No. 4 Huskers Host ISU at Devaney Center Saturday Evening

Match: #16: No. 4 Nebraska (14-1, 8-0 Big 12) vs. Iowa State (8-9, 1-8 Big 12)
Bob Devaney Sports Center ? Saturday, Oct. 16 ? 7 p.m.
Tickets: General Admission Tickets are available for $6 (adults) and $4 (students and seniors 60 and over). UNL Students with ID (Free) and childen 6 and under (Free).
Radio: Pinnacle Sports Network (B107.3 FM in Lincoln and Omaha) and Huskers.com
Live Stats: Huskers.com
Live Internet Video: Live Video Streaming is on HuskersNside.com, for more info, visit Huskers.com
Series Record: Nebraska leads, 64-0, dating back to Nov. 9, 1975
Last Meeting: Nebraska won, 3-0 (30-17, 30-18, 30-28) at the Bob Devaney Sports Center on Oct. 25, 2003
Coach Cook vs. Iowa State: 9-0

No. 4 Huskers Host ISU at Devaney Center Saturday Evening
Lincoln -- The fourth-ranked Nebraska volleyball team looks to extend its winning streak to 12 matches this Saturday, Oct. 16, when the Huskers play host to Iowa State. First serve between the Huskers and Cyclones is set for 7 p.m., as the largest regular-season crowd of the year is expected. Over 5,500 tickets have been sold in advance for the match and the Devaney Center match is usually one of the largest annually in college volleyball. The match will be carried on the Pinnacle Sports Network, including B107.3 FM in Lincoln with John Baylor calling the action. In addition, fans with high-speed Internet access can watch all of the action on HuskersNside, a subscription-based website of the NU Athletic Department, as every regular-season match will be carried on the website.

The volleyball match caps an exciting day in Husker athletics that begins with Husker Madness at the Husker Nation Pavilion at 10:30 a.m. and the football game against Baylor, which is set for 1:05 p.m. In addition, fans who purchase tickets for Saturday’s volleyball match can use their ticket stubs for free admission to Sunday’s soccer match between the Huskers and Bears at the Abbott Sports Complex, beginning at 1 p.m.

Huskers to Recognize Pettit and Olympic Athletes
Saturday’s match against Iowa State also will recognize a trio of people for their involvement with the USA Volleyball program. Former Head Coach Terry Pettit will be recognized by USA Volleyball as the 2004 recipient of the
All-Time Great Coach (Pioneer Division) Award for his many contributions to the sport. Pettit, who retired following the 1999 season, went 694-149-11 in 23 seasons at Nebraska (1977 to 1999), guiding the Huskers to 21 conference titles, six Final Fours and three NCAA Championship matches, including the 1995 NCAA title. He coached 18 players who combined for 35 AVCA All-America certificates, 11 conference players of the year and three U.S. Olympians. The Huskers also will recognize former Husker Nancy Metcalf, a three-time All-American at Nebraska who competed in the 2004 Olympics in Athens and Allison Aldrich, a Schuyler, Neb., native who was a member of the 2004 USA Volleyball Women’s National Sitting Volleyball Team that won a bronze medal at the Paralympic Games in Athens, Greece.

Tickets on Sale for Saturday’s Match
Tickets are now on sale for Saturday’s NU-ISU contest at the Bob Devaney Sports Center, which is set for 7 p.m. The Huskers are attempting to break the single-match attendance record of 12,504 set against Colorado in 2000. The largest crowd in college volleyball this season was 8,656 fans for a match between Pepperdine and Hawaii on Sept. 25.

Tickets for Saturday’s match are $6 (adults) and $4 (students and seniors) while UNL students with a valid ID will be admitted for free. Tickets can be purchased by calling the Nebraska Ticket Office at (800) 8-Big Red or visiting Huskers.com.

Storylines
? - Nebraska jumped one notch to fourth in the USA Today/CSTV Coaches poll released Monday afternoon. It is Nebraska’s highest ranking since Sept. 6, when the Huskers were second nationally.

? - Coach John Cook will be looking for his 300th career win against the Cyclones on Saturday night. He won 161 games in seven years at Wisconsin program before going 138-10 in four-plus seasons at Nebraska.

? - Nebraska will be looking for its 65th consecutive win against the Cyclones, as Nebraska has won all 64 previous meetings. In fact, NU has recorded 19 consecutive sweeps over the Cyclones dating back to the 1994 season. The Huskers have won 180 of the 192 games in the all-time series.

? - Nebraska will look to hold its fifth opponent to negative hitting numbers in the last 12 matches, as opponents are hitting just .067 since the loss to Florida A&M on Sept. 11. In fact, only Missouri, which hit .155 in a Husker sweep on Sept. 15 and Kansas State, which hit .192 on Wednesday, have hit above .150 in that stretch.

? - One Husker tradition that has continued in 2004 has been outstanding blocking, as the Huskers have out-blocked all 15 foes this season, and the last 21 dating back to last season.

? - One of the overlooked reasons for the success of the Huskers in 2004 has been the improved play of sophomore Dani Busboom, who is second in the Big 12 averaging 13.55 assists per game. Her average is the highest by a Husker setter since three-time All-American Fiona Nepo averaged 13.79 as a senior in 1998. In fact, only four setters in NU history have averaged more than 13 assists per game.

Husker Probable Starters
L - #1 Amanda McCormick (5-8, So., Muncie, Ind.) - Sophomore co-captain returned as Nebraska’s starter at libero and leads the Big 12 with 4.76 digs per game. She has reached double-figure totals in digs in 13 of NU’s 15 matches, including 25 against No. 11 Texas A&M on Sept. 25 and 20 vs. Florida on Sept. 10. Her 25 digs against the Aggies tied Mandy Monson for the second-most ever by a Husker in a three-game match. McCormick also paces the Big 12 in digs in league matches at 5.32 per game after a 16-dig effort against KSU on Wednesday.

MB - #8 Melissa Elmer (6-2, Jr., Fort Wayne, Ind.) - Returning AVCA All-American who anchors the Huskers’ blocking corps and averages 2.88 kills and a Big 12-high 1.73 blocks per game. Elmer tops Nebraska in hitting percentage (.341), a total that is 10th in the league. She had at least five blocks in eight of the Huskers’ last nine matches, including seven blocks and eight kills on Sunday vs. Creighton. She earned All-Big 12 honors in 2003, leading NU with 1.59 blocks per game along with a .352 hitting percentage. Elmer, who was named the Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year by the league coaches, spent the spring working with the U.S. National Training Team.

MB - #11 Tracy Stalls (6-3, Fr., Arvada, Colo.) - Stalls has started 13 of the Huskers’ 15 matches at middle blocker and is third in the Big 12 with 1.61 blocks per game. She has had at least five blocks in nine matches, including a season-high eight against Notre Dame (Sept. 4), Texas Tech (Sept. 18) and Kansas State (Oct. 13). Stalls missed the Baylor and Oklahoma matches, but came back with her best effort of the season at No. 16 Kansas State, setting season highs in kills (12) and blocks (eight) while hitting .579. She had eight-or-more kills four times, including a then-season-high 10 at Western Michigan on Sept. 6. Stalls served a two-year stint in the U.S. National Developmental program in Colorado Springs, Colo., after graduating from high school in 2002. She competed with the U.S. National Team in several tourneys, including the 2003 Pan American Games and the 2004 Yeltsin Cup.

S - #18 Dani Busboom (5-11, So., Cortland, Neb.) - Busboom enters the weekend ranked second in the Big 12 with 13.55 assists per game. She leads the team with nine double-doubles, including a 66-assist, 10-dig effort at Kansas State on Wednesday. Her 66 assists not only was a career high, but tied for 17th on NU’s all-time single-game assist list (7th in four-game matches). She has had 50 or more assists five times, including 64 at Notre Dame on Sept. 4. She also averages 2.76 digs and 0.61 blocks per game after matching her career high with five blocks on Saturday against Oklahoma. She guides an offense that ranked second in the Big 12 in hitting percentage (.290) and in kills per game (17.49). Busboom totaled 700 assists in 2003, which is the second most by any Husker freshman.

OPP - #9 Sarah Pavan (6-5, Fr., Kitchener, Ontario) - The Big 12 Preseason co-Freshman of the Year, Pavan leads the Huskers in kills per game (4.80) and topped the Huskers 11 times. She has had 10 or more kills in all 15 matches, as she is second in the league in kills. Three of her 20-kill matches have come against ranked opponents. She dominated in a sweep over No. 11 Texas A&M on Sept. 25, recording 23 kills on .500 hitting with four blocks and eight digs. She had 23 kills on .356 hitting while adding five blocks in Wednesday’s win at Kansas State. In league matches, she is second in the Big 12 in kills (4.92) and third in blocks (1.64) and hitting percentage (.362). Pavan hit a season-best .550 (14 kills on 20 attacks) and added six blocks in a sweep of Texas Tech on Sept. 18. She recorded her first career double-double with 24 kills and 15 digs against Florida A&M on Sept. 10. Considered by many to be the nation’s top freshman, Pavan has been a member of the Canadian National Team since July of 2003 - at age 16.

OH - #26 Jennifer Saleaumua (5-11, Jr., National City, Calif.) - Two-time All-Big 12 outside hitter who is second on the team in digs (3.96) and fourth in kills (3.04 per game) while hitting .259. She has six double-doubles (kills and digs) this year, including two in the last four matches (vs. Baylor and Creighton), as she had 10 kills, 10 digs and matched a season-high with five blocks against Creighton. Saleaumua had a season-best 18 kills - one off a career high - at No. 25 Notre Dame on Sept. 4. She is sixth in the Big 12 in digs and is 67 digs away from becoming the seventh Husker to record 1,000 career digs. Saleaumua led the Huskers in kills (3.27) and digs (3.90) per game in 2003, as her 441 digs were a school record, breaking the previous mark of 390 by Kate Crnich in 1996.

OH - #3 Christina Houghtelling (6-2, So., Cambridge, Neb.) - Sophomore who moved from middle blocker to outside hitter in 2004 and has started all eight of NU’s Big 12 contests. Is one of three Huskers averaging more than three kills per game, as she averages 3.06 kills, 2.55 digs and 0.33 service aces per game. She led Nebraska in kills against Oklahoma with a career-high 15 kills on .433 hitting. She recorded her first career double-double against Baylor on Oct. 6 with 12 kills and a career-high 13 digs. Houghtelling shined in the win at No. 24 Kansas on Sept. 29, setting then-career highs in kills (13) and hitting percentage (.500).

Kansas State Recap
Dani Mancuso recorded a career-high 22 kills on .559 hitting, as fourth ranked Nebraska downed No. 16 Kansas State, 28-30, 30-21, 30-25, 30-23 in front of a crowd of 2,123 at Ahearn Field House.

The 6-foot-2 sophomore from Omaha sparkled off the bench, delivering 21 kills over the last three games, easily topping her previous season and career high of 16, as the Huskers (14-1, 8-0 Big 12) won their 11th straight match.

Mancuso’s big night was one of many highlights, as Nebraska snapped a two-match losing streak to Kansas State and remained tied with Texas on top of the Big 12 standings. Freshman Tracy Stalls set career bests in kills (12) and blocks (eight) while hitting .579. Sarah Pavan had 23 kills ? one of her career high ? and five blocks while hitting .356. The two 20-kill performances was the first by Nebraska since Oct. 16, 1998, when Megan Korver (23) and Nancy Metcalf (Meendering) (20) both accomplished the feat.

Sophomore setter Dani Busboom had her ninth double-double of the year with a career-high 66 kills and 10 digs, as her assist total tied for 17th on NU’s all-time list and is the most by a Husker since Greichaly Cepero had 71 against Texas A&M during the 2000 season. In all, Busboom helped Nebraska hit .356 as team, as the Huskers hit .436 over the final two games.

Scouting Iowa State
Iowa State comes to Lincoln looking to even its record at 9-9 on the season after losing a heart-breaking five-game match to Kansas on Wednesday.

The Cyclones, under the direction of Coach Linda Crum (38-122 in six seasons at ISU), got off to a 6-1 start with their only loss coming against Rice, which is receiving votes in this week’s national poll. The Cyclones are 1-8 in the leauge, but they have taken Kansas State and Kansas to five games apiece, including a five-game loss in Manhattan on Oct. 2.

Iowa State is led by sophomore outside hitter Katie Jessen, who averages a team-high 2.92 kills per game. In all, five Cyclones average over 2.00 kills per game. The Cyclones are one of the best serving teams in the Big 12, averaging 1.69 service aces per game, including 27 by Katie Churm, as she is seventh in the Big 12 in that category.

Nebraska-Iowa State Series
Nebraska has dominated the all-time series, winning all 64 meetings between the two schools. In fact, Nebraska has swept the last 19 matches dating back to 1994, and has lost only 12 of a possible 192 games in the series. Only one match has gone to five games - a 15-12, 15-5, 10-15, 13-15, 15-3 Husker win on Oct. 24, 1989. The 2003 meeting also took place in the Devaney Center in front of a season-high crowd of 6,142.