Huskers Take Win Streak to Red-Hot Michigan

The No. 6 Nebraska volleyball team plays its final road match of the regular season at Michigan on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. (CT). Saturday’s match will be played at the 12,707-seat Crisler Center, where Michigan’s basketball teams play. The match will be streamed online with a BTN Plus subscription. John Baylor and Diane Mendenhall will have the radio call on Husker Sports Network (107.3 FM in Lincoln and 105.9 FM in Omaha). A free live audio stream and live stats are available at Huskers.com.

Nebraska (23-4, 14-3 Big Ten) is riding a seven-match win streak dating back to Oct. 30. The Huskers have held six of their seven opponents in that stretch below .180 hitting. Over the last three seasons, Nebraska is 19-4 in the month of November. Nebraska has already matched last season’s overall and Big Ten win totals. The Huskers are alone in second place in the Big Ten standings, two matches behind Minnesota.

Michigan (18-10, 8-9 Big Ten) is flying high after back-to-back wins against top-15 teams. Michigan upset No. 4 Penn State in State College on Wednesday, 3-1, for the program’s first-ever win at Penn State. That came after the Wolverines won at then-No. 14 Ohio State last Saturday, 3-0. The Wolverines are finishing a stretch of seven straight matches - and 10 of their last 11 - against ranked teams.

Series History: Nebraska is 10-3 all-time against Michigan, including a 2-2 record in matches played in Ann Arbor. Nebraska won the first meeting this season in Lincoln on Oct. 10, 3-1 (25-18, 25-19, 20-25, 25-17). In that match, Mikaela Foecke had 18 kills, Kadie Rolfzen had 12 kills and 12 digs, and Amber Rolfzen had 12 kills and eight blocks.

Up Next: Nebraska finishes the regular season at home with a pair of matches next week. The Huskers host Illinois on Wednesday at 7 p.m. on NET and Penn State next Saturday at 8:30 p.m. on BTN.

ABOUT THE HUSKERS
• Nebraska ranks first in the Big Ten in digs per set (15.73) and kills per set (14.27).
• Nebraska is hitting .268 for the season to rank second in the Big Ten, and is holding opponents to .169 to rank third.
• Two-time All-American Kadie Rolfzen is putting up a team-best 3.28 kills per set along with 2.73 digs per set.
• Libero Justine Wong-Orantes averages 4.55 digs per set, fourth-most in the Big Ten. Wong-Orantes has 4.80 digs per set in conference matches to rank first.
• Middle blocker Amber Rolfzen leads the team with 128 blocks. Her 1.52 blocks per set is first in the Big Ten and in the top 10 nationally.
• Setter Kelly Hunter guides the Husker attack with 11.31 assists per set.
• True freshman outside hitter Mikaela Foecke averages 2.99 kills per set and has won two Big Ten Co-Freshman of the Week honors.
• Outside hitter Kelsey Fien, an All-Big Ten performer in 2014, is averaging 2.51 kills per set.
• Senior middle blocker Cecilia Hall is putting up 1.68 kills per set and 1.05 blocks per set on the season.
• Sophomore Annika Albrecht is second in the Big Ten with 32 service aces. She served six aces in a three-set win over Rutgers on Oct. 30, one shy of the school record for aces in a match.

SCOUTING MICHIGAN
The Wolverines are hitting .228 this season and holding opponents to .204. Michigan ranks second in the conference in digs per set (15.60), behind Nebraska. Michigan is led by Abby Cole, who puts up 3.12 kills and 1.02 blocks per set. Cole has a .332 hitting percentage. Caroline Knop adds 2.80 kills per set. Carly Warner has been the lone setter of late and averages 7.64 assists per set. However, Warner had 44 assists and 19 digs in the win at Penn State, and 38 assists and 10 digs at Ohio State.

LAST TIME OUT
LINCOLN, Neb. - The No. 6 Nebraska volleyball team swept Indiana, 25-16, 25-19, 25-19, to win its seventh straight match on Wednesday night at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. The Huskers improved to 23-4 overall and 14-3 in the Big Ten, putting them alone in second place. Indiana fell to 15-14 overall and 5-12 in Big Ten play. Nebraska hit .375 and held the Hoosiers to .156. The Huskers committed only seven attacking errors in 96 attacks. Nebraska outblocked Indiana 8-4 and had a 44-39 digs advantage. Mikaela Foecke had 13 kills and hit .455, along with three blocks. Kadie Rolfzen had 11 kills and 14 digs while hitting .360.