Huskers Continue Road Swing in Texas

No. 5 Nebraska (21-2, 13-1) at Texas Tech (3-20, 1-13)
Saturday, Nov. 6 • United Spirit Arena • Noon
Radio:Husker Sports Network, including B107.3 FM in Lincoln and KTWI 93.3 FM in Omaha, and on Huskers.com
Web Video: TexasTech.com (Free Video)
Live Stats: TexasTech.com

The No. 5 Nebraska volleyball team (21-2, 13-1) will be in Lubbock, Texas on Saturday for a Noon match with the Texas Tech Red Raiders (3-20, 1-13) at the United Spirit Arena.

Nebraska is fresh off a sweep on the road of the Kansas Jayhawks on Wednesday night, while Texas Tech has lost eight straight matches entering Saturday and has won just once at home season.

The Huskers are 33-1 all-time against the Red Raiders and have won the past 28 meetings in the series. Not only has Texas Tech struggled to win a match, but the Huskers have swept the Red Raiders  the past 13 matches dating back to 2004.

Husker fans will need to keep track of Kayla Banwarth's dig total on Saturday as the senior needs just two digs to break Jennifer Saleaumua's Nebraska record of 1,568 career digs.

There will be now TV coverage of the match, but there will be a free live stream on TexasTech.com.

Fans can also listen to all of the action with John Baylor 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 Texas Tech

• Beth Falls was named the interim head coach of the Texas Tech program on Oct. 25, when Trish Knight resigned after 1 1/2 seasons. The Red Raiders are 3-20 overall this season and 1-13 in the Big 12, while they are 0-3 since Falls took over.
• Nebraska is 33-1 all-time against Texas Tech with the Huskers' only loss coming in Lubbock on Oct. 26, 1996. It was the first-ever conference match-up between the two programs. Prior to the formation of the Big 12, Nebraska won all five meetings between the programs from 1979-1994.
• Texas Tech ranks last in the Big 12 in every statistical category but blocks, where they rank seventh with 2.17 per set.
• Junior Amanda Dowdy is the only Tech player to rank higher than fifth in any overall individual category as she ranks fourth in kills with 4.06 per set. During Big 12 play she leads the league with 4.44 kills per set.
• Texas Tech has won just one set in its last six matches.

The Last Meeting Between Nebraska and Texas Tech (Oct. 20, 2010)
The No. 3 Nebraska volleyball team finished the first half of the Big 12 schedule at a perfect 10-0 following a 3-0 sweep (25-14, 25-11, 25-13) of the Texas Tech Red Raiders at the NU Coliseum. The win marked the 27th straight win for the Huskers in the series and the 13th straight sweep.

The Husker offense was on fire all night as they hit a then-season best .390. Setters Sydney Anderson and Lauren Cook combined for 46 assists while Brooke Delano and Hannah Werth each put away 11 kills and Lindsey Licht added 10, with all three NU attackers hitting .400 or better on the night. Werth also chipped in 12 digs for her seventh double-double of the season.

Kayla Banwarth's match-high 18 digs along with four blocks each from Allison McNeal and Werth held the Red Raiders to .108 hitting, including a .000 hitting percentage in the third set.

Scouting Nebraska

• The Huskers are ranked No. 5 in the latest AVCA Coaches Poll after their loss to Texas last week. The Huskers have been ranked as high as No. 2 this season and have been ranked in the top 10 all season.
• The Huskers are 19-0 this season when holding opponents below .200 hitting after the Huskers held Kansas to .173 hitting. Nebraska is 2-2 when opposing teams hit above .200.
• After hitting a season best .423 against Kansas, the Huskers are 181-0 under Head Coach John Cook when they hit .300 or better.
• Last week's loss to Texas in Austin snapped the Huskers 18-match Big 12 winning streak that dated back to last season.
• The Huskers are 10-0 at home the season and have dropped just three sets all season at the NU Coliseum.
• Nebraska is 13-1 all-time on the road in Lubbock.
• After posting double-digit blocks in nine of their first 14 matches of the season the Huskers have hit double figured just twice in their last nine matches.
• Junior middle blocker Brooke Delano entered the week ranked No. 2 in the nation with a .439 hitting percentage and ranked sixth in blocks per set at 1.47.
• The Huskers entered the week ranked in the top-five nationally in three categories, including blocks (1st-3.12), kills (2nd-15.04) and assists (4th-14.00) per set.
• Only four times this season has a team hit .200 or better against the Husker defense, including Florida (.270), Illinois (.216) and Texas twice (.272 & .252).
• During Big 12 play the Huskers are tops in opponent hitting (.152), as well as assists (14.38), kills (15.40) and blocks (3.17) per set.
• Under Head Coach John Cook, the Huskers improved to 295-8 when winning the first set of the match after their 3-0 win over Iowa State. 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.
• Lauren Cook ranks second during Big 12 matches with 0.30 aces per set.
• 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).

It's Down to Two
Dubuque, Iowa, native Kayla Banwarth needs just two digs during Saturday's match in Lubbock, Texas to break 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 record. Through 23 matches this season, Banwarth leads NU with 381 digs.

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

Three-and-Out
The last 13 matches between Nebraska and Texas Tech have been fast as the Huskers have posted sweeps in all 13 meetings dating back to 2004. Going back to Nov. 22, 2000, the Huskers have swept 19 of the last 20 matches and has earned 27 sweeps in 34 all-time meetings with the Red Raiders.

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.

The Great Wall
The Husker defense has shutdown opposing hitters all season and for it the Huskers entered the week ranked No. 1 in the country in blocks with 3.12 per set (3.10 after KU match). Nebraska has posted double-digit stuffs in 10 matches this season, including 15 or more three times.

During Big 12 play the Huskers have been even tougher on opposing attackers with 3.17 blocks per set.

Along with Brooke Delano's conference-best 1.49 blocks per set, which ranks sixth nationally, Jordan Wilberger and Lindsey Licht join Delano on the Big 12 top-10 list with 1.20 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.

Anderson All-Time
Entering the season ranked ninth on Nebraska's career chart with 2,683 assists, senior Sydney Anderson's 478 assists this season have already moved her to sixth place on the career list with 3,161 dishes.

After passing Lori Endicott (3,117) last week in Austin, Anderson now needs 23 assists to pass Christy Johnson (3,183) for fifth on the all-time chart.

Delano Dialed In
Junior middle blocker Brooke Delano continues to swing a hot hand as she entered the week ranks No. 2 in the NCAA with a .439 hitting percentage (.448 following KU match).

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.

The hot streak has continued into November as she hit .647 (12-1-17) against Kansas on Wednesday night. Next up is Texas Tech, who she lit up with a .533 percentage (11-3-15) earlier this season.

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.

So Many Options
The 2010 Huskers ranked first in the Big 12 Conference and second 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 Lindsey Licht (3.04), Brooke Delano (2.95), Hannah Werth (2.86), Tara Mueller (2.19) and Morgan Broekhuis (2.07).

During Big 12 play, Licht and Werth are both averaging 3.00 kills or more a set at 3.23 and 3.12, respectively.

Werth the Wait
Sophomore Hannah Werth has come alive for the Huskers of late as she is averaging 3.63 kills and 3.26 digs per set while also hitting .351 over her last six 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. Over the six-match run Werth leads the team in kills and ranks second in digs.

Mighty Middles
Nebraska's middle blockers have been a force both offensively and defensively this season. Brooke Delano and Jordan Wilberger rank first (.448) and seventh (.321), respectively, in the Big 12 in hitting percentage and also rank first (1.49) and sixth (1.20) in blocks.

November to Remember
The Huskers will be looking for a repeat performance of last season's 7-0 November that helped propel the Huskers to the NCAA Regional round. Nebraska currently holds a one-match lead over Texas 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 gone posted a perfect record in November six times, including three straight seasons from 2000-02.

Quick Trips
The Huskers have made quick work of their opponents of late with seven sweeps in their past eight matches. Overall this season Nebraska has posted 14 sweeps, including nine during Big 12 play