Huskers Return to Seattle to Face Washington

No. 3 Nebraska (29-2, 19-1 Big 12) vs. No. 10 Washington (23-8, 10-8 Pac-10)
Friday, Dec. 10 • Hec-Edmundson Pavilion (10,000) • 9 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: GoHuskies.com & NCAA.com (Free)
Live Stats: GoHuskies.com & NCAA.com

Following sweeps of Sacred Heart and Auburn in the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament, the No. 3 Nebraska volleyball team heads to Seattle, Wash., for regional play. The Huskers will meet the No. 10 Washington Huskies on Friday, Dec. 10 at 9 p.m. (CT) on the Huskies' home court, Hec-Edmundson Pavilion. The winner between Nebraska and Washington will advance to Saturday night's 10:30 p.m. (CT) regional final against Cal or Minnesota.

The Huskers have been playing some of their best volleyball of late as they have won their past 10 matches, all by sweeps. Nebraska hit a season-best .429 in its tournament opener against Sacred Heart and then held Auburn to -.011 hitting in the second round. Nebraska is 11-1 on the road this season and hasn't dropped a road match since Oct. 2 when it lost in four sets to No. 13 Texas.

Washington has put together a solid NCAA Tournament so far itself as it has swept No. 23 Michigan and No. 7 Hawaii. The Huskies are 10-2 at home this season with a pair of four-set losses to Cal and Stanford.

There will be no TV coverage of Friday night's match, but it can be seen live on NCAA.com and GoHuskies.com. 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 network will also be able to catch the live audio feed for free on Huskers.com.

Scouting the Huskies

• The Huskies are making their 15th overall and ninth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance this season. UW holds a 11-10 all-time record in the tournament and has won one national title with its sweep of Nebraska in 2005.
• Washington won its first 12 matches of the season before it lost a four-set decision at No. 15 Oregon on Sept. 25. It was the Huskies' first match against a ranked opponent in 2010.
• The Huskies have been much better at home this season as they are 10-2 at Hec-Edmundson Pavilion. In true road matches the Huskies are 7-6, but are 6-0 in neutral site matches.
• Against ranked opponents this season the Huskies are 5-8. The Huskies only win over a top-five team this season came on Oct. 1 with a five-set victory over No. 5 USC at home.
• As a team the Huskies rank in the top-50 nationally in three categories, including hitting percentage (.290 - 10th), blocks per set (2.55 - 30th) and assists per set (12.89 - 42nd).
• Though its first two NCAA Tournament matches the Huskies are hitting .325 and are holding opponents to .154 hitting.
• Seniors Jenna Hagglund and Kindra Carlson have been quite the pair this season as Hagglund ranks 10th in the NCAA with 11.75 assists per set while Carlson is 30th in the nation with 4.08 kills per set.
• Bianca Rowland leads the Huskies with a .410 hitting percentage, which ranks 10th nationally. The junior middle block also leads the team with 1.10 blocks per set.

Scouting the Huskers

• The Huskers are 25-0 this season when holding opponents below .200 hitting after the Huskers held Auburn to -.011 hitting. Nebraska is 4-2 when opposing teams hit above .200.
• After hitting .321 against Auburn, the Huskers are 186-0 under Head Coach John Cook when they hit .300 or better.
• The Huskers ended the year 15-0 at home this season and dropped just three sets all season at the NU Coliseum. During Big 12 play the Huskers ended the year a perfect 10-0.
• Nebraska is 11-1 in true road matches this season and were 9-1 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 six times in their last 16 matches, but have hit double figures in their past three matches.
• Junior middle blocker Brooke Delano enters the week ranked eighth nationally with a .414 hitting percentage is ninth in blocks with 1.42 per set.
• Two of the three all-time meetings between the Huskies and have come in the NCAA Tournament. UW won its first national title in 2005 by sweeping the Huskers, while Nebraska knocked the Huskies out of the 2008 tournament in five sets after being down 0-2.
• The Huskers enter the week ranked in the top-15 nationally in four categories, including blocks (3.04 - 4th), assists (13.97 - 5th), kills (14.99 - 5th) and hitting percentage (.288 - 12th).
• 2010 marks Nebraska's 29th consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Only Penn State and Stanford have made more trips with each making their 30th appearance this year.
• 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), Colorado (.239) and Oklahoma (.216). In those five matches the Huskers are 3-2.
• Under Head Coach John Cook, the Huskers improved to 303-8 when winning the first set of the match after their 3-0 win over Auburn. 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 18 double-doubles on the season, including nine from Hannah Werth, five from Tara Mueller, three from Lauren Cook and one from Sydney Anderson.
• Three of the Huskers' 32 All-Americans are on the 2010 roster, including Sydney Anderson, Tara Mueller and Brooke Delano. Nebraska leads the nation with 67 All-America certificates.

Sweet Success
After a pair of sweeps in the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament, the Nebraska volleyball team will be making its 27th straight trip to the Sweet 16. Overall The Huskers have qualified for regionals in 28 of their 29 all-time trips to the postseason. The last time the Huskers didn't advance to a regional was 1983 when they were bounced in the first round by Western Michigan (1-3).

Flashback
The 2008 regional final against Washington was one of the most memorable matches in NU history as the Huskers battled back from a 0-2 deficit to win the match in five. Nebraska also needed a comeback in the fifth set as the Huskies jumped out to a 9-3 advantage before current senior Kayla Banwarth served eight straight points during a 9-0 NU run.

Tournament Tough
The Huskers have been hard to beat in the NCAA Tournament and their 82-25 record proves it. Nebraska's .766 winning percentage and 82 wins are second to only Stanford in each category as the Cardinal have a winning percentage of .800 and an overall record of 96-24.

Including Nebraska and Stanford, only seven teams have an all-time winning percentage in the tournament over .700. The other five teams include UCLA (.733, 74-27), Hawaii (.732, 71-26), Penn State (.731, 68-25), Florida (.726, 53-20) and USC (.714, 60-24).

Really a Freshman?
True freshman Morgan Broekhuis didn't look like a freshman in her NCAA Tournament debut as the 6-5 lefty posted a season-best hitting percentage of .615 (8-0-13) and tied her season best with four block assists. She continued to play well in the second round against Auburn with eight kills on 17 swings and just one error (.412).

The Colorado Springs native was playing some of her best volleyball of the year entering the tournament as she hit .363 and averaged 2.58 kills per set over her final eight regular-season matches. She had hit .300 or better in seven of the eight matches, including four matches where she has hit over .400 and one match where she hit .538.

In her first 12 conference matches this season, Broekhuis 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.

Movin' on Up
After entering the season ranked ninth on Nebraska's career chart with 2,683 assists, senior Sydney Anderson's 625 assists this season have moved her to fourth place on the career list with 3,308 dishes.

Against Auburn in the NCAA Tournament on Dec. 3, Anderson took over the No. 4 spot from Val Novak, who had totaled 3,303 assists from 1987-90.

On her way up the charts Anderson also passed Rachel Holloway (2,861), Dani Busboom (2,873), Lori Endicott (3,117) and Christy Johnson (3,183). All together the five setters she has passed this season combined for eight All-America honors.

Next up on the list is Nikki Stricker, but her mark of 3,786 assists is a bit out of reach by the end of the year.

Delano Dual Threat
Junior middle blocker Brooke Delano has been a force both offensively and defensively for the Huskers in 2010. An AVCA All-American last season, Delano leads the Huskers with a .414 hitting percentage, which ranks her eighth in the country. She has also anchored the Huskers' frontline with 1.42 blocks per set, the ninth-best mark in the NCAA.

A unanimous First-Team All-Big 12 selection this season, Delano has hit .500 or better 11 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 in 2007 when she hit .473. Stalls also hit .400 in 2006.

It's Routine
A trip to the NCAA Tournament goes along with breathing at Nebraska and this year is no different as the Huskers are making their 29th straight trip to the national tournament as the No. 2 overall seed.

2010 also marks the seventh straight season that the Huskers have opened the NCAA Tournament at home. In 28 previous appearances the Huskers have started the postseason on the road just twice, as they played in Kalamazoo, Mich. in 1983 and were sent to East Lansing, Mich. in 2003.

Nebraska, Hawaii and UCLA are all making their 29th trip this season, while only Stanford and Penn State have longer resumes with 30 appearances each.

Hitting the Husker Wall
Nebraska's win over Auburn on Dec. 3 marked the 23rd time under Head Coach John Cook that the Huskers have held an opponent to negative hitting, as they held the Tigers to a -.011 hitting percentage. It marked the second time this season Nebraska have achieved the feat and the first time since 2005 that the Huskers have held multiple opponents to negative hitting in the same season.

Year     No.       Opponent
2000     3          Oral Roberts, Oklahoma, Creighton
2001     1          Iowa State
2002     4          Creighton, Iowa State, Oklahoma, UT-Martin
2003     1          New Orleans
2004     6          Ball State, Maryland, Kansas, Texas Tech (2x), Iowa State
2005     3          Pacific, Texas Tech, Alabama A&M
2006     1          Middle Tennessee State
2007     1          South Dakota State
2009     1          Tulane
2010     2          Kentucky, Auburn
Total     23

Tara-ing it Up
Senior Tara Mueller is hitting a groove at just the right time of the season. An All-American in 2008, Mueller had struggled to find constancy at the net early in the year 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 .358 and is averaging 2.52 kills per set along with 2.68 digs. She has also been the Huskers' most dangerous server with 0.52 aces per set. She has hit over .300 in all but two matches since the start of November and topped .400 four times.

In her final regular-season home match at the NU Coliseum on Wednesday, Nov. 24 against Baylor, Mueller put up a match-high 12 kills on .409 hitting and added 11 digs to record her fifth double-double of the season.

During the NCAA Tournament Mueller is hitting .377 and is averaging 0.67 aces per set.

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 31 matches, the 2010 Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year leads the team with nine double-doubles, including six in Big 12 play.

Taking Down Ranked Foes
The Huskers are 6-2 this season against top-25 ranked teams. Nebraska and Texas (5-4) are the only Big 12 school that are above .500 against the top-25. Nebraska is the only team in the Big 12 with a .500 record or better against top-10 teams as the Huskers are 1-1.

The Huskers only losses on the year came to then-No. 13 Florida and No. 10 Texas.

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 Friday's match against Washington, the senior ranks sixth all-time on the Big 12 charts with 1,689 digs. Banwarth is one of four active liberos on the Big 12 top-10 list, including Iowa State's Ashley Mass, who hold the top mark at 2,259 digs.

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

Road Ready
The Huskers were nearly flawless on the road this season during Big 12 play as they dropped just one match all season. Not including its 3-1 loss to Texas in Austin, the Nebraska volleyball team was 9-0.

Husker Hardware
After the completion of the Big 12 schedule the Huskers were all over the conference honors list. Sophomore Hannah Werth was tabbed as the Defensive Player of the Year, while Lauren Cook was picked as Newcomer of the Year and Head Coach John Cook was named Co-Head Coach of the Year along with Texas' Jerritt Elliott.

Werth was also one of three Huskers picked to the All-Big 12 first team, as she was joined by senior right side hitter Lindsey Licht and junior middle blocker Brooke Delano, who was a unanimous selection by the Big 12 coaches. Senior Kayla Banwarth was an honorable-mention selection for the second straight year, while freshman Morgan Broekhuis was a unanimous selection to the All-Big 12 Freshman team.

Filling Both Hands
With the Huskers winning their 31st conference title and 12th in the Big 12 era, Head Coach John Cook now has 10 Big 12 Championship rings. Cook earned his first as an assistant coach in 1999 under Terry Pettit and has guided the Huskers to nine league titles during his tenure as head coach. Cook won three straight titles from 2000-02 and then another five in a row from 2004-08.

November Repeat
For the second straight season the Huskers put up a perfect 7-0 record in the month of November. Nebraska is now looking to change what happened last season when the Huskers fell one win shy of the Final Four with its loss to Texas in the regional final.

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

Fantastic Four
The 2010 senior class has been the latest group to continue Nebraska's winning tradition. The team held Senior Night on Wednesday, Nov. 24 during the final regular-season match of the season when the Huskers hosted Baylor and the class improved its overall record to an impressive 112-14 (Now 115-14).

The group of Sydney Anderson, Kayla Banwarth, Lindsey Licht and Tara Mueller has won three Big 12 titles, made one Final Four appearance and led the Huskers to two trips to the NCAA Regional final.

Mighty Middles
Nebraska's middle blockers have been a force both offensively and defensively this season. Brooke Delano and Jordan Wilberger are first and second on the team in blocks with 1.42 and 1.22, respectively, per set. The pair are also tops on the team in hitting percentage with Delano hitting .414 and Wilberger coming in at .350.

One on the Court
It is all about the team at Nebraska and it shows this season as the Huskers enter the week ranked in the top-15 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 enters the week ranked eighth in hitting percentage (.414) and ninth in blocks per set (1.42).

As a team the Huskers are fourth in blocks (3.04), fifth in both assists (14.37) and kills (14.99) as well as 12th in hitting percentage (.288).

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.

The fan vote, which accounts for 1/3 of the final vote, ended on Nov. 23 and Anderson secured nearly 25% of the ballots. The win over the 2010 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award will be announced at the Final Four in Kansas City.

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).

Try to Take a Set
In Big 12 play this season the Huskers won 58 of the 65 sets they played. No other team in the conference lost less than 10 sets in Big 12 play. Overall this season Nebraska is 90-14 in sets.