has made an impression at the service line with 20 aces, which is second on the team.

Mancuso, an Omaha Gross graduate, earned her first career start Sept. 5 against New Orleans, replacing the injured Jennifer Saleaumua. Mancuso made the most of her opportunity by pounding a match-high 16 kills while swinging at a .429 clip. She also started against Georgia Tech and produced five kills. Mancuso is averaging 1.67 kills per game.

Houghtelling may have secured a permanent spot in the starting lineup after solid performances in her last five matches. She came off the bench and pounded nine kills against Georgia Tech, then started against Texas A&M and recorded eight kills and a match-high five blocks. Houghtelling had four kills and four service aces against Texas Sept. 20. She is averaging 1.83 kills per game.

Fautsch is one of two right side hitters in NU's 6-2 offense. Fautsch averages 2.24 kills per game and leads the team with a .325 hitting percentage.

Even some of the upperclassmen who are are in the starting lineup are experiencing their first significant playing time. Junior outside hitter Ally Rebholz saw limited action as NU's third outside hitter in 2002 and 2001. Lynch is setting for the first time after playing the role of serving specialist last year, and senior libero Jenae Dowling has seen a huge increase in playing time after playing sparingly as a defensive specialist during the past three seasons.