No. 4 Huskers Travel to Iowa State

Match: #20:
No. 4 Nebraska (18-1, 12-0 Big 12) at Iowa State (8-13, 1-11)
Ames, Iowa ? Hilton Coliseum ? Saturday, Oct. 30 ? 4 p.m.
Live Stats: Huskers.com
Radio: Pinnacle Sports Network (B107.3 FM in Lincoln and Omaha) and Huskers.com
Live Internet Video: Live Video Streaming is on HuskersNside.com, for more info, visit Huskers.com
Series Record: Nebraska leads, 65-0, dating back to Nov. 9, 1975
Last Meeting: Nebraska won, 3-0 (30-16, 30-21, 30-19) at the Devaney Center on Oct. 16.
Coach Cook vs. Iowa State: 10-0

Match: #21:
No. 4 Nebraska vs. Texas Tech (8-10, 4-8)
NU Coliseum ? Wednesday, Nov. 3 ? 7 p.m.
Tickets: Limited general admission seats are available by calling the NU Ticket Office at 800-8-Big Red or on the Internet at Huskers.com
Radio: Pinnacle Sports Network (B107.3 FM in Lincoln and Omaha) and Huskers.com
Live Internet Video: Live Video Streaming is on HuskersNside.com, for more info, visit Huskers.com
Television: State-wide in Nebraska on NETV
Live Stats: Huskers.com
Series Record: Nebraska leads, 21-1, dating back to Sept. 15, 1979
Last Meeting: Nebraska won, 3-0 (32-30, 30-23, 30-11) in Lubbock on Sept. 18.
Coach Cook vs. Texas Tech: 9-0

No. 4 Huskers Travel to Iowa State on Saturday
Lincoln -- Following Wednesday’s sweep of Colorado, the fourth-ranked Nebraska volleyball team returns to the road this weekend to take on Iowa State. First serve at Hilton Coliseum is set for Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. and the match will be carried on B107.3 FM in Lincoln with John Baylor and Tina Westerhold calling all of 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.

While Nebraska (18-1, 12-0 Big 12) wraps up a month where it has played nine matches in seven different sites, the trip to Ames is the first for the Huskers since 2002, as Iowa State played its home game in Omaha last season. In fact, only three current Huskers (senior Ally Rebholz and juniors Melissa Elmer and Jennifer Saleaumua) have played a collegiate match at Hilton Coliseum. While the Cyclones are 8-13 overall and 1-11 in the Big 12, they have been tough at home, taking both No. 15 Kansas State and Kansas to five games before losing. NU, which won the earlier meeting in Lincoln in three games, will be looking to improve its road mark to 10-0 this season.

Storylines
?- One Husker is on pace to achieve a historic milestone on Saturday, as Jennifer Saleaumua comes into the Iowa State match with 997 career digs. She needs only three digs to become the seventh Husker to reach 1,000 career digs, and will become the first NU player to reach the 1,000 mark before her senior season. She is second on the team with an average of 4.03 digs per game.

?- The Huskers have won 15 straight Big 12 matches dating back to last season and won its last 13 matches away from the NU Coliseum.

?- Nebraska will be looking for its 66th consecutive win against the Cyclones, as Nebraska has won all 65 previous meetings. In fact, NU has recorded 20 consecutive sweeps over the Cyclones dating back to the 1994 season.

?-Nebraska has used its depth to its advantage, as five players have led the Huskers in kills over their last seven matches: Christina Houghtelling (Oklahoma), Sarah Pavan (Creighton, Kansas State and Baylor), Tracy Stalls (Iowa State), Jennifer Saleaumua (Texas) and Dani Mancuso (Colorado).

?- Sarah Pavan now has five 20-kill efforts this season, which is the most since Laura Pilakowski had five during the Huskers’ national championship run in 2000. In fact, Pavan’s total tops the entire team total of 20-kill efforts during the 2003 (three), 2002 (none) and 2001 (four) seasons.

?- Nebraska and Iowa State are the Big 12’s top two teams in digs, averaging 17.61 and 17.15, respectively.

? - Nebraska had held 14 straight opponents under .200 hitting before Texas hit .229 - nearly .100 points under its Big 12-leading average (.316) - on Oct. 20. NU has allowed opponents to hit just .104 this season, which is on pace for the lowest opponent total in school history (.106 in 2001).

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 4.61 digs per game. She has reached double-figure totals in digs in 17 of NU’s 19 matches, including 25 against No. 11 Texas A&M on Sept. 25, 21 at No. 10 Texas on Oct. 20 and 20 vs. Florida A&M 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 4.78 per game after an 10-dig effort vs. Colorado on Wednesday. McCormick is looking to become the first Husker to lead the Big 12 in digs.

MB - #8 Melissa Elmer (6-2, Jr., Fort Wayne, Ind.) - Returning AVCA All-American who anchors the Huskers’ blocking corps and averages 2.83 kills and a Big 12-high 1.73 blocks per game. Elmer tops NU in hitting percentage (.347), a total that is fifth in the Big 12. She had at least five blocks in 11 of the Huskers’ last 13 matches, including a season-high 10 blocks against Iowa State on Oct 16. With her three blocks against Colorado, Elmer now has 428 career blocks, good for 10th on NU’s career list. Elmer matched her season high with 13 kills and hit .423 in the win over Baylor. 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 17 matches at middle blocker and is fourth in the Big 12 with 1.56 blocks per game. She has had at least five blocks in 11 matches, including a season-high eight blocks on four occasions, most recently against No. 10 Texas on Oct. 20. Stalls recorded her first career double-double with 10 kills and a season-best 10 digs at Baylor. She set then-season highs in kills (12) and blocks (eight) while hitting .579 in a four-game win at Kansas State on Oct. 13 before hitting an amazing .824 with a career-best 14 kills (14-0-17) against Iowa State on Oct. 16. Her hitting percentage against the Cyclones tied for fourth on NU’s all-time list and the highest percentage in the Big 12 in 2004. 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 13.42 assists per game. She leads the team with 11 double-doubles, including a 66-assist, 10-dig effort at Kansas State on Oct. 13. Her 66 assists not only were a career high, but tied for 17th on NU’s all-time single-match assist list (seventh in four-game matches). She has had 50 or more assists seven times, including 64 at Notre Dame on Sept. 4, 59 at No. 10 Texas on Oct. 20 and 58 in the win over Baylor. She also averages 2.62 digs and 0.58 blocks per game. She guides an offense that ranked second in the Big 12 in hitting percentage (.288) and in kills per game (17.34). Busboom totaled 700 assists in 2003, which is the second most by any Husker freshman.

RS - #9 Sarah Pavan (6-5, Fr., Kitchener, Ontario) - The Big 12 Preseason co-Freshman of the Year, Pavan leads the Huskers and is second in the Big 12 in kills per game (4.59). She has had 10 or more kills 17 times while pacing the Huskers in that category 12 times. Pavan matched her season high with 24 kills - her fifth 20-kill match of the year - along with a pair of service aces against Baylor. 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 at No. 16 Kansas State on Oct. 13. Despite battling the flu, she had 18 kills and five blocks at No. 10 Texas. In league matches, she is third in kills (4.55), and sixth in blocks (1.38) and hitting percentage (.332). 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 (4.03) and third in kills (3.16 per game). She has seven double-doubles (kills and digs) this year, including four in the last seven matches. Saleaumua had season highs in both digs (24) and service aces (three) at Baylor and had 15 kills on.424 hitting vs. Colorado on Wednesday. She needs three more digs to reach 1,000 in her career. She earned Big 12 Player-of-the-Week honors last week, highlighted by a 19-kill, 11-dig effort at No. 10 Texas on Oct. 20, matching a career high in kills while hitting .450. Saleaumua had 18 kills at No. 25 Notre Dame on Sept. 4. Saleaumua led the Huskers in kills (3.27) and digs (3.90) per game in 2003. Her 441 digs were a school record, breaking the previous mark of 390 by Kate Crnich in 1996.

OH - #7 Dani Mancuso (6-2, So., Omaha, Neb.) - Mancuso is second on the team in kills, averaging 3.32 per contest, after making her fifth start of the year against Colorado on Wednesday. She has been NU’s hottest hitter of late, averaging 4.06 kills (on .395 hitting) and 1.78 digs in last seven matches. She had a career-high 22 kills on .559 hitting in a win at No. 16 Kansas State on Oct. 13 and made her first Big 12 start of the year against Colorado on Wednesday. In that match, she drilled a match-high 18 kills on .424 hitting and added seven digs in the sweep. Mancuso tied a then-career high with 16 kills and added 11 digs for her first career double-double vs. Florida A&M on Sept. 10. Mancuso played the best match of her career at Notre Dame on Sept. 4, with 11 kills, three blocks and two aces in the final two-plus games vs. the Fighting Irish. She started NU’s final 10 contests in 2003, averaging 2.01 kills and 1.72 digs per game.

-or- #3 Christina Houghtelling (6-2, So., Cambridge, Neb.) - Sophomore who moved from middle blocker to outside hitter in 2004 and started 11 of the 12 Big 12 contests. She averages 2.67 kills, 2.14 digs and 0.30 service aces per game. She started slowly at Texas, but finished with 12 kills, including eight in the final two games, and two service aces. Houghtelling led Nebraska in kills against Oklahoma on Oct. 9 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).

Scouting Iowa State
Iowa State comes into the match with an 8-13 record and is looking to snap a five-match losing streak. The Cyclones have won only once in conference play - a 3-1 win at Oklahoma on Sept. 17 - but has taken games from No. 12 Texas A&M and No. 15 Kansas State, while taking Kansas, which was ranked for part of the season, to five games.

The Cyclones, under the direction of Coach Linda Crum (38-125 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, before struggling inside the league.

Iowa State is led by sophomore outside hitter Katie Jessen, who averages a team-high 2.85 kills per game. In all, five Cyclones average more than 2.00 kills per game. The Cyclones are one of the best serving teams in the Big 12, averaging 1.62 service aces per game, including 28 by Katie Churm, as she is seventh in the Big 12 in that category.

NU-Iowa State Series
Nebraska has dominated the all-time series, winning all 65 meetings between the two schools. In fact, Nebraska has swept the last 20 matches dating back to 1994, and has lost only 12 of 195 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.

Last Meeting: Nebraska 3, Iowa State 0
Tracy Stalls wowed a season-high crowd of 7,276 with one of the most efficient performances in school history, leading No. 4 Nebraska to a 30-16, 30-21, 30-19 sweep of Iowa State at the Devaney Center. Stalls, a 6-3 freshman from Arvada, Colo., had a career-high 14 kills on 17 attempts, as her .824 hitting percentage tied for the fourth-highest individual percentage in school annals.

While Stalls provided the offensive firepower, Jennifer Saleaumua and Melissa Elmer helped limit the Cyclones to .030 hitting in the win. Saleaumua notched her sixth double-double of the season with 11 kills and a season-high 20 digs, while Elmer recorded a team-high 10 blocks and had eight kills while hitting .368.

The win was also the 300th in the career of NU Head Coach John Cook.

Colorado Recap
Dani Mancuso took advantage of her first conference start of the year, drilling a match-high 18 kills to propel No. 4 Nebraska to a 31-29, 30-12, 30-23 win over Colorado in front of a sellout crowd of 4,094 at the NU Coliseum Wednesday evening.

The 6-foot-2 sophomore from Omaha was efficient in recording her second-highest kill total of the year, hitting .424 on 33 swings while adding seven digs, as Nebraska (18-1, 12-0 Big 12) recorded its 15th consecutive win.

The Huskers relied on their outside hitters in posting their 14th consecutive win over Colorado (10-9, 5-7 Big 12). Jennifer Saleaumua reached double figures with 15 kills and nine digs while also hitting .424 in the sweep.

The Huskers hit .368 as a team, topping .400 in each of the final two games, while Dani Busboom guided the offensive attack with 45 assists along with seven digs and four blocks.