Huskers Visit No. 16 Purdue Wednesday on BTN

The No. 8 Nebraska volleyball team begins a four-match road stretch at No. 16 Purdue on Wednesday at 6 p.m. (CT) at Holloway Gymnasium in West Lafayette, Ind. The match will be televised on the Big Ten Network and will be streamed online at BTN2GO.com. 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 (18-4, 9-3 Big Ten) swept Rutgers and Maryland at home last weekend to rebound from a pair of home losses to Minnesota and Wisconsin the previous weekend. The Huskers are alone in third place in the Big Ten standings, one match behind Penn State and two matches behind Minnesota.

Purdue (17-6, 8-4 Big Ten) dropped 3-1 matches at Minnesota and Wisconsin last week to fall to a tie for fourth in the Big Ten standings, one match behind the Huskers. After starting 6-0 in Big Ten play, the Boilermakers are 2-4 in their last six matches with five top-25 opponents in that stretch. Purdue is a perfect 11-0 at home this season and has won 15 straight at home dating back to last season.

Series History: The Huskers are 13-7 all-time against Purdue, but the Boilermakers hold a 4-3 edge all-time in matches played in West Lafayette. Last year, Nebraska won the only meeting in Lincoln, 3-0 (25-21, 25-22, 25-20). Purdue swept the season series in 2013, including 26-24, 25-21, 25-16 in West Lafayette on Nov. 22. Nebraska’s last win at Purdue came on Oct. 5, 2012, 3-0. The Huskers are 4-3 against the Boilermakers since joining the Big Ten in 2011.

Up Next: The Huskers are at Indiana on Saturday at 6 p.m. (CT). Purdue and Indiana are the final two Big Ten opponents the Huskers will see for the first time this season. The final six matches are repeats.

ABOUT THE HUSKERS
• Nebraska leads the Big Ten with 16.17 digs per set for the season.
• The Huskers lead the Big Ten in kills per set overall (14.21) and are 20th nationally.
• In Big Ten play, the Huskers lead the conference in opponent hitting percentage (.165), and for the season are holding opponents to .167 hitting.
• Nebraska also leads the Big Ten in conference play with 3.02 blocks per set. The Huskers’ 2.72 blocks per set season average ranks 23rd nationally.
• The Huskers are hitting .262 on the season to rank third in the Big Ten and 26th nationally.
• Nebraska’s 1.2 aces per set in Big Ten play ranks second in the conference.
• Two-time All-American Kadie Rolfzen is putting up a team-best 3.24 kills per set along with 2.71 digs per set.
• Libero Justine Wong-Orantes averages 4.59 digs per set, third-most in the Big Ten. Wong-Orantes has 4.93 digs per set in 12 conference matches to rank second in the league.
• Middle blocker Amber Rolfzen leads the team with 105 blocks. Her 1.59 blocks per set is first in the Big Ten and ninth nationally.
• Setter Kelly Hunter guides the Husker attack with 11.29 assists per set to rank third in the Big Ten and 21st in the nation.
• True freshman outside hitter Mikaela Foecke averages 2.96 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 2.45 kills per set.
• Senior middle blocker Cecilia Hall is putting up 1.73 kills per set and 1.06 blocks per set on the season, along with a team-best .299 hitting percentage.
• Sophomore Annika Albrecht served six aces in the three-set win over Rutgers last Friday, one shy of the school record for aces in a match. Albrecht is tied for the Big Ten lead with 26 aces.

SCOUTING PURDUE
Purdue possesses one of the top attacks in the Big Ten. The Boilermakers lead the conference with a .273 hitting percentage and 14.00 kills per set in conference play. Purdue is allowing Big Ten opponents to hit .201 and averages 2.39 blocks per set, seventh-best in the league. Annie Drews is second in the Big Ten with 4.21 kills per set, and Faye Adelaja is second in hitting percentage (.410) with 2.3 kills per set. Danielle Cuttino leads the team with 1.22 blocks per set and hits .348 with 2.16 kills per set. Setter Ashley Evans provides 11.01 assists per set.

ROLFZEN ECLIPSES 1,000 CAREER KILLS
Junior outside hitter Kadie Rolfzen became the 21st Husker to reach 1,000 career kills when she did so against Wisconsin on Oct. 24. Rolfzen is just the ninth Husker to do so before her senior season and the first since Jordan Larson as a junior in 2007.

• A two-time third-team All-American, Rolfzen continues to be one of the top six-rotation players in the Big Ten with 3.24 kills and 2.71 digs per set this season.
• Rolfzen earned the first Big Ten Player of the Week award of her career on Nov. 2 after 3.7 kills and 2.5 digs per set vs. Rutgers and Maryland, including a career-best .692 hitting percentage vs. Maryland.
• Rolfzen has a team-high 34 career double-doubles (nine this season) and was the Big Ten Co-Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 21.
• Rolfzen is a two-time All-Big Ten selection and academic All-Big Ten honoree.

WONG-ORANTES GAINING RECOGNITION
Junior libero Justine Wong-Orantes ranks sixth in school history with 1,220 career digs. Wong-Orantes is in the midst of one of the best defensive seasons by a Husker all-time:

• Wong-Orantes has 367 digs on the season for an average of 4.59 per set, which would be the fourth-best single-season mark in school history. Assistant coach Dani Busboom Kelly holds the school record at 5.04 digs per set in 2006. Current U.S. National Team member Kayla Banwarth holds the other top marks: 4.96 in 2009 and 4.81 in 2010.
• Wong-Orantes has played in every set in 67 consecutive matches dating back to her freshman season in 2013.
• Wong-Orantes surpassed 1,000 career digs at Iowa State on Sept. 19, becoming the fastest Husker to reach 1,000 digs, doing so in just 75 matches.
• Wong-Orantes was named the espnW National Player of the Week after a career-high 30 digs in a comeback win at No. 1 Penn State on Oct. 2.
• Wong-Orantes earned two Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week awards in the month of October, the most recent following 27 digs at Illinois, a career high for a three-set match.

POSITION SWITCH PAYS OFF FOR AMBER ROLFZEN
Junior Amber Rolfzen made a position switch from outside hitter to middle blocker in the offseason, and the return has been significant.

• Rolfzen leads the Big Ten in blocking and ranks ninth nationally with 1.59 blocks per set.
• Rolfzen’s block average is the best by a Husker since Melissa Elmer’s school-record 2.17 in 2005.
• Rolfzen posted at least five blocks in eight straight matches from Sept. 26 to Oct. 23. The last Husker to do that was three-time All-American Melissa Elmer in 2005.
• Rolfzen was the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 12 following a pair of eight-block matches along with a season-best 12 kills against Michigan.
• Rolfzen again earned the weekly defensive honor on Nov. 2 after matching her season high of eight blocks against Maryland, averaging 2.0 blocks per set in sweeps of the Terrapins and Rutgers.

HUSKERS TURN TO SOPHOMORE SETTER HUNTER
Redshirt sophomore Kelly Hunter coordinates the Husker attack with 11.29 assists per set. The Papillion, Neb., native - who was high school teammates with Husker twins Kadie and Amber Rolfzen - has helped the Huskers play at a faster tempo this season and has the Huskers hitting .262 on the season after hitting .236 in 2014. Although she played sparingly in 16 matches as a freshman in 2013, Hunter is seeing the first regular match action of her career after redshirting last year behind senior Mary Pollmiller. Hunter’s impact was felt immediately as the season began:

• Hunter was named the Big Ten Setter of the Week on Aug. 31 and the Nebraska Invitational MVP on opening weekend after a 50-assist, 11-dig, eight-kill performance against Pittsburgh.
• Hunter had a career-high 57 assists and nine kills in a 3-2 comeback win against Oregon on Sept. 5.
• Hunter has notched 50 or more assists five times this season.
• Hunter has seven double-doubles this season, including two last weekend against Minnesota and Wisconsin.

FRESHMAN FOECKE MAKES INSTANT IMPACT
True freshman Mikaela Foecke, PrepVolleyball.com’s No. 2 recruit, has been an impact player for the Huskers since the beginning of the season. Foecke is second on the team in kills per set (2.96) and service aces (17).

• Foecke is a two-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week, earning the honor in back-to-back weeks on Sept. 14 and Sept. 21. Her first honor came after hitting .632 vs. Georgia Tech with 12 kills and no errors. Her second honor came following 13 kills and four digs in back-to-back matches at Creighton and Iowa State.
• Foecke had a career-high 22 kills in a 3-2 comeback win at Penn State on Oct. 2.
• After switching from the right side to her more natural left side, Foecke recorded six consecutive matches of double-digit kills from Sept. 5 to Sept. 19.
• Foecke served five aces in back-to-back sweeps at Northwestern and Illinois on Oct. 16 and Oct. 17.

HUSKERS COME IN AT NO. 8 IN AVCA POLL
Nebraska is ranked eighth in the AVCA Coaches Poll. The Huskers had been ranked No. 3 earlier this season, their best ranking since Oct. 14, 2012.

• Nebraska has appeared in all 489 AVCA Coaches Polls since it was established in 1982. Nebraska and Stanford are the only two programs to be ranked in every poll all-time.

B1G CONFERENCE LEADING THE WAY
The Big Ten continues to set the tone as the top volleyball conference, with eight teams in the AVCA Top 25 this week, including five in the top 13 (No. 1 Penn State, No. 4 Minnesota, No. 8 Nebraska, No. 12 Ohio State, No. 13 Wisconsin).