No. 1 Huskers Begin Title Quest

NCAA First & Second Rounds

Friday-Saturday, Dec. 1-2
Nebraska Coliseum | Lincoln, Neb.

Radio: Husker Sports Network ( B107.3 FM in Lincoln and Omaha) and Huskers.com
Live Stats: Huskers.com and NCAAsports.com
Live Video Feed: Huskers.com (Free Video)
Television: Nebraska's matches will be shown live on NET (Ch. 12) and NET-HD (Ch. 112)

Schedule

Thursday, Nov. 30: Practices  (Open to public)
Winthrop (1-2:30 p.m.)
Northern Iowa (2:45-4:15)
Nebraska (4:30-6 p.m.)
American (6:15-7:45) 

Friday, Dec. 1:
Winthrop (34-2) vs. No. Iowa (27-7) ? 5 p.m.
American (25-6) vs. Nebraska (27-1) ? 7 p.m. (cst) or 30 minutes following match #1

Dec. 2: 
Friday’s Winners ? 5 p.m.

The No. 1 Nebraska volleyball team begins its run for the school’s third NCAA title this week, as the Nebraska Coliseum is one of 16 host sites for the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament.

The Big 12 champion Huskers (27-1) are the tournament’s No. 1 seed for the third straight season and will take on American University (25-6) of the Patriot League on Friday, Dec. 1, at 7 p.m. The match will be carried on selected Husker Sports Network stations, including B107.3 FM in Lincoln and Omaha. The Huskers’ match will be the second contest of the day, as Missouri Valley Conference champion Northern Iowa will face Big South champion Winthrop at 5 p.m. Friday’s two winners will square off on Saturday evening with a berth in the Gainesville (Fla.) Regional on the line.

The 2006 season marks the 22nd time that Lincoln has played host to first and second-round competition. Last year, Nebraska hosted the first and second rounds at the NU Coliseum before winning the Omaha Regional en route to a national finals appearance. Nebraska is 64-22 (.744) in its 24 previous NCAA Tournament appearances, ranking second among NCAA schools in wins and winning percentage.

The Huskers, who earned the Big 12’s automatic berth with a 19-1 conference record, are led by Big 12 Player of the Year Sarah Pavan, a two-time AVCA first-team All-American who leads the Big 12 with 5.22 kills per game and is hitting .311 on the season. NU also features outside hitter Jordan Larson (4.23 kills and 3.40 digs per game), middle blocker Tracy Stalls (2.67 kills and 1.40 blocks per game, .430 hitting pct.), libero Dani Busboom (5.05 digs/gm) and setter Rachel Holloway (13.56 assists and 2.66 digs per game). Nebraska is 17-0 at home in 2006 and has a 52-match home winning streak dating back to 2004.

Did You Know?
?-Nebraska went 15-1 against NCAA Tournament teams during the regular season.

?-Seniors Dani Mancuso and Dani Busboom have helped Nebraska to a 118-10 record (.922) and three Big 12 titles over the last four years.

?-The 2006 season marks the third straight year and the fourth time since 2000 that Nebraska is the No. 1 seed entering the NCAA Tournament.

?-Big 12 Player of the Year Sarah Pavan has had seven matches with at least 20 kills this season, the second time she has reached that in her career (also in 2004). The last NU player to have more 20-kill matches in a year was Nancy Metcalf with 10 in 1999.

Worth Noting
?-According to research by Rich Kern, Nebraska’s 15-1 record against the other NCAA Tournament qualifiers is second only to Florida among teams in the NCAA Tournament field.

?-Nebraska is making its 25th NCAA Tournament appearance, a total which ties for fourth among all NCAA programs. Only Penn State, Stanford and UC Santa Barbara have longer streaks, as those three schools have qualified for all 26 NCAA Championships.

?-Nebraska is 41-3 all-time in NCAA Tournament play at the NU Coliseum and 19-1 in first-round matches. The only time NU lost an first-round match was a four-game setback at Western Michigan in 1983.

?-Sarah Pavan joined an elite group when she earned her second straight Big 12 Player-of-the-Year honor on Nov. 28. She is the first NU player to be named player of the year in consecutive years since Allison Weston in 1994 and 1995, and only the sixth Husker to ever be named two-time conference player of the year.

?-Nebraska’s four first-team All-Big 12 selections are the most since the 2002 season and the fifth time that NU had at least four first-team All-Big 12 honors (1996-2000-01-02-06).

?-Nebraska closed the regular season by hitting .400 or better in three of its final four matches. The three straight matches above .400 was the first time it happened to NU since 1998.

?-Sarah Pavan now has 15 career matches with at least 20 kills (7 in 2004; 1 in 2005; 7 in 2006). Her 15 matches with at least 20 kills are nearly half of NU’s total of 32 since John Cook took over in 2000. Three other current Huskers have had at least one 20-kill match during their Husker careers: Dani Mancuso (2004 at KSU), Christina Houghtelling (2005 at OU) and Jordan Larson (20 vs. KSU).

?-Friday’s first-round match against American will be the 89th consecutive sellout at the NU Coliseum. The Huskers are 82-6 at the NU Coliseum during the current sellout streak which dates back to 2001.

?-With a 17-0 home record entering the NCAA Tournament, Nebraska is bidding for its 16th undefeated home schedule in school history and fourth in the last seven seasons.

 ?-NU has won its last 52 home matches, dating back to the 2004 season, including its last 46 at the NU Coliseum. The current home streak is the nation’s longest active streak and ranks ninth on the NCAA’s all-time list. NU has also won its last 35 Big 12 home matches dating back to 2003.

?-Nebraska finished the regular season with an 8-0 record against ranked teams, including seven sweeps.

?-The Big 12 placed six teams in the NCAA Tournament, including three of the top 16 overall seeds. Nebraska is the No. 1 overall seed for the third straight year, while Texas (No. 7) and Oklahoma (No. 13) are also seeded in the tournament. The other Big 12 qualifiers include Iowa State, Missouri and Colorado.

?-With the No. 1 ranking in Monday’s AVCA poll, the Huskers have spent 69 weeks all-time at No. 1, the most of any Division I program. UCLA is second with 51 weeks. NU has been ranked No. 1 in 29 of the last 30 polls dating back to the start of 2005.

?-NU has held opponents to a Big 12-low .144 hitting percentage, as only five teams have hit over .200 against the Husker defense. NU ranks sixth among this week’s CSTV/AVCA Top 25 in opponent hitting percentage.

Husker Probable Starters
MB - #15 Kori Cooper: 6-2, Fr., Amarillo, Texas - Cooper splits time with Amanda Gates at middle blocker, averaging 1.69 kills and 0.97 blocks per game. Cooper is third in the Big 12 with a .364 hitting percentage and was second in league matches (.354). Her best match of the regular season came in a win over Iowa State on Nov. 8, where she totaled a career-high 12 kills on .429 hitting and five blocks. She also totaled six kills in six swings at Kansas on Nov. 22 and had seven kills and a career-best eight blocks at No. 9 Texas on Oct. 18. A Volleyball Magazine Fab 50 pick, Cooper enrolled at NU in January after graduating from Amarillo High School a semester early. Cooper was a co-captain of the 2005 U.S. Youth National Team, helping Team USA to a fourth-place finish.

MB - #11 Tracy Stalls: 6-3, Jr., Denver, Colo. - Stalls earned first-team All-Big 12 honors at middle blocker, averaging 2.67 kills and 1.40 blocks per game. She leads the Big 12 and is fifth nationally in hitting percentage and is fifth in the league in blocks. Stalls has reached double figures in kills nine times, including a career-high 16 kills and 12 blocks at Colorado on Nov. 11. She also totaled 14 kills in wins over NCAA qualifiers Long Beach State and Minnesota. Stalls has also had 11 matches where she has hit .500 or better, including a season- best .727 vs. Texas Tech (9-1-11) on Sept. 23 and .714 (10-0-14) vs. NCAA qualifier Middle Tennessee on Sept. 2. Stalls ranked among the top-15 blockers nationally in each of her first two years as a Husker. Before enrolling at NU, Stalls was a two-year member of the U.S. National Developmental Program and a member of Team USA.

OPP - #9 Sarah Pavan: 6-5, Jr., Kitchener, Ontario - The two-time  Big 12 Player of the Year, Pavan leads the Big 12 and ranks ninth nationally in kills per game (5.22), while also ranks among Big 12 leaders in points per game (6.17, first) and service aces per game (0.34, sixth). Pavan has seven matches with at least 20 kills, including a season-high 24 kills in three contests (vs. Long Beach State, at Baylor and vs. Iowa State). A two-time Big 12 Player of the Week, she earned her most recent honor on Nov. 21, when she totaled 46 kills on .544 hitting and seven aces in a pair of sweeps. She has reached double figures in her last 25 matches and 27 times in 28 matches this season.  Pavan led NU with 18 kills in a sweep of No. 8 Texas on Nov. 25 and finished with 23 kills and matched her career high with four aces against Baylor on Nov. 18. Pavan has three double-doubles on the year, with her most recent coming with 17 kills, 10 digs and eight blocks at Colorado on Nov. 11. She earned MVP honors in both of NU’s early-season tournaments and was the Big 12 Player of the Week on Sept. 11, averaging 6.70 points and 5.90 kills (.409 hitting percentage) in three wins. She had one of the best matches of her career against Long Beach State on Sept. 9, totaling 24 kills on .400 hitting against the 49ers, including eight kills on eight swings in the opener. Pavan was the 2005 Big 12 Player of the Year, averaging 3.82 kills, 1.66 digs and 1.25 blocks per game. She established her career high in kills as a freshman with 35 in the NCAA Regional against USC. 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 one of the country’s top all-around performers, earning first-team All-Big 12 honors for the first time in 2006. She averages 4.22 kills and 3.40 digs per game, ranking in the Big 12’s top 10 in aces (0.45/gm, fourth), points (5.13, third), kills (fourth) and digs (10th). Larson, the co-Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year is the only player in the league’s top 10 in kills and digs.  She leads NU with 19 double-doubles, including a stretch of 10 in a row earlier this season. Larson had one of her best matches of the year at Kansas on Nov. 22, totaling 13 kills on a season-high .571 hitting. She had 13 kills, 17 digs and matched her career high with six blocks at Colorado on Nov. 11 and had a match-high 16 kills in a sweep of No. 17 Oklahoma on Nov. 4. Larson earned the Big 12 weekly honor in early October after averaging 5.17 kills and 4.17 digs in two sweeps, including a career-high 20 kills against Kansas State on Oct. 4. As a freshman, Larson led all conference freshmen in kills, digs, hitting percentage and service aces. She was rated the No. 2 player in the country by Prepvolleyball.com and 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, averaging 2.52 digs and 0.16 aces per game. She has tied or set career highs in digs seven times this season, and has reached double figures in digs 13 times in 2006, including each of the last three matches. Schwartz came up with a career-high 15 digs in NU’s win at No. 9 Texas on Oct. 18 and enjoyed her best match of the year at Baylor on Sept. 30, totaling a then-career high 14 digs and a career-high three aces. She also had 14 digs in a win over Creighton on Sept. 24 and versus Kansas State on Oct. 4. 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, Sr., Omaha, Neb. - Mancuso moved into the outside hitter position vacated after Christina Houghtelling’s season-ending injury. Mancuso averages 2.50 kills, 0.61 blocks and 0.76 digs per game, primarily playing the front row. She has reached double figures in kills in four of the last five contests, averaging 2.82 kills per game while hitting .318 over her last five contests. She had 11 kills on a season-high .647 hitting at Kansas on Nov. 22 and had 10 kills on .316 hitting in a sweep of Texas A&M on Nov. 15. She recorded seven kills on .455 hitting at KSU on Oct. 28. Mancuso had nine kills and matched her career best with six blocks in NU’s win over No. 9 Texas on Oct. 18 and nine kills on .400 hitting against Missouri on Oct. 11. 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. She shared the outside hitter spot with Houghtelling in 2004, averaging 2.77 kills and 0.29 service aces per game, including a career-high 22 kills in a win at Kansas State.

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 (1981-present), earning first-team All-Big 12 honors in the process. She averages 13.56 assists, 2.66 digs and 1.16 kills per game, ranking third in the Big 12 and 11th nationally in assists. Holloway has 11 double-doubles, including one in four of the last six matches. She has tallied at least 50 assists eight times this year and has helped NU hit .400 or better five times this season. Holloway tied her career high with 57 assists against both Colorado and Iowa State, adding 13 digs and four blocks at Colorado on Nov. 11 and four stuffs at ISU on Nov. 8.  She was chosen as the Big 12’s Player of the Week on Oct. 16, after averaging 16.00 assists per game in sweeps of Colorado and Missouri. Holloway, who leads all freshmen nationally in assists, totaled 57 assists, eight digs and seven kills against Minnesota,  helping NU hit .337. Last 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 Colorado Gatorade High School Player of the Year in 2004.

L -  #18 Dani Busboom: 5-11, Sr., Cortland, Neb.  - Busboom earned Big 12 co-Libero-of-the-Year accolades in 2006, totaling 5.05 digs per game to lead the Big 12. She has reached double figures in digs 26 times in 28 matches, including a streak of 21 straight matches in double figures before it was snapped against Texas A&M on Nov. 15. Busboom ranks second on both NU’s single-season (465) and career (1,165) digs list. She has totaled at least 20 digs in six matches, including a career-high 23 in three matches. Last season, she averaged 6.45 assists and 1.82 digs in NU’s 6-2 offense, helping NU hit .322 as a team. Busboom is seventh on NU’s career assists list with 2,910 and is the second player in school history on top-10 lists in both assists and digs, joining former NU All-American Val Novak.

Last Time Out: No. 1 Nebraska 3, No. 8 Texas 0
Sarah Pavan had a match-high 18 kills, while No. 1 Nebraska relied on a stout defensive effort to post a 30-22, 30-27, 30-25 sweep of No. 8 Texas on Nov. 24.

The Huskers (27-1, 19-1 Big 12) held Texas to just .138 hitting, its second-lowest output of the season and .100 points under its total in the first meeting between the two teams. Dani Busboom led the defensive effort with 15 digs, as NU had four players total at least 10 digs in the win.

Pavan finished with 18 kills on 44 swings, while Jordan Larson posted her team-best 19th double-double of the year with 15 kills and 11 digs. Rachel Holloway also totaled a double-double for NU ? her 11th of the year - with 13 digs and 42 assists, while also matching her season high with four blocks and adding four kills. Rachel Schwartz rounded out the quartet with 10 digs, as NU snapped Texas’ (21-6, 16-4) nine-match win streak.

Quickly Scouting the Field
American (25-6): Under Coach Barry Goldberg (448-169 in 18 seasons), American University is making its sixth straight NCAA Tournament appearance - eighth overall - after winning the Patriot League title. The Eagles, who traveled to Lincoln for the first round last season, have an 18-match win streak, including 14 straight sweeps. The Eagles are led by outside hitter Rubena Sukaj, who ranks 10th in the NCAA in kills per game (5.14) and third in aces per game (.74). The Eagles also feature first-team All-Patriot League middle blocker Chelsa Brooks, who averages 2.86 kills on .360 hitting and 1.16 blocks per game. AU also has two of the tallest players on NCAA volleyball with freshmen Ann and Claire Recht, who both stand an imposing 6-8. The pair is in the Guinness Book of World Records for tallest female twins.
American vs. Nebraska: First Meeting

Northern Iowa (27-7): The Panthers, coached by Bobbi Petersen (178-49 in seven seasons), make their first NCAA appearance since 2003 and 12th appearance in school history after sweeping the Missouri Valley Conference regular-season and touranament titles. UNI, which is riding a 10-match win streak, is led by a trio of All-MVC selections in setter Kristin Belzung (11.92 assists per game), middle blocker Trista Humpal (2.62 kills and 1.46 blocks per game) and outside hitter Laura Rowen (3.60 kills and 3.06 digs per game). The Panthers are 1-1 against ranked teams this year, including a 3-2 win over Notre Dame in September.
 UNI vs. Nebraska: NU leads the series, 3-0-1, including a 3-0 sweep in 2003 season.

Winthrop (34-2): The Eagles make their fifth consecutive appearance under Papillion, Neb., native Joel McCartney, who coached at Bellevue University from 1996-2000. McCartney, who was an assistant at Oklahoma before taking the Winthrop job, is 167-48 at Winthrop. The Eagles are led by middle blocker Taryn Surbaugh, who earned Big South Player of the Year honors after averaging 3.82 kills and 1.44 blocks per game while hitting .398.  Middle hitter Shannon Sitzman also garnered first-team All-Big South accolades after averaging 3.54 kills and 1.23 blocks per game. Winthrop, whose 34 wins are the most of any NCAA qualifer, have one Nebraska native on their roster in freshman defensive specialist Melynne Kessler, who prepped at Bellevue East.
Winthrop vs. Nebraska: First Meeting

What to Watch For
 ?-Sarah Pavan has 480 kills on the season and needs one more to crack NU’s top-10 list and 20 more to become only the eighth Husker to ever total 500 kills in a season.
 ?-Dani Busboom is 16 digs shy of breaking Amanda McCormick’s school record for digs in a season (481, 2004).
 ?-Jordan Larson is within striking distance of a couple of spots on NU’s top-10 list. She is eight aces away from tying Tisha Delaney for 10th place on NU’s single-season list in that category. More impressively, she is only five solo blocks away from 10th place on NU’s single-season solo block chart.
 ?-With 13.56 assists per game, Rachel Holloway is on track to be the seventh Husker - and first since 1998 - to average more than 13.50 assists per game.