Huskers Host Red-White Scrimmage Saturday

The Nebraska volleyball team will host its the annual Red-White scrimmage Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. Tickets are still available for the match and can be purchased online at Huskers.com, over the phone by calling 1-800-8-BIG-RED or at the Devaney Center ticket office beginning at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday.

The scrimmage will give fans their first opportunity to see the 2014 Huskers. Nebraska returns all but one starter from last year's team, which finished with a 26-7 record. NU finished second in the Big Ten Conference in 2013 and advanced to an NCAA Regional Final for the second straight season before earning a No. 7 ranking in the final AVCA Top 25.

Nebraska will begin this season where it left off last year. The Huskers were ranked seventh in the 2014 preseason AVCA Top 25. Despite featuring only one senior in setter Mary Polllmiller, Nebraska brings back a wealth of experience from 2013. Kadie Rolfzen returns for her sophomore season after earning third-team All-America honors as a freshman last season. Junior Meghan Haggerty earned honorable-mention All-America recognition for the second straight season in 2013 as the leader of a middle blocking unit that returns in tact. Pollmiller is also a two-time honorable-mention All-America selection, and she is one of three captains for the 2014 Huskers, along with junior outside hitter Alicia Ostrander and sophomore libero Justine Wong-Orantes.

Other returing Huskers with starting experiene from last season include sophomore outside hitter Amber Rolfzen (32 starts), junior middle blocker Cecilia Hall (30 starts), sophomore middle blocker Melanie Keil (five starts), junior outside hitters Kelsey Fien (four starts) and Alicia Ostrander (three starts) and sophomore libero/defensive specialists Alexa Ethridge (one start). Wong-Orantes also gained valuable experience in 2013, earning the start at libero in 32 of Nebraska's 33 matches. Sophomore Kelly Hunter also returns after splitting time with Pollmiller at setter early last season.

Nebraska also features four newcomers this season in freshmen Annika Albrecht, Olivia Boender, Maddie Haggerty and Sydney Townsend. Kira Larson is also poised to see her first on-court action in 2014, after redshirting as a true freshman in 2013.

Following the Red-White match on Saturday, Nebraska will turn its attention to next week's AVCA Showcase at the Devaney Center. The Huskers open their season on Friday, Aug. 29 against 13th-ranked Florida State at 7 p.m. Nebraska then hosts third-ranked Stanford on Sunday. In a change from the original schedule, Sunday's match will start at Noon.