NU Plays Third Straight Ranked Team Saturday

No. 10 Nebraska is in the midst of its most challenging Big 12 stretch of the season. The Huskers swept No. 21 Texas A&M in College Station Wednesday night and will play two more ranked teams on the road in the next three matches. NU faces No. 25 Missouri in Columbia Saturday before returning to Lincoln to take on Texas Nov. 12. The Huskers then travel to fifth-ranked Kansas State Nov. 15.

The Huskers’ four-game stretch could likely decide the Big 12 Conference championship. With seven matches remaining, Kansas State remains in first in the standings with a 13-1 record. Nebraska is in second with an 12-2 mark, followed by Texas A&M (9-4), Missouri (9-5) and Colorado (8-6).

Statistically, Nebraska is the best team in the league. NU has lost a Big 12-low 10 games in conference matches. The Huskers lead the Big 12 in assists, blocks, kills and service aces in league contests. They are also the best defensive team, as they have allowed their opponents fewer assists, blocks, kills and service aces than any other conference team. Big 12 teams are hitting a conference-low .135 against NU.

Nebraska, which lost to both Missouri and Kansas State in five game matches in October, appears to be gaining momentum and confidence, as they continue the critical Big 12 stretch. The Huskers are coming off back-to-back sweeps of No. 12 Northern Iowa and the 21st-ranked Aggies. Nebraska hit over .300 in both matches, marking only the second time this season that has happened.

Sophomores Jennifer Saleaumua and Melissa Elmer are playing at an All-Big 12 level. Saleaumua has been on fire, averaging 5.17 kills per game on a .424 hitting percentage in the last two matches. She leads the Big 12 with 4.14 digs per game in league matches. Elmer averaged 1.83 blocks per game against the Panthers and Texas A&M, and she leads the conference with 1.65 blocks per game.

A Win for the Huskers ...
With a victory over Missouri Saturday, the Huskers would:

• With their third straight match over a ranked opponent.
• Improve to 5-3 against teams ranked in this week’s USA Today/AVCA Coaches poll.
• Improve to 326-18 all-time vs. Big 12 teams.
• Improve to 57-3-1 all-time vs. Missouri.

#25 Missouri Quickly (16-7, 9-5)
Missouri, a top contender for the Big 12 Conference title two weeks ago, has made its road much more difficult. The Tigers have lost three straight matches, falling in four games at Texas and dropping five-game matches to Texas A&M Nov. 1 and at Kansas Nov. 5. The Tigers are 1-3 against ranked teams this season, falling twice to A&M and once to Kansas State. Missouri’s only win against a ranked team this season with their five-game triumph over the Huskers Oct. 15.

Sophomore setter Lindsey Hunter (Papillion, Neb.) leads the Big 12 in assists per game (12.82) and has guided the Tigers to a .249 hitting percentage, which ranks third in the league. Sophomore outside hitter Shen Danru ranks among the league leaders with 3.98 kills and 3.23 digs per game. MU ranks second in the conference to Nebraska with 1.59 service aces per game.

Hunter is one of five Missouri players from Nebraska. The others are sophomore defensive specialist Sara Parks (Papillion-LaVista) and middle blockers Jenny Duitsman (Lincoln Lutheran), Nicole Wilson (Lincoln Christian) and Melissa Allbery (Gretna).

The Tigers are led by fourth-year head coach Susan Kreklow, who owns an 86-33 record. Krelow’s husband, Wayne, is the associate head coach.

Nebraska-Missouri Series
Nebraska owns a 56-3-1 advantage over Missouri, and the Huskers are 20-1 on the road against MU. The Tigers’ snapped NU’s 44-match winning streak in the series Oct. 15 when they came back from a 2-0 deficit to defeat the Huskers in five games at the NU Coliseum. It was Nebraska’s first loss in the series since 1982. Nebraska swept the Tigers twice in 2002.

The Last Time We Met
Missouri came back from a 2-0 deficit to defeat eighth-ranked Nebraska, 30-28, 30-24, 25-30, 29-31, 15-9, Oct. 15 at the NU Coliseum, snapping its 44-match losing streak against the Huskers.

The loss marked the first time since 1997 that Nebraska, which fell to Kansas State Oct. 11, had lost two straight conference matches. It also marked the first time that NU had lost back-to-back matches since the 1999 season. The contest was also the first time since 1999 that Nebraska held a 2-0 lead in a match and lost.

Nebraska bested Missouri in every statistical category except blocks, but the Huskers committed a season-high 44 hitting errors and swung for a .131 percentage. Sophomore middle blocker Melissa Elmer led NU with 17 kills on a .297 hitting percentage. Freshman right side hitter Kelsey Fautsch had 13 kills and swung at a .241 clip. No other Husker with 10 attempts hit over .200. Missouri hit .121 on the night.

Freshman Amanda McCormick started at libero in place of the injured Jenae Dowling and led Nebraska with a career-high 31 digs. McCormick’s total was the third-highest in school history and the most digs by an NU player since 1995.

Saleaumua Tops Against Best Teams
Nebraska is in the midst of a five-game stretch in which it faces four ranked teams in 13 days. Sophomore outside hitter Jennifer Saleaumua has risen to the occasion, averaging 5.17 kills per game on a .424 hittin percentage to go along with 3.82 digs per game against No. 12 Northern Iowa and No. 21 Texas A&M. Saleaumua has produced double-doubles against both teams, increasing her team-leading total to 12 in that category.

In league matches, Saleaumua leads the Huskers in kills per game (3.26) and digs per game (4.15), which ranks first in the conference.

Saleaumua posted a career-best 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 15 of her last 16 matches after reaching the mark just once in NU’s first six contests. Oct. 8 at KU, Saleaumua recorded a career-best 19 kills on a .340 hitting percentage.

Rebholz Re-emerges
Junior outside hitter Ally Rebholz appears to be back on track after a rocky October. As a first-year starter on the right side, Rebholz enjoyed great success early in 2003. In the Huskers’ first 15 matches, Rebholz averaged 2.55 kills per game on a .304 hitting percentage to go along with 1.12 blocks per game. The Indianapolis native struggled with illness in October and averaged just 1.90 kills per game on .123 hitting from Oct. 8 to Oct. 29. In three November matches, Rebholz is averaging 3.22 kills per game while swinging at a .294 clip. She totaled 12 kills and hit .364 against No. 12 Northern Iowa Nov. 2.

Nebraska Notables

• Since switching to the right side, senior outside hitter Anna Schrad is averaging 1.22 blocks per game. Her season average is 0.60.
• Freshman outside hitter Dani Mancuso is averaging 3.00 kills per game in NU’s last two matches.
• Sophomore setter Michelle Lynch has produced five serice aces in the last two matches. Lynch ranks second on the team with 30 service aces.
• Junior right side hitter Ally Rebholz posted 12 kills on .364 hitting against Northern Iowa Nov. 2. The mark was her highest since Oct. 11 when she recorded 12 kills against Kansas State.
• Senior middle blocker Sara Westling has produced at least four blocks in each of her last six matches to move into the Big 12 statistical rankings. She is fourth in the conference with 1.26 blocks per game in league matches.

Freshmen Phenoms
While making an impact on the court, Nebraska freshmen Dani Busboom and Amanda McCormick are climbing the Husker freshman charts. Busboom, a setter in NU’s 6-2 offense, has totaled 450 assists, which ranks second all-time behind Lindsay Wischmeier’s 724 in 1999.

Busboom also leads the team with 32 service aces, which ranks third all-time among NU freshmen. She needs just six more aces to break the record of 36 held by Maria Hedbeck (1993) and Kim Tonniges (1991). If Busboom continues at her current pace (0.40 service aces per game) and NU plays a minimum of 24 games (eight remaining regular-season matches), she will finish the season with 41 service aces. Busboom currently ranks second in the Big 12 with 0.47 aces per game against league teams.

McCormick, who was sidelined for much of the season with an elbow injury, has started five of the past six matches. She is averaging 3.39 digs per game, the highest average ever by a Husker freshman and the most since Maria Hedbeck (3.45) in 1993. McCormick recorded a career-high 31 digs in her first career start Nov. 8 against Missouri, the third-highest total in school history and the most by a Big 12 player this season.

All About Elmer
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 1.65 blocks per game and ranks fourth in the league with a .337 hitting percentage. She is hitting .358 in Big 12 matches, which ranks first in the conference. Elmer also ranks third on the team with 29 service aces.

Elmer was named the Big 12 Player-of-the-Week Oct. 14, winning the award 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.

Cook’s Winning Ways
Nebraska Coach John Cook has been amazingly successful during his four seasons at the helm, posting a 117-7 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 71-2 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.