Huskers Prepare for NCAA Regional

Lincoln -- After spending the first weekend of competition in the NCAA Division I Volleyball Tournament on the road, the Nebraska volleyball team will return to Lincoln for the NCAA Regional this Friday and Saturday, Dec. 12-13 at the NU Coliseum. The Huskers, seeded ninth overall in the tournament, will play host to eighth-seeded UCLA (23-8) at 7 p.m. Friday in the day's second regional semifinal match.

The first regional semifinal match will begin at 4:30 p.m. Friday and will pit top-seeded and defending national champion USC (31-0) against Texas A&M (23-9), the No. 16 seed. The winners of the regional semifinal contests will advance to Saturday's 7 p.m. regional final match to play for a spot in the 2003 NCAA semifinals in Dallas Dec. 18-20.

Nebraska is one of four pre-determined regional sites this year. The remaining three teams in the NCAA semifinals will advance from regionals at Florida, Hawaii and Long Beach State.

Nebraska has traditionally had great success in the NCAA Tournament. NU owns a 56-19 (.747) all-time NCAA Tournament record. The Huskers rank third nationally in NCAA Tournament wins and second in NCAA Tournament winning percentage. Nebraska, which is 11-4 against teams in this year's tournament, has advanced to the NCAA national semifinals eight of the 12 previous times in which it has played host to a regional.

Nebraska is 15-2 in NCAA Tournament matches under head coach John Cook, who led the Huskers to the 2000 national title and an appearance in the NCAA national semifinals in 2001.

The Huskers enter this weekend’s competition with the momentum gained from easy first- and second-round sweeps of Valparaiso and Dayton at Michigan State’s Jenison Field House. Nebraska dominated its competition in every statistical category, including hitting percentage. The Huskers hit .384 for the weekend while holding their opponents to a .078 mark. NU was led by senior outside hitter Anna Schrad, who averaged 4.33 kills per game on a .500 hitting percentage ? significantly up from her season averages of 3.12 kills per game and .219 hitting.

Sophomore middle blocker Melissa Elmer and freshman outside hitter Dani Mancuso also enjoyed great success in East Lansing. Elmer averaged 3.50 kills per game and hit .436 over the two matches. Against Dayton, Elmer broke the Nebraska postseason record for hitting percentage in a single match, as she swung at a .737 clip. Mancuso contributed 3.67 kills per game on a .459 hitting percentage, compared to her season averages of 2.00 kills per game on .168 hitting.

Nebraska’s NCAA Tournament Quick Hits
The Huskers have historically had great success in the NCAA Tournament. A few things to know:

• Nebraska has appeared in 22 of 23 NCAA Tournaments, missing just the first one in 1981. Only UC-Santa Barbara, Pacific, Penn State and Stanford have played in every tournament.
• Nebraska owns a 56-19 (.747) all-time NCAA Tournament record. The Huskers rank third nationally in NCAA Tournament wins and in NCAA Tournament winning percentage.
• Nebraska has advanced to the round of 16 in 10 straight seasons, last missing the sweet 16 in 1993.
• Nebraska has advanced past the second round of the NCAA Tournament 20 times and is 23-11 all-time in NCAA regional action. The Huskers are 20-4 in regional matches in Lincoln and 3-7 in regional contests on the road.
• Nebraska has advanced to the NCAA Final Four eight of the 12 times that it has played host to a regional, failing to advance in 1985, 1991,1994 and 2002.
• Nebraska went 11-4 during the regular season against 2003 NCAA Tournament teams.
• Nebraska is 17-1 all-time in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and 10-1 in the second round.
• NU lists seven players on its roster with NCAA Tournament experience, but senior outside hitter Anna Schrad is the only Husker who saw action in the 2000 national championship match.
• NU’s eight final four appearances are tied for third with Pacifc and Long Beach State in NCAA history behind Stanford (13) and UCLA (10).
• The Huskers have advanced to the NCAA Semifinals five times in the last eight years.
• The Huskers have advanced to the NCAA Championship match four of the eight times they have played at the Final Four, winning the national championship in 1995 and 2000.

For Starters ...The Latest on Nebraska’s Probable Lineup

#7 Dani Mancuso, 6-2, Fr., OH ...

After seeing limited duty in September and October, Mancuso earned a lineup spot in November and has started the last 11 matches. In two NCAA Tournament matches, she is averaging 3.67 kills per game on .459 hitting to go along with a team-high five service aces. Mancuso is one of four freshmen on the NU roster from Nebraska. #26 Jennifer Saleaumua, 5-11, So., OH ... Saleaumua is widely considered NU’s top all-around player and best passer. She leads NU in kills (3.28 per game) and digs (3.87 per game), which ranks second in the Big 12. Saleaumua has recorded 422 digs in 2003, breaking the NU single-season record set by Kate Crnich in 1996 (390 digs). #13 Anna Schrad, 6-2, Sr., RS ... Schrad moved to the right side Nov. 1 against Oklahoma, and she has played the position in the last 11 matches. Since moving to the right, Schrad is hitting .277 and averaging 1.24 blocks per game, both significant increases over her season averages. Schrad has posted at least 10 kills in NU’s last seven matches. She shares times with either redshirt freshman Kelsey Fautsch or junior Ally Rebholz in the Huskers’ 6-2 offense. #8 Melissa Elmer, 6-2, So., MB ... Elmer led the Big 12 and leads NU with 1.60 blocks per game. She also ranks first on the team with a .360 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. Elmer hit .401 in nine matches in November and broke the NU record for hitting percentage in a postseason match with a .737 (15-1-19) mark against Dayton in the second round Dec. 6. #15 Sara Westling, 6-2, Sr., MB ... Westling has started 24 of NU’s 32 matches. She finished the regular season ranked seventh in the Big 12 with 1.14 per game. #2 Michelle Lynch, 5-11, So., S; -OR- #18 Dani Busboom, 5-10, Fr., S ... Lynch and Busboom share the setting duties in the Huskers’ 6-2 offense. Lynch leads the team with 45 service aces and 7.26 assists per game. Lynch led the Big 12 in aces per game in conference matches. Busboom is second on the team with 33 service aces and 5.97 assists per game. #1 Amanda McCormick, 5-8, Fr., L ... McCormick claimed a spot in the lineup mid-season and is averaging 3.53 digs per game, the 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. She finished the regular season ranked 10th in the Big 12 in digs.

Recapping Rounds One and Two
Nebraska was one of just two top 16 seeds in the 2003 NCAA Tournament that was not selected to host the first and second rounds of the tournament. However, traveling wasn’t a factor for the Huskers. NU, which was sent to Michigan State, swept Valparaiso Dec. 5 and Dayton Dec. 6.

Against the crusaders, senior right side hitter Anna Schrad and freshman outside hitter Dani Mancuso struck at will. Schrad tallied 15 kills and hit .483, while Mancuso added 14 kills and hit a career-best .571. Saturday against the Flyers, sophomore middle blocker Melissa Elmer dominated the net with 15 kills on an NU postseason-record .737 hitting percentage. A few more highlights:

• Freshman libero Amanda McCormick broke the NU postseason record for digs in a three-game match with 20 against Dayton. McCormick averaged 5.00 digs per game in the first and second rounds.
• Nebraska hit .321 against Valparaiso and .463 against Dayton, marking only the third time this season that NU has hit over .300 in back-to-back contests.
• Three Huskers averaged over 1.00 blocks per game against Dayton and Valparaiso, including Elmer (1.17), sophomore outside hitter Jennifer Saleaumua (1.17), and junior right side hitter Ally Rebholz (1.33).
• Freshman setter Dani Busboom led NU in assists in both matches. Busboom has led NU or tied for the lead in assists in four of the past six matches after leading Nebraska in that category just twice in the Huskers’ first 26 contests.

#8 UCLA Quickly (23-8)
The Bruins, who are participating in their 22nd NCAA Tournament, are 57-19 all-time in the NCAA Tournament and have won three NCAA titles (1984, 1990, 1991). UCLA enters the weekend with a 23-8 record. Six of the Bruins losses were to ranked teams, but UCLA also boasts six victories over ranked opponents.

Seven Bruins, including five juniors, earned All-Pac-10 honors in 2003. UCLA features an extremely balanced offensive attack, with six players who have played in at least 82 games averaged 2.00 kills per game or more. Brynn Murphy leads the Bruins with 3.82 kills per game on a .301 hitting percentage.

Defensively, Cira Wright leads UCLA with 1.12 blocks per game, and she is averaging 1.67 in two NCAA Tournament matches. Junior libero Chrissie Zartman is a two-time first-team all-conference selection and finished the regular season ranked 27th nationally with 4.47 digs per game.

Coach Andy Banachowski: Banachowski is in his 37th season on the bench. He owns a 962-243 record, and in September 2001, Banachowski became the first collegiate women's volleyball coach to record 900 career wins.

Series: Nebraska owns a 6-3 advantage in its all-time series with the Bruins, and NU swept UCLA in the team’s last meeting Sept. 9, 2001, in the championship match of the US Bank/Arby’s Classic at the NU Coliseum. The Huskers are 2-1 vs. UCLA in Lincoln and 2-0 against the Bruins in postseason matches. NU’s last NCAA Tournament win over UCLA was Dec. 9, 1995, at the NU Coliseum.

Cook vs. UCLA: Cook is 2-1 all-time against UCLA.

#1 USC Quickly (31-0)
The defending NCAA champion, USC captured the 2003 Pac-10 Conference title with an 18-0 record, earned the national No. 1 seed for the second year in a row. USC has won 43 consecutive matches (dating back to 11/2/02 when they lost 3-2 to Stanford at home), and the Women of Troy need just one more win to tie the NCAA Division I record of 44 consecutive victories set by Penn State from Aug. 31 through Dec. 7, 1990.

The Women of Troy are led by five 2003 All-Pac-10 first team selections, including Pac-10 Player of the Year and four-time first-team all-conference pick April Ross, a senior outside hitter. Ross leads USC with 3.63 kills per game. Senior middle blocker Emily Adams is averaging 3.44 kills per game on a .459 hitting percentage and finished the regular season ranked fourth nationally in hitting percentage.

Overall, the Women of Troy rank second in the nation in hitting percentage with a .355 mark. USC also finished the regular season ranked among the national leaders in assists per game (third), kills per game (third), and blocks per game (fourth).

USC Coach Mick Haley: USC is coached by Mick Haley, who boasts an 860-193-1 (.816) overall record and 610-142 (.811) NCAA Division I record. Before arriving at USC, Haley coached Texas for 17 seasons (1980-1996) and led the Longhorns to two national championships.

Series: USC leads the all-time series, 6-1. The Huskers’ lone win came in 1997 in the NCAA regional semifinals. USC has not played in Lincoln since Dec. 14, 1985, when the Bruins defeated NU in four games in the NCAA Mideast Regional final.

The Trojans swept Nebraska in the teams’ last meeting Sept. 2, 2002, in the Radisson Hotel Roberts/Nike Classic at Ball State. Melissa Elmer, Jennifer Saleaumua and Anna Schrad are the only players remaining on the NU roster who saw significant action in the match. Elmer posted six kills and hit .545, while Saleaumua had seven kills and seven digs in the loss. Schrad had six kills.

Cook vs. USC: Cook is 2-2 all-time vs. USC.

#16 Texas A&M (23-9)
Texas A&M, which finished the season tied for third in the Big 12 standings, is making its 11th consecutive appearance in the NCAA tournament and its 15th overall appearance. Last year, A&M advanced to the NCAA second round before being eliminated by No. 1 seed and eventual national champion USC.

The Aggies feature middle blocker/outside hitter Melissa Munsch, a two-time first-team All-Big 12 selection. Munsch averages a team-best 3.73 kills per game and ranks second with 1.06 blocks per game. All-Big 12 outside hitter Laura Jones is close behind with 3.72 kills per game.

Texas A&M Coach Laurie Corbelli: Texas A&M is coached by Laurie Corbelli, who owns a 259-94 record in her 11th season. Corbelli’s husband, John Corbelli, serves as the associate head coach. John Corbelli was an assistant coach at Nebraska in 1981.

Series: Nebraska leads the all-time series against the Aggies, 19-6, and the Huskers have won nine straight. Texas A&M has defeated NU twice in five-game matches since the Big 12 Conference’s inception in 1996 ? once in 1998 and once in 1999. Texas A&M has pushed Nebraska past three games 13 times in 25 matches, and the Huskers came out on top of a five-game battle Sept. 17, 2003, in Lincoln in the Big 12 opener. Senior outside hitter Anna Schrad had 20 kills and seven digs in the NU win.

Cook vs. Texas A&M: Cook is 10-0 all-time vs. Texas A&M.

Cook’s Winning Ways
Nebraska Coach John Cook has been amazingly successful during his four seasons at the helm, posting a 124-8 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 77-3 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.

40 Consecutive Sellouts
Nebraska enters the postseason with a streak of 40 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 13 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.

Elmer, Saleaumua Earn All-Big 12 honors
Melissa Elmer and Jennifer Saleaumua were among the 12 student-athletes named to the 2003 Big 12 Volleyball All-Conference First Team.The selection was the second for Saleaumua, a sophomore outside hitter who also earned first-team honors in 2002. Elmer, a sophomore middle blocker, made her first appearance on the team.

A native of Fort Wayne, Ind., Elmer was the conference’s top blocker and most efficient hitter in Big 12 play, as she led the league in blocks per game (1.64) and hitting percentage (.379). Elmer tallied a career-high 15 blocks at Kansas Oct. 8, which was the highest total by a Big 12 player in 2003, the third-most ever by an NU player and the most by a Husker in the rally-scoring era. On the season, Elmer is averaging 3.07 kills per game on .360 hitting. She has swung at a .400 clip or better 11 times this season.

Saleaumua was one of the top all-around players in the league in 2003, as she leads the Huskers in kills per game (3.28), digs per game (3.87) and double-doubles (16 kills-digs). Saleaumua is tied for third on the team with 33 service aces and hit .259 on the season. Saleaumua ranked second in the Big 12 in digs per game, and she has averaged 4.37 digs per game in 11 matches against ranked teams. Saleaumua has tallied 422 digs in 2003, breaking the NU single-season record of 390 set by Kate Crnich in 1996.

Super Servers
Nebraska finished the regular season ranked second in the Big 12 with 1.97 service aces per game (207 total) and surpassed its 2002 season total of 169 Nov. 5 at Texas A&M. In conference matches, the Huskers led the Big 12 with 2.04 service aces per game. Nebraska tied the 13-year-old school record for service aces in a three-game match with 16 at Texas Sept. 20.

Ten Huskers own a service ace, eight have at least 15, and four have at least 30 aces. Sophomore setter Michelle Lynch leads the team with 45 aces. A left-handed jump server, Lynch tallied 21 aces in November and needs just four more aces to move into the Nebraska all-time top 10, which would be a rare feat. The last player to break into NU’s career service aces chart was Kelly Aspegren in 1993. Aspegren ranks ninth all-time at NU with 51 career aces.

Block Party
Nebraska has led the nation in blocks per game in each of the three previous seasons, and although the Huskers’ numbers are down slightly this year, they still lead the Big 12 with 3.19 blocks per game.

Sophomore middle blocker Melissa Elmer leads NU and ranks first in the Big 12 and among the national leaders with 1.60 stops per game. Elmer had a career-high 16 blocks against Kansas, the most by any player in the Big 12 this season and third-highest mark in school history.

The Huskers had 21.5 team blocks against Colorado Nov. 26, and they 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 NCAA semifinals Dec. 14, 2000.

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 675 assists, which ranks second all-time behind Lindsay Wischmeier’s 724 in 1999.

Busboom is second on the team with 33 service aces, which ranks third all-time among NU freshmen. She needs just four more aces to break the record of 36 held by Maria Hedbeck (1993) and Kim Tonniges (1991).

McCormick, who was sidelined for much of the season with an elbow injury, moved into the starting lineup against Missouri Oct. 15. She is averaging 3.53 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 against the Tigers, the third-highest total in school history and the most by a Big 12 player this season.

Youth Movement
With a lineup low on experience and depth at some positions, Nebraska’s freshmen, as well as several players who saw little time in 2002, have been asked to contribute immediately. Eight Huskers who are freshmen or first-year starters have seen significant playing time in NU’s 6-2 (two-setter) offense this year.

Freshmen Dani Busboom (setter), Christina Houghtelling (middle blocker) and Kelsey Fautsch (right side), a redshirt freshman, have played in at least 15 matches. The Huskers’ lineup grew even younger in the second half of the season. Freshman libero Amanda McCormick has started 14 of the past 15 matches. Freshman outside hitter Dani Mancuso has also started 11 straight matches.

Other first-year starters in 2003 include junior right side hitter Ally Rebholz, sophomore setter Michelle Lynch, senior libero Jenae Dowling and senior middle blocker Sara Westling, who has shared time at the second middle blocker spot with Houghtelling.

When McCormick is in the lineup and Houghtelling is healthy, NU has played at times with up to five freshmen (Fautsch, Busboom, Mancuso) on the court.

Rank and File
Nebraska was ranked No. 9 in the final regular-season USA Today/AVCA Coaches poll released Dec. 1. The Huskers had been ranked 10th for four straight weeks, originally moving into the spot in the Nov. 3 poll on the strength of their three-game win over then-No. 12 Northern Iowa Nov. 2.

Nebraska is one of two teams that have been ranked in the USA Today/AVCA Coaches poll for all 297 weeks of its existence. The Huskers have been ranked in the top 10 for 265of the 297 weeks, which ranks second behind Stanford’s 278. Nebraska has spent 38 weeks in the top spot, and its most recent No. 1 ranking was Sept. 24, 2001.

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 have fielded a lineup that did not include a returning All-American. Nancy Metcalf (Meendering) earned All-America honors in 1999 but redshirted the 2000 season.