No. 1 Huskers Look for Big 12 Perfection at Texas on Saturday

Match: #29: No. 1 Nebraska (28-0, 19-0 Big 12) at No. 11 Texas (22-4, 16-3 Big 12)
Saturday, Nov. 26 ? 6:30 p.m. ? Gregory Gym

Radio: Pinnacle Sports Network (B107.3 FM in Lincoln and Omaha)
Live Stats/Audio: Huskers.com
Live Internet Video: Texassports.com (subscription required)
Series Info: Nebraska leads, 25-11 (won last 12 matchups)
Last Meeting: Nebraska won 3-0 (30-24, 30-20, 30-26) in Lincoln on Oct. 15.

No. 1 Huskers Look for Big 12 Perfection at Texas on Saturday
Nebraska looks to cap a perfect regular season on Saturday with one of the season’s toughest tests, as the Huskers travel to Austin to take on No. 11 Texas. First serve is set for 6:30 p.m. and will be carried on selected Pinnacle Sports Network stations, including B107.3 FM, and on Huskers.com. Live video of Saturday’s match can only be seen on texassports.com.

While Nebraska (28-0, 19-0) has already wrapped up the Big 12 regular-season title, there is a lot on the line for the Huskers on Saturday. First, the Huskers would like to complete the season with an undefeated record for the first time since the 2000 season and only the third time in school history (also 1994). Nebraska would also like to post its 16th perfect conference slate in fifth in six years under Head Coach John Cook. The Huskers have won their last 42 Big 12 matches, dating back to the 2003 season, and are 116-3 in league matches under Cook. A win on Saturday would also be NU’s 11th over a ranked team this season.

Texas (22-4, 16-3 Big 12) can improve its seeding for the upcoming NCAA Tournament with an upset win over the Huskers. The Longhorns, who took NU to five games last season in Austin, can take sole possession of second place with a win on Saturday or a Missouri loss to Texas A&M.

Did You Know?
? Melissa Elmer is the first player in Big 12 history to record 200-or-more blocks in consecutive seasons.

? Elmer needs seven blocks to break Amber Holmquist’s Big 12 record for total blocks (728, 1999-02).

? Jennifer Saleaumua has three of the four highest single-season dig averages in school history.

? Nebraska has started 28-0 for the fourth time in school history (also 1976, 1994 and 2000).

? NU has hit .350 or better in 13 of 27 matches this season.

? The Huskers have hit .396 in their last five road matches.

Worth Noting

? Nebraska is 23-1 against ranked teams over the past two seasons

? Nebraska has won the last 12 meetings with Texas dating back to the 1999 season.

? Nebraska is 58-1 in Big 12 road matches under Head Coach John Cook with the only loss coming at Kansas State in 2003.

? Nebraska has won its last 51 matches against the four Big 12 schools from Texas (Baylor, Texas, Texas A&M and Texas Tech) dating back to 1999.

? Nebraska has won its last 27 road matches. In fact, NU has won 31 of its last 32 matches outside of Lincoln in that span with the only loss coming to USC in the 2004 NCAA Regional Final.

? NU has now spent 53 weeks all-time at No. 1 in the AVCA poll, the most weeks at No. 1 of any Division I program. The state of Nebraska has the No. 1 ranked teams in Division I (Nebraska) and Division II (Nebraska-Kearney)

? Nebraska has held 12 of its last 14 foes to under .150 hitting, as NU leads the Big 12 in opponent hitting percentage (.123).

? NU has won its last 42 Big 12 matches, dating back to Nov. 19, 2003.

? Nebraska has won its last 52 regular-season matches dating back to Sept. 11, 2004.

Husker Probable Starters
MB - #8 Melissa Elmer: 6-2, Sr., Fort Wayne, Ind. - Elmer is a two-time All-American and arguably the country’s top middle blocker. She leads the nation in blocking (2.20/gm) and is eighth nationally in hitting percentage (.412, second in Big 12), as she averaged 2.72 kills per game. She has totaled 10 or more blocks eight times, including an 11-block effort against No. 12 Missouri on Nov. 13 and 10 block against Kansas State on Nov. 19. Elmer has 722 career blocks and is six away from tying Amber Holmquist’s Big 12 mark of 728 (1999-02). She has four double-doubles on the year, including two in NU’s last four matches. She recorded a season-best 17 kills on .546 hitting at No. 7 Missouri on Oct. 5. Elmer tied a Big 12 record with 16 blocks at Kansas on Oct. 8. She has been named MVP of the Sports Imports Classic and InfoUSA/Arby’s Players Challenge.

MB - #11 Tracy Stalls: 6-3, So., Arvada, Colo. - Stalls averages 1.64 blocks and 1.41 kills per game, ranking second in the league and 11th nationally in blocks. Stalls had her best blocking effort of the season, recording a career-high 12 stuffs, including five solo blocks against KSU. Her five solo blocks were the most by a Husker since Angie Oxley in 2000. She has averaged 1.64 kills and 1.82 blocks over NU’s last 10 matches. She posted a season-high nine kills on .500 hitting at Iowa State on Nov. 5 and eight kills vs. No. 12 Missouri on Nov. 13. Stalls ranked 11th nationally in blocking as a freshman at 1.65 blocks per game. 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: 6-5, So., Kitchener, Ontario - The 2004 AVCA National Freshman of the Year and first-team All-American, Pavan averages 3.82 kills, 1.71 digs, 1.27 blocks and 0.32 service aces per game, ranking among the league leaders in hitting percentage (.369, fifth), kills (seventh), blocks (eighth), aces (11th) and points per game (4.83, fifth). Over NU’s last 13 matches, Pavan, who was named the Big 12 Player of the Week on Monday, is hitting .412 and averaging 4.17 kills per game. She had 14 kills on .667 hitting at Baylor on Nov. 19 and a season-high 22 kills, six blocks and two aces against No. 12 Missouri on Nov. 13. Pavan, who earned first-team academic all-district honors on Nov. 10, has three double-doubles, including 14 kills, 10 digs and five blocks against Kansas State on Nov. 19. She posted her second double-double of the year with 12 kills and 12 digs against Creighton on Oct. 11. Pavan had 11 kills and nine blocks at Kansas on Oct. 8 and had a season-high 18 kills and 11 digs at Missouri on Oct. 5. 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. Pavan, who carries a 4.0 GPA in biochemistry, was a member of the Canadian National Team at age 16.

OH - #3 Christina Houghtelling: 6-2, Jr., Cambridge, Neb. - Houghtelling has emerged as an All-American and academic All-American candidate in 2005, ranking among the Big 12 leaders in kills (3.70, 10th) and hitting percentage (.367, eighth). She has reached double figures in kills 22 times, including 19 kills twice in NU’s last four matches. She had a double-double with 19 kills and set career highs with 20 digs and six blocks against Kansas State on Nov. 19 and had 14 kills on .591 hitting against Colorado on Nov. 26. She is hitting .435 over NU’s last seven matches, averaging 4.17 kills and 2.54 digs per game, and has hit over .400 in 15 of NU’s 27 matches. She had 14 kills on .462 hitting at No. 23 Kansas State on Oct. 19. Houghtelling picked up her third double-double of 2005 at Kansas on Oct. 8 with 14 kills on .454 hitting and 10 digs. Houghtelling starred in NU’s win at OU on Sept. 28, delivering a career-high 20 kills and hitting .404. 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 spent the summer in the USA Volleyball training program, competing with the A-2 National team in Switzerland.

OH - #26 Jennifer Saleaumua: 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 fifth in the Big 12 with 3.88 digs per game and has reached double figures in digs 20 times, including four matches of at least 20 digs. She had a career-high 27 at Minnesota on Sept. 5. She is ninth in school history in kills (1,188), passing former All-American Laura Pilakowski on Wednesday. Saleaumua had nine kills on .615 hitting and a match-high 15 digs against Colorado on Nov. 26. She had seven kills on .375 hitting, 10 digs and four blocks in a sweep of Kansas on Oct. 26. Saleaumua shined against No. 20 Texas A&M on Sept. 21 with 10 kills, 13 digs and seven blocks. She totaled 12 kills on 16 swings, while adding 14 digs vs. No. 4 Hawaii on Aug. 26. She holds NU’s record in digs (1,478) and has 37 career double-doubles. The Big 12 co-Defensive Player of the Year in 2004, she was in the USA Volleyball Program last summer.

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 3.06 kills on .300 hitting and 2.82 digs per game, topping all Big 12 rookies in kills, digs, hitting percentage and service aces (.38, fourth in the Big 12). Larson has five double-doubles, including three against top-10 teams, and had 12 kills and 14 digs against Kansas State on Nov. 19. She had 13 kills on .524 hitting, three aces and three blocks against Colorado on Nov. 26. She has led NU in kills eight times, including a 14-kill effort on .420 hitting against No. 18 Texas on Oct. 15 and a 13-kill, 14-dig, four-ace effort on Oct. 12 against Texas Tech. Larson also had a match-high 14 kills on .480 hitting against No. 4 Penn State on Sept. 11. The Big 12 Preseason Freshman of the Year, Larson 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 in 2004 while establishing an all-class record with 179 service aces. She also spent two years on the U.S. Junior National Team.

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 6.61 assists and 1.91 digs per game, helping the Huskers rank fourth nationally in team hitting and fifth in kills per game. Busboom is seventh on NU’s career assist list with 2,704 following a season-high 21 assist effort against Colorado on Wednesday. She has three double-doubles, including a 30 assist, 13-dig effort against No. 10 Missouri on Nov. 10. She also has double-doubles against No. 15 Texas (31 asst./11 digs) and at No. 5 Minnesota (31 asst./11 digs). She 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 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 7.52 assists and 1.65 digs per game. Griffin, who has helped NU rank fourth nationally in hitting, has four double-doubles, including two in her last four matches. She has posted two double-doubles against Missouri, including the first meeting when she established season highs in assists (37) and digs (15). 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. Griffin was a Fab 50 selection at Rosary (Ill.) High School.

Scouting Texas
Texas looks to wrap up sole possession of second place in the Big 12, as it comes into tonight’s season finale with a 22-4 record, including 16-3 in Big 12 play. The Longhorns have been tough at home, going 9-0 entering Saturday match. Over the last two years, NU is the only team to beat Texas in Austin, earning a 3-2 victory in October of 2004.

The Longhorns rank among the Big 12 leaders in nearly every offensive category, including service aces (1.70, first), hitting percentage (.278, third), kills (16.23, third), and assists (15.03, third), while holding opponents to just a .179 hitting percentage. The strength of the UT attack is in the middle with Brandy Magee (3.13 kills/gm on .367 hitting) and Leticia Armstrong (3.33 kills/gm on .382 hitting), while outside hitter Dariam Acevedo (3.86 kills/game) has made Texas’ offense tougher to stop in recent weeks.

Nebraska is 25-11 all-time against Texas, and the Huskers have won 12 straight matches and 23 of the past 26 meetings. The 2004 match in Austin featured the first matchup with both teams in the top 10 since 1996. The most memorable match in NU-UT history was when the Huskers defeated Texas, 3-1, in the 1995 NCAA championship game in Amherst, Mass.

Last Time Out: NU 3, Colorado 0
Christina Houghtelling’s 14 kills led three players in double figures, as No. 1 Nebraska sent its three seniors out in style with an impressive 30-19, 30-26, 30-19 sweep of Colorado on Senior Night at the NU Coliseum Wednesday evening

Houghtelling’s outburst led a Husker onslaught, as Nebraska (28-0, 19-0 Big 12) hit .482, its highest single match effort in three seasons and the 16th-highest performance in school history. In all, four players hit over .500, led by senior Jennifer Saleaumua?s nine kills on .615 hitting, as she also added a match-high 15 digs.

Jordan Larson and Sarah Pavan also added 13 kills apiece, while Tracy Stalls totaled seven kills on .500 hitting and a match-high five blocks. Nebraska’s setting duo of Dani Busboom and Maggie Griffin combined for 56 assists, as the Huskers hit better than .500 in two of the three games.