Pavan Earns Big 12 Honor

DALLAS ? University of Nebraska sophomore right side hitter Sarah Pavan was selected as the Big 12 Volleyball Player of the Week for the week of Nov. 7-13, the conference office announced Monday.

Pavan averaged 5.06 points, 4.25 kills, 1.50 digs and 1.12 blocks in two victories last week. She led the nation's top-ranked team to wins at Texas A&M and against No. 12 Missouri, hitting .406 in the process.

At A&M, Pavan tallied 12 kills with a .571 hitting percentage, while recording six digs and three blocks. It marked the sixth time Pavan hit at a .500-plus attack clip this season in addition to posting her second errorless hitting performance overall and first in Big 12 play. With the victory, Nebraska became the first team to sweep the Aggies at home this season.

Pavan had a season-high 22 kills, six blocks and six digs in the 3-2 win over Missouri. She led the Huskers back from a 0-2 deficit, producing nine of her kills and five of the six blocks in the final two games of the match, including seven kills and three blocks in game four. Pavan, a 2004 first-team All-American, also contributed 28 serves without an error and two aces to the NU effort.

It is Pavan's first weekly conference accolade of the season and third of her career. The 2005 Big 12 Preseason Volleyball Player of the Year previously earned player-of-the-week honors on Sept. 27 and Nov. 29 last season. Pavan is the fourth Husker selected for the Big 12’s weekly honor, joining junior Christina Houghtelling, senior Melissa Elmer and freshman Jordan Larson.

Nebraska, who is 25-0 and a unanimous No. 1 in this week’s AVCA/CSTV poll, travels to Waco, Texas, on Wednesday to take on the Baylor Bears. First serve is set for 7 p.m. Monday’s No. 1 ranking marked the 52nd time that NU has been the nation’s No. 1 ranked team, breaking the mark it had previous held with UCLA.

-- Huskers --

Nov. 14 CSTV/AVCA Poll

Rank

School (First-Place Votes) Total Points * 2005 Record Last Week1 Nebraska (60) 1,500 25-0 12 Penn State 1,429 25-2 33 Washington 1,379 23-1 24 Florida 1,277 25-2 55 Stanford 1,197 22-5 46 Arizona 1,150 18-5 67 Louisville 1,136 25-1 78 Notre Dame 1,077 24-2 89 Hawai'i 1,013 20-6 910 Texas 976 20-3 1111 Missouri 901 19-4 1212 Santa Clara 784 22-2 1013 California 709 17-7 1814 Southern California 660 14-8 1515 Wisconsin 616 19-6 1316 UCLA 556 16-8 2117 Ohio State 548 18-7 1918 Purdue 488 21-6 1419 Minnesota 483 21-6 1720 San Diego 359 19-5 2221 Ohio 331 26-2 2022 Brigham Young 325 21-2 1623 Wichita State 176 25-2 2324 Colorado 113 14-8 2525 Tennessee 99 19-7 NR