Huskers Take on UCLA Thursday at 6 p.m.

Lincoln ? The No. 1 Nebraska volleyball team will square off against No. 4 UCLA in the first NCAA semifinal on Thursday, Dec. 14, at 6 p.m. (central) at Qwest Center Omaha.

The contest, which is already a sellout, will be carried live nationally on ESPN2 and on ESPNU and is the first of two national semifinals on Thursday.

In the other matchup, second-ranked Stanford (29-3) will take on defending national champion and sixth-seeded Washington (29-4) at 8:30 p.m. or 30 minutes following the conclusion of the first match. Thursday’s two winners will advance to the national championship match, scheduled for 8 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 16.

The matchup between the Huskers (31-1) and Bruins (33-3) is a rematch of last season’s NCAA regional semifinal, a 3-0 Nebraska win last December in Omaha. NU leads the all-time series, 7-4, with four of the previous meetings taking place in the NCAA Tournament.

The Huskers earned their ticket to the National Semifinals, coming back from a 2-0 deficit to top No. 9 Minnesota in five games. Regional Most Outstanding Player Jordan Larson paced NU with a career-high 21 kills and 17 digs, as Nebraska overcame a 2-0 deficit in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history. The Huskers will be making their second straight appearance in the national semifinals and 10th in school history.

UCLA, which tied for second in the Pac-10 Conference, features the country’s top middle blocker in senior All-American Nana Meriwether, who averages 4.12 kills per game, while leading the country in both blocks (1.97 per game) and hitting percentage (.460). Meriwether is one of five Bruins averaging more than two kills per game, as UCLA brings an eight-match win streak into Thursday’s match.