Huskers Head to Waco for Showdown with Baylor

No. 7 Nebraska (12-4, 5-2 Big 12) vs. No. 19 Baylor (17-2, 6-2 Big 12) Wednesday, Oct. 14 ?  Waco, Texas ? 7 p.m. Radio: Husker Sports Network, including B107.3 FM in Lincoln and KTWI 93.3 FM in Omaha, and on Huskers.com TV: None Live Stats: Huskers.com Video: None

The Nebraska volleyball team hits the road for an important two-match stretch this week. The Huskers, who climbed from ninth to seventh in the AVCA Coaches poll released Monday, travel to No. 19 Baylor Wednesday night at 7 p.m. The match will be will be carried on selected Husker Sports Network stations and on Huskers.com with John Baylor and Lindsay Peterson calling all of the action. There will be no video coverage of the match on HuskersNside.

The Huskers (12-4, 5-2 Big 12) come off one of the best efforts of the season, sweeping Kansas State on Saturday night for their third straight win. The Huskers hit .319 as a team, and had five players finish with at least seven kills. Sydney Anderson dished out 35 assists, while Tara Mueller and Hannah Werth paced the Huskers with 10 kills apiece. Middle blockers Kori Cooper and Brook Delano combined for 14 kills and nine blocks, while Lindsey Licht rounded out the attack with seven kills and a match-high six blocks.

Baylor is enjoying its best start in program history, as the Bears come into Wednesday’s match with a 17-2 mark, including a 6-2 Big 12 record. The Bears saw their six-match win streak snapped against Texas A&M on Saturday, as the match drew a program-record crowd of 3,022. The Bears, which a trio of four-year starters including All-Big 12 middle blocker Anna Breyfogle, who leads the Big 12 in both blocks (1.53) and hitting percentage (.385) and All-Big 12 setter Taylor Barnes, who is among the league leaders in assists per set (10.78).

By the Numbers
4 - Number of aces by freshman Gina Mancuso against K-State on Saturday. It was the most a Husker this season and  by a Husker since Sydney Anderson had five against USC on Aug. 31, 2008.
6 - Number of matches this season where Kayla Banwarth has had at least 20 digs following her 20-dig effort in the sweep of K-State. Banwarth is now 111 digs away from reaching the 1,000 mark in her career.
.392 - Kori Cooper’s hitting percentage over Nebraska’s last four matches dating back to Sept. 26. Cooper is averaging 2.40 kills per set in that stretch.

Scouting Baylor
Under Coach Jim Barnes (94-83 in six years at Baylor), the Bears are enjoying their best start in school history. BU is 17-2 on the year with their only losses coming at the hands to No. 2 Texas and Texas A&M. The Bears already have a pair of wins over ranked opponents, picking up a five-set win of Purdue  and sweeping Iowa State, both in Waco. The Bears are looking to make their first NCAA Tournament since 2001.
Baylor, which lost just one player from a team that won 18 matches in 2008, features one of the Big 12’s top setters in Taylor Barnes. She averages 10.78 assists, 1.22 kills and 0.42 service aces per set, while helping the Bears hit .270 as a team. All-Big 12 middle blocker Anna Breyfogle leads the Big 12 in both blocks (1.53) and hitting percentage (.385) while chipping in 2.68 kills per set. In all, Baylor has four players averaging more than two kills per set, including a team-high 3.22 kills per set by senior Katie Sanders and 2.97 kills per set by Ashlie Christenson. Freshman middle blocker Torri Campbell is the fourth BU player averaging more then 2.00 kills per set, as she averages 2.10 kills and 0.88 blocks per set.

Series History: Nebraska is a perfect 27-0 all-time against Baylor, as the teams met only once prior to the start of the Big 12 in 1995. NU has dropped only five sets in the series history.

Last Matchup:  Jordan Larson’s match-high 20 kills and 18 digs led No. 4 Nebraska to its fifth consecutive Big 12 title, as the Huskers gutted out a 25-22, 26-28, 25-10, 25-20. Larson’s 13th double-double of the year led an inspired effort from the Huskers, as Nebraska won the Big 12 title for the fifth consecutive year and the 11th time in the Big 12’s 13 years of existence.
Sophomores Tara Mueller and Lindsey Licht totaled 12 kills apiece for the Huskers, as Licht added six of the Huskers’ season-best 16 blocks. Redshirt freshman Jordan Wilberger added a career-high eight stuffs, as Nebraska held the Bears to .116 hitting.
The Huskers showed resiliency all night, overcoming a six-point deficit in the first set and trailing 19-14  in the fourth set before closing the match with a 11-1 run. Trailing 20-19, Nebraska ran off the match’s final six points, as Sydney Anderson ran off the final five points at the service line.

Nebraska-Baylor Series Notes
? The two programs met only once - a Husker sweep on Sept. 22, 1995 - before the Big 12 Conference was formed.
? Nebraska has swept Baylor in 22 of the 27 all-time meetings, as Baylor has won five sets in the all-time series.
? Nebraska hit .500 as a team on Sept. 29, 2007 - its best single-match performance since the 2001 season.

Husker Potential Starters
MB -  #15 Kori Cooper: 6-2, Sr., Amarillo, Texas - Senior co-captain is easing her way back into the lineup following knee surgery last November. Cooper is averaging 1.93 kills and 0.90 blocks per set. In her last five matches, Cooper is averaging 2.21 kills per set and hitting .367 in that stretch.  The senior had seven kills on .462 hitting and four block against K-State on Oct. 10. She had season bests in kills (13) and hitting percentage (.462) at Oklahoma on Sept. 30, marking the third straight match she has enjoyed season bests in kills. Cooper added nine kills on .316 hitting against No. 2 Texas on Sept. 26. Cooper 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 in 2008 after averaging 2.09 kills  on .396 hitting and 0.88 blocks per set. Cooper has 42 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.

MB - #8 Brooke Delano: 6-2, So., Bellevue, Neb. -  Third-year sophomore who has started at middle blocker in 2009, and averages 2.36 kills and 1.18 blocks per set. She is third in the Big 12 in both blocks and hitting percentage (.356). She reached double figures in kills six times, including a season-best 14 kills on .414 hitting at Oklahoma on Sept. 30. Delano has hit .400 or better eight times on the season, including a career-best .600 with 10 kills, five blocks and five digs against Kansas on Oct. 7. She had seven kills and five blocks against No. 2 Texas on Sept. 26 and totaled 10 kills on .474 hitting in NU’s Big 12 opener against Texas Tech on Sept. 16. Delano was one of two Huskers named to the Ameritas Players Challenge All-Tournament team, as she averaged 2.33 kills per set on .415 hitting and 1.00 blocks per set. Delano averaged 2.00 kills on .424 hitting and 1.88 blocks per set in two matches at the Tiger Classic. She had nine kills on .389 hitting and a career-high nine blocks (including four solo stuffs) against LSU on Sept. 4, and followed up with seven kills on .467 hitting and six blocks in a sweep of Tulane. She 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 on Aug. 29 at the Runza/AVCA Showcase. Delano appeared in 13 matches in 2008, averaging 1.00 kills, 0.67 blocks and 0.81 digs per set before undergoing season-ending surgery last November.

RS - #4 Lindsey Licht: 6-5, Jr., Aurora, Colo. - Licht returns for her second year on the right side and is averaging 2.46 kills and 1.10 blocks per set to rank sixth in the Big 12 in blocks. Licht has been in double figures in kills six times in 2009. She led Nebraska with six blocks and added seven kills against K-State on Oct. 10, and had six kills and four blocks against Kansas on Oct. 7.  Licht had 14 kills and three blocks in the win at Oklahoma on Sept. 30. She played well at Texas A&M on Sept. 23, recording 13 kills on .423 hitting and three blocks.  Licht had a strong performance at Colorado on Sept. 19, drilling 16 kills on a season-high .481 hitting and adding two blocks. Licht totaled nine kills and had a season-high seven blocks in the loss to No. 8 UCLA on Sept. 13. She turned in a strong effort at the Tiger Classic, averaging 2.91 kills and 1.18 blocks per set in three contests. Licht put together her best match of the year against LSU with a season-best 15 kills and six blocks, highlighted by four kills and two blocks in the fifth set. Against Tulane, she came back with 11 kills on .409 hitting and five blocks in a sweep of the Green Wave.  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.

-or- OH - #7 Gina Mancuso: 6-1, Fr., Omaha, Neb. - Mancuso is seeing time at both the outside hitter position and as a back-row specialist on the right side. She is averaging 0.89 kills, 1.81 digs and 0.21 service aces per set in 14 matches. Against Kansas State on Oct. 10, she racked up a career best four service aces and added five digs against the Wildcats.  Mancuso matched her career high with 13 digs at Oklahoma on Sept. 30, one of 10 matches this year with at least five digs.  She had eight digs, a pair of kills and a service ace against Colorado on Sept. 19.  She had a career-high 10 kills and added eight digs in a sweep of UL-Lafayette and collected eight kills on .312 hitting and four blocks against Tulane on Sept. 5. She made her first start at outside hitter 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.

L - #2 Kayla Banwarth: 5-10, Jr., Dubuque, Iowa - Banwarth is in her third year as NU’s starting libero and is third in the Big 12 with 4.63 digs per set and also chips in 1.31 assists per set. Banwarth has reached double figures in digs in NU’s last 22 contests dating back to last season following an 20-dig effort against Kansas State on Oct. 10. She has six matches with at least 20 digs this year and recorded her first career double-double at Oklahoma on Sept. 30 with 26 digs and a career-best 10 assists.  Banwarth had 20 digs and a then-career-best eight assists at Texas A&M on Sept. 20 and totaled 20 digs and a pair of service aces in NU’s four-set win over BYU on Sept. 11. Banwarth was named the Defensive MVP of the Tiger Classic, as she collected 4.82 digs per set, while limiting NU’s three opponents to a combined .054 hitting. She had 21 digs and a career-high seven assists in the victory over LSU. Banwarth had career highs in digs (32) and assists (6) in the win over No. 11 Minnesota on Aug. 29, as her 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 ranked third in school history.

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. She averages 10.50 assists, 0.71 kills and 2.69 digs per set. Anderson is sixth in the league in assists and has a team-best nine double-doubles (assists-digs), most recently a 54-assist, 16-dig effort at Oklahoma on Sept. 30, where she turned in season highs in both categories.  Against Kansas State on Oct. 10, Anderson dished out 36 assists and helped the Huskers hit .319 as a team.  She has seven matches with at least 40 assists this season, including a then-season-best 51 digs at LSU on Sept. 4. Anderson was selected to the Ameritas Players Challenge all-tournament team, as she averaged 10.58 assists, 1.00 kills and 2.83 digs per set. Against BYU, she dished out 49 assists and added 10 digs and a career-best seven kills on .778 hitting. Anderson was selected as the Offensive MVP of the LSU Tiger Classic on Sept. 5, when she averaged 9.90 assists, 2.40 digs and 0.50 blocks per set. She had a double-double against LSU, collecting a season-high 51 assists and matching her Husker career best with 14 digs. Anderson earned a spot on the 2009 Runza/AVCA Showcase all-tournament team with 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.

OH - #19 Tara Mueller: 6-0, Jr., Scottsdale, Ariz. - Mueller is a returning All-American at outside hitter and is averaging a team-high 3.20 kills and 2.54 digs per set. Mueller tied for team-high honors with 10 kills on .368 hitting against Kansas State on Oct. 10. She had just five kills, but matched her career best with 16 digs at Oklahoma on Sept. 30. Mueller had a team-high 13 kills and a season-best four blocks (including two solos) against No. 2 Texas on Sept. 26. She led NU with a match-high 21 kills and added six digs at Texas A&M on Sept. 23, her fourth career match with at least 20 kills. Mueller had 11 kills on .350 hitting and added eight digs at Colorado on Sept. 19. She totaled 44 kills and eight aces in three matches at the Ameritas Players Challenge, including 17 kills in NU’s loss to No. 8 UCLA on Sept. 13. Mueller averaged 3.62 kills and 2.88 digs per set in two wins at the Tiger Classic to earn a place on the all-tournament team. She had a season-high 22 kills and 15 digs in the win over LSU on Sept. 4, and hit .412 on 17 swings against Tulane on Sept. 5. Mueller 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 seven 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 - #44 Hannah Werth: 6-1, Fr., Springfield, Ill. - Werth enrolled at Nebraska in January and has earned one of the starting spots at outside hitter. She is averaging 2.88 kills and 2.67 digs per set, ranking second on the team in kills and third in digs per set.  Werth leads all Big 12 freshmen in kills per set and is third (first among non-liberos) in digs per set. She was named Big 12 Rookie of the Week for a third time on Oct. 12, as she averaged 4.17 kills per set on .426 hitting last week. She had 10 kills on .389 hitting in a sweep of Kansas State on Oct. 10.  Werth enjoyed one of her best matches of the year, drilling 15 kills on .448 hitting and adding nine digs against Kansas on Oct. 7. It was one of five times she has topped NU in kills this season. Werth had a career-high 17 kills and 10 digs at Oklahoma on Sept. 30 for her fifth double-double of the year.  She earned Big 12 Rookie honors for the second time this year, averaging  2.75 kills and 2.62 digs per set against Texas A&M and No. 2 Texas.  Werth had her fourth double-double of the season at Texas A&M with 11 kills and 12 digs.  She recorded 14 kills  and a season-high 23 digs against No. 8 UCLA on Sept. 13. She had a then-career-high 13 kills on .455 hitting against UL-Lafayette and collected her first career double-double with 11 kills and 10 digs against LSU on Sept. 4. Werth was the MVP of the 2008 AVCA/Under Armour High School All-America match. She 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.

Last Time Out: Huskers Sweep K-State
Ninth-ranked Nebraska relied on a balanced attack to sweep Kansas State, 25-13, 25-19, 25-18, on Oct. 10 at the NU Coliseum. The Huskers hit .319 ?its best performance in conference action ? while all five attackers recorded between seven and 10 kills. All-American Sydney Anderson dished out 35 assists and helped four players ? Tara Mueller, Hannah Werth, Brooke Delano and Kori Cooper - hit over .350 on the night. Cooper and Delano combined for 14 kills on .444 hitting and nine blocks, as Cooper totaled seven kills on a match-high .462 hitting, while Delano also had seven kills on .429 hitting and five blocks. Mueller and Werth were just as efficient on the outside with 10 kills apiece in helping the Huskers to their eighth sweep of the year.
While the Huskers relied on offensive balance, it was Nebraska’s serving game which gave Kansas State fits. NU racked up eight aces, including a career-best four from Gina Mancuso, and had a season-low two service errors.

Power of Pink Match Set for Oct. 21
The Huskers volleyball team will participate in the Power of Pink in their next home match against Iowa State on Wednesday, Oct. 21. October is Breast Cancer Awareness month and volleyball programs around the country are participating in a variety of activities. The match club will be selling pink T-shirts that night to raise money as well.

Oct. 24th Match vs. OU to Start at 7 p.m.
The Nebraska Athletic Department announced Tuesday that the Huskers’ volleyball match with Oklahoma on Saturday, Oct. 24, will take place at 7 p.m. at the Nebraska Coliseum. The start time was confirmed following the Big 12’s announcement that the Nebraska-Iowa State football game that same day will kickoff at 11:30 a.m. and be televised on FSN.

Werth Earns Big 12 Honor Again
Hannah Werth was honored for the Big 12 for the third time this season as the league’s Rookie of the Week on Oct. 12. She averaged 4.17 kills on .426 hitting with 2.17 digs per set in a pair of sweeps over Kansas and Kansas State, topping the Huskers in kills in both matches. Werth tallied 15 kills, a .448 hitting percentage and nine digs against KU on Oct. 7 and added 10 kills on .389 hitting in a sweep of K-State on Oct. 10

Husker Quick Sets
?-Nebraska’s two service errors against Kansas State equalled the Huskers’ lowerst total this decade. NU also had just two service errors against Texas A&M on Oct. 22, 2008.

?-Five Big 12 teams are ranked in the top 30 of the NCAA initial RPI released Oct. 12. The teams include Texas (No. 1),  Baylor (No. 15), Iowa State (No. 19), Nebraska (No. 27) and Texas A&M (No. 30).

?-Freshman Hannah Werth topped the Huskers in kills in both matches last week, raising her season total to five. In NU’s last five matches, she is averaging 3.37 kills and 2.32 digs per set.  The five times Werth has led NU in kills is the most times a freshman has done it since Jordan Larson topped NU in kills in eight matches during the 2005 season.

?-Brooke Delano’s .600 hitting percentage against Kansas on Oct. 7, was the best by a Husker this season. The last time a Husker hit .600 or better in a match (min. 10 attacks) was Amanda Gates, when she hit .615 (8-0-13) against Michigan in the NCAA Regional Semifinals.

?-Kori Cooper has been playing her best volleyball over the last two weeks, as she is averaging 2.40 kills per set on .392 hitting in Nebraska’s last four contests. Cooper is now fifth in hitting percentages in Big 12 matches only at .346. Her 13 kills at Oklahoma on Sept. 30, were one off her personal best.

?-The Huskers are 101-7 (.935) in their last 108 conference matches dating back to the 2003 season.

?-Nebraska is 86-7 (.924) on the road in Big 12 action in 10 seasons under Coach John Cook. To put that in perspective, seven of the league’s 11 teams lost at least six conference road matches during the 2008 season alone.

?-Hannah Werth’s 17 kills against Oklahoma on Sept. 30, was the most by a Husker freshman since Jordan Larson had 19 at Minnesota on Sept. 5, 2005.

?-Texas snapped Nebraska’s 56-match Big 12 home winning streak on Sept. 26, as the Longhorns became the first Big 12 team to win in Lincoln since Missouri accomplished the feat on Oct. 15, 2003.

?-Nebraska has already received eight double-digit kill efforts from its middle blockers this season, including six from Brooke Delano. Last year, NU totaled nine double-digit kill efforts from its middles in 34 matches.  Against Oklahoma,  NU’s middles combined for 27 kills, its best combined total since the 2007 NCAA Regional Semifinal against Michigan State.

?-Tara Mueller has two 20-kill matches in 2009, equaling her entire total of 20-kill matches from last season. Mueller has also tied her career bests with 16 digs twice this season, most recently at Oklahoma on Sept. 30.

?-Lindsey Licht has already topped Nebraska in kills in three matches this season after pacing the Huskers just once in 2008. Licht has also reached double figures in kills in four of NU’s last six matches.

?-With double-doubles in matches against No. 8 UCLA and Texas Tech, Hannah Werth became the first Husker freshman outside hitter to accomplish the feat since Jennifer Saleaumua in 2002 (vs. Texas Tech; at Texas).

?-Hannah Werth’s 23 digs against No. 8 UCLA on Sept. 13 marked the most digs by a Husker outside hitter since Christina Houghtelling had 26 at Kansas State in 2007, and the most by a Husker freshman since 2003.

?-Brooke Delano’s four blocks at LSU on Sept. 4, were the most by a Husker since Tracy Stalls had five against Kansas State on Nov. 19, 2005. It is only the sixth time in the decade that a Husker has had as many as four solo stuffs in a match.

?-Nebraska’s loss to Michigan marked the Huskers’ first regular-season non-conference loss since 2004. Prior to that setback, the Huskers had won their last 39 regular-season non-conference matches. The Huskers are now 49-3 in regular-season non-conference matches since 2004.

?-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 (2001-present).

?-Five players made their Husker debuts at the Runza/AVCA Showcase, 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 since the 2000 season.