Huskers Open Big 12 Slate at No. 11 Iowa State

Nebraska at Iowa State
No. 4 Nebraska at No. 11 Iowa State • Wednesday, Sept. 15 • Ames High School • 7 p.m.
TV: ESPNU (Time Warner: SD-235/HD-126  |  DirecTV: 208  |  Dish Network: 141)
Radio: Husker Sports Network, including B107.3 FM in Lincoln and KTWI 93.3 FM in Omaha, and on Huskers.com
Live Stats: Cyclones.com and Huskers.com

After posting an 8-1 record during the non-conference season, the No. 4 Nebraska volleyball team will open its final season in the Big 12 Conference on Wednesday night in Ames, Iowa, against the Iowa State Cyclones at 7 p.m. The match will be seen nationwide on ESPNU.

Previously scheduled to be played at Hilton Coliseum, Wednesday's match has been moved to Ames High School due to water damage from a flood in August.

The Huskers and Cyclones each opened the season at the Runza/AVCA Showcase in Omaha, Neb., but did not play each other, as both teams played Kentucky and Florida. Both teams left the tournament with a record of 1-1, with each beating Kentucky and falling to Florida.

Fans can listen to all of the action with John Baylor and Lindsay Peterson on the 25-station Husker Sports Network, including B107.3 FM in Lincoln and Twister 93.3 FM in Omaha. Fans outside the state will also be able to catch the live audio feed for free on Huskers.com.

On Time Warner Cable in Lincoln, ESPNU can be seen on channel 235, while ESPNU HD is channel 126. ESPNU is channel 208 on DirecTV and channel 141 on Dish Network.

Scouting Iowa State

• Iowa State enters Wednesday night's match with a record of 7-1 and has won seven straight after dropping its season opener to Florida, 1-3.
• The Cyclones return two All-Americans from a year ago in seniors Ashley Mass and Victoria Henson.
• Ashley Mass is a two-time Big 12 Libero of the Year and became Iowa State's first-ever first-team AVCA All-American in 2009.
• The Cyclones have posted four straight sweeps, including a win over then-No. 18 Northern Iowa in Ames. In their seven wins, the Cyclones have dropped just two sets and have totaled five sweeps.
• Iowa State has beat two 25-teams this season, first with a 3-1 win over then-No. 14 Kentucky on Sun., Aug. 29 and then a 3-1 win over then-No. 18 Northern Iowa on Wed., Sept. 8.
• Iowa State Head Coach Christy Johnson-Lynch was a two-time All-America setter for the Huskers in 1994 and 1995. She still holds the top two season marks for assist-per-game in school history and ranks fifth in career assists with 3,183.
• Christy Johnson-Lynch is the reigning Big 12 Coach of the Year and is in her sixth season with the Cyclones.
• Iowa State posted its first-ever win over Nebraska last season with a five-set win in Lincoln on Oct. 21. Prior to the win, Iowa State had dropped 74 straight meetings to the Huskers.
• Iowa State leads the Big 12 in both hitting percentage and opponent hitting. The Cyclones hit at a .303 clip, while holding opponents to just .129 hitting. Nebraska ranks second in hitting percentage (.284) and third in opponent hitting (.136).
• Victoria Henson leads the Big 12 in kills with 113 on the season, as she averages 4.19 per set. Henson and Kelsey Black of Texas A&M are the only attackers in the conference to average more than four kills per set.
• Iowa State has three players (at least 10 attempts per match) who are hitting at .300 or better. Kelsey Petersen leads the way with a .333 hitting percentage.
• Alison Landwehr leads the Big 12 with 11.70 assists per set, as she is one of three setters in the conference to average double-digit assists.

Scouting Nebraska

• Following a perfect 3-0 weekend at the Ameritas Players Challenge in Lincoln, the Huskers are ranked No. 4 in the latest AVCA Coaches Poll. Nebraska beat then-No. 20 Dayton (3-1), Western Michigan (3-0) and then-No. 3 Illinois (3-2).
• Nebraska ranks first or second in four statistical categories among Big 12 teams. The Huskers lead the conference in assists (13.64), kills (14.67) and blocks (3.00) per set, while also ranking second in the conference in hitting percentage at .284.
• Middle blockers Brooke Delano and Jordan Wilberger rank 1-2 in the Big 12 Conference in hitting percentage, as Delano is hitting at a .449 clip and Wilberger hits at .397. Delano is also tied for the conference lead in blocks per set at 1.45 with Baylor's Elizabeth Graham.
• Kayla Banwarth ranks second in the Big 12 in digs per set at 5.12.
• Under Head Coach John Cook, the Huskers improved to 284-8 when winning the first set of the match after their sweep of Western Michigan Friday, Sept. 10.
• The Huskers are 175-0 under Head Coach John Cook when hitting .300 or better after they hit .391 against Western Michigan.
• The Huskers have six players averaging more than 2.00 kills per set, including Brooke Delano (2.91), Lindsey Licht (2.76), Hannah Werth (2.50), Tara Mueller (2.32) and Gina Mancuso (2.06).
• In Nebraska's 6-2 rotation, senior Sydney Anderson (195) and sophomore Lauren Cook (200) have combined for 395 assists to help NU hit .284.
• Three Huskers average more than a block a set, including Brooke Delano (1.45), Jordan Wilberger (1.21) and Lindsey Licht (1.03).
• Four players have combined for seven double-doubles this season, with Hannah Werth posting a team-high three double-doubles.
• Nebraska's 71 kills against Florida on Aug. 29 were the most kills for NU since Sept. 30, 2009, when the Huskers put away 71 kills in a five-set win at Oklahoma.
• The Huskers return three AVCA All-Americans in 2010, including seniors Sydney Anderson and Tara Mueller, as well as junior Brooke Delano.
• Nebraska began the 2010 season as the second-winningest program in Division I history. The Huskers' 1,086 wins trail only UCLA (1,106).

Volleyball Fever
Nebraska volleyball fans once again packed into the Bob Devaney Sports Center in 2010 for the Huskers' lone appearance at the facility on Saturday, Sept. 11 against Illinois. The night's attendance of 11,892 ranked as the seventh-largest regular-season crowd in NCAA volleyball history.

All-time, the Devaney Center holds seven of the top-10 all-time attendance marks, including the top-three spots. In 2009, the Devaney Center set the NCAA record during Nebraska match against UCLA, with a crowd of 13,870.

The state of Nebraska holds every spot on the top-10 list when it comes to attendance, as the other three top-10 marks have come at the Qwest Center in Omaha.

Scared of Lincoln
When then-ranked No. 3 Illinois came into the Lincoln on Saturday, Sept. 11, it became the highest ranked non-conference team to ever make a trip to Lincoln for a match during Head Coach John Cook's tenure.

Prior to Saturday, Penn State held the distinction when it came to Lincoln ranked No. 4 in 2005 and were then swept by No. 1 Nebraska.

Under former Head Coach Terry Pettit, the No. 1 ranked Nittany Lions came to Lincoln and swept the No. 3 Huskers on Aug. 28, 1999.

M-V-P
2009 All-American Brooke Delano was nearly unstoppable during the Ameritas Players Challenge, earning her the tournament's MVP honor.

Over the three matches, Delano totaled 40 kills on 68 swings to hit .529, as she averaged 3.33 kills per set. The Bellevue, Neb., native also shined defensively with 19 blocks, including three solo stuffs, to average 1.58 blocks per set.

Delano saved her best for when it mattered most, as she posted a career-best 15 kills in a five-set win over No. 3 Illinois. For the match, she hit .406 and contributed eight blocks.

Playing the Role of Underdog
Saturday's win over No. 3 Illinois marked Nebraska's first win since 2008 over a top-three team when the Huskers are ranked lower than their opponent.

The last time the Huskers beat a high-ranked team that was in the top three was on Aug. 29, 2008, when No. 7 Nebraska took down No. 2 Stanford in three sets.

Staring on the Right Foot
Under Head Coach John Cook the Husker are a perfect 10-0 in Big 12 Conference openers. The Huskers have also never lost a conference road opener under Cook.

Hot in September
Historically, the Huskers' two best months are September (282-25) and November (207-18), as they have all-time winning percentages of .919 and .920, respectively. Prior to Nebraska's three losses in September of 2009, NU hadn't lost a match in September since 2004.

After six wins to the start the September this season, the Huskers are 105-7 under Head Coach John Cook.

With August in the bag, Nebraska is now 26-7 in August since 1989 when it played its first-ever match in the month. After going 2-1 in 2010, Cook holds a record of 17-2 in August, with the two losses coming in 2009 and 2010.

Dynamic Duo
Nebraska's setting pair of senior Sydney Anderson and sophomore Lauren Cook have each shined in the Huskers' 6-2 rotation, as they have assisted the Huskers in hitting .284, the second-best mark in the Big 12 this season. The two have been nearly identical with Cook holding a slight lead in assists, 200-195.

Chart Topper
Senior Kayla Banwarth is on her way to breaking NU's career record in digs, currently held by Jennifer Saleaumu (1,567). Banwarth needs just 382 digs in 2010 to break the mark and should have no problem achieving the feat after she compiled 570 digs in 2009. Her 570 digs nearly broke Dani Busboom's 2006 single-season record of 580. So far in 2010, Banwarth leads NU with 169 digs through nine matches. The senior libero also ranks second in the Big 12 with 5.12 digs per set.

No Place Like Home
The Huskers hold a home-court advantage at the Coliseum due to the Huskers' passionate fan base.

Nebraska currently holds a streak of 137 consecutive sellouts at the NU Coliseum, the longest sellout streak across all NCAA women's athletics. The Huskers averaged 5,197 fans per home contest last season.

Getting Ready for the Big Ten
After its five-set comeback win over Illinois on Saturday, Sept. 11, the Huskers now hold a 15-5-1 all-time series lead over the Fighting Illini and have won the past four meetings dating back to 1993.

Nebraska holds a 107-25-4 record all-time against current Big Ten teams, including a winning record against all teams. The Huskers hold unbeaten records against Iowa (12-0), Northwestern (4-0) and Michigan State (8-0-2).

Broekhuis' Breakout
Morgan Broekhuis found her rhythm in Provo, Utah, at the BYU Nike Invitational, as the true freshman hit .310 or better in all three matches, including .357 against both Cal Poly and Idaho State. She also netted career bests in kills (13) and attacks (29) against BYU.

Prior to the BYU Invitational, Broekhuis' best offensive outing came against Florida at the Runza/AVCA Showcase, when she had 10 kills on 28 swings and seven errors, resulting in a .107 hitting percentage.

Volleyball Blackshirts
The Huskers held Kentucky to single digits in the first set on Aug. 28, as NU won 25-9. The last time NU held a team to single digits in a set was on Sept. 5, 2009, when the Huskers downed Tulane by the same count, 25-9.