Huskers Open NCAA Tournament with Fairfield

FAIRFIELD at NEBRASKA
Date: Dec. 6
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Lincoln, Neb.
Arena: Devaney Center
Live Stats: Huskers.com
Live Radio: B107.3 (Lincoln), 93.3 (Omaha), Husker Sports Network, Huskers.com
TV: NET
Web Stream: BTN2Go.com
Other match in Lincoln on Friday                              

Miami (Fla.) vs. Oregon
Date: Dec. 6
Time: 4:30 p.m.
Location: Lincoln, Neb.
Arena: Devaney Center
Live Stats: Huskers.com
Web Stream: Huskers.com

The No. 9 Nebraska volleyball team (23-6, 16-4 Big Ten) will open the NCAA Tournament at home for the 10th straight season on Friday night when it hosts the Fairfield Stags (14-4) at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. The match is set to start at 7 p.m., or 30 minutes after the first match of the day ends between Miami (Fla.) and Oregon.

Nebraska, which recently finished second in the Big Ten Conference, will be making its 32nd appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Huskers earned a No. 8 national seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Fairfield will be making its second consecutive appearance in the national tournament after repeating as Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championship in 2013. The Stags went earned the conference title after defeating Marist College in three sets on Nov. 24.

Friday night’s match will be the first-ever meeting between Nebraska and Fairfield. It will be the second time the Huskers have ever played a team from the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.

Nebraska’s match with Fairfield will air state-wide on NET-1/HD with Larry Punteney and Kathi Wieskamp on the call. The match will also be streamed for free on BTN2Go.com. The match between Miami and Oregon will also be streamed on Huskers.com for free.

Last Time Out: vs. Penn State - Nov. 30, 2013 (Lincoln)

The No. 10 Nebraska volleyball team (23-6, 16-4) fell to the No. 2 Penn State Nittany Lions 3-1 (25-22, 23-25, 24-26, 24-26) on Saturday evening at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. In front of a season-high 8,561 fans, the Huskers honored seniors Morgan Broekhuis, Kelsey Robinson and Hayley Thramer in the regular-season finale.

Amber Rolfzen produced a career-high-tying 16 kills for the Huskers, adding 15 digs and hitting at a clip of .389. Kadie Rolfzen notched 12 kills and a match-high 18 digs, while Kelsey Robinson had 14 kills and five blocks. Mary Pollmiller dished out 46 assists on the night, while Cecilia Hall posted seven blocks.

Nebraska hit .246 for the match, while Penn State hit .255. Nebraska out-blocked the Nittany Lions 12.5-11 and out-dug PSU 55-53.

Scouting the Fairfield Stags

• Fairfield is 19-12 on the season and has an 14-4 record in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.

• The Stags recently defeated Marist College in the MAAC title came to repeat as conference champions and earn their second berth in the NCAA Tournament.

• Senior Rachel Romansky was named the MAAC Championship Most Outstanding Player, earning a spot on the all-tournament team for the fourth consecutive year. Joining her on the MAAC All-Tournament Team was Hayley  Moyer and Caitlin Stapleton.

• In the two matches at the conference tournament, Romansky ran the Stags offense effectively, posting 12.71 assists per set while collecting eight digs, four aces and six kills. Moyer averaged 3.43 kills on .500 hitting as she committed just one attack error in 46 attempts on the weekend. Stapleton averaged 4.00 kills on .408 hitting with eight total blocks

• Mariylyn Peizer leads Farfield on the season with 351 total kills and an average of 3.08 kills per set. Stapleton has 293 kills on the year and an average of 2.57 kills per set.

• Romansky paces the Stags offensively. She has tallied 1,006 assists on the season and is averaging 9.58 assists per set. Carsen Mata has 479 digs on the season and is averaging 4.13 digs per set.

• The Stags are coached by Alija Pittenger, who is in her sixth season as head volleyball coach. She is a 2001 graduate of Michigan.

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 Friday’s match with a 23-6 record and as a No. 8 national seed. The Huskers are 16-4 in Big Ten play.

• Nebraska is ranked No .9 in the latest AVCA poll.

• The Huskers are 17-0 this season when holding opponents below .200 hitting.

• Nebraska has lost 12 Big Ten matches all-time, but has only lost three Big Ten Conference matches at home.

• Nebraska has an all-time winning percentage of .929 (508-40) in conference matches.

• The Huskers rank in the top 30 nationally in four categories. NU is 17th in assists per set with an average of 13.43, 16th in blocks per set with an average of 2.82, 17th in kills per set with 14.35 and are also 16th in hitting percentage with an average of .271. NU ranks first in assists per set and kills per set in the Big Ten Conference.

• 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 is the second-winningest program in Division I history with 1,189 wins and trails only UCLA (1,195) on the all-time list.

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

• Nebraska carries a streak of 196 consecutive sellouts into this weekend, 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 (410-47) of his matches in 13 years as the Huskers’ leader.

The Last Time Nebraska...

•             Won a match 3-0: at Iowa, Nov. 27, 2013

•             Won a match 3-1: vs. Michigan, Nov. 16, 2013

•             Won a match 3-2: at Minnesota, Nov. 10, 2013

•             Lost a match 0-3: at Purdue, Nov. 22, 2013

•             Lost a match 1-3: vs. Penn State, Nov. 30, 2013

•             Lost a match 2-3: at Texas, Sept. 22, 2013

•             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 Iowa (11), Nov. 27, 2013

•             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: Meghan Haggerty (11) vs. Michigan, Nov. 16, 2013

•             Had 25-or-more digs: Lauren Cook (25) vs. Purdue, Nov. 10, 2012

•             Had two players with 20-or-more kills: Kelsey Robinson (21) and Kadie Rolfzen (20) vs. Michigan, Nov. 16, 2013

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

Nebraska...

•             Is 361-14 (.963) when winning a first set under John Cook and 49-33 (.598) when it loses the opening set

•             Has spent 416 weeks in the top 10 and were ranked in the top 10 for 115 consecutive weeks (2004-Sept. 5, 2011)

•             Is 223-0 under John Cook when hitting .300 or better

Robinson Heads All-Big Ten Team

Nebraska senior Kelsey Robinson leads three Husker volleyball players who earned All-Big Ten honors from the league’s coaches on Tuesday. A native of Bartlett, Ill., Robinson became the first Husker to earn Big Ten Player-of-the-Year accolades.

Robinson paces a Husker contingent that also includes freshman Kadie Rolfzen and junior Mary Pollmiller. Nebraska saw Robinson and Rolfzen earn All-Big Ten honors, while Pollmiller earned honorable-mention accolades. Kadie Rolfzen was also named to the All-Freshman Team as a unanimous pick. In addition, senior Morgan Broekhuis was selected as Nebraska’s Sportsmanship Award honoree.

Robinson Selected as National Player of the Week

Nebraska senior Kelsey Robinson was honored on Oct. 8 by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) as the Sports Imports/AVCA Division I National Player of the Week.

Robinson received the honor after leading the Huskers to wins over then-No. 8 Minnesota (3-0) and No. 19 Wisconsin (3-2) on Oct 4 and 5. She totaled 50 kills and 29 digs on the weekend, averaging 6.3 kills per set and 3.6 digs per set, with a .417 hitting percentage for the Huskers.

Robinson recorded a double-double against the Badgers, tallying a career-high 29 kills, a team-high 22 digs and four blocks. She notched 21 kills and hit at a clip of .450 against the Gophers. Robinson was also named the Big Ten Co-Player of the Week.

The honor marks the 13th time a Husker has received the Sports Imports/AVCA Division I National Player of the Week award, with the most recent coming on No. 22, 2011 when Hannah Werth received the honor.

Huskers Earn Big Ten Weekly Honors

Nebraska outside hitters Kelsey Robinson, Amber Rolfzen, Kadie Rolfzen, middle blockers Meghan Haggerty and Cecilia Hall and setter Mary Pollmiller have all been honored by the Big Ten Conference this season. Amber Rolfzen was selected as the league’s Co-Freshman of the Week on Monday, Sept. 16 and Freshman of the Week on Oct. 7, Kadie Rolfzen was named the Freshman of the Week on Oct. 28 and Nov. 4, while Pollmiller was named the Big Ten Setter of the Week on Monday, Sept. 30, Oct. 28, Nov. 11 and Nov. 18. Robinson earned Co-Player of the Week honors on Oct. 7 and Player of the Week accolades on Nov. 4, Nov. 11 and Nov. 18, while Meghan Haggerty was tabbed as the Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 7 and Cecilia Hall was named Defensive Player of the Week on Nov. 4.

Pollmiller guided the Huskers to road wins over Northwestern (3-1) and Illinois (3-0) during the opening weekend of Big Ten play. She led the Husker offense with 81 assists, averaging 11.6 assists per set. Pollmiller paced the Husker offense against Iowa and Ohio State, averaging 12.3 assists per set and helped Nebraska to a .345 team hitting percentage. She recorded a double-double against the Buckeyes, with 53 assists and 11 digs. Pollmiller earned the honor again after helping Nebraska top Wisconsin and Minnesota. She paced the Husker offense, averaging 12.3 assists per set. Pollmiller also recorded 50 assists against the Badgers and 61 assists against the Gophers. She totaled 12 digs, six kills and three blocks on the weekend. She was named Setter of the Week for the second consecutive week on Nov. 18 after pacing the Husker offense with 12.1 assists per set and leading Nebraska to a season-high team hitting percentage of .402 against Michigan State. She also totaled 20 digs, three blocks, three kills and an ace on the weekend.

Robinson earned her first honor of the season after leading the Huskers to wins over No. 8 Minnesota (3-0) and No. 23 Wisconsin (3-2) on Oct. 4 and 5. She averaged 6.3 kills per set and posted a .417 hitting percentage. She recorded a double-double against the Badgers, tallying a career-high 29 kills and a team-high 22 digs. Robinson posted 29 digs on the weekend, averaging 3.6 digs per set. She shared the accolade with Lauren Wicinski of Michigan State. Robinson earned another honor after leading the Huskers to wins over Illinois (3-0) and Northwestern (3-2) on Oct. 30 and Nov. 2. She averaged 4.5 kills per set, 3.0 digs per set and 1.1 blocks per set. Robinson also notched a double-double (21 kills, 16 digs) against the Wildcats. She recorded a .349 hitting clip and added five assists on the week. She earned her second consecutive honor this week in helping Nebraska top Wisconsin and Minnesota. She averaged 4.9 kills, 3.4 digs and 0.6 digs per set. Robinson notched double-doubles against both the Badgers (21 kills, 13 digs) and Gophers (23 kills, 19 digs). She recorded a .330 hitting percentage and added three assists and an ace. Robinson took home Player of the Week accolades on Nov. 18 after leading the Huskers to wins over No. 16 Michigan State (3-0) and No. 19 Michigan (3-1). She averaged 5.0 kills, 3.3 digs and 1.1 blocks per set. She also notched double-doubles against both the Spartans (14 kills, 11 digs) and Wolverines (21 kills, 12 digs). Robinson recorded a hitting percentage of .329 and added four aces and an assist on the weekend.

Haggerty also helped the Huskers post a 2-0 record against Minnesota (10/4) and Wisconsin (10/5) on with 12 total blocks and an average of 1.5 blocks per set. She recorded a season-high 13 kills against Wisconsin and posted a .389 hitting percentage on the weekend. The honor marked her fifth career Big Ten weekly award and her first Defensive Player of the Week honor.

Cecilia Hall earned accolades for her defensive efforts against Illinois (10/30) and Northwestern (11/2), pacing the Huskers at the net with a total of 21 blocks and an average of 2.6 blocks per set. She tallied a career-high 11 blocks against the Illini and 10 against Northwestern, while also chipping in nine kills on the week. The honor marked her first career Big Ten weekly award.

Amber Rolfzen tallied 12 total blocks and averaged 1.5 blocks per set in helping Nebraska take down Minnesota (10/4) and Wisconsin (10/5). She recorded a team-high eight blocks against the Badgers and added 20 digs and 11 kills on the weekend. Rolfzen collected her second Freshman of the Week honor as she last earned the award on Sept. 16, 2013 as she led Nebraska to victories over Saint Mary’s (3-1), Dayton (3-0) and Iowa State (3-0) in the Ameritas Players Challenge. She produced double-doubles in all three matches, averaging 3.6 kills and 3.5 digs per set.

Kadie Rolfzen posted a .449 hitting percentage against Iowa (10/23) and Ohio State (10/25), totaling 27 kills and 21 digs and averaging 3.9 kills and 3 digs per set. She recorded the fifth double-double of her career against the Hawkeyes with 11 kills and 12 digs. Rolfzen earned her second consecutive Freshman of the Week honor on Nov. 4 in posting a team-high 31 kills and averaging 3.9 kills per set against Northwestern and Illinois. She also averaged 3.5 digs and 1.0 blocks per set. Rolfzen recorded double-doubles against both the Fighting Illini (13 kills, 11 digs) and Wildcats (18 kills, 17 digs). She shared the honor this week with Wisconsin’s Lauren Carlini.

Broekhuis Earns Academic All-District Honor

Nebraska senior Morgan Broekhuis was named to the Capital One Academic All-District 7 volleyball team, as chosen by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Broekhuis earned second-team honors and is a repeat all-district selection.

Broekhuis is a captain on the 2013 squad and has a 3.58 GPA in nutrition, exercise and health science. She has played in 13 matches as a senior. Broekhuis was named an AVCA Honorable-Mention All-American in 2011, is a two-time Big Ten Distinguished Scholar and has been named academic All-Big Ten twice.

Cook Reaches Milestone

Nebraska head coach John Cook has earned his 400th career win at Nebraska as the Huskers swept Indiana 3-0 on Friday, Oct. 18. During his 14 seasons with the Huskers he has  guided Nebraska to two NCAA titles (2000, 2006) and five NCAA semifinal appearances (2000-01-05-06-08). He is also a two-time AVCA National Coach of the Year (2000, 2005).

Tough Competition

With a match-up against Penn State last weekend, Nebraska took on its 15th top-25 teams this season. The Huskers hold a 10-4 record against top-25 teams, with losses coming to No. 1 Texas (9/22), No. 10 Michigan State (10/12) and No. 21 Purdue (10/19, 11/22). 

The Huskers have annually played a tough schedule throughout the season. Nebraska’s record for matches against ranked opponents is 16 in 1998, 1999 and 2012.

Robinson Sets Herself Apart

Kelsey Robinson has totaled 481 kills, 356 digs and 30 aces so far in 2013. She is the only player in the Big Ten Conference to lead her team in both kills and digs. Only one Husker has ever notched over 400 kills and digs in a season, as Jordan Larson tallied 475 kills and 402 digs in 2006.

No Husker has ever led a Nebraska team in kills, digs and aces at the end of the season. Other Huskers to lead a team in kills and digs for the season were Jennifer Saleaumua (2003), Eileen Shannon (1992), Kathi DeBoer (1987) and Cathy Noth (1984).

Robinson is hitting at a clip of .323 for the season and has a .349 hitting percentage during conference play. She recorded only one hitting error in both matches against Illinois this season.

Among the 81 teams in the seven “major” conferences (American, ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, Pac-12, SEC), Robinson was one of only two players to lead her team in both kills and digs and the only player to lead her team in kills, digs and service aces. Below are the two “major” conference players leading their teams in both kills and digs at the start of this week:

Player, School                                   Kills       Digs

Kelsey Robinson, Nebraska         481         356

Erin Fairs, South Florida                 429         507

Huskers Tough in Five Sets

In deciding fifth sets, the Huskers have proven to have the edge. NU has won four five-set matches in five attempts in 2013. NU’s only five set loss came at Texas on Sept. 22.

Hall Leading Husker Block

Cecilia Hall leads the Husker blocking charge on the year with 126 total blocks and an average of 1.31 blocks per set.  She earned Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week accolades on Nov. 4.

The Husker block has come alive down the stretch as the Huskers have posted over 10 team blocks in seven of the last 12 matches. Nebraska notched 18 blocks against Michigan in both matches this season and NU has notched over 10 team blocks 13 times in 2013.

Husker Freshmen Record Double-Doubles

Nebraska freshmen Kadie Rolfzen and Amber Rolfzen rank 10th and 22nd, respectively, among freshmen in the nation with double-doubles. Kadie has 11 on the year, while Amber has five. The leader is Wisconsin’s Lauren Carlini as she has 16. Kelly Hunter posted a double-double against Louisiana-Monroe.

Hot in November

Historically, the Huskers’ two best months are September (310-29) and November (234-25), as they have all-time winning percentages of .914 and .903, respectively. NU has lost only seven matches in September since 2004, including none from 2005-08. The Huskers have only lost nine matches in November since 2004.

Efficient Hitters

Nebraska has hit better than .300 in nine out of 29 matches in 2013, including a .388 hitting percentage against Iowa, a .360 hitting clip against Indiana, a clip of .402 against Michigan State and a season-high mark of .418 against Indiana. 

Huskers Earn All-Tournament Honors

Amber Rolfzen honored as the 2013 Ameritas Players Challenge MVP two weeks ago. Kelsey Robinson and Mary Pollmiller were also selected to the all-tournament team. Kelsey Robinson and freshman Justine Wong-Orantes were honored as they were selected to the Marcia E. Hamilton Classic All-Tournament Team on Aug. 31.

How the Huskers Rank

Nebraska ranks first in the Big Ten in assists (13.43) and kills (14.35) and third in hitting percentage (.271). NU is also third in blocks (2.82), fifth in opponent hitting percentage (.185) and ninth in digs (14.18). Individually, Kelsey Robinson is second in kills (4.50) and seventh in hitting percentage (.323), while Mary Pollmiller is sixth in assists (10.67). Cecilia Hall is fourth in blocks (1.31), while Kadie Rolfzen is seventh in kills (3.52). Justine Wong-Orantes ranks tied for 10th in digs (3.41).

The Huskers rank 17th nationally in assists per set (13.43), 17th in kills per set (14.35), 16th in hitting percentage (.271) and 16th in blocks per set (2.82). Individually, Robinson is 14th in kills per set (4.50) and is 12th in points per set (5.15). Hall ranks 35th in blocks per set (1.31), while Pollmiller is 63rd in assists per set (10.67).

In Big Ten play, Kelsey Robinson is first in kills (4.69), sixth in hitting percentage (.349) and first points (5.41), while Mary Pollmiller is third in assists (11.09). Kadie Rolfzen ranks sixth in kills (3.56). Robinson is the only outside hitter to rank in the top 10 in both categories.

Newcomers Make Immediate Impact

Husker newcomers have played a pivotal role for the Huskers during the 2013 season.

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.

Nebraska has 13 underclassmen on its roster this season, marking one of the highest totals in program history. The Huskers’ underclassman contingent ties Minnesota as the most in the Big Ten in 2013. NU had 14 underclassmen on its roster in 1977 and 1978, 11 underclassmen in 1997 and 1996 and 10 in 2009 and 2010.

Husker Twins Produce Hot Start to Husker Careers

Kadie Rolfzen made her Husker debut against the Villanova Wildcats on Sept. 6. The freshman from Papillion, Neb., led the Huskers with 14 kills on 29 attacks for a .345 hitting percentage. She followed that performance the next night with 14 kills on 31 swings (.323) against Georgia. Rolfzen’s 14 kills in her Husker debut marks the highest kill total for a true freshman in her first career start since Sarah Pavan recorded 16 kills against Notre Dame in 2004.  She posted a career-high 16 kills on 32 swings for a .312 hitting percentage against Iowa State last on Sept. 14. She led NU against Iowa with the fifth double-double of her career, posting 11 kills, a career-high 12 digs and hitting at a clip of .500. She notched another double-double against Illinois with 13 kills and 11 digs and posted 18 kills and 17 digs in NU’s 3-2 win over Northwestern on Nov. 2. She posted two double-doubles last weekend in NU’s wins over Wisconsin and Minnesota, with a career-high 20 kills against Minnesota. Rolfzen continued to impress against Michigan and Michigan State on Nov. 15 and 16 as she notched a double-double against the Spartans with 20 kills and 10 digs. She notched 12 kills and a match-high 18 digs against Penn State on Nov. 30.

Amber Rolfzen made her Husker debut in NU’s opening weekend. She had eight kills in her first collegiate match. Rolfzen led Nebraska at the Ameritas Players Challenge, recording 36 total kills on the weekend. She notched a career-high 16 kills in NU’s 3-1 win against Saint Mary’s, hitting at a clip of .382. She tallied a double-double in every match of the Ameritas Players Challenge and was named the tournament’s MVP. Rolfzen has been named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week twice, most recently for her efforts against Minnesota and Wisconsin on Oct. 4 and 5 as she tallied 12 total blocks on the weekend and averaged 1.5 blocks. She added a team-high eight blocks against the Badgers and added 20 digs and 11 kills on the weekend. Rolfzen tallied 16 kills and 15 digs in NU’s 3-1 loss to No. 2 Penn State.

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.

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.

The Nebraska Athletic Department honored 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 former Nebraska head coach Terry Pettit.

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.