Huskers Begin Busy Week with Creighton

The Nebraska volleyball team opens up the home portion of the 2009 schedule Tuesday night, as the Huskers welcome the Creighton Bluejays to the NU Coliseum. First serve is set for 7 p.m., and the match will be carried on the Husker Sports Network, including B107.3 FM in Lincoln and Twister 93.3 FM in Omaha, and on Huskers.com. In addition, the match will be streamed live on the Internet on HuskersNside (subscription required). A sellout crowd of 4,000-plus will be on hand for the program’s 121st consecutive sellout.

The Huskers (1-1) come off a grueling five-set win over No. 11 Minnesota Saturday night in the Runza/AVCA Showcase in Omaha. The Huskers held the Gophers to .110 hitting, while Tara Mueller (17 kills and 16 digs) and Sydney Anderson (46 assists and 11 digs) both posted double-doubles. Sophomore Brooke Delano shined for the Big Red, drilling a career-high 14 kills on .400 hitting while also pacing the Huskers with five blocks, as 12 players saw action in the win. The Huskers dipped from third to sixth in Monday’s AVCA poll following a 1-1 weekend.

Tuesday’s match is the Huskers’ 2009 home opener, and could potentially be a record-setting night. The Huskers  will be seeking their 88th consecutive home win, trying to top the mark of 87 they share with Penn State between 1995 and 2000. The win streak stretches back to the 2004 season, as last year’s seniors became the first Husker class go undefeated at home

Creighton also comes off a 1-1 weekend, as they defeated Texas Tech and fell to No. 10 Illinois on Saturday night. Middle blocker Jessica Houts leads the Bluejays with 3.00 kills and a team-high 1.50 blocks per set, while four other Bluejays are averaging better than two kills per set. Houts was an honorable-mention All-American in 2008 for Creighton.

Scouting Creighton
The Bluejays come into Tuesday’s match with a 1-1 mark after splitting a pair of matches at the Bluejay Invitational last weekend. The Bluejays swept Texas Tech before falling to No. 10 Illinois in the title match.
Creighton returns four starters from a squad that went 18-9 and finished second in the Missouri Valley Conference. The Bluejays were picked to finish fourth in the MVC by the league coaches.

Honorable-mention All-American middle blocker Jessica Houts leads the Creighton attack. She was named MVC Defensive Player of the Year in 2008 when she averaged a team-high 1.35 blocks and led Creighton with 3.14 kills per set. Houts totaled 18 kills and nine blocks in Creighton’s two matches last weekend. Outside hitter Allie Oelke also performed well, totaling 2.67 kills and 1.00 blocks per set in two contests. Redshirt freshman setter Megan Bober also averaged 2.17 kills along with 8.83 assists over the weekend.

Series History: Nebraska is a perfect 11-0 all-time against Creighton, dating back to 1980, and 9-0 since the Bluejays reinstated their program. NU has swept 10 of the matchups, with Creighton winning a set in the 2006 meeting at the Qwest Center. That match drew 12,112, the second-largest regular-season crowd in NCAA history at the time.

Last Meeting with Creighton
No. 2 Nebraska put on a defensive show, holding Creighton to a season-low .091 hitting in posting a 25-19, 25-18, 25-19 victory at the Qwest Center last October. The Huskers totaled 65 digs on the afternoon and received then-season highs from both Kayla Banwarth (20) and Jordan Larson (19). Nebraska’s stout defensive performance was not limited to digging, as the Huskers also recorded 12 blocks, including six from Kori Cooper and four from Lindsey Licht.  While Nebraska used its defense to stifle Creighton, Tara Mueller paced the offensive charge with a match-high 15 kills and added eight digs. Larson fell one kill short of a double-double with nine kills, while Sydney Anderson also fell one dig short of a double-double of her own, finishing with nine digs and 39 assists.

NU-Creighton Quick Sets
 ?-Creighton starting setter Megan Bober is the younger sister of Husker women’s basketball player Nikki Bober.
 ?-Creighton assistant coach Angie Oxley Behrens was a four-year starter at Nebraska (1997-2000) and was a co-captain of NU’s 2000 national title team.
 ?-The two rosters feature a total of nine players from the state of Nebraska, including six for the Huskers.

Quick Hits
 ?-Sophomore Brooke Delano led the Huskers in kills  in both of NU’s contests last weekend, including a career-high 14 kills against Minnesota. It marked the first time a Husker middle blocker has led the Huskers in kills in consecutive matches since 2003, when  Melissa Elmer accomplished the feat against Dayton and UCLA. Delano’s 21 kills in two matches last week equaled her entire 2008 total.

 ?-Nebraska’s loss to Michigan marked the Huskers’ first regular-season non-conference loss since 2004. Prior to Friday’s setback, the Huskers had won their last 39 regular-season non-conference matches.

 ?-Five players made their Husker debuts over the weekend, including outside hitters Gina Mancuso and Hannah Werth, setter Jessica Yanz, middle blocker Allison McNeal and defensive specialist Megan Pendergast. Werth became the first freshman to start a season-opening match since Jordan Larson in 2005 and just the fifth true freshman to start a season opener under John Cook

Husker True Freshman to Start Season Openers Since 2000
Year Player
2009 Hannah Werth
2005 Jordan Larson
2004  Sarah Pavan & Tracy Stalls
2002 Jennifer Saleaumua

?-Kayla Banwarth’s 32 digs against Minnesota on Aug. 29, marked the third-best performance in school history and Nebraska’s highest total in the rally scoring era. Over the last two seasons, only one player in the Big 12 ? Missouri’s Caitlyn Vann ? had more digs in a match than Banwarth did against Minnesota. As a team, Nebraska totaled 92 digs against Minnesota - its highest single-match total since recording 109 digs against USC in 2004.

?-The Huskers have done a good job of bouncing back from losses under Head Coach John Cook. The Huskers are 12-1 in matches after a loss in the same season (Cook’s other seven losses have come in the NCAA Tournament).

Husker Potential Starters
MB - #15 Kori Cooper: 6-2, Sr., Amarillo, Texas - Senior co-captain who returned to action in 2009 following knee surgery. She totaled six kills on .455 hitting and four blocks against No. 16 Michigan on Aug. 28. Cooper was named first-team All-Big 12 and honorable-mention All-American after averaging 2.09 kills  on .396 hitting and 0.88 blocks per set. She has a career .366 hitting percentage, which ranks sixth among all players with at least 500 kills. Cooper has 40 career matches where she has hit .400 or better (with a minimum of 10 swings) and hit a personal-best .396 in 2008 to rank second in the Big 12 and 10th nationally.

-or- MB - #6 Jordan Wilberger: 6-1, So., Scottsbluff, Neb. - Wilberger came off the bench against No. 11 Minnesota on Aug. 29 to deliver six kills on .625 hitting and three blocks in her first action of the year. She started NU’s last seven matches at middle blocker and averaged 1.12 kills on .338 hitting and 0.85 blocks per set in 2008. Wilberger had a career-high seven kills on .700 hitting against Liberty in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

MB/RS - #8 Brooke Delano: 6-2, So., Bellevue, Neb. - Sophomore who see action at middle or on the right side. Earned a spot on the AVCA Showcase All-Tournament team, as she averaged 2.62 kills on .348 hitting and 0.88 blocks per set. Delano had career bests in kills (14), blocks (five) and hitting percentage (.400) in the victory over No. 11 Minnesota. Delano appeared in 13 matches in 2008,  averaging 1.00 kill, 0.67 blocks and 0.81 digs per set before undergoing season-ending surgery. Her best match of the year came in her first career start at No. 17 Kansas State on Sept. 17. In that match, she established season bests for kills (seven), digs (16) and blocks (four).

RS - #4 Lindsey Licht: 6-5, Jr., Aurora, Colo. - Licht returns for her second year on the right side and is averaging 1.75 kills and a team-high 1.00 blocks per set. She had seven kills and four blocks in both of NU’s Runza/AVCA Showcase matches. She started on the right side in 2008, averaging 2.56 kills and 0.90 blocks per set to rank among team leaders in both categories. She reached double figures in kills in 14 matches, including a career-best 17 kills on .500 hitting against No. 3 Texas on Sept. 20, 2008. Licht was named to the Seattle Regional All-Tournament team, averaging 2.12 kills and 1.38 blocks per set, leading NU with six stuffs against No. 19 Michigan on Dec. 12.

L - #2 Kayla Banwarth: 5-10, Jr., Dubuque, Iowa - Banwarth is in her third year as NU’s starting libero and leads the Big 12 with 5.38 digs and also chipped in 1.25 assists per set. She had a career highs in digs (32) and assists (six) in the win over No. 11 Minnesota, as he 32 digs ranked third in school history. Banwarth was third in the Big 12 in digs per set (4.12) in 2008, while her 470 digs in 2008 ranked third in school history. She reached double figures in digs in 29 matches last season, including five matches with at least 20 digs. Her career high is 27 set against Texas A&M on Nov. 5, 2008.

S - #1 Sydney Anderson: 6-0, Jr., Salt Lake City, Utah - Anderson is a returning AVCA All-American who has been chosen as one of the 2009 captains. Anderson earned a spot on the 2009 Runza/AVCA Showcase after averaging 8.75 assists and 2.38 digs per set. She had 46 assists and 11 digs in Nebraska’s win over No. 11 Minnesota. She averaged 11.60 assists, 2.05 digs and 0.29 aces per set in 2008, ranking eighth nationally in assists and among the Big 12 leaders in service aces. She totaled eight double-doubles in 2008, as Nebraska ranked in the top-15 nationally in kills and assists per set and hitting  percentage.

-or - S - #11 Jessica Yanz: 6-0, Jr., Boilingbrook, Ill. - Yanz is used in the Huskers’ 6-2 offensive sets and made her Husker debut against Minnesota on Aug. 29. She had to sit out the 2008 season after transferring from Penn State. Yanz played in 18 matches in 2007, averaging 6.33 assists per set, including 22 assists in a match against Nebraska at the Qwest Center. She started four matches and had a career-high 42 assists against Virginia Commonwealth to help the Nittany Lions to an NCAA title.

OH - #19 Tara Mueller: 6-0, Jr., Scottsdale, Ariz. - Mueller is a returning All-American at outside hitter and is averaging 2.75 kills and 2.75 digs per set. She had a match-high 17 kills and tied a career high with 16 digs in the win against No. 11 Minnesota. She averaged 3.51 kills and 2.37 digs per set in 2008, ranking sixth in the Big 12 in kills per set. She totaled eight double-doubles, setting career highs of 24 kills and 16 digs against No. 5 Washington on Dec. 13, 2008. Mueller was the Most Outstanding Player of the Seattle Regional, averaging 4.00 kills and 3.25 digs per set in wins over Washington and Michigan. Mueller has two career matches with at least 20 kills, as she also totaled 20 kills against Kansas State in 2008.

OH - #7 Gina Mancuso: 6-1, Fr., Omaha, Neb. - Mancuso is one of the contenders to start on the outside in 2009. She made her first start against No. 11 Minnesota, totaling nine kills, 13 digs and four blocks against the Golden Gophers. Mancuso was the Gatorade and Volleyball Magazine National High School Player of the Year in 2008, totaling 721 kills on .452 hitting and 373 digs at Papillion-LaVista High School. She was a three-time all-state performer who ranks second in state history with 2,371 career kills and she also totaled 1,320 digs in high school. She led the Nebraska Juniors to the 2009 Junior Olympic 18-and-under title, earning MVP honors. Her older sister, Dani, started on NU’s 2006 NCAA title team.

-or- OH - #44 Hannah Werth: 6-1, Fr., Springfield, Ill. - Werth enrolled at Nebraska in January and is battling for the starting outside hitter role. Werth started the season opener against No. 11 Michigan and totaled five kills and eight digs in two sets of action. She started all three spring matches, totaling a match-high 15 kills at Hawaii in her Husker debut. She was the MVP of the 2008 AVCA/Under Armour High School All-America match at the Qwest Center. Werth was a  first-team All-American by Volleyball Magazine and the AVCA after totaling 606 kills on .414 hitting, 252 assists, 220 digs and 54 aces. She finished her career with a state record 2,022 kills and was the  Gatorade Illinois High School Player of the Year in 2008.