Huskers Look to Continue Winning Streak at Baylor

Nebraska at Baylor
No. 4 Nebraska at Baylor • Saturday, Sept. 25 • Ferrell Center • 7 p.m.
TV: None
Radio: Husker Sports Network, including B107.3 FM in Lincoln and KTWI 93.3 FM in Omaha, and on Huskers.com
Web Video: BaylorBears.com (Subscription Required)
Live Stats: BaylorBears.com & Huskers.com

The No. 4 Nebraska volleyball team (11-1, 3-0) will try to improve on its perfect 29-0 record over the Baylor Bears (7-6, 0-2) this weekend then the two teams meet in Waco, Texas, at the Ferrell Center. Set for 7 p.m. on Saturday night, the match will mark the first time this season that the Huskers have played a Big 12 South Division program.

The Huskers have posted 28 of their 29 wins over the Bears during the Big 12 era, with the two teams meeting one time out of conference on Sept. 22, 1995, when the Huskers won 3-0 (15-3, 15-6, 15-7).

Nebraska swept the first 12 contests in the series before Baylor took the first set on Nov. 17, 2001. Recently, the Huskers have swept the past two meetings.

In the previous 29 matches, Baylor has only won five total sets and the two teams have never played to a fifth set in the series.

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.

While there is no TV coverage of the match, BaylorBears.com will provide a video stream, but a subscription is required.

The Last Time Meeting Between Nebraska and Baylor (Nov. 18, 2009)
Behind a record night from Kayla Banwarth, No. 9 Nebraska collected its 20th win of the season, sweeping No. 24 Baylor, 3-0 (25-16, 25-21, 25-20) at the NU Coliseum.

Banwarth keyed a stifling defensive effort by Nebraska, collecting 32 digs, which established school and building records for a three-set match. The performance not only tied her career best, set earlier this season in a five-set win over Minnesota, but was the most by any player at the NU Coliseum since 1987.

Banwarth's effort highlight one of the best defensive efforts of the year, as Nebraska held Baylor to a season-low .089 team hitting percentage. Three Huskers had at least 10 digs, as outside hitters Tara Mueller and Hannah Werth added 10 apiece for NU, while Kori Cooper totaled a season-high five blocks, including three solos, as NU totaled nine blocks on the night.

While Banwarth's floor defense carried the night, the Huskers received another strong performance from Lindsey Licht, who totaled a match-high 13 kills on .522 hitting. It was the second straight match Licht hit over .500 and the fourth time in the five matches the junior right side attacker led the Huskers in kills. Mueller joined Licht in double figures with 12 kills to pick up her seventh double-double of the season.

Scouting Baylor

• Baylor enters Saturday night's match with a 7-6 overall record and a 0-2 record in the Big 12 Conference.
• The Bears lead the Big 12 in digs per set at 18.69. No other team in the conference averages more than 16 digs per set.
• Senior Caitlyn Trice anchors the Bears' defense with a conference-high 5.75 digs per set. During conference play, Trice ranks second with 5.14 digs per set. Trice has posted 30 or more digs in a match four times this season, including 32 against both TCU and Northern Iowa.
• Senior Elizabeth Graham holds the Big 12 single-match high this season in blocks with 13 at Stephen F. Austin. Kaitlynn Pelger of Kansas State is the only other Big 12 player to notched double-digit blocks in a match this season. Graham ranks second in the conference in blocks per set with 1.41, as she trails Nebraska's Brooke Delano (1.41).
• Other than digs, where they rank No. 1 (19.57 per set), the Bears rank no higher than 6th in any statistical category during Big 12 play.
• Senior Ashlie Christenson leads all Baylor attackers with 3.24 kills per set. During Big 12 play, Christenson has improved her play with 3.43 kills per set.
• As a team the Bears hold a hitting percentage of .231, while only one player with at least 50 swings is hitting better than .300. Sophomore Torri Campbell leads the team with a .314 percentage (137-37-318).
• Four Bears have accumulated double-digit aces on the season, including Torri Campbell who has a team best 18 aces, which ranks third in the Big 12.

Scouting Nebraska

• Nebraska is 11-1 overall in 2010 and 3-0 in the Big 12 Conference entering Saturday night's match. The Huskers are ranked No. 4 in the latest AVCA Coaches Poll for the second straight week.
• The Huskers are 10-0 this season when holding opponents below .200 hitting. Nebraska is 1-1 when opposing teams hit above .200.
• The Huskers rank in the top-five nationally in three categories, including blocks (3rd-3.05), kills (3rd-14.95) and assists (4th-13.90).
• Nebraska has totaled double-digit blocks in six of its last seven matches, including a season-high 17 blocks against Illinois. The Huskers hit double-digits just once in their first five matches (11 against BYU) of 2010.
• Nebraska posted sweeps during both matches with Baylor in 2009. In 29 all-time meeting with the Bears, the Huskers earned a sweep on 24 occasions, including 12 straight sweeps to start the series from 1995 to 2001.
• Among Big 12 teams this season, Nebraska is ranked first or second in five of the seven major statistical categories.
• As a team, the Huskers are tops in the conference in opponent hitting (.138) as well as assists (13.84), kills (14.89) and blocks (3.07) per set.
• Junior middle blocker Brooke Delano leads the Big 12 in both hitting percentage (.415) and blocks per set (1.48). Nationally, Delano ranks ninth in blocks and 17th in hitting percentage.
• In Big 12 play only, Nebraska is No. 1 in the conference in assists (14.45), kills (15.55) and blocks (3.27) per set, as well as hitting percentage (.259).
• Kayla Banwarth ranks second in the conference in digs at 5.00 per set.
• Under Head Coach John Cook, the Huskers improved to 286-8 when winning the first set of the match after their 3-0 win over Colorado. The last time Nebraska won the first set and then lost the match was during the 2009 NCAA Regional Final, when Texas won 3-1 after NU won set one, 25-21.
• Four Huskers have combined for nine double-doubles on the season, including four from Hannah Werth and three from Tara Mueller.
• The Huskers are 176-0 under Head Coach John Cook when hitting .300 or better after they hit .362 against Colorado on Sept. 18.
• Three Huskers average more than a block a set, including Brooke Delano (1.43), Jordan Wilberger (1.14) and Lindsey Licht (1.09).
• The Huskers return three AVCA All-Americans in 2010, including seniors Sydney Anderson and Tara Mueller, as well as junior Brooke Delano.

Sharing the Rock
As a team in 2010 the Huskers rank first in the Big 12 Conference and third nationally with 14.89 kills per set, but Nebraska doesn't have one player on the individual Big 12 top-10 list.

Four Huskers average at least two kills per set, including Lindsey Licht (2.91), Brooke Delano (2.84), Hannah Werth (2.70) and Tara Mueller (2.30).

Bearing Down
Nebraska holds a commanding lead over the Baylor Bears as the Huskers have won all 29 previous meetings with the Bears. Baylor and Kansas are the only programs in the Big 12 that have never taken a match from the Huskers in conference play.

Ace in the Hole
In 2010, sophomore Lauren Cook has produced an ace in 10 of Nebraska's 12 matches, with all 10 coming in consecutive matches. It was the longest streak by a Husker since Jordan Larson ended the 2007 season with an ace in 12 consecutive matches. Earlier in 2007, Sarah Pavan produced at least one ace in 13 straight matches.

Dubuque Digger
Dubuque, Iowa, native Kayla Banwarth is on her way to breaking NU's career record in digs, currently held by Jennifer Saleaumu (1,567). A senior in 2010, 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.

Through 12 matches this season, Banwarth leads NU with 220 digs. The senior libero also ranks second in the Big 12 with 5.00 digs per set.

Staring on the Right Foot
Under Head Coach John Cook the Husker are a perfect 11-0 in Big 12 Conference openers after their win over Iowa State. Nebraska also extended it Big 12 home-opening record to 11-0 with a win over Colorado.

Hot in September
Historically, the Huskers' two best months are September (285-25) 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.

With an 9-0 record during September this season, the Huskers are 108-7 under Head Coach John Cook in the month.

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 .277, the second-best mark in the Big 12 this season. The two have been nearly identical with Cook holding a slight lead in assists, 275-259. As a team, Nebraska ranks fourth nationally with 13.84 assists per set.

Proving Her Werth
After coming off a season that saw her earn Big 12 Freshman of the Year, honorable-mention All-America and honorable-mention All-Big 12 honors, Hannah Werth has continued to put up solid numbers in 2010.

Through 12 matches, Werth has produced four double-doubles, which is tops for the Huskers in 2010.

After becoming the first Husker freshman to lead the team in kills per set (3.18) since Sarah Pavan in 2004, Werth ranks third on the team this season kills (2.30) and second in digs (2.72) per set.

Setter-U
Sydney Anderson had been the latest setter to shine in the scarlet and cream, as last season she became the eighth setter in NU history to earn multiple AVCA All-America honors.

A senior in 2010, Anderson will try to become just the third setter in school history to capture All-America three times during their career at NU. If she achieves the feat, Anderson would join Griechaly Cepero (2000-02) and Fiona Nepo (1996-98).

The Other Blackshirts
The Nebraska football team isn't the only team on campus with a dominant defense, as the Husker volleyball team held Colorado to just seven points in the second set on Saturday, Sept. 18 at the NU Coliseum. It was the least amount of points a team have scored against the Huskers since the NCAA switched to 25-point rally scoring prior to the 2008 season. Nebraska had previously held a team to nine points on two occasions, including Tulane in 2009 and Kentucky in 2010's season opener.

Ready for the Challenge
With its recent win over No. 11 Iowa State, Nebraska is 4-1 against ranked teams this season, including three wins over top-15 teams. Nebraska's best win came over then-No. 3 Illinois.

The Huskers only loss came to then-No. 13 Florida at the Runza/AVCA Showcase.  Florida is currently 9-1 and is ranked No. 3 in the country.

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 139 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 and are averaging 4,090 fans through four matches at the Coliseum in 2010.

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.

Spoiler
Nebraska win over No. 3 Illinois this season 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.

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.

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.