Huskers Face. No. 2 Stanford, No. 4 USC at Showcase

The Nebraska volleyball team opens the 2008 season with a flourish, as the Huskers travel to Omaha for the Runza/AVCA Showcase at Qwest Center Omaha. The four-team event features four of the country’s top seven teams in the CBS College Sports/AVCA Preseason Poll with the seventh-ranked Huskers, No. 2 Stanford, No. 3 Texas and No. 4 USC taking part in a conference challenge format that is the best tournament outside of the NCAA  Championship this December.

Action begins Friday with two matches beginning at 7 p.m., with the Huskers taking on NCAA runner-up Stanford, while Texas and USC will tangle at 9:30 p.m. The two Big 12 opponents will trade partners on Sunday with Texas taking on Stanford at 12:30 p.m., while the Huskers face USC at 3 p.m. It is the third time that the Qwest Center has hosted the AVCA event (also 2005 and 2007) and the first year of a three-year run for the conference challenge format.

Tickets for the Runza/AVCA Showcase are on sale at the Qwest Center box office and at Ticketmaster locations around Nebraska. Fans can call Ticketmaster in Lincoln at (402) 475-1212 or in Omaha at (402) 422-1212 or visit Ticketmaster.com. Single-match tickets for each day will go on sale Friday morning at 10 a.m.

Fans can listen to all of the action with John Baylor and Diane Mendenhall on the 25-station Husker Sports Network, including B107.3 FM in Lincoln and Twister 93.3 FM in Omaha. In addition, all four matches will be televised state-wide on Nebraska Educational Television and simulcast nationally on CBS College Sports Network with Jason Knapp (play-by-play) and Anne Marie Anderson (color).

2008 Runza/AVCA Showcase

No. 7 Nebraska vs. No. 2 Stanford
Friday, Aug. 29 ?  7 p.m.
Television: NET-1 and NET-HD (Chs. 12 and 112) and CBS College Sports
Radio: Husker Sports Network, including B107.3 FM in Lincoln and KTWI 93.3 FM in Omaha, and on Huskers.com
Live Stats: Huskers.com

No. 3 Texas vs. No. 4 USC 
Friday, Aug. 29 ? 9:30 p.m.
Television: CBS College Sports
Live Stats: Huskers.com

No. 3 Texas vs. No. 2 Stanford
Sunday, Aug. 31 ? 12:30 p.m.
Television: CBS College Sports
Live Stats: Huskers.com

No. 7 Nebraska vs. No. 4 USC 
Sunday, Aug. 31 ?  3 p.m.
Television: NET-1 and NET-HD (Chs. 12 and 112) and CBS College Sports
Radio: Husker Sports Network, including B107.3 FM in Lincoln and KTWI 93.3 FM in Omaha, and on Huskers.com
Live Stats: Huskers.com

Runza/AVCA Showcase Notes
?-The four teams in Omaha this weekend have combined for 13 of the past 27 NCAA Championships, including six of the eight NCAA crowns this decade.

?-There is no shortage of star power in this weekend’s event, as nine returning AVCA All-Americans will be in action. They have combined for 13 All-America awards, including Stanford’s Foluke Akinradewo, who is the reigning AVCA National Player of the Year. This is the second straight year that the showcase will feature the previous year’s AVCA National Player of the Year.

?-The four teams in the 2008 Showcase field enjoyed success in previous showcases, going a combined 21-7. In fact, the four teams in Omaha this weekend have combined to win the last seven AVCA Showcases.

?-If tradition is any indication, fans will see at least one of these teams return to Omaha in December to play for a national title, as 18 former Runza/AVCA Showcase participants have played in that season’s national semifinals. Last year marked the first time since 2000 and only the second time in the event’s history that no showcase team advanced to the national semifinals.

?-The four teams in the 2008 Runza/AVCA Showcase went a combined 118-14 (.893) with six of the 14 losses coming at the hands of the other teams in the showcase field. USC ended Texas’ season in the Gainesville Regional final, while Stanford knocked out USC in the National Semifinals in Sacramento.

?-This is the first time that the Runza/AVCA host site will also play host to the NCAA Championship in the same season.

Nebraska and the Runza/AVCA Showcase
?-The Huskers are making their seventh appearance in the showcase (also 1995, 1996, 1999, 2001, 2005 and 2007) and are a perfect 6-0 in the event under Head Coach John Cook. In that span, the Huskers have knocked off four top-five teams (No. 5 Hawaii in 2001; No. 4 Hawaii in 2005; No. 3 Stanford in 2005 and No. 5 UCLA in 2007).

?-The 2008 season marks the fifth time that Nebraska has served as host of the event - the most of any program. The inaugural event was held at the NU Coliseum in Lincoln in 1995. The NU Coliseum also played host to the 1999 event, while the Qwest Center has served as host in both 2005 and 2007.

?-The Huskers are 8-0 in season openers under John Cook and have not lost a season opener since falling to Pacific in the 1999 NACWAA Classic (the forerunner to the current Runza/AVCA Showcase).

?-The last time the Huskers opened a season with an 0-2 mark was after an 0-2 showing in the 1999 showcase. That year, the Huskers lost to No. 6 Pacific and No. 1 Penn State before eventually finishing with a 27-6 record and a Big 12 title. That was the final season for legendary coach Terry Pettit.

Scouting this Week’s Opponents
Stanford (32-3 in 2007): The second-ranked Cardinal begin the 2008 season looking to become just the third team in NCAA history to reach the national semifinals in three straight years. The Cardinal, which won the Pac-10 with a 16-2 league mark, look to join Penn State (1997-99) and UCLA (1990-92) as the only programs to hold that distinction. Stanford, which was picked to win the Pac-10 title in preseason voting, returns six starters from a team that went 32-3 last fall, including AVCA National Player of the Year Foluke Akinradewo and fellow All-Americans Cynthia Barboza and Alix Klineman. Akinradewo anchors the Cardinal attack, as she averaged 4.11 kills per set in 2007 and led the nation with a .499 hitting percentage. Her hitting percentage broke the school and Pac-10 mark and ranked second since rally scoring began in 2001. Barboza, a first-team All-American in 2007, averaged 3.99 kills and 3.25 digs per set last season, while Klineman paced the Cardinal with 4.12 kills per set as a true freshman. This weekend’s Runza/AVCA Showcase is a homecoming for Cardinal libero Gabi Ailes, who was a teammate of Husker Brooke Delano and helped Bellevue West High School to four straight state titles.

Series History: Stanford leads the all-time series, 7-5, but the Huskers have won the last two meetings. Friday’s season opener marks the first matchup between the two teams since the 2006 NCAA Championship match, a 3-1 Husker win.

USC (29-5 in 2007): The Women of Troy come off a season where they went 29-5 and reached the national semifinals. They are picked No. 4 in the preseason CBS College Sports/AVCA Preseason Poll and were tabbed for third place for the Pac-10 in voting by the league’s coaches.  USC welcomes back five starters and have the luxury of one of the nation’s best setters in All-American Taylor Carico. As a sophomore, Carico totaled 12.67 assists, 2.01 digs and 1.07 kills per set while hitting .338 from her setter spot. While the Women of Troy do not feature a senior on the 2008 roster, the leadership of Carico and outside hitter  and team captain Jessica Gysin provide the leadership for a youthful squad. Gysin, who has missed two seasons because of medical injuries, put together her best season in 2007, ranking second on the squad with 3.00 kills per set, including two big performances in the Gainesville Regional to help the Women of Troy to the national semifinals. USC also features one of the Pac-10’s best liberos in junior Alli Hillgren, who totaled 508 digs in her first season as a starter at the position.

Series History: USC holds a commanding 7-1 lead in the all-time series, although the teams have not met since the Women of Troy ended the Huskers’ season at the 2004 NCAA Louisville Regional final. Nebraska’s only win in the series came on Dec. 12, 1997, a five-set Husker win in the regional semifinals.

Oral Roberts (16-14 in 2007): The Golden Eagles wrap up their season-opening weekend by coming to Lincoln on Sunday. Oral Roberts welcomes back five starters and its libero in 2008 and was chosen as the favorite in the Summit League’s preseason balloting. ORU is led by senior right side hitter Jackie Oliveira, who led the Summit League with 4.52 kills per set last season. Senior middle blocker JoJo Souza also returns after averaging 2.75 kills per set to garner second-team all-league laurels.

Series History: The Huskers have won five of the six meetings between the two schools, including each of the last five meetings since 1980. Nebraska won the last meeting in thrre games in 2001.

Husker Probable Starters
MB - #17 Amanda Gates: 6-2, Sr., Columbus, Neb. - Gates brings extensive experience and is her fourth season in the program. She has appeared in 48 matches as a Husker and has averaged over a block per set throughout her career. Gates averaged 1.29 kills and 0.81 blocks per set over 16 matches in 2007. She had her best match of the year against Texas A&M on Sept. 22, recording a career-high eight kills on .429 hitting and two blocks. As a sophomore, Gates appeared in 23 matches and had a career-high 10 blocks against San Diego in her first career start. Gates will also contend for academic honors, carrying a 3.96 GPA in communication studies.

MB - #15 Kori Cooper: 6-2, Jr., Amarillo, Texas - Cooper begins her third season as one of the Huskers’ middle blockers. A preseason All-Big 12 selection, Cooper averaged 2.31 kills and 1.01 blocks per set in 2007, ranking seventh in the Big 12 in hitting percentage (.356). She reached double figures in kills in seven matches, highlighted by a career-high 14 kills in a five-game win against Missouri. She finished 2007 on a strong note, hitting over .400 in both of the Huskers’ NCAA Regional matches. Cooper was one of NU’s starting middle blockers as a freshman, averaging 1.67 kills and 0.95 blocks per set in 30 contests. Cooper is also a strong student, posting a 3.81 GPA in speech-language pathology.

S - #1 Sydney Anderson: 6-0, So., Alta, Utah - Anderson begins her Husker career after spending the 2007 season with the U.S. National Team in Colorado Springs. Anderson, who enrolled at NU in July of 2008 and was chosen as the Big 12’s Preseason Newcomer of the Year, was a member of the U.S. A-2 National Team at the USA Open in both 2007 and 2008. She began her collegiate career at Utah, earning first-team All-Mountain West Conference honors in 2006. That year, she averaged 12.45 assists, 2.77 digs and 0.76 blocks per set en route to being named both the Mountain West Conference Setter and Freshman of the Year. Anderson totaled nine double-doubles on the year, including a 64-assist, 19-dig performance against Wyoming.

L - #2 Kayla Banwarth: 5-10, So., Dubuque, Iowa -  Kayla Banwarth closed the 2007 season as Nebraska’s libero, earning the start in NU’s last nine matches and averaging 4.24 digs and 0.69 assists per set in that span. She averaged 2.75 digs, 0.45 assists and 0.17 service aces per set on the year, reaching double figures in digs in eight matches. Banwarth totaled a career-high 21 digs in a five-set win over Michigan State in the NCAA Regional semifinal. She was a three-time all-state selection at Wahlert Catholic High School in Iowa and was a Volleyball Magazine Fab 50 selection last year.

DS - #5 Rachel Schwartz: 5-9, Sr., Lincoln, Neb. -  Schwartz will likely start as Nebraska’s defensive specialist, although she could see time at libero. She ranked 11th in the Big 12 in digs in 2007, averaging a career-high 3.66 digs and 0.16 service aces per set. She totaled double figures in digs in 17 matches including a career-best 21 digs in a win over Missouri.

OPP - #4 Lindsey Licht: 6-5, So., Aurora, Colo. - Licht moves into the right side hitter spot replacing four-year All-American Sarah Pavan. Licht appeared in 13 matches, averaging 0.59 kills per game in 25 contests. She had a season-high four kills against Creighton on Aug. 31. Licht was a two-time  Mizuno/Volleyball Magazine All-American and was a Volleyball Magazine Fab 50 selection in 2007. She started all four seasons, totaling 1,199 kills, 335 blocks, 385 digs and 80 aces and was a two-time Volleyball Magazine All-American.

OH - #10 Jordan Larson: 6-2, Sr., Hooper, Neb. - Larson  is a two-time All-American and one of the nation’s best outside hitters. She was chosen as the preseason Big 12 Co-Player of the Year with Texas’ Juliann Faucette. Larson was named a third-team AVCA All-American in 2007 after averaging 3.45 kills, 3.18 digs, 0.51 aces and 0.63 blocks per set. She paced the Big 12 in aces per set and ranked ninth in points per set (4.39) while serving as one of the Huskers’ primary passers Larson has 38 career double-doubles, helping the Huskers to a 37-1 mark in those matches. She turned in one of the best efforts of her career in the NCAA Madison Regional semifinal against No. 24 Michgian State with a  season-high 20 kills on .317 hitting and 17 digs in a five-set comeback. She averaged 4.13 kills and 3.50 digs per set in 2007 and was the only player in the Big 12 to rank in the top 10 in both categories. She was also the Most Outstanding Player at the NCAA Gainesville Regional with 3.62 kills, 3.25 digs and 0.50 aces per game.

OH - #19 Tara Mueller: 6-0, So., Scottsdale, Ariz. - Larson moves into the outside hitter role after serving as a backup in 2007. She averaged 1.27 kills on .211 hitting, 0.95 digs and 0.36 blocks per set in 13 matches in 2007. Larson turned in her best performance of the year against Wichita State in the NCAA Tournament, totaling nine kills on .316 hitting while coming off the bench. She trained at both outside hitter and libero, recording eight digs in a start at libero against New Mexico State. A Volleyball Magazine Fab 50 selection, Mueller was the 2005 Gatorade Player of the Year in Arizona and started this summer for the U.S. Junior National Team.

Red/White Scrimmage Wrapup
Jordan Larson’s match-high 16 kills led three Husker red players in double figures, as the Red Squad defeated the Whites, 25-19, 25-18, 22-25, 25-22, in front of an estimated crowd of 3,000 at the NU Coliseum. Larson, a two-time All-American, turned in a solid night with a match-high 16 kills, three service aces and four blocks to key the Reds offensive efforts. Lindsey Licht, a sophomore right side hitter, turned in a strong performance with 13 kills on over .400 hitting and four stuffs of her own. Banwarth paced the Reds defensive efforts with a match-high 20 digs, as the Whites were held to .140 hitting on the evening. Sophomore Tara Mueller also turned in a strong performance with a double-double of her own, finishing with 11 kills, 12 digs and three blocks.  

Brooke Delano, who saw time for both teams during the match, paced the White squad with eight kills and seven blocks. Delano, who has been training at three different positions, worked as an outside hitter for the Whites in the first two sets before switching teams and moving inside for the final two sets.

Thater Honored with Retired Jersey
Former Husker great Stephanie Thater received the highest honor that a Husker volleyball player can receive on Aug. 23, as her jersey was retired prior to the annual Red/White Scrimmage. 

Thater was the sixth Husker to be recognized on the Huskers’ Wall of Honor, joining former greats Cathy Noth, Karen Dahlgren, Lori Endicott, Allison Weston and Janet Kruse since the wall was initially unveiled in 2003. 

Thater was the second three-time All-American in Husker volleyball history and is still regarded as one of the best middle blockers to come through the Nebraska program. She led her team to the NCAA National Semifinals as a sophomore and compiled an 81-14 record during her three years as a starter. Her teams went 48-0 in regular-season conference play, winning four Big Eight titles and three conference tournament championships. She was a two-time Big Eight Player of the Year and was also selected to the Nebraska Volleyball 25th anniversary team in 1999.

Huskers Tabbed for Second in Big 12 Poll
 The NU volleyball program finds itself in a position it has not been for 12 years ? the runner-up choice of the Big 12 coaches in the league’s preseason poll.
The Huskers, who have won the last four Big 12 titles and 10 of 12 since the league’s inception in 1996, were tabbed for second in balloting by the league’s coaches. The Huskers received 88 total points, trailing only Texas in the preseason poll. The Longhorns received 100 points and 10 of the 11 first-place votes, as coaches were not allowed to vote for their own teams. Texas was also the coaches’ choice in 1996, the year the Huskers won their first Big 12 title. Nebraska had been the league’s choice in each of the last 11 polls.

Individually, senior Jordan Larson and junior Kori Cooper were selected to the preseason All-Big 12 team, with Larson sharing league preseason player-of-the-year honors with Texas’ Juliann Faucette. Larson, a two-time AVCA All-American begins her senior year with 1,137 career kills and is on NU’s top 10 list in both digs and service aces. Last year, she posted 3.45 kills, 3.18 digs and a Big 12-best 0.51 service aces per set, while pacing the Huskers with 11 double-doubles. 

Kori Cooper received preseason all-conference recognition for the first time after averaging 2.31 kills and 1.01 blocks per set in 2007. She was seventh in the conference with a .356 hitting percentage. 

Sydney Anderson rounded out Nebraska’s preseason honors, as she was tabbed the league’s preseason newcomer of the year. Anderson comes to Nebraska following a stint with the U.S. National Team in Colorado Springs. Two years ago, Anderson was the starting setter at Utah, leading the Utes to a 28-4 record as she averaged 12.45 assists and 2.77 digs per set.
 
Larson Serves Up Bid for Aces
Senior Jordan Larson begins her senior season within striking distance for career aces. With 147 career aces, she is three shy of Lori Endicott (149, 1985-88) for third place on NU’s career list. Larson needs 15 service aces to move past Val Novak’s school mark of 161.
 
Larson Joins 1,000-1,000 Club
Junior outside hitter Jordan Larson joined an exclusive club in Husker history last season, as she became just the third Nebraska player to ever record both 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs.  She joins two-time All-American Jennifer Saleaumua and Eileen Shannon in that illustrious list and was the first player to reach that milestone before her senior campaign.

No Place Like Home
From Lincoln to Omaha to North Platte, Nebraska has enjoyed overwhelming support across the state. The Huskers have won their last 76 matches inside the state’s borders, including matches in Omaha and North Platte, dating back to 2004. With its two wins in the NCAA Tournament, the Huskers extended their home-court win streak to 72 matches - the third-longest streak in NCAA history. NU is the only program to have a pair of home win streaks of at least 60 matches. In 2007, the Huskers were 18-0 at home and finished with an unblemished home mark for the 16th time in school history.

Huskers on Television
The Nebraska volleyball team will get plenty of television exposure during the 2008 season, as five matches have already been picked up for national broadcast. The television schedule begins this weekend, as both matches of the Runza/AVCA Showcase will be shown nationally on CBS College Sports and Nebraska Educational Television.  Because of the television announcement, two starting match times have been changed from the original schedule. NU’s match at Missouri on Sunday, Oct. 12, will now start at Noon, while the Huskers’ contest at Texas on Nov. 19 has a first serve of 8 p.m.
 In addition to the matches listed below, other matches will be added to the TV schedule, as Nebraska Educational Televion will announce is schedule in the coming days.

Nebraska Coliseum: Sold Out for 2008
One school record has already been established this fall, as it took just 10 minutes to sell out the entire 2008 ticket allotment at the Nebraska Coliseum on Aug. 5.

It was the quickest that the single-match Coliseum allotment had ever sold out. Last year, it took 45 minutes to sell out the entire 2007 allotment, as the Huskers were bidding for a repeat NCAA title. The announcement guarantees that Nebraska’s NU Coliseum streak will continue this fall, hitting 118 matches in 2008.

The Huskers will carry a streak of 106 consecutive sellouts at the NU Coliseum into the 2008 campaign. The Huskers are 100-6 at home during the sellout streak. Nebraska’s streak marks only the second time in NCAA history that a women’s sport has enjoyed a sellout streak of at least 100 matches, joining UConn women’s basketball, which had a streak of 113 straight regular-season sellouts between 1999 and 2005.

Cooking Up Wins: Nation’s Best Record in 2000s
 John Cook has been amazingly successful during his Husker tenure, posting a 250-16 record (.940 winning pct.) to lead all programs in that span. All 16 losses have come against teams that advanced to the NCAA Tournament, including the eventual NCAA champion in 2001 (Stanford), 2002 (USC) and 2005 (Washington). A two-time AVCA National Coach of the Year, Cook has enjoyed greater success in the Big 12, going 154-6 in conference matches over the past eight seasons. NU has won seven Big 12 titles in that stretch, including each of the past four years.

Nebraska: All-America U 
NU continued its string of All-America success in 2007 with a school-record five Huskers earning AVCA All-America accolades. Rachel Holloway, Christina Houghtelling, Jordan Larson, Sarah Pavan and Tracy Stalls were all selected, increasing Nebraska’s NCAA-leading totals to 29 players and 62 certificates, respectively.
 Nebraska has had at least one All-American every season since 1983, a total of 26 straight seasons, including 27 in Cook’s eight seasons.

Huskers In Exclusive 1,000 Win Club
The Nebraska volleyball team is one of only five programs to reach the 1,000-win plateau. The Huskers reached the 1,000-win mark at the 2007 Runza/AVCA Showcase and their 1,029 wins is second only to UCLA’s total of 1,060.

Pavan Repeats Top Academic Honor
Former Nebraska volleyball player Sarah Pavan earned one of the most prestigious honors in college athletes on Aug. 12, as she was selected as the ESPN the Magazine Academic All-American of the Year for the University Division (Division I).

A three-time first-team Academic All-American, Pavan became the first-ever student-athlete to repeat as Academic All-American of the Year since the awards’ inception in 1988. She was a four-time first-team All-American on the court, one of only four players in NCAA Division I volleyball history to accomplish the feat, and the 2006-07 Honda-Broderick Award winner.  In addition, she was named as The Big 12 Conference Female Athlete of the Year the last two seasons.

In her career, Pavan set school records with 2,008 career kills and an average of 4.56 kills per game. She led the Cornhuskers to a 126-7 record and four Big 12 championships in her career, leading the Huskers to the 2006 NCAA title.  In the classroom, she was an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship winner and became Nebraska’s most recent NCAA Today’s Top Eight Award winner in January of 2008.

Pavan was one of three Husker seniors in 2007 to be named a first-team Academic All-American, joining Christina Houghtelling and Tracy Stalls.

NCAA Changes for this Season
College volleyball fans at this weekend’s matches will  notice several changes that have been implemented for the 2008 season.  Here are some of the more significant changes for the upcoming year:

Rule Changes
 Coaches Position: When the ball is in play, coaches will be asked to stay at least 1.75 meters from the court’s sideline.  An imaginary line perpendicular to the outside edge of the extended attack line indicates this distance.  If a coach doesn’t comply, the referees may assess a team delay sanction.    
 Terminology: The term “game” will be changed to “set.” A match still consists of the best three out of five sets.
 Points Required to Win a Set: Instead of 30 points, the number of points needed to win sets one through four is now 25 (and a two-point lead).  Fifteen points (and a two-point lead) is still the requirement to win the fifth (deciding) set. It is the same format used during international matches.
 Substitutions: Each team is now allowed a maximum of 12 substitutions per set.   

Points of Emphasis
 Ball-Handling Decisions: In recent years, referee training has emphasized focusing on the player’s contact point with the ball, and not allowing outside influences, such as spin after release, to influence ball-handling decisions.  A 2008 point of emphasis regarding the second team contact now instructs referees to only call multiple contacts that are obvious enough to be readily seen, and to be less severe when judging extremely athletic plays.

Huskers Continue Big 12 Dominance 
 Nebraska’s Big 12 title in 2007 continues one of the most successful runs in NCAA history. The Huskers have won or shared 10 Big 12 titles in the last 12 years and own 29 Big Eight/Big 12 crowns in 32 years of conference action.

Huskers in the Polls
 The Nebraska program is a fixture in the CBS College Sports/AVCA Coaches poll. The Huskers were ranked seventh in the preseason poll released on Aug. 19, and have now been ranked in all 369 polls since its inception in 1982. Nebraska is one of only two schools to hold that distinction, joining Stanford. In addition, the Huskers have been ranked in the top 10 for 335 weeks, which trails only Stanford’s 339 weeks in the top 10.
 The Huskers lead all programs at the top of the poll, spending 81 weeks all-time at No. 1, including an incredible 26-poll stretch over the 2006 and 2007 seasons. The 81 weeks at No. 1 is 30 more than runner-up UCLA in that category.  NU has spent 62 weeks at No. 1 since the start of the 2000 season. That total is more than any other program has spent in the top spot since the AVCA Poll began in 1982.

Noting the Huskers
 ?-The 2008 Huskers feature 10 players (Anderson, Banwarth, Cooper, Delano, Gates, Larson, Licht, McNeal, Mueller, Yanz) who were previously named to Volleyball Magazine’s Fab 50 List, signifying the top 50 players in their respective classes.
 ?-The No. 7 ranking in the preseason CBS College Sports Poll marked the first time in four years at the Huskers did not open the year as the nation’s top-ranked team.
 ?-Seniors Amanda Gates, Jordan Larson and Rachel Schwartz were chosen as tri-captains before fall camp started earlier this month. The trio has helped NU to a 96-5 record during their careers, including three 30-win seasons, two NCAA Championship matches and the 2006 NCAA title.
 ?-Fourteen of Nebraska's 29 regular-season matches this season are against teams that qualified for last season’s NCAA Tournament, including national runner-up Stanford, national semifinalist USC and regional qualifiers Texas, Cal Poly and Iowa State. In addition, NU could also face regional qualifier St. John’s in the Ameritas Players Challenge.
 ?-Nebraska will face seven teams ranked in the CBS College Sports/AVCA poll during the regular season, including non-conference matchups at No. 10 Cal Poly and against No. 21 LSU at the Devaney Center in addition to this weekend’s matches at the Runza/AVCA Showcase.  Four Big 12 teams are ranked in the preseason poll, including No. 3 Texas, No. 14 Kansas State and No.  18 Iowa State.

Up Next: Huskers Host Oral Roberts
The Huskers wrap up the busy opening weekend on Labor Day, as Nebraska hosts Oral Roberts. First serve at the NU Coliseum is set for 4 p.m. and the match audio will be carried on the Husker Sports Network and on Huskers.com. Live video streaming of Monday’s match will also be available on HuskersNside.