Huskers Battle Bluejays at CenturyLink Center

The fourth-ranked Nebraska volleyball team will face in-state foe Creighton at the CenturyLink Center in Omaha on Tuesday at 7 p.m. Tickets are still available at Ticketmaster.com. The match will be streamed for free in HD by JaysVideo at GoCreighton.com. John Baylor and Diane Mendenhall will have the radio call on the Husker Sports Network (107.3 FM in Lincoln and 105.9 FM in Omaha). A free live audio stream and live stats will also be available at Huskers.com.

The Huskers are coming off a 3-0 weekend at the Ameritas Players Challenge to improve to 7-1 overall. Nebraska swept UC Davis, South Florida and Georgia Tech to win the tournament title. The Huskers hit .391 in the tournament and now rank fourth nationally with a .314 percentage this season. Freshman outside hitter Mikaela Foecke won tournament MVP honors after totaling 37 kills (4.11 per set) and hitting .550 on the weekend. In two matches on Saturday, the West Point, Iowa native had 25 kills and just one error.

Creighton enters Tuesday’s match with a 4-5 overall record after going 2-1 at the Bluejay Invitational over the weekend. The Bluejays defeated Lipscomb (3-0) and Bakersfield (3-1) before falling to Pacific (1-3). Creighton posted a 3-0 upset of No. 10 Kentucky on Sept. 5, the program’s first top-10 win in school history. Of Creighton’s five losses, three are to current top-25 teams (No. 3 USC, No. 6 Illinois, No. 24 Pacific).

Nebraska owns a 15-0 lead in the all-time series and a 4-0 record in matches played in Omaha. The Huskers beat Creighton 3-1 last year on Sept. 17 at the Devaney Center. The last meeting in Omaha was in 2010 when NU won 3-0 on Aug. 31. John Cook is 12-0 all-time against the Jays. The Huskers last played at the CenturyLink Center on Dec. 8, 2012, a 3-1 NCAA regional final loss to Oregon. NU is 18-5 all-time in the CenturyLink Center/Qwest Center.

About the Huskers
• Nebraska ranks first in the Big Ten and fourth nationally in hitting percentage (.314). The Huskers are also third in the Big Ten and sixth nationally in kills per set (14.79).
• Nebraska has hit .350 or better in its last four matches dating back to its win over Oregon on Sept. 5 in Austin, Texas. The last time the Huskers hit .350 or better in four straight matches was Aug. 26 to Sept. 12, 2012. Nebraska has never had five straight matches with a .350 or better hitting percentage in the John Cook era (2000-15).
• Setter Kelly Hunter guides the Husker offense with 11.28 assists per set. The sophomore had a career-high 57 assists and nine kills in the comeback win against Oregon on Sept. 5. Hunter was named the B1G Setter of the Week on Aug. 31 and Nebraska Invitational MVP on opening weekend.
• True freshman outside hitter Mikaela Foecke is coming off tournament MVP honors at the Ameritas Players Challenge. The West Point, Iowa native totaled 37 kills with just four errors on 60 attacks for a weekend hitting percentage of .550. Her efforts earned her Big Ten Co-Freshman of the Week. Foecke is second on the team in kills with 77 and is averaging 2.66 per set. Foecke had 13 kills and a .571 hitting percentage against South Florida and 12 kills and a .632 hitting percentage against Georgia Tech. She is the first Husker with double-digit kills and at least a .550 hitting percentage in back-to-back matches since Brooke Delano in 2010.
• Outside hitter Kelsey Fien, an All-Big performer in 2014, is averaging 3.18 kills per set with a .349 hitting percentage. Fien matched her career-high 19 kills and hit .390 against Oregon on Sept. 5.
• Two-time All-American Kadie Rolfzen leads the team with 81 kills and 3.24 kills per set. The junior also adds 2.68 digs per set and has 27 career double-doubles.
• Libero Justine Wong-Orantes averages 4.0 digs per set.
• Middle blocker Amber Rolfzen returned to the lineup last weekend and posted 15 blocks in two matches played. She had seven in the win over UC Davis and a season-best eight against Georgia Tech. She leads the Huskers with 23 this season for an average of 1.53 per set.

Scouting Creighton
The Bluejays get 3.24 kills per set from freshman outside hitter Jaali Winters. The Ankeny, Iowa native leads the team with 110 kills. Jess Bird adds 2.68 kills and 3.12 digs per set. Middle blocker Lauren Smith chips in 2.44 kills and 1.09 blocks per set with a team-high 37 on the season. Creighton’s setters Kenzie Crawford and Maggie Baumert average 10.19 and 8.40 assists per set, respectively. Baumert has a team-best 1.13 blocks per set. Libero Kate Elman leads the team with 135 digs (3.97 digs per set). Creighton is hitting .226 through nine matches and holding opponents to .205.