Huskers Host Ameritas Players Challenge

Ameritas Players Challenge
No. 7 Nebraska vs. No. 20 Dayton • Thursday, Sept. 9 • NU Coliseum • 7 p.m.
Radio:  Husker Sports Network, including B107.3 FM in Lincoln and KTWI 93.3 FM in Omaha, and on Huskers.com
Web Video:      HuskersNside (subscription required)
Live Stats:        Huskers.com

No. 7 Nebraska vs. Western Michigan • Friday, Sept. 10 • NU Coliseum • 7 p.m.
Radio:  Husker Sports Network, including B107.3 FM in Lincoln and KTWI 93.3 FM in Omaha, and on Huskers.com
Web Video:      HuskersNside (subscription required)
Live Stats:        Huskers.com

No. 7 Nebraska vs. No. 3 Illinois • Saturday, Sept. 11 • Bob Devaney Sports Center • 7 p.m.
Radio:  Husker Sports Network, including B107.3 FM in Lincoln and KTWI 93.3 FM in Omaha, and on Huskers.com
Web Video:      HuskersNside (subscription required)
Live Stats:        Huskers.com

Other Matches this Weekend
Friday, Sept. 10 (NU Coliseum)
Illinois vs. Western Michigan (11 a.m.)
Illinois vs. Dayton (4:30 p.m.)

Saturday, Sept. 11 (Devaney Center)
Dayton vs. Western Michigan (4:30 p.m.)

*Live stats of all matches at Huskers.com

Huskers Host Ameritas Players Challenge
After playing its first six matches of 2010 on the road, the No. 7 Nebraska volleyball team will play its first match of the year at the Nebraska Coliseum on Thursday against No. 20 Dayton.

Thursday's meeting will be the first match of the three-day Ameritas Players Challenge, which will also include No. 3 Illinois and Western Michigan.

There will be three matches on Friday, including Illinois vs. Western Michigan (11 a.m.), Illinois vs. Dayton (4:30 p.m.) and Nebraska vs. Western Michigan (7 p.m.), with all matches taking place at the Coliseum.

Saturday's action will move to the Devaney Center, where Dayton will take on Western Michigan at 4:30 p.m., before Nebraska and Illinois face-off in the weekend's final match at 7 p.m.

Fans can listen to all of the action with John Baylor and Diane Mendenhall 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.

Live video of all three of Nebraska's match will be available through Nebraska's premium video page, HuskersNside. Live stats for all matches will be available at Huskers.com

Scouting the Flyers

• Dayton (5-1) enters the weekend ranked No. 20 in the latest AVCA Coaches Poll.
• Senior Lindsay Fletemier leads the A-10 Conference with 1.73 blocks per set.
• The Flyers have four players who average 2.00 or more kills/set, including Rachel Krabacher (2.82), Amanda Cowdrey (2.59), Lindsay Fletemier (2.18) and Becky Novacek (2.00).

Scouting the Broncos

• Western Michigan is 6-1 on the year and is a perfect 4-0 in neutral site matches, with wins over Arizona State (3-1), Pittsburgh (3-0), Wright State (3-0) and DePaul (3-0).
• Freshman Lena Oliver leads the Mid-American Conference in digs with 5.52 per set. As a team, the Broncos lead the conference at 17.70 per set.
• Jessica Brown leads the Broncos in kills (3.17) and blocks (0.78) per set.

Scouting the Fighting Illini

• No. 3 Illinois is a perfect 5-0 in 2010 and recently swept No. 2 Texas on the road on Sept. 3.
• Laura DeBruler leads the Illini and ranks second in the Big Ten with 4.38 kills per set.
• Colleen Ward enters the weekend with 14 service aces in 2010.
• Illinois has hit .302 on the season, while holding opponents to .131 hitting.

Scouting the Huskers

• Following a perfect 3-0 weekend at the BYU Nike Invitational in Provo, Utah, the Huskers are ranked No. 7 in the AVCA Coaches Poll for the second straight week. Nebraska beat BYU (3-1), Cal Poly (3-0) and Idaho State (3-0).
• Nebraska ranks third or better in five statistical categories among Big 12 teams, including opponent hitting (2nd-.125), as well as assists (3rd-13.57), kills (T2nd-14.71), blocks (3rd-2.67) and digs (3rd-15.71) per set.
• Under Head Coach John Cook, the Huskers improved to 283-8 when winning the first set of the match after their sweep of Idaho State on Saturday, Sept. 4.
• The Huskers are 174-0 under Head Coach John Cook after they hit .348 against Cal Poly and .368 against Idaho State.
• Middle blocker Brooke Delano ranks fourth in the Big 12 in hitting percentage (.398) and blocks per set (1.38).
• The Huskers have six players averaging 2.30 kills per set or more, including Hannah Werth (2.76), Brooke Delano (2.67), Gina Mancuso (2.62), Lindsey Licht (2.57), Morgan Broekhuis (2.39) and Jordan Wilberger (2.30).
• In Nebraska's 6-2 rotation, senior Sydney Anderson (124) and sophomore Lauren Cook (118) have combined for 242 assists to help NU hit .282.
• Six Huskers have recorded three or more service aces in 2010, including Tara Mueller, who lead Nebraska with six aces.
• 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).

No Place Like Home
The Nebraska volleyball team will return to the friendly confines of the NU Coliseum for the first time in 2010 on Thursday when it faces No. 20 Dayton. The Huskers hold a home-court advantage at the Coliseum due to the Huskers' passionate fan base.

Nebraska currently holds a streak of 135 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.

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), attacks (29) and blocks (4) 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.

Holding Down the Middle
Returning All-America middle blocker Brooke Delano has been one of Nebraska's most consistent performers so far in 2010, as the junior leads in the Huskers in both hitting percentage (.398) and blocks per set (1.38).

Delano has hit .300 or better in five of her six matches, including two matches above .500.

Along with nine kills against Idaho State, Delano set a career bests with seven block assists and three aces.

Big Ten Preview
Husker fans will get their first taste of the Big Ten this weekend when Nebraska takes on No. 3 Illinois at the Devaney Center on Saturday night at 7 p.m.

The Huskers hold a 14-5-1 all-time series lead over the Fighting Illini and have won the past three meetings dating back to 1993. Illinois last defeated Nebraska twice in 1992, first on Sept. 11 (3-1) and then again on Dec. 10 (3-0) during the NCAA Mideast Regional.

Nebraska holds a 106-25-4 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).

Friend or Foe?
Nebraska fans will see a familiar face this weekend when the Huskers meet Dayton on Thursday night. Dayton's setter, Jessica Yanz, was a Husker the past two seasons after transferring from Penn State. Yanz leads the Flyers in assist with 9.41 per set.

A May 2010 graduate of UNL, Yanz is now pursuing a graduate degree at Dayton.

Getting Hot Early
Historically, the Huskers' two best months are September (279-25) and November (207-18), as they have all-time winning percentages of .918 and .920, respectively. Prior to Nebraska's three loss in September of 2009, NU hadn't lost a match in September since 2004.

After three wins to the start the September this season, the Huskers are 102-7 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.

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 six matches, Werth has produced two double-doubles, with 11 kills and 10 digs against Kentucky and 12 kills and 17 digs against Florida.

After becoming the first Husker freshman to lead the team in kills per set (3.18) since Sarah Pavan in 2004, Werth is at the top of the chart again in 2010 with 2.76 kills per set, while also ranking second on the team in digs per set at 3.00.

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 after compiling 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 104 digs through six matches. The senior libero also ranks third in the Big 12 with 4.95 digs per set.

In-State Dominance
With a sweep of the Creighton Bluejays on Tuesday, Aug. 31, the Huskers improved to 13-0 against the state's only other Division I program and have swept the Jays four consecutive times. Over the 13 matches, the Jays have only taken one set from the Huskers, as Creighton on the first set of the 2006 meeting.

Small Membership
Morgan Broekhuis became just the sixth freshman to start a season opener during Head Coach John Cook's era at Nebraska. 2010 sophomore Hannah Werth was the last Husker to do so in 2009.

NU vs. SEC (35-4)
After going 1-1 over the season's opening weekend with a win over Kentucky and a loss to Florida, Nebraska improved to 35-4 all time against SEC programs. The Huskers are now 6-2 all-time against UK and hold a 7-2 advantage over Florida. Florida has posted the last two SEC wins over the Huskers, as the Gators won, 3-2, on Aug. 31, 1997 to go along with their win on Aug. 29 this season.

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.

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).