Huskers Open Second Half of Big 12 Slate with Missouri

No. 3 Nebraska (18-1, 10-0) vs. Missouri (13-7, 5-5)
Saturday, Oct. 23 • NU Coliseum • 7 p.m.
TV:NETLincoln - (Time Warner: SD-12/HD-112  |  DirecTV:  SD/HD-29 |  Dish Network: SD/HD-12)
             Omaha - (Cox: SD-12/HD-712 | DirecTV: 379 | Dish Network: 26)
Radio:Husker Sports Network, including B107.3 FM in Lincoln and KTWI 93.3 FM in Omaha, and on Huskers.com
Web Video: Huskers.com (Free Video)
Live Stats: Huskers.com

The No. 3 Nebraska volleyball team (18-1, 10-0) will open the second half of the Big 12 schedule on Saturday night at 7 p.m. when it hosts the Missouri Tigers (13-7, 5-5) at the NU Coliseum.

Winners of 17 straight Big 12 matches dating back to last season, the Huskers are the only team undefeated in Big 12 player this season. The Tigers are 5-5 in conference play and are coming off consecutive wins over Texas A&M (3-2) and Baylor (3-1).

Including their win earlier this season in Columbia, the Huskers hold a 70-3-1 advantage in the all-time series and have won the lost 14 matches dating back to 2003.

The match will be carried statewide on NET  and a free live video stream will also be available on Huskers.com.

In Lincoln, NET can be found on channel 12(SD)/112(HD), DirecTV channel 29 and on DISH Network channel 12. While in Omaha, NET is on Cox Communications channel 12(SD)/712(HD), DirecTV channel 379 and DISH Network channel 26.

Fans can also listen to all of the action with John Baylor and Dianne 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.

Scouting the Tigers

• Missouri will be looking for its third straight win in conference play on Saturday night after wins over Texas A&M and Baylor in its past two matches. It is the first time all season that the Tigers have won consecutive conference matches.
• The Tigers opened the season with seven straight wins, but have won only six out of 14 matches since then.
• Freshman Molly Kreklow has notched 40 or more assists in seven of the Tigers' last eight matches. Kreklow leads the Big 12 with 11.66 per set.
• Senior outside hitter Paola Ampudia has 102 kills over her past five matches, which translates to 5.37 per set. She ranks second in the Big 12 with 4.13 kills per set and is averaging 4.37 per set during Big 12 play.
• During the conference season the Tigers are averaging 1.18 aces per set, the second-best mark in the Big 12.

Scouting the Huskers

• Nebraska is 18-1 overall in 2010 and remains the only undefeated team in the Big 12 this season at 10-0 entering Saturday night's match with Missouri.
• The Huskers are ranked No. 3 in the latest AVCA Coaches Poll for the fourth straight week, their highest ranking this season since they were ranked No. 2 in the preseason poll. Nebraska received four first-place votes this week and has been ranked in the top 10 all season.
• The Huskers are 16-0 this season when holding opponents below .200 hitting after the Huskers held Texas Tech to .108 hitting. Nebraska is 2-1 when opposing teams hit above .200.
• After hitting a season best .390 against Texas Tech, the Huskers are 179-0 under Head Coach John Cook when they hit .300 or better.
• Nebraska is 29-2 all-time against Missouri in Lincoln.
• The Huskers have swept the Tigers seven times in the last nine matches.
• After posting double-digit blocks in nine of 10 matches earlier in the season, the Huskers have hit double-digits just once in their past five matches.
• Entering the week, the Huskers are ranked in the top-five nationally in three categories, including blocks (1st-3.19), kills (3rd-14.86) and assists (4th-13.89) per set.
• Only three times this season has a team hit above .200 against the Husker defense, including Florida (.270), Illinois (.216) and Texas (.272). Over the past four matches no team has hit better than .128.
• In Big 12 play this season, Nebraska ranks first in four of the seven major statistical categories.
• In conference matches the Huskers are tops in opponent hitting (.145), as well as assists (14.41), kills (15.26) and blocks (3.32) per set.
• Under Head Coach John Cook, the Huskers improved to 292-8 when winning the first set of the match after their 3-0 win over Texas Tech. 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 took set one, 25-21.
• Four Huskers have combined for 15 double-doubles on the season, including eight from Hannah Werth, three each from Tara Mueller and Lauren Cook and one from Sydney Anderson.
• Entering the week, junior middle blocker Brooke Delano leads the nation with a .438 hitting percentage and is tied for sixth in blocks per set (1.50).

The Last Meeting Between Nebraska and Missouri (Oct. 6, 2010)
The No. 3 Nebraska volleyball team continued to stay atop the Big 12 Conference on at the Hearnes Center with a 3-0 win (25-21, 25-18, 25-16) over the Missouri Tigers.

The Huskers hit .326 on the night to extend their record to 177-0 under Head Coach John Cook when hitting better than .300. The squad played solid defense as well to hold the Tigers to a dismal hitting percentage of .094. Tara Mueller tied her career best with five blocks, while Brooke Delano led all players with six stuffs and Kayla Banwarth notched a match-high 18 digs.

Offensively, Sydney Anderson fueled the Huskers all night with 22 assists as Delano also led Nebraska in kills with 14 on a career best .875 hitting. Four other Huskers had at least five kills, including Lindsey Licht, Jordan Wilberger, Gina Mancuso and Morgan Broekhuis.

58 to Go
Dubuque, Iowa, native Kayla Banwarth is on her way to breaking NU's career record in digs, currently held by Jennifer Saleaumua (1,568).

A senior in 2010, Banwarth needed 383 digs entering this season 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 19 matches this season, Banwarth leads NU with 325 digs.

Get Out the Broom
The Huskers have made quick work of their opponents of late as they has won 3-0 in their last four matches. Through 10 conference matches the Huskers have posted six sweeps and have yet to be taken to five sets.

Werth the Wait
Sophomore Hannah Werth has come alive for the Huskers in her past two matches as she hit .474 at Kansas State and .400 against Texas Tech.  Werth had hit below .000 in three of her last four matches leading in the K-State match and hadn't hit above .300 since play Kansas on Sept. 22.

Delano Dialed In
Entering the week junior middle blocker Brooke Delano led the NCAA with a .438 hitting percentage and is now hitting .442 on the season after a .533 performance against Texas Tech.

An All-American in 2009, Delano has hit .500 or better nine times in 2010, including two matches where she hit over .700.

Delano is looking to become just the fourth Husker in school history to hit .400 or better in a season. Tracy Stalls was the last Husker to do so when she set the NU single-season record when she hit at a .473 clip in 2007. Stalls also hit .400 in 2006.

Head of the Senior CLASS
Nebraska senior setter Sydney Anderson was named one of 10 finalists for the 2010 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award on Monday, Oct. 11 for women's volleyball.

A two-time AVCA All-American, Anderson was named to the preseason All-Big 12 list and is a two-time captain for the Huskers.

Fans can vote every day for Sydney at www.SeniorCLASSaward.com.

Temp Falls, Huskers Heat Up
Historically, the Huskers' two best months are September (287-25) and November (207-18), as they have all-time winning percentages of .920 in each. The Huskers are looking to carry their success from a 10-0 September this season into October, where NU is 5-0 and holds an all-time  winning percentage of .895 (214-25).

The Huskers will be looking for their first perfect October since 2006 when they went 7-0. Head Coach John Cook is 84-6 all-time in the year's 10th month.

The Assists Keep Coming
Entering the season ranked ninth on Nebraska's career chart with 2,683 assists, senior Sydney Anderson's 408 assists this season have already moved her to seventh place with 3,091 dishes. With another 93 assists this season, Anderson will overtake Christy Johnson (3,183) for fifth on the career list.

Commanding the Conference
Nebraska currently holds a 17-match winning streak in Big 12 matches dating back to last season. It is tied for the sixth longest streak in the nation and longest streak for any team in the six BCS conferences.

Team (Wins) - Conference
1. Maryland Eastern Shore (34) - MEAC
T-2. Central Arkansas (21) - Southland
T-2. Hawaii (31) - WAC
4. Lipscomb (30) - Atlantic Sun
5. UNI (27) - Missouri Valley
T-6. Tulsa (17) - Conference USA
T-6. Nebraska (17) - Big 12

All in the Numbers
The Nebraska volleyball team currently  ranks second in the NCAA RPI rankings and trails only Florida. The top five is rounded out by No. 3 Illinois, No. 4 Stanford and No. 4 Penn State.

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 142 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 (including a match at the Devaney Center) and are averaging 4,103 fans through seven matches at the Coliseum in 2010. Including the Devaney Center match this season against Illinois, the Huskers are averaging 5,076 fans per home contest.

Return to Sender
Entering the week the Husker defense is once again ranked No. 1 in the country in blocks with 3.19 per set. The Huskers have punished opponents at the net this season with double-digit stuffs in 10 matches, including 15 or more in three matches.

During Big 12 play the Huskers have been even tougher on opposing attackers with 3.32 blocks per set. Texas ranks a distance second with 2.60 blocks per set during conference play.

Along with Brooke Delano's conference best 1.50 blocks per set, which is tied for sixth nationally, Lindsey Licht and Jordan Wilberger join Delano on the Big 12 top-10 list with 1.19 and 1.16 blocks per set, respectively.

Since Head Coach John Cook took over at Nebraska in 2000, the Huskers have earned the NCAA blocking title five times, including 2000, '01, '02, '04 and '05.

Try to Take a Set
In Big 12 play this season the Huskers have won 30 of the 34 sets they've played. No other team in the conference has lost less than 10 sets. Overall this season Nebraska is 56-11 in sets.

Battle Tested
Nebraska is now 5-1 in 2010 against top-25 ranked teams after defeating then-No. 13 Texas.

Prior to the Texas match, Nebraska had posted wins over three other top-15 teams, including Iowa State, Kentucky and Illinois.

Nebraska is the only Big 12 school that is .500 or better against top-25 teams and is the only program with more than three wins against ranked teams.

The Huskers only loss on the year came to then-No. 13 Florida at the Runza/AVCA Showcase.  Florida is currently 16-1 and is ranked No. 1 in the latest AVCA Coaches Poll.

National Noise
Along with holding the top spot on the NCAA blocks list with 3.19 per set, the Huskers also rank in the top-five in two other categories. Nebraska ranks fourth in assists with 13.89 per set, which has translated into a third-place ranking on the kills chart with 14.86 per set.

Tough on the Road
Nebraska is a perfect 7-0 in true road matches this season and is one of only seven schools that remains undefeated on the road this season.

School (Record)
Tulsa (9-0)
Nebraska (7-0)
Northern Illinois (6-0)
Arizona (6-0)
Miss. Valley State (5-0)
Florida (5-0)
Hawaii (2-0)

En Fuego
All-American Brooke Delano was on fire when the Huskers visited Missouri on Wednesday, Oct. 6, as the junior middle blocked put away 14 kills on 16 swings and had no errors.

Her .875 hitting percentage was the fourth-best individual performance all time and tops for a Huskers since Tracy Stalls tied Megan Korver's (1998) school record on Nov. 24, 2007 when she went a perfect 13-13 at the net. Stalls also hit .846 earlier in the same season with a 11-0-13 performance against Oklahoma.

Sharing the Kill
Entering the week the 2010 Huskers ranked first in the Big 12 Conference and third nationally with 14.86 kills per set, but Nebraska doesn't have one player on the individual Big 12 top-10 list or national top-50 list.

Four Huskers average at least two kills per set, including Lindsey Licht (3.03), Brooke Delano (2.96), Hannah Werth (2.67) and Tara Mueller (2.19).

Stay Away from the Middle
Nebraska's middle blockers have been a force both offensively and defensively this season. Brooke Delano and Jordan Wilberger rank first (.442) and third (.383), respectively, in the Big 12 in hitting percentage and also rank first (1.48) and sixth (1.19) in blocks.

Dishing it Out
Setters Sydney Anderson and Lauren Cook have led the Huskers to a fourth-place ranking nationally and the top mark in the Big 12 Conference when it comes to assists with 14.03 per set.

With the Huskers running a 6-2 rotation, neither Anderson or Cook rank in the top-50 nationally or in the 10 top of the conference, but the pair has helped the Huskers rank 17th nationally and second in the Big 12 in hitting percentage at .281.

Double-Dipper
Coming off a freshman 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 19 matches, Werth leads the team with eight double-doubles, including five in Big 12 play.

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 in both kills, 2.67, and is tied for second in digs, 2.98, per set.

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.