No. 1 Huskers Host Ameritas Players Challenge

Top-ranked Nebraska will receive its strongest non-conference tests of this season, as it hosts the Ameritas Players Challenge at the NU Coliseum. The Huskers, who received 51 of the 60 votes in this week’s AVCA coaches poll released Monday night, will face No. 22 Louisville and No. 25 Cal Poly before finishing the weekend with a Minnesota team that opened the season in the national polls before dropping out after a 1-2 weekend.

The action begins on Friday, Sept. 8, when Minnesota (1-2) and Cal Poly (5-0) square off at 5 p.m., prior to Nebraska’s match with a Louisville squad that lost to Florida in the 2005 Omaha Regional semifinals. Because of the football game with Nicholls State, Saturday’s matches will now start at 4:30 and 6:30 p.m. with NU taking on No. 25 Cal Poly in the evening’s second match. The Huskers will wrap up tournament play against a Minnesota squad that took NU to five games last season in Minneapolis.

All three of Nebraska’s matches this weekend will be carried across the state on the Pinnacle Sports Network, including B107.3 FM in Lincoln, and on Huskers.com, with John Baylor calling all of the action. In addition, Sunday’s match will also be shown state-wide on Nebraska Educational Television (Ch. 12) and NET-HD (Ch. 112 in Lincoln) with Larry Punteney and former Nebraska All-America volleyball standout Kathi Wieskamp calling all of the action. It is the first of seven Husker matches that will be televised during the regular season.

Tourney Schedule 

• Friday, Sept. 8 
  Minnesota (1-2) vs. Cal Poly (5-1), 5 p.m.
  Nebraska (4-0) vs. Louisville (4-2), 7 p.m.
• Saturday, Sept. 9
  Louisvillle vs. Minnesota, 4:30 p.m.
  Nebraska vs. Cal Poly, 6:30 p.m.
• Sunday, Sept. 10
  Louisville vs. Cal Poly, Noon
  Nebraska vs. Minnesota, 2 p.m.

Fan Information Tickets: Sold Out (76th consecutive sellout on Friday)
Radio:  Pinnacle Sports Network (B107.3 FM in Lincoln and 17 other stations across Nebraska)
Live Stats/Audio:  Huskers.com  
Television:  NU's match with Minnesota will be shown live on NET (Ch. 12) and NET-HD (Ch. 112) in Nebraska, and also simulcast nationally on College Sports Television (Ch. 610 on DirecTV, Ch. 152  on Dish Network and Ch. 305 on Timewarner Cable in Lincoln)

Did You Know?
*-Nebraska has hit .350 or better in its last three matches, a feat accomplished one other time in the last four seasons, a three-match stretch from Sept. 11-21 last season.
*-Sarah Pavan enters this weekend’s tournament needing 13 kills to reach 1,000 for her career. She currently leads the Big 12 with 5.25 kills per game.
*-Tracy Stalls has hit .500 or better in NU’s first four matches. Last season, Stalls hit .500 or better twice in matches in which she had at least 10 swings.
*- makes its first regular-season trip to Lincoln since 1993, while Minnesota has not been to Lincoln for a match since the 1990 season. Cal Poly makes it first trip to Lincoln this weekend.

Worth Noting
*-Nebraska will extend it streak of consecutive home sellouts to 78, as all three Husker matches this weekend are sellouts.
*-The Huskers enter the weekend with 38 straight home wins, including their last 32 home matches at the NU Coliseum, dating back to the 2004 season.
*-Nebraska held Middle Tennessee to -.088 hitting on Saturday, the 18th opponent held to negative hitting numbers since the 2000 season.
*-Over the last two-plus seasons, Nebraska is 27-3 against ranked opponents.
*-The Huskers lead the Big 12 in hitting percentage (.346), kills (18.17), assists (16.67) and blocks (3.96), while ranking second in opponent hitting (.088)
*-Nebraska’s .487 hitting performance against Saint Mary’s last Friday was its best single-match effort since 2002 and the best against a non-conference opponent since the 2000 season.
*-Nebraska’s 15 blocks in Tuesday’s season opener against San Diego matched the Huskers’ best total in an opener under John Cook. NU also had 15 blocks against Northwestern to open the 2000 campaign.
*-Rachel Holloway not only became the fifth freshman to start her collegiate debut at NU, but was the first Husker freshman to start at setter in a 5-1 offense in the NCAA era (1983-present). NU had two other freshman split time in the 6-2 offense (Lindsay Wischmeier-1999; Dani Busboom-2003), but neither started their first match at NU.
*-With the No. 1 ranking in Monday’s AVCA poll, the Huskers have now spent 57 weeks all-time at No. 1, the most weeks at No. 1 of any Division I program. UCLA is second with 51 weeks.

Scouting the Ameritas Players Challenge
Louisville: The No. 20 Cardinals come to town with a 4-2 record after going 2-1 at their own tournament over the weekend. Louisville, which went 31-3 last season, returns four starters from its 6-2 lineup, including Big East Preseason Player of the Year Ana Yartseva-Stewart, a 6-4 middle blocker. The Cardinals, which feature five players who are 6-foot-3 or taller, rank among the national leaders with 3.75 blocks per game. Sophomore Tatyana Kolesnikova leads Louisville with 3.62 kills per game. Coach Leonid Yelin is in his 11th year at Louisville and is 258-62 at the school, including NCAA Regional appearances in 2004 and 2005. The Cardinals were picked second to Notre Dame in the Big East preseason poll. The Huskers lead the all-time series, 4-0, including a 3-0 sweep at the 2004 regional in Louisville.

Cal Poly: The Mustangs have been one of college volleyball’s biggest surprises this season, coming into the weekend with a 5-1 record. Under second-year coach Jon Stevenson, Cal Poly improved from 5-24 to 19-6 in his first season at the school in 2005. The Mustangs have one win over a top-10 club, beating Texas in five games after trailing 2-0. Cal Poly’s only loss of the season came against No. 18 Pepperdine, a match it lost in five games, including a 16-14 loss in the finale. The Mustangs are led by outside hitters Kylie Atherstone (4.56 kills and 1.70 digs per game) and Alicia Waller (4.07 kills and 2.96 digs per game), who account for more than 50  percent of the team’s kills The Mustangs are used to long matches, as four of the their first six contests have went to a decisive fifth game. Nebraska and Cal Poly have squaree off only one other time - a 3-2 Mustang win on Oct. 27, 1984 in Santa Barbara, Calif.

Minnesota: The Golden Gophers look to rebound after going 1-2 the opening weekend of the season and falling out of the AVCA poll. In 2005, Minnesota went 25-8 and lost to national semifinalist Tennessee in the second round, the first time in three seasons that the Gophers did not reach the national semifinals. Minnesota returned six starters from a year ago, but was short-handed as two players missed the first weekend of competition. Coach Mike Hebert (258-92 in 11 seasons at Minnesota) and his Gophers feature an attack that has four players averaging better than three kills per game. Katie Vatterrodt leads UM with 3.45 kills per game, while middle blocker Jessy Jones averages 3.36 kills and 1.64 blocks per contest. Papilion native Kyla Roehring is third on the team in kills with 3.27 per game. The Huskers lead the series, 23-4, but were extended to five games by Minnesota last season in Minneapolis - the first meeting between the two teams since 1990. NU has won the last nine meetings in the series.

Husker Probable Starters
MB - #17 Amanda Gates: 6-2, So., Columbus, Neb. - Gates is in her first season as one of Nebraska’s starting middle blockers. She enters this weekend averaging 1.91 blocks and 1.36 kills per game. Gates leads the Big 12 in blocking and has at last three blocks in all four matches. Gates had a career-high 10 blocks in NU’s opener against No. 20 San Diego and comes off her best offensive match of the season with a career-high six kills on .455 against Long Beach State. She appeared in nine matches as a true freshman in 2005, averaging 0.94 kills and 0.81 blocks per game. She was a Volleyball Magazine Fab 50 selection out of Columbus High School.

MB - #11 Tracy Stalls: 6-3, Jr., Denver, Colo. - The veteran among NU’s middle blockers, Stalls is one of three tri-captains this season. She has been dominant in the middle for NU, averaging 3.42 kills and 1.25 blocks per game. Stalls leads the Big 12 in hitting percentage (.607) and has hit .500 or better in all four matches. She matched her career high with 14 kills on just 20 swings and added four blocks in a sweep of Long Beach State on Sept. 3. Against Middle Tennessee, she had 10 kills on just 14 swings.  Last season, Stalls ranked third in the Big 12 with 1.59 blocks per game (14th nationally) while also chipping 1.43 kills per game. She led NU in blocks nine times, including nine in the NCAA title match against Washington. Against Kansas State, she established her career high with 12 blocks, including five solo stuffs. 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, Jr., Kitchener, Ontario - A two-time first-team AVCA All-American, Pavan is on pace for one of the most distinguished careers in NU history. Pavan enters the weekend leading the Big 12 in kills per game (5.25) and points per game (6.42) while ranking second in blocks per game (1.83) and 10th in hitting percentage. She comes off one of the best matches of her career against Long Beach State, totaling 24 kills on .400 hitting against the 49ers, including eight kills on eight swings in the opener.  Pavan was the MVP of the Nebraska Invitational last weekend, hitting .457 and averaging 5.67 kills and 1.56 blocks per game. She nearly recorded a double-double in NU’s season opener with No. 20 San Diego, recording 12 kills and eight blocks. Pavan was the Big 12’s Player of the Year in 2005, averaging 3.82 kills, 1.66 digs and 1.25 blocks per game in 2005, ranking among the Big 12 leaders in kills, blocks, points per game and service aces. She established her career high in kills as a freshman with 35 in the NCAA Regional against USC. She recorded a triple-double vs. Pepperdine in 2005 (11 kills, 11 blocks and 10 digs) becoming the first NU outside hitter to accomplish the feat since 1999. Pavan, who carries a 4.0 GPA in biochemistry, was a member of the Canadian National Team at age 16.

OH - #10 Jordan Larson: 6-2, So., Hooper, Neb. - Larson is a returning starter at outside hitter who was the Big 12 Freshman of the Year and AVCA Central Region Freshman of the Year in 2005. She averages 3.75 kills and 4.42 digs per game. Larson ranks fifth in the Big 12 in digs and leads the conference in service aces (.83 per game). Larson has a pair of double-doubles this season, including 10 kills and 19 digs in a sweep of Middle Tennessee on Sept. 2. She was selected to the Nebraska Invitational All-Tournament Team after totaling nine kills and matching her career best with four aces against Long Beach State.  In the opener against No. 20 San Diego, she posted a match-high 13 kills, four blocks and three service aces in a sweep of the Toreros. Last season, she averaged 2.82 kills, 2.79 digs and 0.38 service aces per game, topping all conference freshmen in kills, digs, hitting percentage and service aces.  She 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. Larson also spent two years on the U.S. Junior National Team.

DS - #5 Rachel Schwartz: 5-9, So., Lincoln, Neb. - Schwartz is a former walk-on who is used as a defensive specialist in the NU lineup and averages 1.17 digs per game. She tied or set career highs in NU’s last two matches, including five against Long Beach State on Sunday. Schwartz appeared in 30 matches as a freshman as NU’s defensive specialist, finishing with 18 digs and five aces. She was a first-team all-state selection at outside hitter at Lincoln East High School in 2004.

-or- OH - #7 Dani Mancuso: 6-2, Jr., Omaha, Neb. - Mancuso moved into the outside hitter position vacated after Christina Houghtelling’s season-ending injury. She averages 3.00 kills, 1.25 blocks and 1.00 digs per game, primarily playing the front row. Mancuso has reached double figures in kills twice, including 11 in a sweep of Saint Mary’s. She finished with seven kills and added five blocks, one off her career high, in a win over No. 20 USD. In 2005, Mancuso was NU’s backup at all three outside hitter spots, averaging 1.38 kills, 1.15 digs and 0.68 blocks per game. As a sophomore, she shared the outside hitter spot with Christina Houghtelling, averaging 2.77 kills and 0.29 service aces per game. Mancuso had a career-high 22 kills off the bench in a four-game victory at Kansas State in 2004.

S - #12 Rachel Holloway: 5-10, R-Fr., Franklin, Tenn. - Holloway is the first Husker freshman to start in a 5-1 system in the NCAA era (1983-present) after earning the starting nod over Maggie Griffin in fall camp. She enters the weekend averaging 14.36 assists, 3.00 digs and 1.09 kills per game, leading the Big 12 in assists and ranking third nationally in that category, She helped NU hit .346 as a team, a total that is fourth nationally. She totaled a pair of double-doubles, including a season-high 53 assists and 11 digs against Long Beach State. Over the summer, Holloway captained the U.S. Youth National Team to a gold medal at the NORCECA Junior Championships in Mexico. Holloway, who graduated high school a year early, was the Gatorade High School player of the Year in Colorado in her final season at Smoky Hill High School.

L -  #18 Dani Busboom: 5-11, Sr., Cortland, Neb.  - Busboom makes the shift to libero after sharing time at setter in each of her first three years at Nebraska. She is third in the Big 12 with 5.00 digs per game and has totaled at least 15 digs in three of NU’s four matches. Busboom enjoyed a strong debut at libero, totaling a match-high 20 digs against No. 20 San Diego, while helping to hold the Toreros to .016 hitting. Last season, she averaged 6.45 assists and 1.82 digs in NU’s 6-2 offense, helping NU hit .322 as a team. She is seventh on NU’s career assists list with 2,837 and could become only the second player in school history on top-10 lists in both assists and digs. Busboom was selected as a tri-captain by her teammates and is one of seven Nebraska natives on the 2006 roster.

Last Time Out: No. 1 NU 3, Long Beach St. 0
 Tracy Stalls matched her career high with 14 kills, leading No. 1 Nebraska to a 3-0 victory (30-15, 31-29, 30-25) over Long Beach State at the Nebraska Invitational Sunday on Sept. 3.
 A 6-foot-3 middle blocker from Denver, Stalls totaled 14 kills on just 20 swings and added a match-high four blocks, as the Huskers improved to 4-0 on the season and extended their home winning streak to 38 matches.
 Stalls was one of four Huskers selected to the all-tournament team, joining tournament MVP Sarah Pavan, setter Rachel Holloway and Jordan Larson after a perfect 3-0 weekend.
 Pavan totaled a match-high 24 kills, including 18 in the first two games, on .409 hitting and added four blocks. Holloway posted her second double-double of the season with 53 assists and 11 digs and helped NU hit .350 or better for the third straight match. Larson narrowly missed out on her third double-double of the weekend with nine kills and 14 digs, but tied her career high with four aces, including three straight in the openers, sparking NU’s decisive run.
 The Huskers out-hit the 49ers, .357-.219, en route to picking up NU’s first win against the 49ers since 1985 and snapping a three-match losing streak to LBSU in the process. Dani Busboom tallied a match-high 17 digs, as NU out-dug Long Beach State, 59-38, and held the 49ers to just .219 hitting in the match between two of the country’s long-time volleyball powers.
 
Pavan Closes in on 1,000 Kills 
  Junior All-American Sarah Pavan enters this weekend looking to become the 18th Husker to reach the 1,000 kill mark. A two-time AVCA All-American, she totaled 63 kills in Nebraska’s first four matches and is 13 kills away from the 1,000 mark.
 Pavan has played in 234 career games in her NU career and is one pace to be the faster Husker to reach 1,000 kills in terms of games played. The current mark is 238 games by Nancy Metcalf (Meendering) when she reached the mark in 1999.
 
Fastest Players to 1,000 Kills
No. Player Games
1. Nancy Metcalf (Meendering) 238
2. Allison Weston 258

 Pavan’s total of 924 kills in her first two years at Nebraska is more and any other Husker in school history, 99 ahead of Eileen Shannon, who had 825 in her first two seasons as a Husker.
 
No Stopping Stalls
 No Husker has gotten off to more an impressive start than junior middle blocker Tracy Stalls. The Denver, Colo., native has enjoyed the best offensive stretch of her career, averaging 3.42 kills per game while hitting .607. Stalls not only leads the Big 12, but ranks second nationally in hitting entering the weekend.
 Stalls, who missed part of last season after knee surgery, has totaled at least eight kills in all four matches and has hit at last .500 in all four outings.  She matched her career high with 14 kills in a sweep over Long Beach State, hitting .600 in the process. Last season, Stalls reached double figures in kills only once.
 
NCAA Hitting Percentage Leaders
No. Player Hitting Pct.
1 Anna Cmaylo, Santa Clara .625
2 Tracy Stalls, Nebraska .607
3 Faye Barhorst, Dayton .563
4 Kelsey Bowers, Florida .545

Busboom Makes the Change
 After not playing with a libero during the 2005 season, Nebraska can still claim a returning starter at the position, as senior Dani Busboom has made the shift from setter to libero. The senior shared setting duties last year in NU’s 6-2 offense and was a three-year performer at setter, guiding NU to a 63-4 mark the last two seasons.
 Busboom, who has averaged over two digs per game from her setter spot during her career, has adapted quickly, ranking third in the Big 12 with 5.00 digs per game. The only two players she trails (Missouri’s Tatum Ailes and KSU Angie Lastra) were the Big 12 Liberos of the Year in 2004 and 2005, respectively.
 Busboom has reached double figures in digs in three of NU’s four contests, including a season-high 20 digs in a sweep of No. 20 San Diego on Aug. 29. The only match she didn’t reach double figures was against a Middle Tennessee team that hit -.088 against NU.
 Busboom, who ranks seventh on NU’s all-time assist chart with 2,843 assists, could finish her career as one of only two players ranked in the top 10 in both assists and digs.

The Set-up on Holloway
 Rachel Holloway made Husker history in the season opener against San Diego, becoming the first NU freshman in the NCAA era (1983-present) to start a match under the 5-1 system. The Franklin, Tenn., native has been impressive during her first season, averaging 14.36 assists per game to rank third nationally. After a debut which saw NU hit just .191 in a sweep of San Diego, Holloway helped the Huskers hit .350 or better in all three matches over the weekend, including .487 in a win over St. Mary’s. That total against the Gaels was NU’s best single-match effort since 2002 and best against a non-Big 12 foe since the 2000 campaign. Holloway, who also averages 3.00 digs and 1.09 kills per game, spent part of the summer leading the U.S. Junior National Team to a gold medal at the NORCECA Junior Championships.

Gates Closes Door on Foes
 One of the questions entering the 2006 season was if the Huskers could replace three-time All-American Melissa Elmer, who finished her career with a Big 12 record 767 blocks.
 Sophomore Amanda Gates quickly showed that she was up to the challenge, recording a career-best 10 blocks in her first career start against San Diego. The total nearly equaled her entire 2005 total of 13 in mine matches and helped NU record 15 blocks against the Toreros. Gates continued her strong play over the weekend, totaling a career high six kills and three blocks in a win over Long Beach State. Gates picked up two of those blocks in consecutive plays, as NU rallied from a 22-18 defiict in the finale.
 
Filling the Qwest
 Volleyball fans from around the state will have their first opportunity to see the new Qwest Center Omaha addition, as Nebraska and Creighton will play a match there on Sunday, Sept. 24.
 Tickets are going briskly for that match as nearly 7,000 tickets were sold during the first day of sales on Tuesday. Tickets can be purchased at the Qwest Center Omaha, at Ticketmaster locations around the state and at ticketmaster.com. Prices for te matchup between the state’s two Division I programs range from $8-$16.

Husker Block is Best in the Land
 Nebraska volleyball has been traditionally known for its blocking attack and the 2006 squad will look to enhance NU’s blocking reputation. NU, which has led the nation in blocks in five of the last six seasons, is fourth in the nation with 3.96 blocks per game  in the first installment of NCAA rankings released Wednesday.
 The Huskers feature two of the Big 12’s top blockers  in sophomore Amanda Gates and junior Sarah Pavan, both of whom rank in the top-10 nationally in that category.  
 Last season, Nebraska averaged a national-best 4.12 blocks per game, topping the 4.00 blocks per game mark for the sixth time in school history (also 1986, 1998, 2000, 2001 and 2004) and fourth time under Head Coach John Cook.

NCAA Blocking Leaders (as of 12/12)
No.   School Blocks/Gm
1. Penn State 4.23
2. Cincinnati 4.13
3. Pittsburgh 4.04
4. Nebraska 3.96
5. Louisville 3.75
  Missouri State 3.75

How I spent my Summer Vacation
 Several Husker players and head assistant coach Lee Maes were busy during the summer helping out the USA Volleyball Program;
 *-Maes coached the A2 Red team to a gold medal at the USA Volleyball Girls’ High Performance Championships in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. 
 *-Tracy Stalls and Maggie Griffin trained with the USA National Program in Colorado Springs during July.
 *-Rachel Holloway captained the U.S. Junior National Team to a gold medal at the NORCECA Junior Championships in Monterrey, Mexico, in early August.

Volleyball Tickets Sold Out for 2006 Season 
  For Husker volleyball, one record setting streak is guaranteed to continue this fall, as the Nebraska Ticket Office announced on Aug. 16 that the entire regular-season home schedule is officially sold out.
 Single-match tickets went on sale on Aug. 3, with fans camped out overnight waiting for tickets. In fact, 11 of the first 17 matches sold out within three hours of the ticket windows opening, and the final tickets were sold prior to the Huskers’ annual Red/White Match.
 The sellout streak began in the 2001 season and will reach 89 at the end of the regular season.

NU Picked to Repeat as Big 12 Champs
 Nebraska is the preseason favorite to win the Big 12 title for the 10th consecutive season in a vote of the league head coaches, the conference office announced on Aug. 3. The Huskers received eight of the 11 possible first-place votes and 98 points overall, while coaches were not allowed to vote for their own teams.
 In 2005, NU finished the season as the national runner-up to Washington, tallying a 33-2 overall record and 19-1 conference mark. The Huskers also claimed their eighth Big 12 crown (1996, 1998-02, 2004-05). Coach John Cook earned AVCA Division I National Coach-of-the-Year honors for the second time in his career, in addition to being named Big 12 Coach of the Year (2001, 2005).  Nebraska also returns reigning conference player of the year Sarah Pavan.
 Texas was second behind NU with 93 points, including three first-place votes. The Longhorns were followed by Missouri, Kansas State and Texas A&M filling the top five spots. Colorado was sixth with Kansas, Iowa State, Baylor, Oklahoma and Texas Tech rounding out the poll.
 Pavan headlines the individual honors as the Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year for the second straight season. Last year, the junior from Kitchener, Ontario, averaged 3.82 kills, 1.24 blocks, 1.66 digs and 0.31 aces in 35 matches. Pavan tallied four double-doubles and a triple-double of 11 kills, 11 blocks and 10 digs against Pepperdine.  
 Pavan was one of two Huskers chosen for the preseason All-Big 12 team, as she was joined by sophomore outside hitter Jordan Larson, who averaged 2.82 kills and 2.79 digs per game in 2005, earning Big 12 Freshman of the Year honors.

Houghtelling to Miss 2006 Season
 Nebraska Head Coach John Cook announced on Aug. 8 that AVCA National Player of the Year Christina Houghtelling will miss all of the 2006 season following shoulder surgery.
 Houghtelling, a first-team All-American in 2005, underwent surgery on her right shoulder on July 13, and underwent arthroscopic surgery on her right knee later that month. Last season, Houghtelling averaged 3.69 kills, 2.49 digs and 1.03 blocks per game, ranking among the Big 12 leaders in  kills (10th) and hitting percentage (.375, fifth).
 According to Head Coach John Cook, having the surgery at this time allows Houghtelling, who has not redshirted, to be completely healthy for the 2007 season and to enhance her chances at success following her Husker career.
 “She developed a shoulder problem in the spring, and we felt it was best to repair it now so that she can come back completely healthy for her senior year,” Cook said. “She is a big-time athlete and has the opportunity to continue in this sport following her collegiate career, whether it is with Team USA or professionally. We wanted to give her every opportunity to be successful following her career, and we made the decision that she had surgery.”

Recruiting Class Ranked Among Nation’s Best
 Nebraska’s incoming volleyball class received honors from two national publications, as both Volleyball Magazine and PrepVolleyball.com rated the Huskers’ recruiting class as one of the 10 best classes in the country. The class of Brooke Bartek and Kori Cooper was ranked 10th nationally by both publications
 Bartek was one of the nation’s top high school players at Lincoln Northeast High School and rated the No. 13 player nationally by PrepVolleyball.com and a Volleyball Magazine Fab 50 Recruit. A four-year starter, Bartek was the Gatorade Player of the Year in Nebraska in 2005 and finished her career with 337 blocks and 1,190 kills at Lincoln Northeast.
 Cooper was one of the nation’s top seniors despite missing nearly all of her senior year with a knee injury. She was a Volleyball Magazine Fab 50 pick and was rated the No. 12 player in the country by PrepVolleyball.com. As a junior, she co-captained the U.S. Youth National Team to a fourth-place finish at the 2005 Under-18 World Championships in 2005 in Macau, China. A two-time all-state performer at Amarillo High School, Cooper totaled 439 kills, 103 block assists and 55 block solos during her junior campaign in 2004.

Huskers Honored by AVCA
 The University of Nebraska volleyball team was honored earlier this month for its achievements in the classroom, receiving the Game Plan/AVCA Team Academic Award for the 2005-06 season.
 The award, initiated by the AVCA in the 1992-93 academic year, recognizes college and high school teams that displayed excellence in the classroom by maintaining at least a 3.30 cumulative team grade-point average on a 4.0 scale during the previous school year. Nebraska finished the year with a 3.48 team GPA for the 2005-06 academic year, including an impressive 3.74 GPA during the spring semester.
 Nebraska was one of 54 Division I programs honored nationally and one of only three Big 12 teams honored during the year, joining Kansas and Kansas State. The Huskers, who finished 33-2 and were national runner-up in 2005, were also the only Division I program in the country to reach the national semifinals and be recognized for high achievement in the classroom.
 It is the 11th time that Nebraska has received the AVCA Team Academic Award ? the most of any Division I program nationally.

Husker Television Schedule Annonced
 The Nebraska Athletic Department announced that a total of seven Husker volleyball matches will be televised during the 2006 season.
 The broadcast schedule, which includes six matches shown state-wide on Nebraska Educational Television, also features an appearance on FSN as part of the Big 12’s television package. The six matches on NET will also be shown in high-definition, and carried nationally on College Sports Television.
 The first broadcast of the season will take place this Sunday, Sept. 9, when the Huskers host Minnesota as part of the Ameritas Players Challenge. The match is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. or 30 minutes following the first match of the day between Louisville and Cal Poly.  Other matches carried live on NET and NET-HD include conference matches with Kansas (Sept. 13), Texas Tech (Sept. 23), Kansas State (Oct. 4), Oklahoma (Nov. 4) and Texas (Nov. 25).
 In addition, Nebraska’s match with Missouri on Oct 25 will be carried on FSN ? the only Big 12 volleyball match as part of the conference’s television package this season.

2006 Husker Volleyball Television Schedule
Date  Opponent  Time NET CSTV FSN
Sept. 10 Minnesota  2 p.m. Live Live --
Sept. 13 Kansas   7 p.m. Live Live --
Sept. 23 Texas Tech  TBA Live 9/24, 7 p.m. --
Oct. 4  Kansas State 7 p.m. Live Live --
Oct. 25  Missouri  7:30 p.m. -- -- Live
Nov. 4  Oklahoma  TBA Live 11/5, 7 p.m. --
Nov. 25  Texas   7 p.m. Live 11/26, 7 p.m. --

Noting the 2006 Volleyball Schedule
*-Seventeen of Nebraska’s matches will be against teams that qualified for the NCAA Tournament in 2005, including NCAA Regional qualifiers Louisville and Missouri.
*-Seven of Nebraska’s 2006 opponents were ranked in the final 2005 AVCA Coaches poll (Missouri, Louisville, Texas, Purdue, Minnesota, San Diego, Kansas State) while Long Beach State also received multiple votes in the final poll. 
*-Nebraska’s 17 home matches are the most by a Husker team since 1999 and equals the Huskers’ most home matches since the Big 12 started in 1996.
*- The 2006 schedule features a pair of first-time opponents in St. Mary’s and Middle Tennessee, while the Huskers and Cal Poly have only squared off one other time - a Cal Poly victory in 1984.

Omaha Hosts 2006 NCAA Championships
  For college volleyball teams around the country, Omaha is the destination, as the University of Nebraska and Qwest Center Omaha play host to the 2006 NCAA Championship this December.
 The NCAA semifinals take place on Thursday, Dec. 14, with the national championship match taking place on Saturday, Dec. 16. Husker fans have come out in full force, selling out the arena in just four hours the day tickets went on sale in January.
 The Qwest Center hosted an NCAA Regional for the first time in 2005 to record-setting numbers. The two-day event drew an NCAA postseason record of 29,608 fans, including a near sellout of 15,119 for the regional final. The two crowds were the largest of the 2005 season and easily topped the previous NCAA postseason marks for single match (13,194) and all-session (23,978) both set by the University of Wisconsin in 1998.

Up Next: NU Opens Big 12 Season with Kansas
  The Huskers begin Big 12 Conference action next Wednesday, Sept. 13, when Kansas visits the NU Coliseum. First serve between the Huskers and Jayhawks is set for 7 p.m. and the match will be carried live on Nebraska Educational Television (NET and NET-HD) and simulcast on College Sports Television.