No. 1 Huskers, No. 7 Tigers Battle for Big 12 Lead

One of the most anticipated Big 12 matches of the year takes place Wednesday, as No. 1 Nebraska travels to No. 7 Missouri for a matchup that has conference and national implications. First serve from the Hearnes Center is set for 6:30 p.m. and the match will be shown live in Lincoln and Southeast Nebraska on Time Warner Cable (Ch. 102), in Omaha on Cox Cable (Ch. 802) and on Pinpoint Communications in Southwest, Central, and Eastern Nebraska (call local office for broadcast information). Wednesday’s match will also be available on selected Pinnacle Sports Network stations, including B107.3 FM and on Huskers.com

Wednesday’s matchup between the Huskers and Tigers has wide-ranging implications on the Big 12 race, as well as the national scene. The Huskers and Tigers are tied for the Big 12 lead with marks of 5-0 and 6-0, respectively, entering the week, as the duo are two of only seven remaining unbeaten teams in college volleyball. Wednesday’s match is one of three contests this week featuring matchups of top-10 teams (also Stanford-Washington and Penn State-Wisconsin, both on Saturday).

The contest features two of the top all-around teams in the league, as the teams rank 1-2 in both hitting percentage, assists per game, kills per game and opponent hitting percentage.  The Huskers lead the country in blocking (4.17 per game) and rank second in hitting percentage

Worth Noting and Streaks to Watch
?-50 percent of the combined rosters from the two teams are from Nebraska, as both squads have seven players from the Cornhusker State. Missouri has more players on its roster from China (four) than players from its own state (three).

?-Nebraska has won its last 37 regular-season matches dating back to Sept. 11, 2004.

?-The Huskers have won their last 28 matches in Big 12 play, dating back to Nov. 19, 2003.

?-The Huskers have won 22 straight at Missouri, dating back to 1983, and have lost only once on the road in the all-time series.

?-Nebraska has won its last 19 road matches dating back to November of 2003. In fact, NU has won 24 of its last 25 matches outside of Lincoln in that span with the only loss coming to USC in the 2004 NCAA Regional Final.

Husker Probable Starters
MB - #8 Melissa Elmer: 6-2, Sr., Fort Wayne, Ind. - Elmer is a two-time AVCA All-American and one of the best middle blockers in the country. She leads the nation with 2.17 blocks per game and has had 10 or more blocks three times in 2005. She is fourth in the Big 12 in hitting percentage (.417), as she also averages 2.79 kills per game. Elmer holds second place on NU’s charts in block assists (553) and total blocks (611), passing Stephanie Thater (591, 1989-91) for second place on the career blocks list against Texas A&M on Sept. 21. Elmer has been selected as MVP in two tournaments (Sports Imports Classic and InfoUSA/Arby’s Players Challenge) and had a season-high 13 blocks against Pepperdine on Sept. 9. Elmer hit a season-best .632 (12-0-19) with seven blocks against Iowa State on Sept. 24. Elmer is hitting a league-best .506 in Big 12 matches.

MB - #11 Tracy Stalls: 6-3, So., Arvada, Colo. - Stalls has been a force since returning to the lineup on Sept. 10. She is averaging 1.74 blocks and 1.11 kills per game this season. Stalls enjoyed her best match of the year at Oklahoma on Sept. 28, setting season highs in both kills (eight) and blocks (four). It marked the third time that she has had at least five blocks in a match this year, as she had seven against No. 20 Texas A&M on Sept. 21 and five against fourth-ranked Penn State on Sept. 11. Stalls, who ranked 11th nationally in blocking as a freshman at 1.65 blocks per game, missed the Huskers’ first six matches after off-season knee surgery. Before enrolling at NU, Stalls served a two-year stint in the U.S. National Developmental Program and was on the U.S. National Team.

OPP - #9 Sarah Pavan (rhymes with Have-in): 6-5, Soph., Kitchener, Ontario - The AVCA National Freshman of the Year and first-team All-American in 2004, Pavan is having a stellar 2005 season, averaging 3.56 kills, 1.35 digs and 1.44 blocks per game. She ranks fifth in the league in blocks, seventh in points per game (4.62) and 10th in hitting percentage (343). In Big 12 matches, she is hitting .420 and averaging 3.81 kills per game, ranking among the league leaders in both categories. Pavan hit .500 or better in NU’s first three Big 12 matches, capped by 13 kills on .522 hitting and seven blocks against Iowa State on Sept. 24. Pavan also had 13 kills against both Texas A&M (.550 hitting) and Colorado (.571 hitting). Against Pepperdine on Sept. 9, Pavan recorded her first career triple-double with 11 kills, 11 blocks and 10 digs, becoming the first Husker outside hitter since Nancy Metcalf in 1999 to accomplish the feat. In 2004, Pavan led NU with 4.54 kills per game, including a career-high 35 in the regional final against USC. Pavan, who carries a 4.0 GPA in biochemistry, was a member of the Canadian National Team at age 16.

OH - #3 Christina Houghtelling (HOTEL-ing): 6-2, Jr., Cambridge, Neb. - Houghtelling has emerged as one of the Big 12’s top performers in 2005. She leads the team with 3.60 kills per game (12th in Big 12) and is also 12th with a .337 hitting percentage. Houghtelling starred in Nebraska’s win at Oklahoma on Sept. 28, delivering a career-high 20 kills - including 14 in the final two games - and hitting .404 against the Sooners. She had 12 kills and hit .500 in a sweep of Colorado on Sept. 17 and had eight kills in eight swings in game three vs. No. 20 Texas A&M on Sept. 21. She matched her then-career best with 17 kills against Pepperdine on Sept. 9. Houghtelling has earned all-tournament honors two times, including MVP honors of the AVCA/NACWAA College Volleyball Showcase, where she averaged 4.83 kills on .404 hitting, 2.33 digs and 1.67 blocks per game in wins over No. 4 Hawaii and No. 3 Stanford. Houghtelling, who averaged 2.90 kills and 2.34 digs per game in 2004, spent the summer in the USA Volleyball training program, competing with the A-2 National team in Switzerland.

OH - #26 Jennifer Saleaumua (Sal-ee-ah-MOO-uh): 5-11, Sr., National City, Calif. - A returning AVCA All-American and three-time All-Big 12 performer, Saleaumua’s all-around abilities key the NU attack. She is seventh in the Big 12 with 4.02 digs per game. She has recorded double figures in digs 10 times, including a career-high 27 at Minnesota and 20 versus Pepperdine. Saleaumua shined against No. 20 Texas A&M on Sept. 21 with 10 kills, 13 digs and a career-high seven blocks. Against Ohio State on Sept. 2, Saleaumua became the second Husker to record 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs in a career. She totaled 12 kills on 16 swings, while adding 14 digs in the sweep of No. 4 Hawaii on Aug. 26. Saleaumua already holds NU’s record in digs (1,305) and has 36 career double-doubles (kills-digs). Saleaumua, the Big 12 co-Defensive Player of the Year in 2004, was in the USA Volleyball Training Program.

OH - #10 Jordan Larson: 6-2, Fr., Hooper, Neb. - One of two newcomers in the Huskers’ starting lineup, Larson is one of the Big 12’s top freshman performers. She averages 3.47 kills on .341 hitting and 2.74 digs per game, topping all Big 12 rookies in kills and hitting percentage. Larson has two double-doubles, a 19-kill, 19-dig effort at No. 5 Minnesota on Sept. 5 and a 15-kill, 12-dig performance against No. 3 Stanford on Aug. 27. Larson has led NU in kills six times, including 14 kills on .667 hitting against Baylor on Oct. 1. She also had a match-high 14 kills on .480 hitting against No. 4 Penn State on Sept. 11 and 14 kills against No. 20 Texas A&M on Sept. 21. The Big 12 Preseason Newcomer of the Year, Larson was a three-time Super-State selection who was rated the No. 2 player in the country by prepvolleyball.com. Larson set a Class C-1 state record with 501 kills on .490 hitting while establishing an all-class record with 179 service aces in 2004. She also spent two years on the U.S. Junior National Team and was the MVP of the 2004 NORCECA Tournament.

S - #18 Dani Busboom: 5-11, Jr., Cortland, Neb. - Busboom is in her third season as Nebraska’s starting setter and splits time with Maggie Griffin in the Huskers’ 6-2 offense. Busboom averages 6.53 assists and 1.98 digs per game, helping the Huskers rank second nationally with a .330 team hitting percentage. She recorded her first double-double of the year with 31 assists and 11 digs in a five-game win over No. 5 Minnesota and had 29 assists and nine digs at Oklahoma on Sept. 27. Busboom split time with Michelle Lynch in NU’s 6-2 offense in 2003 before taking over the full-time role last season. She averaged 13.10 assists per game in 2004, the highest total by a Husker setter in seven years, to earn honorable-mention AVCA All-Midwest Region honors.

S - #1 Maggie Griffin: 6-0, So., St. Charles, Ill. - A transfer from Michigan State, Maggie Griffin is in her first season at Nebraska. She splits time with Dani Busboom in running NU’s 6-2 offense, averaging a team-high 7.56 assists and 1.30 digs per game. Griffin, who has helped NU rank second nationally in hiiting, had a season-high 36 assists, three service aces and six digs in a win at No. 5 Minnesota on Sept. 5. She had a season-high seven digs and added 21 assists in a sweep of Iowa State on Sept. 24. Griffin spent her freshman year at MSU, ranking sixth in the Big Ten with 12.98 assists per game to earn All-Freshman honors. She had eight double-doubles and 50 or more assists 12 times in 26 matches. Griffin was a Fab 50 selection at Rosary (Ill.) High School.

NCAA Regional Tickets Top 8,500 Mark
Qwest Center officials have announced that over 8,500 tickets have been sold for the NCAA Regional at the Qwest Center since they went on sale on Sept. 10. All-session tickets for the regional, which will take place Dec. 9-10, are $36 (reserved) and $30 (general admission) and can be purchased at the Qwest Center box office, by calling Ticketmaster at (402) 422-1212 or at Ticketmaster locations around the state (Baker’s, Younkers and the Nebraska Student Union in Lincoln). In addition, tickets can also be ordered at Ticketmaster.com.

Nebraska drew crowds of over 10,000 during the AVCA/NACWAA College Volleyball Showcase in August, including 10,576 for the title match, the 11th largest crowd in NCAA Volleyball history.

Scouting Missouri (12-0, 5-0 Big 12)
Under first-year head coach Wayne Kreklow, Missouri is enjoying its finest season in school history. The Tigers are 12-0 overall, including wins over top-10 teams Tennessee and Wisconsin. MU was picked second in the league’s preseason poll and started the year ranked 21st before cracking the top-10 last month. The Tigers’ current No. 7 ranking is their highest ranking in school history.

The Tigers, who returned six starters from a team that won 20 matches and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament, feature one of the most balanced attacks in the league. MU has four players averaging over 3.00 kills per game, including Na Yang, who is sixth in the league with 4.02 kills per game, and Nicole Wilson, who is averaging 3.50 kills per game and hitting a league-high .456. Senior All-American Lindsey Hunter spearheads the Tiger offense, ranking first nationally with 14.79 assists, while also chipping in 2.41 digs and 0.56 blocks per game.

Nebraska holds a commanding 59-3-1 lead in the all-time series, winning each of the last three meetings. MU snapped a 44-match losing streak against the Huskers with a five-game win in Lincoln during the 2003 season.

Last Match: No. 1 NU 3, Baylor 0
Freshman Jordan Larson’s 14 kills led a balanced attack, as No 1 Nebraska posted a 30-21, 30-17, 30-18 victory over Baylor in front of a sellout crowd of 4,157 at the Nebraska Coliseum Saturday evening.

The Huskers, 13-0 overall and 5-0 in the Big 12, hit .409 as a team,their highest percentage in a Big 12 match in over two years, as both Larson and Elmer hit above .500 in the sweep.

Larson, a freshman outside hitter from Hooper, Neb., hit a career-best .667 with 14 kills and no errors in 21 swings, the second-highest mark by any Husker this season. Larson, whose previous best was .480 against Penn State on Sept. 11, led the Huskers in kills for the sixth time this season, while also matching her season high with three aces.

Elmer set the tone early, recording eight of her 10 kills in the opener, as the two-time All-American hit .500 with one error in 18 attacks. Sarah Pavan and Christina Houghtelling added 11 and 10 kills, respectively, as the Huskers went over .400 for the third time this year.

Seven Left without a Blemish
Nebraska enters the week as one of seven schools without a loss this season. Other undefeated teams include No. 2 Washington, No. 6 Louisville, No. 7 Missouri, No. 16 Brigham Young, No. 25 Maryland and New Orleans, which finished 4-0 before canceling its season because of Hurricane Katrina.