Huskers Host Sooners on National TV

No. 5 Nebraska (24-2, 16-1) vs. Oklahoma (19-8, 11-5)
Wednesday, Nov. 17 • NU Coliseum • 7 p.m.
TV: NET Lincoln - (Time Warner: SD-12/HD-112 | DirecTV: 29 | DISH: 12) Omaha - (Cox: SD-12/HD-712 | DirecTV: 379 | DISH: 26)
      CBS College Sports Lincoln - (Time Warner: SD-305/HD-125 | DirecTV: 613 | DISH: 152) Omaha - (Cox: 234 | DirecTV: 613 | DISH: 152)
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. 5 Nebraska volleyball team (24-2, 16-1 Big 12) will try to extend its 2010 home record to 12-0 on Wednesday night when it hosts the Oklahoma Sooners (19-8, 11-5 Big 12). The match is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the NU Coliseum and will be shown across the state on NET and nationwide on CBS College Sports.

The Huskers enter the match winners of their last five matches and have posted five straight home sweeps dating back to early October.

Oklahoma has won nine of its last 12 matches after suffering back-to-back losses to Nebraska and Iowa State in late September. The Sooners are riding a two-match winning streak coming into Wednesday after wins at home over Colorado (3-0) and Iowa State (3-1).

Nebraska has been a tough place for the Sooners as OU has never won a match in Lincoln. The Huskers are 30-0 all-time at home and currently hold a 26-match overall winning streak over the Sooners.

Along with TV coverage by NET and CBS College Sports, the match will be shown live on Huskers.com for free. 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 network will also be able to catch the live audio feed for free on Huskers.com.

Scouting the Sooners

• The Sooners enter Wednesday night's match with a 19-8 overall record and a 11-5 mark in the Big 12 Conference.
• Oklahoma has dropped its last two Big 12 road matches, losing at Texas A&M (3-1) and Texas (3-1). OU's last Big 12 road win came on Oct. 23 at Texas Tech (3-0)
• With its win over Iowa State this past Saturday Oklahoma took over third place in the Big 12.
• Junior Suzy Boulavsky leads the Sooners in kills with 3.49 per match with a .281 hitting percentage.
• Sallie McLaurin ranks third in the Big 12 with 1.29 blocks per set. She is the only Sooner player to average more than a block per set.
• Brianne Barker is one of three setters in the Big 12 to average double-digit assists per set. Barker's 10.20 assists per set rank third-best in the league.
• Caitlin Higgins leads the Sooners in attack errors (123), service errors (46) and receiving errors (24).

The Last Meeting Between Nebraska and Oklahoma (Sept. 29, 2010)
The No. 3 Nebraska volleyball team stayed pulled out a hard-fought 3-1 win (18-25, 25-17, 25-17, 26-24) over the Oklahoma Sooners at the McCasland Field House.

Lindsey Licht led the way with 15 kills on 36 swings (.361) and added eight blocks, while Tara Mueller also hit double-figure kills with 10.

Sydney Anderson posted a team-high 24 assists and Lauren Cook chipped in 22 more to help the Huskers hit .276, while Kayla Banwarth's 15 digs and Brooke Delano's career-high 10 blocks held the Sooners to .149 hitting.

Scouting the Huskers

• The Huskers are ranked No. 5 in the latest AVCA Coaches Poll for the third straight week. Nebraska have been ranked as high as No. 2 this season and have been in the top 10 all season. The Huskers are one of five teams to receive a first-place vote this week.
• The Huskers are 21-0 this season when holding opponents below .200 hitting after the Huskers held Kansas State to .104 hitting. Nebraska is 3-2 when opposing teams hit above .200.
• After hitting .321 at Colorado, the Huskers are 183-0 under Head Coach John Cook when they hit .300 or better.
• The Huskers are 11-0 at home the season and have dropped just three sets all season at the NU Coliseum. In Big 12 play the Huskers are 8-0.
• Nebraska is 10-1 on the road this season and 8-1 in Big 12 play, with its lone loss coming at Texas.
• After posting double-digit blocks in nine of their first 14 matches of the season the Huskers have hit double figured just three times in their last 12 matches.
• Junior middle blocker Brooke Delano enters the week with a nation-leading .436 hitting percentage and ranks fifth in blocks per set at 1.46.
• The Huskers have won the past 26 meetings with the Sooners. Oklahoma has never won a match in Lincoln as the Huskers hold a perfect 30-0 record.
• The Huskers enter the week ranked in the top-five nationally in three categories, including blocks (2nd-3.06), kills (3rd-15.10) and assists (4th-14.11) per set.
• Only five times this season has a team hit .200 or better against the Husker defense, including Florida (.270), Illinois (.216), Texas twice (.272 & .252) and Colorado (.239). In those five matches the Huskers are 3-2.
• During Big 12 play the Huskers are tops in opponent hitting (.149), as well as assists (14.39), kills (15.36) and blocks (3.09) per set.
• Under Head Coach John Cook, the Huskers improved to 298-8 when winning the first set of the match after their 3-0 win at 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 took set one, 25-21.
• Four Huskers have combined for 16 double-doubles on the season, including nine from Hannah Werth, three each from Tara Mueller and Lauren Cook and one from Sydney Anderson.
• Three Huskers have earned four All-America honors, including Sydney Anderson (2), Tara Mueller (1) and Brooke Delano (1).

Lowering the Boom
A trip to the NU Coliseum has never ended well for the Oklahoma Sooners as the Huskers hold a 30-0 record all-time at their building. Overall the Huskers have won the past 26 meetings in the series and hold an all-time advantage of 73-6 over the Sooners.

That Was Quick
The Huskers have been making quick work of their opponents of late with 10 sweeps in their past 11 matches, including five straight entering Wednesday night's match.

In Need of an Assist?
Entering the season ranked ninth on Nebraska's career chart with 2,683 assists, senior Sydney Anderson's 537 assists this season have already moved her to fifth place on the career list with 3,220 dishes.

Against Texas Tech on Nov. 6 Anderson took over the No. 5 spot from Christy Johnson, who had totaled 3,183 assists from 1991-95.

On her way up the charts Anderson has also passed Rachel Holloway (2,861), Dani Busboom (2,873) and Lori Endicott (3,117). All together the four setters she has passed this season combined for six All-America honors.

Next up for Anderson is Val Novak, who sits fourth on NU's all-time charts with 3,303 assists.

The Numbers Game
Nebraska entered last week ranked third in the RPI and took care of its business with two sweeps, but fell three spots to fifth. On the other hand Illinois, who the Huskers beat this year, entered the week No. 2 and went 1-1 on the week, including a 3-0 loss to Penn State, but they are still ranked No. 2 this week.

The Huskers have fared well this year against the nation's top-50 RPI teams with an 11-2 record. Against the RPI top 20 the Huskers have posted wins over No. 2 Illinois, No. 11 Dayton, No. 13 Texas and have two wins over No. 18 Iowa State.

Tara's Time
Senior Tara Mueller is starting to find her rhythm at just the right time. An All-American in 2008, Mueller had struggled to find constancy at the net this season and was hitting just .194 entering the month of November with 2.16 kills per set.

Mueller has found new life since the start of the year's 11th month as she is hitting .407 and averaging 2.50 kills per set. She has also been the Huskers' most dangerous server with 0.60 aces per set.

Delano Stays Hot
Junior middle blocker Brooke Delano continues to swing a hot hand as she once again enters the week ranked No. 1 in the NCAA with a .436 hitting percentage.

Delano took over the national lead on Oct. 17 and held the lead until she fell to the No. 2 spot during the week of Oct. 31. Delano re-took the top spot the following week (Nov. 7) and has stayed on top.

An All-American in 2009, Delano has hit .500 or better 11 times in 2010, including two matches where she hit over .700.

In her eight matches in the month of October Delano hit at a .490 clip, with her worst match coming against Texas A&M where she still fired at .333. She hit .500 or better four times, including a .875 performance against Missouri.

She has stayed hot in November as she hitting .421 through four matches, including a .647 (12-1-17) performance against Kansas.

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 in 2007 when she hit .473. Stalls also hit .400 in 2006.

Huskers Add Three for 2011
Nebraska Head Volleyball Coach John Cook announced the addition of three high school players to the Huskers' 2011 roster on Thursday, Nov. 11, including two Prepvolleyball.com's top-100 Senior Aces.

The class includes outside hitter/right side hitter Taylor Simpson (Colorado Springs, Colo.), libero/outside hitter Lara Dykstra (Redondo Beach, Calif.) and libero/defensive specialist Shelby Winkelmann (Rhineland, Mo.).

Simpson is rated as the No. 9 player in the country by Prepvolleyball.com, while Dykstra ranks 52nd.  Winkelmann led her prep squad to two state titles and holds the school record in kills (1,453).

The Great Wall
The Husker defense has shutdown opposing hitters all season and for it the Huskers enter the week ranked No. 2 in the country in blocks with 3.06 per set. Nebraska has posted double-digit stuffs in 11 matches this season, including 15 or more three times. It is an impressive feat as the Huskers have played more than three sets only nine times this year and to a fifth set just twice.

During Big 12 play the Huskers have been even tougher on opposing attackers with 3.09 blocks per set.

Along with Brooke Delano's conference-best 1.46 blocks per set, which ranks fifth nationally entering the week, Jordan Wilberger and Lindsey Licht join Delano on the Big 12 top-10 list with 1.17 and 1.13 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.

Broekhuis Breakout
True freshman Morgan Broekhuis is starting to hit a groove as the 6-5 lefty is hitting .333 and averaging 2.27 kills per set over her past five matches, including a .538 performance at Kansas and a .438 showing against Kansas State.

In her first 12 conference matches this season she was hitting .179 with 2.02 kills per set.  During the run she had hit .300 or better just twice, with the top performance coming at home against Texas when she hit at a .333 clip.

Top Digger
With her second dig of the match against Texas Tech on Saturday, Nov. 6, senior libero Kayla Banwarth took over the top spot on the NU career digs chart with the 1,569th dig of her career. Banwarth broke Jennifer Saleaumua's record of 1,568 digs.

Not only is Banwarth the top digger in NU history, but she is also one of the top diggers in Big 12 history. Entering Wednesday night's match the senior ranks sixth all-time on the Big 12 charts with 1,618 digs. Banwarth is one of four active liberos on the top-10 list, including Iowa State's Ashley Mass who hold the top mark at 2,205 digs.

Last season, Banwarth compiled 570 digs, which nearly broke Dani Busboom's 2006 single-season record of 580.

Playing as One
It is all about the team at Nebraska and it shows this season as the Huskers entered the week ranked in the top-20 nationally in four categories, including three top-five rankings. What makes the feat even more impressive is the fact that Nebraska only has one player that ranks in the top 50 of any individual national category as Brooke Delano entered the week ranked first nationally in hitting percentage and is fifth in blocks per set.

As a team the Huskers are second in blocks (3.06), third in kills (15.10), fourth in assists (14.11) and are 16th in hitting percentage (.282).

November to Remember
The Huskers are looking for a repeat performance of last season's 7-0 November that helped propel the Huskers into getting within one win of the Final Four. Nebraska currently holds a one-match lead over Texas in the Big 12 race and a perfect November would secure the Huskers their 31st conference title and their 12th in the Big 12 era.

Since Head Coach John Cook took over in 2000, the Huskers have posted a perfect record in November six times, including three straight seasons from 2000-02.

Kills Keep Coming
The 2010 Huskers ranked first in the Big 12 Conference and third nationally with 15.10 kills per set, but Nebraska doesn't have one player on the individual Big 12 top-10 list or national top-50 list.

Five Huskers average at least two kills per set, including Brooke Delano (2.97), Lindsey Licht (2.94), Hannah Werth (2.84), Tara Mueller (2.21) and Morgan Broekhuis (2.06).

During Big 12 play, Licht and Werth each average over 3.00 kills per set with 3.05 and 3.04, respectively.

Head of the 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.

Proving Her Werth
Sophomore Hannah Werth has come alive for the Huskers of late as she is averaging a team-best 3.32 kills and 3.11 digs per set while also hitting .304 over her last nine matches, including a .474 performance at Kansas State. In her first 17 matches of the season Werth was hitting .205 and averaging 2.58 kills per set.

Mighty Middles
Nebraska's middle blockers have been a force both offensively and defensively this season. Brooke Delano, Jordan Wilberger and Allison McNeal all average nearly one block per set and each average 1.30 kills or more per set.

Taking Down Ranked Foes
Following its win over No. 12 Iowa State the Huskers are now 6-2 this season against top-25 ranked teams. 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. Nebraska and Texas A&M are the only Big 12 teams with a .500 or better record against top-10 programs as both the Huskers and Aggies are 1-1.

The Huskers only losses on the year came to then-No. 13 Florida and No. 10 Texas.  Florida is currently 24-1 and is ranked No. 1 in the latest AVCA Coaches Poll while Texas is 19-5 and ranked No. 8.

Lighting Up Lawrence
Nebraska may want to continue scheduling trips to Lawrence, Kan., once it joins the Big Ten next season as the trip has served the NU offense well.

The Huskers have hit over .400 as a team the last three seasons, including a .423 performance on Wednesday night. Wednesday's outing was tops for the Huskers since last season when they hit .433, also in Lawrence. During the 2008  trip to Kansas, Nebraska had its best hitting performance during conference play with a .447 outing. The only time they hit better in 2008 was in the NCAA Tournament against UAB when they hit .467.

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 14.11 per set.

With the Huskers running a 6-2 rotation, neither Anderson or Cook rank in the top-50 nationally, but the pair has helped the Huskers rank 16th nationally and second in the Big 12 with a .282 hitting percentage.

Try to Take a Set
In Big 12 play this season the Huskers have won 49 of the 56 sets they've played. No other team in the conference has lost less than 10 sets in Big 12 play. Overall this season Nebraska is 75-14 in sets.

At home this season in Big 12 matches the Huskers have lost only two sets, as they dropped one each to Kansas and Texas, but the Huskers won both matches.

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 145 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). Including the Devaney Center match this season against Illinois, the Huskers are averaging 4,812 fans per home contest.

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 26 matches, Werth leads the team with nine double-doubles, including six in Big 12 play.