Husker Volleyball Announces Spring Schedule

Lincoln ? A pair of tournaments and a match against NCAA qualifier Kentucky highlight the 2008 Nebraska spring schedule released Friday

The Huskers will spend spring break training in Florida, wrapping up the week with a match against Florida Atlantic on Friday, March 21.

According to Head Coach John Cook, the Huskers’ trip to Florida during spring break serves a vital purpose in setting the tone for the year ahead.

 “For our staff and team, it is one of the most important weeks of the year,” Cook said. It is the one time in the year we have our team together away from campus and it is the time where we lay the foundation for the upcoming year.”

Cook said that the trip is more important this year, as the Husker replace four All-Americans from a year ago as well as replace assistant Coach Lee Maes, who was named the head coach at Virginia in February,

 “One of the reasons we wanted to fill Lee’s position quickly was to give Erik Sullivan a full bring to work with out staff and players during the spring,” Cook said. It allows him to go through a mini-season during the spring to help get ahead for the fall.”

The Huskers will also host their annual coaching clinic on March 28-29. The list of presenters includes Iowa State Coach Christy Johnson, Sports Performance Director Rick Butler, Grand Island Northwest Coach Diane Rouzee, Sports psychologist Jim Meier and Allen Hedrick, who serves as Head Strength and Conditioning Coach for the NSCA Human Performance Center.

The following week, the Huskers will travel to Denver for the Gold Crown Invitational, a one-day tournament that will feature several matches.

The Huskers will wrap up the team portion of their spring schedule on Saturday, April 12, when take on the Kentucky Wildcats at the NU Coliseum, beginning at 7 p.m. Kentucky, coached by former Husker assistant coach Craig Skinner, has made three straight trips to the NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats finished 2007 with a 22-10 record before losing to Michigan State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Tickets for the Kentucky match are on sale through the NU Athletic Ticket Office with prices set at $10 (adults) and $8 (youth and senior citizens). UNL Students will be admitted free with a valid ID.

The spring season concludes the following weekend for the CSTV Collegiate Nationals in San Diego. The beach tournament format pairs two players from eight teams around the country, with the Husker team of Jordan Larson and Sarah Pavan winning the 2007 edition in San Diego.

The Huskers return three starters from a team that went 30-2 and won the Big 12 title in 2007, including two-time All-American Jordan Larson. Other returning starters include middle blocker Kori Cooper and liberos Kayla Banwarth and Rachel Schwartz.

2008 Spring Volleyball Schedule

Day

Opponent/Tournament

Time

March 21

at Florida Atlantic 

TBA

March 28-29

Nebraska Volleyball Coaches Clinic

 

April 5

at Denver (Gold Crown Tournament)

TBA

April 12  

vs. Kentucky

7 p.m.

April 20 

at Collegiate Nationals (San Diego)

TBA