Huskers Host Southern Mississippi, Villanova, Georgia

VILLANOVA vs. NEBRASKA
Date: Sept. 6
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Lincoln, Neb.
Arena: Bob Devaney Sports Center
Live Stats: Huskers.com
Live Video: BTN.com (subscription)
Live Radio: Husker Sports Network,
Huskers.com

GEORGIA vs. NEBRASKA
Date: Sept. 7
Time: 1 p.m.
Location: Lincoln, Neb.
Arena: Bob Devaney Sports Center
Live Stats: Huskers.com
Live Video: Huskers.com (subscription)
Live Radio: Huskers.com

The No. 13 Nebraska volleyball team hosts Southern Mississippi, Villanova and Georgia this weekend at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. The Huskers will take on the Villanova Wildcats on Friday, Sept. 6 at 7 p.m., and will face the Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday, Sept. 7 at 1 p.m. Southern Mississippi will take on Georgia on Friday at 4:30 p.m., and will face Villanova on Saturday at 3 p.m.

Friday’s meeting will be the first between the Huskers and Villanova.

The Huskers hold a 4-0 record over Georgia, last meeting in 2000. The last time the Huskers faced the Bulldogs, the Huskers won in three sets (15-4, 15-2, 15-4).

The Nebraska Athletic Department will honor former Nebraska coach Terry Pettit on Friday, Sept. 6  by naming the court at the Bob Devaney Sports Center “Terry Pettit Court.” The naming is the result of a generous gift given by Bill and Ruth Scott in honor of  the former Nebraska head coach.

Pettit was inducted into the AVCA Hall of Fame in 2009 and was a two-time AVCA National Coach of the Year, a seven-time Big Eight Coach of the Year and a two-time Big 12 Coach of the Year. In his 23 years at Nebraska, he guided the Huskers to a national championship in 1995, six Final Four appearances and 21 conference titles.

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 The Wolf 93.3 FM in Omaha. Fans outside the state will also be able to catch the live audio feed for free on Huskers.com. Saturday’s match will only be available on Huskers.com.

Nebraska’s match on Friday against Villanova will be streamed on the Big Ten Digital Network (BTN.com) and will be available with a subscription. Saturday’s match with Georgia will be streamed on Huskers.com and will be available with a HuskersNside subscription.

Scouting the Villanova Wildcats

• Villanova is 1-2 on the season. The Wildcats started the opening weekend of play with a 3-1 loss to Oregon State, a 3-1 win over Oakland and a 3-2 loss to Central Michigan.

• Freshman Claire Crutchfield led the Wildcats last weekend with 32 total kills and an average of 2.46 kills per set. Freshman Michaela Berendt posted 28 kills on the weekend and a .426 attack percentage.

• Sophomore Emma Pettit, daughter of former Nebraska coach Terry Pettit, paces the offense for the Wildcats at setter. She recorded 145 assists over the weekend and has an average of 11.15 assists per set.  She tallied 52 assists in Villanova’s win over Oakland.

• Senior Carly Edwards and freshman Michaela Berendt both recorded 10 total blocks on the weekend, with an average of 0.77 blocks per set.

• Josh Steinbach is in his seventh season at the helm of the Wildcats. He is the longest-tenured coach in the program’s 40 years as a varsity sport. He has a career record 99-82 and was the BIG EAST Coach of the Year in his first season at Villanova.

Scouting the Georgia Bulldogs

• Georgia is 3-0 on the year after beating Lipscomb, TCU and Furman in 3-0 sweeps at the Georgia Bulldog Invitational last weekend.

• Sophomore Jasmine Eatmon was named MVP of the Bulldog Invitational after finishing the weekend with 20 kills, three service aces and nine blocks. She hit a team-best .548 clip and averaged one block per set.

• Senior Stacey Smith leads the Bulldogs offensively as she has a total of 24 kills on the year and an average of 2.67 kills per set.

• Junior Kaylee Kehoe paced the Georgia offense over the weekend with a total of 60 assists and an average of 6.67 assists per set. 

• Junior Lauren Teknipp and senior Allison Summers were also named to the Georgia Bulldog Invitational all-tournament team for their efforts over the weekend. Teknipp led all players with 10 kills, going 10-for-21 for an attack percentage of .336 against TCU. Summers posted a team-high 34 digs over the weekend, averaging 3.78 digs per set.

• Georgia is coached by former Nebraska assistant coach Lizzy Stemke. She spent four seasons at Nebraska before being hired by Georgia and is in her third season.

Noting the Nebraska Cornhuskers

The information below provides a quick glimpse of a few statistics and brief notes heading into this weekend.

•Nebraska enters this weekend’s matches with a 2-1 record and No. 13 national ranking.

•The Huskers return AVCA Honorable-Mention All-Americans Morgan Broekhuis and Meghan Haggerty in 2013. They also welcomed 2011 AVCA Second-Team All-American Kelsey Robinson and 2011 AVCA Honorable-Mention All-American Mary Pollmiller to the 2013 roster after both transferred from Tennessee.

• Nebraska begins the 2013 season as the second-winningest program in Division I history with 1,168 wins and trails only UCLA (1,184) on the all-time list.

• The Huskers finished tied for second in the Big Ten in 2012. They were picked to finish fourth in the league in the Big Ten Coaches’ preseason poll in 2013.

• Nebraska carries a streak of 181 consecutive sellouts into the 2013 season, the longest sellout streak across all NCAA women’s athletics. The Huskers averaged 4,287 fans per home contest last season at the NU Coliseum.

• Nebraska has seven players on its 2013 roster who were Volleyball Magazine Fab 50 selections, representing the top-50 players in that year’s recruiting class. Six of the Huskers’ last nine recruiting classes have ranked in the top five nationally, including the 2009 class that was ranked second and the 2013 class that was ranked first by Prepvolleyball.com

• Nebraska continued its string of All-America success in 2012, as Lauren Cook was named an AVCA All-American. Cook upped Nebraska’s NCAA-leading totals to 36 players and 74 certificates. Nebraska has had at least one All-American every season since 1983, a total of 31 straight seasons, including 39 All-America awards in Cook’s 13 years at Nebraska. 

AVCA All-America Certificates

No.         School                   Awards

1.            Nebraska             74

2.            Stanford              66

3.            Penn State          58

4.            Hawaii                   53

5.            UCLA                     45

• Head Coach John Cook welcomes a young team, including 10 newcomers, to the 2013 squad. The 2012 team finished 26-7 last season, while Cook has won over 90 percent (387-91) of his matches in 13 years as the Huskers’ leader.

The Last Time Nebraska...

•             Won a match 3-0: vs. Saint Louis, Aug. 31, 2013

•             Won a match 3-1: vs. Northwestern, Nov. 24, 2012

•             Won a match 3-2: vs. Purdue, Nov. 10, 2012

•             Lost a match 0-3: at Purdue, Nov. 12, 2011

•             Lost a match 1-3: vs. Auburn, Aug. 31, 2013

•             Lost a match 2-3: at Minnesota, Nov. 16, 2012

•             Had 100 kills in a match: vs. Texas Tech, Oct. 26, 1996

•             Had 200 attacks in a match: vs. Iowa State (200), Oct. 21, 2009

•             Had .500-or-more hitting pct.: vs. Kansas (.523), Oct. 10, 2001

•             Had 10-or-more service aces: at Texas A&M (11), Nov. 5, 2008

•             Had 40-or-more total blocks: vs. UCLA (41), Sept. 14, 1991

•             Had 100-or-more digs: vs. USC (109), Dec. 11, 2004

The Last Time a Husker...

•             Had 30-or-more kills: Sarah Pavan (31) at Kansas State, Nov. 3, 2007

•             Had 10-or-more blocks: Brooke Delano (10) at Oklahoma, Sept. 29, 2010

•             Had 25-or-more digs: Lara Dykstra (28) vs. New Mexico State, Aug. 26, 2011

•             Had two players with 20-or-more kills: Tara Mueller (24) and Jordan Larson (21) at Washington, Dec. 13, 2008

•             Had a triple-double: Greichaly Cepero (10 kills, 38 assists, 12 digs) vs. Texas Tech, Sept. 25, 2002

Nebraska...

•             Is 359-72 (.833) when winning a first set under John Cook and 45-30 (.600) when it loses the opening set

•             Has spent 409 weeks in the top 10 and were ranked in the top 10 for 115 consecutive weeks (2004-Sept. 5, 2011)

•             Is 215-0 under John Cook when hitting .300 or better

Newcomers Make Immediate Impact

Husker newcomers played a pivotal role in Nebraska’s matches over the weekend, as Kelsey Robinson, Mary Pollmiller, Amber Rolfzen, Kelly Hunter and Justine Wong-Orantes all saw substantial playing time. Newcomers produced 63 kills (44 percent) , 117 assists (89 percent), 147 digs (90 percent) and 17 aces (100 percent) for the Huskers at the Marcia E. Hamilton Classic.

Freshmen Amber Rolfzen and Justine Wong-Orantes became just the ninth and 10th true freshmen, respectively, to start a season opener during Coach John Cook’s career at Nebraska. Wong-Orantes became Nebraska’s first true-freshman libero to start a match since Lara Dykstra in 2011.

Dominant Effort Against Louisiana-Monroe

The Huskers produced one of the more dominant showings in program history on Friday, Aug. 30 as they swept Louisiana-Monroe in three sets. The 36 points scored by ULM was the fewest points allowed by a Husker opponent in a three-set match during the rally-scoring era. The Huskers also held ULM to just four points in the third set, which is a school record low for a Husker opponent in the rally scoring era. The previous low had been seven points, most recently against Duquesne in 2012. The Huskers also held ULM to an NCAA record zero kills in the third set.

Robinson and Wong-Orantes named to All-Tournament team

Nebraska senior Kelsey Robinson and freshman Justine Wong-Orantes were honored last weekend as they were selected to the Marcia E. Hamilton Classic All-Tournament Team. Robinson led the Huskers offensively over the weekend, posting a total of 34 kills (3.40 kills/set), a .329 hitting percentage and six aces. Wong-Orantes led NU defensively with 42 total digs (4.20 digs/set) and also had two aces.

Huskers Call the Devaney Center Home

The Nebraska volleyball program opened a new era in its storied tradition by moving into a new permanent home court for the first time in almost 40 years. When Nebraska played its preseason Red-White Match on Saturday, Aug. 24, 2013, the Bob Devaney Sports Center became the official home of Husker volleyball. The Devaney Center, which received $20 million in renovations designed to create the nation’s premier home court advantage for volleyball, will allow nearly 4,000 more Nebraska fans per game to watch their beloved Huskers.

Nebraska volleyball, which carried the nation’s longest home sellout streak in the history of any NCAA women’s sport with 181 consecutive sellouts (2001-12) at the historic NU Coliseum, has guaranteed another season of sellouts in its first year at the Devaney Center. Not only did the Huskers quickly sell out the new 7,907-seat capacity at the Devaney Center long before the season began, they also have room for nearly 400 standing-room seats at each game and a season-ticket waiting list of well over 1,000.

During the last two decades, Nebraska has ranked among the nation’s top three volleyball programs in average home attendance every season. In 2012, the Huskers finished second nationally by averaging 4,287 fans per match. Hawaii, the NCAA’s annual attendance leader for many years, drew 6,675 per home match in 2012. As the Huskers’ new home in 2013, the Devaney Center will put Nebraska in position to lead the nation in volleyball attendance on an annual basis.

The renovations to the Devaney Center have done much more than change the capacity. Massive red ceiling trusses helped create a similar environment in the arena to the Huskers’ former home in the Coliseum. A great wall, which replicates the old Coliseum entry, adds to an atmosphere steeped in tradition. While the new Devaney Center pays homage to the history of the Coliseum, which served as the home to Husker NCAA Championship teams in 1995, 2000 and 2006, the innovative design and technological advances inside also symbolize the visionary contributions of AVCA All-Time Great Coaches Terry Pettit and John Cook.

Huskers Find Even More Talent for 2013

Head Coach John Cook’s 2013 Huskers include 10 talented additions. NU welcomed true freshmen Alexa Ethridge, Kelly Hunter, Melanie Keil, Kira Larson, Brenna Lyles, Amber Rolfzen, Kadie Rolfzen and Justine Wong-Orantes and transfers Mary Pollmiller and Kelsey Robinson.

The 2013 recruiting class was regarded as one of the best in the nation, with four players ranked as the top-25 prospects in the nation. Kadie Rolfzen came in at No. 5, while Amber Rolfzen was ranked eighth, Kelly Hunter was ranked 13th and Kira Larson was ranked 23rd.

Broekhuis Looks to Excel in Final Season

Nebraska senior Morgan Broekhuis embarks on her final season with the Huskers in 2013. She has produced a solid Husker career, including being named a 2011 AVCA Honorable-Mention All-American and Honorable-Mention All-Big Ten honoree. She closed out the 2012 season by earning NCAA Omaha Regional All-Tournament Team honors. She helped the Huskers to a second-place finish in the Big Ten in 2012 and was named to the CoSIDA Academic Second-Team District Seven squad. Broekhuis averaged 2.73 kills, 0.19 aces, 1.34 digs and 0.64 blocks per set on the season, posted 75 total assists in 2012 and notched at least five assists on five occasions. She was key for the Huskers in their win over defending NCAA Champion UCLA, notching 15 kills against the Bruins and the final two kills of the fifth set to seal the victory. She closed the season with 16 kills and six digs in a four-set loss to Oregon in the NCAA Regional Final.

Haggerty to Follow Up Successful Freshman Campaign

Meghan Haggerty became just the eighth true freshman to start a season opener during Coach John Cook’s career at Nebraska in 2012. She was named an AVCA Honorable-Mention All-American and All-Mideast selection and also earned Big Ten All-Freshman honors. Haggerty was honored with Big Ten Freshman of the Week accolades four times in 2012. She led the Huskers in hitting efficiency (.333) as a freshman and recorded a hitting percentage of .300 or better 18 times in 2012. Haggerty averaged 1.98 kills and 0.97 blocks per set and finished eighth in the conference in hitting percentage with an average of .333. She posted a team-high 17 kills against UCLA, notching a .600 hitting percentage (17-2-25). Her 17 kills were the most by a Nebraska middle blocker since Tracy Stalls tallied 17 (17-2-26) against UCLA during the 2006 National Semifinal match.

Thramer to Lead the Huskers in 2013

Senior Hayley Thramer suffered a knee injury in the spring of 2013 that will sideline her from competing during her senior season. She will fill the role as student coach and will help lead the Huskers in 2013.

Cook Selects Team Captains

Coach Cook selected team captains for the 2013 season prior to the Red/White Match. He selected Morgan Broekhuis, Kelsey Robinson and Hayley Thramer.