No. 2 Huskers Host No. 3 Texas Saturday Night

Upcoming Matches

No. 2 Nebraska (9-0, 1-0 Big 12) vs. No. 3 Texas (6-1, 0-0 Big 12)
Saturday, Sept. 20 ? NU Coliseum ? 7 p.m.
Radio: Husker Sports Network, including B107.3 FM in Lincoln and Twister 93.3 FM in Omaha, and on Huskers.com
Live Stats: Huskers.com
Live Video: Huskers.com (free video)
TV: NET Television (Ch. 12 and Ch. 112 in HD);
 Delayed on CBS College Sports CBS College Sports (DirecTV Ch. 613; DISH Ch. 152) at 2 p.m. Sunday

No. 2 Nebraska vs. Kansas (6-4, 0-1 Big 12)
Wednesday, Sept. 24 ? NU Coliseum ? 7 p.m.
Radio: Husker Sports Network, including B107.3 FM in Lincoln and Twister 93.3 FM in Omaha, and on Huskers.com
Live Stats: Huskers.com
Live Video: Huskers.com (free video)
TV: NET Television (Ch. 12 and Ch. 112 in HD) and Live on CBS College Sports (DirecTV Ch. 613; DISH Ch. 152)

One of the most anticipated matchups of the college volleyball season takes place Saturday, Sept. 20, as second-ranked Nebraska hosts third-ranked Texas. First serve at a sold-out NU Coliseum - the 109th consecutive sellout in the historic building - is set for 7 p.m., and the match will be carried state-wide on NET Television (Ch. 12 and Ch. 112 in HD) with Larry Punteney and Kathi Weiskamp calling all of the action.

Fans can also listen to the match live across the state of Nebraska with John Baylor, Lindsay Peterson and Dani Busboom on the 25-station Husker Sports Network, including B107.3 FM in Lincoln and Twister 93.3 FM in Omaha, and on the Internet at Huskers.com. Saturday’s match will also be video-streamed live for free on Huskers.com.

The third-ranked Longhorns are the highest ranked team to visit the Nebraska Coliseum since Penn State in 1999. It is the Longhorns’ second trip to the state this season, as Texas competed in the season-opening Runza/AVCA College Volleyball Showcase in August at the Qwest Center.

The Huskers (9-0, 1-0 Big 12) opened Big 12 play with an impressive four-set win at No. 18 Kansas State on Wednesday night. All-American Jordan Larson led Nebraska with 21 kills on .372 hitting and 10 digs, while middle blockers Kori Cooper and Amanda Gates combined for 19 kills on .486 hitting and 15 blocks. Cooper had 11 kills and five stuffs, while Gates matched her career best with 10 blocks and chipped in eight kills on just 16 swings. The Huskers totaled a season-best 16 blocks, including seven by Lindsey Licht and five by Brooke Delano in her first career start.

The Longhorns are 6-1 on the season and come to town for their Big 12 opener after an eight-day layoff. Texas’ last match was a four-set win over Georgia on Sept. 12, when the Longhorns hit .404 as a team. On the season, Texas leads the Big 12 with a .316 hitting percentage and has won five straight matches since a five-set loss to then-No. 2 Stanford in Omaha on Aug. 31.

Noting
?-Nebraska Coach John Cook is 16-6 (.727) against top-five teams during his tenure at Nebraska, including 12-2 against top-five teams over the last four years.
?-The Huskers have won their last 75 home matches dating back to the 2004 season. It is the second-longest home win streak in NCAA volleyball history, trailing Penn State’s record of 87 set between 1995 and 2000.
? Kori Cooper has been dominant in recent weeks, averaging 2.50 kills per set on .581 hitting in her last three matches. Cooper, who leads the Big 12 in hitting percentage, totaled a season-best 11 kills at Kansas State on Wednesday night.
?-Jordan Larson needs one more ace to break Val Novak’s school record of 161 career service aces. Larson’s has played significantly fewer matches than Novak. Larson will play her 110th match at Nebraska on Saturday, while Novak played in 136 career matches.
?-Nebraska’s defense continues to be stout, as the Huskers held Kansas State to a season-low .117 hitting on Wednesday night after KSU came into the match with a .291 hitting percentage. NU has limited all nine opponents to under .200 hitting and held the last six foes to a combined .103 hitting percentage.
 ?-Saturday’s matchup features the top hitting team in the Big 12 (Texas, .316) against the league’s best hitting percentage defense (Nebraska, .122).
 ?-Nebraska is 90-13 (.874) against ranked opponents under John Cook, including 16 wins over top-five ranked teams.
?-Saturday’s match between NU and Texas will be the eighth time since 1996 that both teams have been ranked in the top 10-nationally at game time. NU is 6-1 in the previous matchups.
?-The Huskers’ four wins over ranked opponents is the most by any team in the country. NU is the only Big 12 team this year to win a road match against a ranked foe, collecting wins at No. 14 Cal Poly and No. 18 Kansas State.
?-Two-time All-American Jordan Larson picked up her 40th career double-double at Kansas State on Sept. 17, totaling 21 kills and 10 digs. In her career, the Huskers are 39-1 when Larson posts a double-double.
?-Nebraska has won 66 straight home matches at the NU Coliseum dating back to September of 2004 and have dropped only four sets in the last 40 home matches in the building dating back to 2005.
?-When K-State won the second set from the Huskers, it snapped a streak of 22 consecutive sets won by the Big Red, dating back to Aug. 31 against No. 4 USC.

Scouting Texas
Under Head Coach Jerritt Elliott (162-59 in eight years), the Longhorns are 6-1 on the season and come into Saturday’s Big 12 opener ranked No. 3 in the country. With a lineup featuring four returning All-Americans, the Longhorns have reached the regional final in each of the last two years. Outside hitter Destinee Hooker paces the Longhorn attack with 3.84 kills per set, while fellow All-American outside hitter Juliann Faucette has added more than 3.00 kills per set. UT’s most versatile player is Ashley Engle, who averages 2.48 kills and 1.16 blocks per set while serving as an occasional setter in 6-2 sets. UT owns a five-match win streak with its only loss of 2008 coming to Stanford in the Runza/AVCA Showcase.

Series History: NU is 28-13 all-time against Texas in a series that dates back to 1981, and the Huskers have won 15 of the last 17 meetings and 20 of 24 tilts since the Big 12 was formed in 1996.  The most memorable matchup between the two schools came in the 1995 NCAA championship match. That day, the Huskers toppled Texas, 3-1, in Amherst, Mass., en route to their first national title.

Last Meeting: Sarah Pavan totaled 17 kills, but No. 5 Texas snapped the Huskers’ 29-match win streak with a 3-0 victory over No. 1 Nebraska on Oct. 24. Destinee Hooker and Juliann Faucette combined for 30 kills, as Texas became the first Big 12 team to sweep the Huskers since the Longhorns accomplished the feat in 1997. Pavan finished with 17 kills, but the Huskers hit a season-low .145. Hooker tied Pavan for match-high honors, while hitting .455 on 33 swings. Faucette finished with 13 kills, seven digs and three blocks.

Husker Probable Starters
MB - #17 Amanda Gates: 6-2, Sr., Columbus, Neb. - Gates brings extensive experience in her fourth season in the program and first as a full-time starter. She averages 1.32 kills and a team-best 1.36 blocks per set, ranking fourth in the Big 12 in that category. Gates has led NU in blocks four times in 2008. She comes off the best match of her career on Wednesday, tying a career high with 10 blocks and added eight hits on .438 hitting against No. 18 Kansas State. Gates had a solid match against No. 4 USC on Aug. 31 with seven kills on .357 hitting and six blocks. Last year, she averaged 1.29 kills and 0.81 blocks per set over 16 matches, highlighted by a season-high eight kills against Texas A&M. 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 is averaging 2.18 kills on .442 hitting and 1.11 blocks per set, leading the Big 12 in hitting percentage. Cooper has hit .500 or better in five of the Huskers’ nine matches in 2008. She dominated the inside at K-State on Sept. 17 with a season-high 11 kills without an error and five stuffs. She had her best weekend of the year, averaging 2.50 kills on .636 hitting and 1.50 blocks per set at the Players Challenge to earn all-tournament honors. In that tournament, Cooper had eight kills and four stuffs against LSU before totaling seven kills on eight swings and five blocks in a sweep of New Mexico. Last year, Cooper averaged 2.31 kills and 1.01 blocks per set, 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-set win against Missouri. She 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 also carries a 3.81 GPA in speech language pathology.

S - #1 Sydney Anderson: 6-0, So., Alta, Utah - Anderson is in her first season in the program after spending the 2007 season with the U.S. National Team in Colorado Springs. The Big 12 Preseason Newcomer of the Year, Anderson averages 11.16 assists, 2.12 digs, and 0.44 aces per set, ranking second in the league in assists and third in digs. Anderson posted her second double-double of the year Wednesday at Kansas State,  dishing out 46 assists along with 10 digs and a trio of aces.  Anderson has been named to the all-tournament team in all three of NU’s tournaments in 2008. Last weekend, Anderson averaged 10.67 assists, 1.33 kills (on .667 hitting) and 2.67 digs a set in a pair of sweeps. At the Cal Poly Tournament, she averaged 11.67 assists per set, including 39 assists and 10 digs in a win over No. 14 Cal Poly. She earned Big 12 Newcomer-of-the-Week accolades for the first time on Sept. 2 after guiding the Huskers to a perfect 3-0 week. Anderson had a career-high five aces in the win over No. 4 USC. She was a member of the U.S. A-2 National Team at the USA Open in both 2007 and 2008. Anderson 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 - #5 Rachel Schwartz: 5-9, Sr., Lincoln, Neb. -  Schwartz is one of NU’s primary defensive players, averaging 2.03 digs and 0.24 service aces per set. She turned in one of the best efforts of her career at Kansas State on Sept. 17, with a season-high 17 aces while handling nearly all of the Huskers’ passing duties. Schwartz had seven digs in both of the Huskers’ matches at the Players Challenge, and showed off her serving at Cal Poly two weeks ago with three consecutive aces against Tulane on Sept. 6. Schwartz 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 against  Missouri.

-or - #2 Kayla Banwarth: 5-10, So., Dubuque, Iowa - Banwarth is in her first full season as NU’s libero, averaging 4.00 digs and 0.68 assists per set, ranking fourth in the Big 12 in digs. She has reached double figures in digs seven times in eight matches and in 14 of her 16 career starts at NU. She earned a spot on the AVCA Showcase All-Tournament team after averaging 4.85 digs per set in wins over No. 2 Stanford and No. 4 USC, including 20 against the Women of Troy. 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. 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 in 2007.

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 averages 2.41 kills and 1.07 blocks per set this season and has hit .450 or better in a pair of matches. She nearly collected her first double-double at Kansas State with 12 digs, seven blocks and six kills. Licht tied her career high with 10 kills and added four blocks against LSU on Sept. 12.  She had a career-best 10 kills on .450 hitting against No. 2 Stanford and had a career-high eight blocks against No. 4 USC. As a freshman, Licht appeared in 13 matches, averaging 0.59 kills per set in 25 contests. Licht was a two-time Mizuno/Volleyball Magazine All-American and was a Volleyball Magazine Fab 50 selection in 2007.

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. This fall, Larson is averaging 3.76 kills, 2.72 digs and 0.48 service aces per set, ranking third in the league in aces and fifth in both points and sixth in kills. She has been named to the all-tournament teams in each of NU’s first three events and was chosen as MVP of the Players Challenge after averaging 3.83 kills, 0.60 aces and 0.67 blocks per set. Larson carried the Huskers to a win at K-State, matching her career best with 21 kills on .372 hitting and adding 10 digs and two blocks for her second double-double of the year. She had 11 kills and 11 digs in a win at No. 14 Cal Poly on Sept. 5 and earned AVCA Showcase All-Tournament honors after totaling 27 kills, six service aces and 19 digs in wins over No. 2 Stanford and No. 4 USC. Larson was 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 averaged 4.13 kills and 3.50 digs per set in 2006 and was the only player in the Big 12 to rank in the top 10 in both categories.

OH - #8 Brooke Delano: 6-4, R-Fr., Bellevue, Neb. - Delano has been the Huskers’ top reserve at middle blocker and outside hitter, averaging 1.50 kills, 1.70 digs and 0.80 blocks per set in four matches. She comes off a solid effort in her first career start at Kansas State on Sept. 17. In that match, she established career bests for kills (seven), digs (16) and blocks (four) while also recording her first ace. Delano saw her first extensive action at outside hitter against Northeastern on Sept. 5, coming up wth six kills on 12 swings. A former Volleyball Magazine Fab 50 pick, Delano redshirted in 2007, as she backed up All-American Tracy Stalls.

-or - #19 Tara Mueller: 6-0, So., Scottsdale, Ariz. - Mueller moves into the starting outside hitter role and  averages 3.20 kills and 1.76 digs per set. She has been in double figures in kills four times, including 12 kills and three aces against New Mexico on Sept. 13. Mueller was selected to the  Cal Poly all-tournament team after averaging 3.67 kills, 1.67 digs and 0.78 blocks per set. She matched her personal best with 15 kills against Tulane on Sept. 6 and had 13 kills on .440 hitting and seven digs against No. 14 Cal Poly on Sept. 5. Mueller opened the year with a career-best 15 kills in a sweep of No. 2 Stanford on Aug. 29.  Mueller averaged 1.27 kills on .211 hitting, 0.95 digs and 0.36 blocks per set in 13 matches in 2007. A Volleyball Magazine Fab 50 selection, Mueller was the 2005 Gatorade Player of the Year in Arizona and started for the U.S. Junior National Team in 2007.

Last Time Out
Nebraska’s seniors shined on one of the toughest stages in the Big 12, as No. 2 Nebraska downed No. 18 Kansas State, 3-1. All-American Jordan Larson led the way, matching her career high with 21 kills on .372 hitting and 10 digs, as NU got big efforts from Larson, Amanda Gates and Rachel Schwartz in posting their ninth consecutive win over the Wildcats.

Gates tied career bests in both kills (eight) and blocks (10), while Schwartz started at libero for the first time this season and came up with a match-high 17 digs to help hold KSU to a season-low .117 hitting.

Nebraska found contributions across the lineup, as Kori Cooper totaled 11 kills and added five blocks while Sydney Anderson collected her second double-double of the season with 46 assists, 10 digs and three aces. The biggest assists came from redshirt freshman Brooke Delano who totaled 16 digs, seven kills and four blocks in her first career start and Lindsey Licht, who notched a career-best 12 digs and added seven stuffs and six kills, as her and Delano were forced to play the entire match, as starters Tara Mueller and Kayla Banwarth missed the match.