Huskers Announce 2008 Volleyball Schedule

Lincoln ? Three major in-season tournaments and potentially 15 matches against NCAA Tournament teams highlight the 2008 Nebraska volleyball schedule released Wednesday.

The Huskers, who return four starters from a team that went 30-2 and reached its fourth straight NCAA Regional final, will be tested by one of the nation’s toughest schedules in 2008. NU will face 2007 national semifinalists Stanford and USC on the strong docket in addition to a Big 12 slate that saw six teams qualify for the NCAA Tournament last season.

Season-ticket renewals were mailed out in May and include tickets for the Devaney Center match against LSU.Single-game tickets for all home matches will go on sale on Tuesday, Aug. 5, on Huskers.com and at the Nebraska Ticket Office, while tickets for the Runza/AVCA Showcase and the NCAA Championships are on sale now at all Ticketmaster outlets and on Ticketmaster.com.

According to Nebraska volleyball coach John Cook, the early season tests will help the Huskers prepare for the rigors of Big 12 Conference action.

"The way we look at our non-conference schedule is that it is a great motivation for our team to work hard and be prepared during the summer," Cook said. "When you go to Kansas State and host Texas in the first week of conference, you need to already be tested, and this schedule does a great job for us."

The 2008 season begins in Omaha, as the Huskers open the year at the Runza/AVCA Showcase at the Qwest Center in Omaha. NU will face NCAA runner-up Stanford in the season opener on Aug. 29 before facing national semifinalist USC on Sunday, Aug. 31. There will be no rest of the Huskers, as they wrap up the opening weekend of the year with a Labor Day match against Oral Roberts at the NU Coliseum.

"Outside of the Final Four, the Runza/AVCA Showcase is the premier event in college volleyball, and you know that you will face two great teams," Cook said.

The following weekend, the Huskers head on the road for a non-conference tournament for the first time since the 2005 season, as they travel to San Luis Obispo for the Cal Poly Invitational. That weekend, they will face the host Mustangs, who won 23 matches and advanced to an NCAA Regional in 2007, a Tulane squad that went 28-6 last year and Northeastern.

"Going to Cal Poly was important because they have come to our tournaments the past two years," Cook said. "They are the two-time defending champion in the Big West and a high-level team that is expecting big things."

The Huskers’ final tournament before the start of Big 12 play will be the following weekend with the fourth-annual Ameritas Players Challenge. The opening night of the tournament will be at the Devaney Center where regional finalist St. John’s will face New Mexico at 4:30 p.m. before the Huskers take on an LSU squad that reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament in the nightcap. The two winners will meet the following evening in the championship match at the NU Coliseum.

"We think the Ameritas Players Challenge has become one of the best pre-conference tournaments in the country and to get teams like LSU, St. John’s and New Mexico to participate is just another example of our committment to bring in great programs in our non-conference matches," Cook said. "Opening with an LSU team at the Devaney Center is a big match because it allows more of our fans to see us, but we are also facing a team that a lot of coaches around the country believe will be in the top 10 in the coaches poll."

Nebraska opens Big 12 action on Wednesday, Sept. 17, as the Huskers travel to Kansas State for its conference opener.NU begins the home portion of its league slate on Saturday, Sept. 20, by welcoming a Texas squad that shared the Big 12 title with Nebraska in 2007. In all the Big 12 had three teams (Nebraska, Texas and Iowa State) reach the NCAA Regionals a year ago.

The Huskers will step out of non-conference play one more time on Sunday, Oct. 5, as they travel to the Qwest Center to take on the Creighton Bluejays. Tickets for that match can be purchased at Ticketmaster outlets.

Nebraska returns four starters from its Big 12 championship team, including senior outside hitter Jordan Larson, middle blocker Kori Cooper, defensive specialist Rachel Schwartz and libero Kayla Banwarth. In addition, Nebraska’s recruiting class for this season is ranked among the nation’s top incoming classes and features Utah transfer Sydney Anderson and Volleyball Magazine Fab 50 selections Jordan Haverly, Kaitlynn James and Allison McNeal.

-- Huskers --