No. 1 Huskers Continue Title Quest in Florida

NCAA Gainesville Regional Schedule
Dec. 8:  Nebraska (29-1) vs. San Diego (26-5) ? 3:30 p.m.
              Minnesota (25-7) at Florida (30-2) ? 6 p.m
Dec. 9: Friday’s Winners ? 3 p.m.

Radio:  All Nebraska matches will be carried on the Husker Sports Network (B107.3 FM in Lincoln and Omaha) and Huskers.com
Live Stats: Huskers.com and NCAAsports.com
Live Video: TBA
Television: Saturday’s Regional Final will be shown on ESPNU (Ch. 609 on DirecTV, Ch. 148 on Dish Network; Ch. 220 on Cox Cable in Omaha)

No. 1 Huskers Continue Title Quest in Florida
After winning the first two rounds at home, the No. 1 Nebraska volleyball team travels to Gainesville, Fla., for NCAA Regional action this weekend. The Huskers will take on No. 14 San Diego (26-5) in the first of two regional semifinals on Friday, Dec. 8, at 3:30 p.m. (central).

Fans can listen to Friday’s match on selected Husker Sports Network stations, including B107.3 FM in Lincoln and Omaha and KRVN 880 AM in Lexington and on Huskers.com. If NU wins on Friday, it will face the winner of Friday’s second semifinal between No. 7 Florida and No. 9 Minnesota Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. with a berth in the national semifinals at stake.

It is the 13th straight year that Nebraska has reached the round of 16 in the NCAA Tournament, as NU is now 66-22 (.750) in its 25 NCAA Tournament appearances, ranking second among all programs in both wins and winning percentage.

The Huskers (29-1) advanced to the Sweet 16 win with a pair of wins over the weekend, including a 3-0 sweep of Northern Iowa on Saturday. In that match, the Huskers hit a blistering .423 as a team and had three players - Jordan Larson, Sarah Pavan and Tracy Stalls - all register at least 10 kills. NU was also stout defensively, holding both of its foes under .100 hitting on the weekend.

The Huskers will see some familiar faces in the Gainesville Regional, as Nebraska faced San Diego (26-5) in the season opener and also defeated Minnesota in the non-conference portion of the schedule. San Diego, which won the West Coast Conference with a 13-1 mark, is led by WCC Player of the Year Kristen Carlson, who averages a team-best 5.09 kills per game to rank among the national leaders in that category.  Carlson had 27 kills and 17 digs in USD’s five-game win over Duke on Saturday, as the Toreros reached the Sweet 16 for the second time in three years.

Did You Know?
?-NU will be going for its 30th win of the season on Friday. NU has a total of 17 seasons with 30 or more wins, including seven since the Big 12 was formed in 1996. The rest of the Big 12 schools have combined for one in that same span.

?-Seniors Dani Mancuso and Dani Busboom have helped Nebraska to a 120-10 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.

?-NU is 34-3 (.919) against ranked opponents since the start of the 2004 season and 71-11 (.866) under John Cook.

Worth Noting
?-According to research by Rich Kern, Nebraska’s 17-1 record against the other NCAA Tournament qualifiers is second only to Florida among teams in the NCAA Tournament field.

Record vs. 2006 NCAA Field
Florida     18-1
Nebraska    17-1
Penn State  16-2
UCLA     16-3
Stanford    15-3
*-Courtesy Richkern.com

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

?-The Huskers’ streak of 13 straight NCAA Regionals is the longest active in the country, as only five programs have reached regionals in each of the past four seasons. NU is 26-12 all-time in NCAA regionals.

Longest NCAA Regional Streaks
Nebraska (1994-present)  13
Hawaii (1998-present)  9
UCLA (2003-present)  4
Washington (2003-present) 4
Penn State (2003-present) 4

?- This year marks only the second time since 1999 that Nebraska has been on the road for a regional. NU has been on the road for regionals eight times and reached the regional final on five occasions (1984, 1985, 1987, 1997 and 2004).

?-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 former AVCA National Player of the Year Allison Weston in 1994 and 1995, and only the sixth Husker to ever be named a two-time conference player of the year.

NU’s Two-Time Conference Players of the Year
Player Years
Sarah Pavan 2005-06
Greichaly Cepero 2000, 2002
Nancy Metcalf 1999, 2001
Allison Weston 1994-95
Stephanie Thater 1991-92
Lori Endicott 1987-88

?-Nebraska is 8-0 against ranked teams this season, including seven by sweeps.

?-NU Head Coach John Cook is a 1979 graduate of the University of San Diego.

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

?-Nebraska has hit .400 or better four times in the last six matches, including .423 against Northern Iowa in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Huskers had a streak of three straight matches of hitting .400 or better, the first time that has happened 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).

?-Nebraska finished 19-0 at the NU Coliseum, which marked the 16th time - and fourth time in seven seasons - that NU has had a perfect home record.

?-NU has won its last 54 home matches, dating back to the 2004 season, including its last 48 at the NU Coliseum. The current home streak is the nation’s longest active streak and ranks eighth on the NCAA’s all-time list.

?-The Big 12 has turned in an impressive showing in the NCAA Tournament, going 9-3 in the first two rounds and placing three teams in the NCAA Regional. Big 12 teams went a perfect 6-0 in the first round.

?-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 .139 hitting percentage, as only five teams have hit over .200 against the Husker defense. NU ranks second among the remaining teams in this week’s NCAA Regionals.

Husker Probable Starters
MB - #15 Kori Cooper: 6-2, Fr., Amarillo, Texas - Cooper splits time with Amanda Gates at middle blocker, averaging 1.68 kills and 0.93 blocks per game. Cooper is fourth in the Big 12 with a .347 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 2.65 kills and 1.44 blocks per game. She leads the Big 12 and is 11th nationally in hitting percentage and is fourth in the league in blocks. Stalls has reached double figures in kills 10 times, including a career-high 16 kills and 12 blocks at Colorado on Nov. 11. She had six kills and 10 blocks against American and 10 kills on .467 hitting in the sweep of Northern Iowa. 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 (5.12), while also ranking among Big 12 leaders in points per game (6.02, first) and service aces per game (0.31, eighth). 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 27 matches and 29 times in 30 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 4.25 kills and 3.39 digs per game, ranking in the Big 12’s top 10 in aces (0.48/gm, second), points (5.22, 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 20 double-doubles, including a stretch of 10 in a row earlier this season. Larson averaged 4.57 kills on .397 hitting, 1.00 blocks and 1.00 aces per game during the NCAA Tournament. She 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 2.49 digs and 0.17aces per game. She has tied or set career highs in digs seven times this season, and has reached double figures in digs 14 times in 2006, including four of NU’s last five 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. Schwartz had 10 digs and a pair of aces in NU’s sweep of Northern Iowa on Dec. 2. She 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 2.52 kills, 0.67 blocks and 0.77 digs per game, primarily playing the front row. She has reached double figures in kills in five of NU’s last seven matches, averaging 2.79 kills per game while hitting .290 in that stretch. Mancuso tied her season highs with 11 kills and six blocks in NU’s first-round win over American and had eight kills on .375 hitting against Northern Iowa on Dec. 2. 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 13.47 assists, 2.62 digs and 1.17 kills per game, ranking third in the Big 12 and 10th nationally in assists. Holloway has 12 double-doubles, including one in five of the last seven matches. She has tallied at least 50 assists eight times this year and has helped NU hit .400 or better six times this season, including four of the past six matches. She totaled 39 assists and five kills while helping NU hit .423 against Northern Iowa in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. 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 5.07 digs per game to lead the Big 12 while also chipping in .83 assists per game.  She has reached double figures in digs 28 times in 30 matches, including a streak of 21 straight matches in double figures before it was snapped against Texas A&M on Nov. 15. Busboom became the first Husker to record 500 digs in a season following her 17-dig effort versus Northern Iowa on Dec. 2 and also ranks second on NU’s career dig list (1,203). She has totaled at least 20 digs seven times, 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 2,919 and is the second player in school history on top-10 lists in both assists and digs, joining former NU All-American Val Novak.

First Round: No. 1 Nebraska 3, American 0
Jordan Larson recorded her 20th double-double of the season with 16 kills and 14 digs, as No. 1 Nebraska used a strong defensive effort to hold off an upstart American squad in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Larson, who tied for team-high honors in kills with Sarah Pavan, hit .343 in the match and added four aces and four blocks, including a pair of solo stuffs. Pavan hit .387 and added five digs and a pair of blocks, as Nebraska improved to 28-1 on the season.

While Nebraska used a balanced offensive attack, it was the Huskers’ defense that propelled NU to its 28th victory of the season. NU held American (26-6) below .100 hitting in three of the four games, including a -.051 mark in the first game and a -.184 attack percentage in game four. On the night, the Eagles hit just .050, more than .200 points below their season average of .279. Highlighting the stellar defensive night for the Huskers was senior Dani Busboom, who tallied 20 digs to become NU’s single-season digs leader.

The Huskers were also strong at the net, recording 16 blocks, compared to just nine for American. Junior Tracy Stalls led the block parade with 10, two shy of her season high. Dani Mancuso tied her career high with six blocks, while also matching her season high with 11 kills.

Second Round: No. 1 Nebraska 3, UNI 0
Jordan Larson’s 16 kills led three Huskers in double figures, as No. 1 Nebraska moved into the NCAA Sweet 16 with a 3-0 sweep of Northern Iowa on Dec. 2.

Larson led a balanced attack with 16 kills on .464 hitting, three aces and three blocks, as the Huskers hit .423 in the match. NU had six attackers hit over .300, as the Huskers’ .423 hitting marked the fourth time in the last six matches that NU hit .400 or better. Rachel Holloway guided a potent attack, finishing with 39 assists and five kills, as NU hit .400 or better in all three games for the first time this season.

Sarah Pavan and Tracy Stalls joined Larson in double figures in kills, totaling 11 and 10 kills, respectively, as Stalls hit .467 and totaled a match-high four blocks, while Pavan hit .375 on 26 swings, including seven kills in the opener.

The Huskers, who improved to 19-0 at home this season, were equally stout on defense, holding the Panthers to just .092 hitting and out-blocking UNI, 9-5. Dani Busboom led NU with 17 digs and became the first Husker to go over 500 digs in a season, while Rachel Schwartz totaled 10 digs, as NU out-dug the Panthers, 47-28.