Cook and Captains Meet Media

Lincoln - Nebraska volleyball Head Coach John Cook and the team's two captains met the media on Wednesday afternoon to discuss the upcoming 2011 season.

Coach Cook answered questions for nearly one-half hour, before senior captains Jordan Wilberger and Brigette Root took their turns at the podium. The team then posed for its team photo at the NU Coliseum.

As the newest member of the Big Ten Conference, Coach Cook has been focused on the energy that this change brings to the program.

"There is such great tradition here," Cook said. "The players talk about it over and over and over. That is what carries on. We've had change before, we've had a lot of it over the last 11 years. This year it feels like a lot for me because of the coaching staff and the newness of the team and the newness of the conference. It creates great energy."

Cook went on to discuss how the leadership is being developed on a Husker squad that is welcoming five freshmen to its roster in 2011.

"We took a step forward yesterday," Cook said. "Our team named Brigette Root and Jordan Wilberger captains. They've identified in their minds who are going to be the leaders of this team. That's something we put a lot of effort into educating them about what it means to be a leader and a captain of this program. We spent the whole spring developing the leadership theme with journals and asking them questions, trying to get this generation to understand what leadership is."

The Huskers, who return two AVCA All-Americans in Brooke Delano and Hannah Werth, will open the 2011 campaign with matches against New Mexico State and New Mexico at the MCM Elegante Lobo Classic in Albuquerque, N.M. on Aug. 26-27.

Fans will have their first opportunity to see the Huskers at the Red/White Scrimmage on Saturday, Aug. 20, at 7 p.m. Tickets are still available online at Huskers.com or by calling 1-800-8-BIGRED.