NU Faces Baylor on Senior Night

The 10th-ranked Nebraska volleyball team will play its final regular-season home match Saturday when Baylor comes to Lincoln for a 7 p.m. match at the NU Coliseum. Nebraska will honor seniors Jenae Dowling, Anna Schrad and Sara Westling in a special ceremony following the match against the Bears. During the seniors’ tenure at NU, the Huskers won the 2000 national title and three Big 12 championships and have posted a 120-8 record.

The Huskers are coming off an easy win over Kansas Nov. 19 at the Coliseum. Sophomore outside hitter Jennifer Saleaumua produced her team-leading 16th double-double of the season in the win, pounding a match-high 16 kills on a .375 hitting percentage to go along with 12 digs in the winning effort. Saleaumua continues to lead the Huskers in kills (3.25 per game) and digs (4.00 per game), and she is tied for the Big 12 lead with 4.20 kills per game in conference matches.

Nebraska hit .364 overall against KU, as senior outside hitter Anna Schrad and redshirt freshman right side hitter Kelsey Fautsch each tallied 10 kills and hit .350 and .438, respectively. Sophomore middle blocker Melissa Elmer totaled nine kills and hit .538, improving her conference-leading hitting percentage to .373.

Freshman outside hitter Dani Mancuso led NU with five service aces, which tied for the highest total by a Husker this season, as Nebraska recorded 10 aces overall. The Huskers continue to lead the conference in service aces with 2.06 per game. Mancuso, freshman setter Dani Busboom and sophomore setter Michelle Lynch all rank among the league leaders in that category.

Fans are encouraged to bring an unwrapped toy to Saturday's match against Baylor for Toys for Tots.

Seniors Honored Saturday
Nebraska will honor three seniors Saturday following the Baylor match, as libero Jenae Dowling, outside hitter Anna Schrad and middle blocker Sara Westling will be playing in the final regular-season home contest of their careers. All three players have made significant contributions on and off the court at Nebraska. They are all two-time academic All-Big 12 honorees, and each has held a starting role at some point during their careers. During the seniors’ tenure at NU, the Huskers won the 2000 national title and three Big 12 championships and have posted a 120-8 record.

Schrad is the most decorated of the three. A Lincoln Pius X graduate, Schrad is a three-year starter who ranks second on the team this season with 3.04 kills per game. The only player on the squad who saw action in the 2000 NCAA championship game, Schrad has amassed 926 kills, 89 service aces, 853 digs and 248 blocks during her career. She is a three-time first-team academic All-Big 12 selection and a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-District VII pick.

Westling served as the Huskers’ third middle blocker before earning a starting role this season. She ranks fourth in the conference with 1.18 blocks per game in Big 12 matches. Westling is a three-time academic All-Big 12 selection.

Dowling was the Huskers’ top serving and defensive specialist during her first three seasons, but has been a part-time starter at libero in 2003. Dowling averages 3.45 digs per game and was ranked among the Big 12 leaders in that category in September. Dowling is a three-time academic All-Big 12 selection.

For Starters ... The Latest NU's Probable Lineup

Outside Hitter

• #7 Dani Mancuso (6-2, Fr., Omaha, Neb.): After seeing limited duty in September and October, Mancuso has started seven straight matches on the left side. She is averaging 1.98 kills per game and had five service aces against Kansas Wednesday.
• #26 Jennifer Saleaumua (5-11, So., National City, Calif.): Saleaumua is widely considered NU’s top all-around player and best passer. She leads NU and the Big 12 with 16 double-doubles. She leads NU in kills (3.25 per game) and digs (4.00 per game), which ranks second in the Big 12.
• #13 Anna Schrad (6-2, Sr., Lincoln, Neb.): Schrad moved to the right side after the Texas Tech match Oct. 29. Schrad ranks second on the team with 3.04 kills per game and is averaging 1.12 blocks per game when playing on the right side. She shares times with either redshirt freshman Kelsey Fautsch or junior Ally Rebholz in the Huskers’ 6-2 offense.

Middle Blocker

• #8 Melissa Elmer (6-2, So., Fort Wayne, Ind.): Elmer leads the Big 12 with 1.60 blocks per game and ranks second in the league with a .350 hitting percentage. She posted a career-high 15 blocks at Kansas Oct. 8, the third-highest total in school history and the most blocks by any player in the Big 12 Conference this season. She has recorded 10 blocks twice in the last five matches.
• #15 Sara Westling (6-2, Sr., Lincoln, Neb.): Westling has started 20 of NU’s 28 matches. She has had at least four blocks nine of the last 10 matches and ranks ninth in the Big 12 with 1.07 per game.

Setter

• #2 Michelle Lynch (5-11, Sr., Jacksonville, Ill.): In her first season as a starter, Lynch leads NU with 7.51 assists per game and 39 service aces. Lynch shares setting duties with freshman Dani Busboom in Nebraska’s 6-2 (two-setter) offense. Busboom ranks second on the team with 33 service aces.

Libero

• #1 Amanda McCormick (5-8, Fr., Muncie, Ind.): McCormick has started 10 of the past 11 matches and is averaging 3.39 digs per game, the second-highest average ever by an NU freshman. Against Missouri Oct. 15, McCormick had 31 digs -- the third-highest total in school history and the most by any player in the Big 12 this season.

Baylor Quickly (18-9, 10-6)
Baylor is 12-19 overall and 4-13 in the Big 12 after falling to Texas A&M in four games Wednesday night in College Station, Texas. The Bears have lost three straight after beating Iowa State in four games Nov. 8. Baylor is 1-5 in November.

Senior outside hitter Tisha Schwartz ranks fifth in the Big 12 with 4.21 kills per game, and she had 20 kills on .514 hitting against the Aggies. Senior outside hitter Stevie Nicholas, who spent most of the season playing libero because of a knee injury, returned to her former position Nov. 12 at Southern Methodist. Nicholas had 26 kills and hit .339 at A&M. Nicholas ranks third all-time on the Baylor career kills list, and she is only the fifth Baylor player ever to record 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs.

Baylor head coach Brian Hosfeld owns a 129-130 record in his eighth season in Waco.

Nebraska-Baylor Series
Nebraska owns a 16-0 advantage in the Baylor series, NU’s youngest in the Big 12. Nebraska has swept Baylor in 15 of 16 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.

The Last Time We Met
Senior outside hitter Anna Schrad pounded a match-high 15 kills to lead the eighth-ranked Nebraska volleyball team to a 30-24, 30-23, 30-26 win at Baylor Oct. 18. Schrad hit .353 and added two service aces.

Sophomore outside hitter Jennifer Saleaumua added her team-leading eighth double-double of the season with 10 kill and 18 digs, junior outside hitter Ally Rebholz had eight kills on a .316 hitting percentage.

Defensively, NU out-blocked Baylor, 10-3, led by sophomore middle blocker Melissa Elmer’s six blocks. The Huskers hit .254 and held the Bears to a .163 mark.

Coming Up
Nebraska concludes conference competition Wednesday, Nov. 26, at Colorado. The Huskers have Saturday, Nov. 29 off. The NCAA Tournament selection show is scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 30, at 7 p.m. Central on ESPNEWS. As in years past, Nebraska will watch the show on the media level of the Memorial Stadium skyboxes. All media are invited to attend.

39 Consecutive Sellouts
Nebraska owns a streak of 39 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. In 2003, NU has sold out all 12 of its matches at the Coliseum. The Huskers drew 6,142 fans for their match against Iowa State Oct. 25 at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.

Cook’s Winning Ways
Nebraska Coach John Cook has been amazingly successful during his four seasons at the helm, posting a 120-8 record. Cook picked up his 100th victory as Nebraska’s 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 three Big 12 Conference matches, going 75-3 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.