Huskers Head to Omaha For Final Four

• The Nebraska volleyball team is headed to Omaha for the NCAA Semifinals this week. The fourth-seeded Huskers will face ninth-seeded Kansas in the 8:30 p.m. nightcap at the sold-out CenturyLink Center on Thursday.
• In the first semifinal match, second-seeded Minnesota will play third-seeded Texas at 6 p.m.
• The semifinal winners will meet on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. in the national championship match.
• All three matches will be televised on ESPN2 and streamed online at WatchESPN.com or on the WatchESPN app.
• Beth Mowins will have the play-by-play on the ESPN2 broadcast, while Karch Kiraly will provide color analysis. Holly Rowe will be the sideline reporter.
• Husker matches can be heard on Husker Sports Network affiliates, including but not limited to 107.3 FM and AM 590. A free live audio stream and live stats will also be available through links at Huskers.com.
• John Baylor will have the play-by-play call for HSN, and Diane Mendenhall will add color commentary.
• All-session tickets for the event sold out early in the week.
• Nebraska will make its 12th NCAA Semifinals appearance, tied for second all-time with Penn State and UCLA. The Huskers have appeared in six NCAA title matches, the last coming in 2006.
• The Huskers are no stranger to Omaha. The final four has been held in the CenturyLink Center (previously Qwest Center) in 2006, 2008 and 2015, and the Huskers have qualified all three times. NU beat Stanford in 2006 to win its third national title. NU lost to unbeaten Penn State in the 2008 semis.
• Nebraska has won three national championships (1995, 2000 and 2006), tied for fourth-most all-time.
• Head Coach John Cook has now taken Nebraska to six NCAA Semifinals in his 16 years as head coach at Nebraska. In his five previous trips (2000, 2001, 2005, 2006 and 2008), the Huskers are 3-2 in the semifinal round.
• The Huskers have won at least 30 matches in nine of Cook’s 16 seasons.
• The Huskers have won 14 straight matches, their longest win streak since 16 straight in 2011.
• The Huskers have beaten two teams ranked No. 1 in the AVCA Poll this season (Penn State and Washington) for the third time since the poll was formed in 1982. Nebraska last beat two No. 1 teams (UCLA and Penn State) in 2012.

HUSKERS AT A GLANCE
• The Huskers rank eighth nationally in kills per set (14.54) and are 14th in hitting percentage (.275).
• Nebraska is 22nd nationally in blocks per set (2.77) and is 34th in opponent hitting percentage (.171).
• In the NCAA Tournament, Nebraska is hitting .304 and holding opponents to .194 hitting. The Huskers have outblocked their four opponents 41.5 to 28.0 and have twice as many aces (14 to 7).
• Nebraska led all Big Ten teams with a 14.33 kills per set and 15.70 digs per set average during the regular season.
• Nebraska turned up its defensive play in Big Ten action, averaging 2.94 blocks per set to rank second in the conference.

SERIES HISTORY
• Nebraska is 86-0-1 all-time against Kansas, but the teams have not played since 2010, when Nebraska was a member of the Big 12 conference.
• The lone tie in the series came in 1977, the 11th match all-time between the teams. Since then, Nebraska has won 76 straight matches against the Jayhawks. The teams have never met in the NCAA Tournament.
• The last match the teams played was Nov. 3, 2010. Nebraska won 25-17, 25-14, 25-19.
• Since best-of-five matches were mandated in 1982, the teams have only gone to five sets one time - on Nov. 23, 1990 - a 15-7, 15-11, 18-20, 8-15, 15-4 Husker win.
• Head Coach John Cook is 22-0 all-time against Kansas.

UP NEXT
• The winners of Thursday’s NCAA Semifinals will meet on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. for the national championship match, which will be televised on ESPN2 and streamed online at WatchESPN.com or with the WatchESPN app.

ABOUT THE HUSKERS
• All-American Kadie Rolfzen is putting up a team-best 3.34 kills per set along with 2.86 digs per set. Rolfzen has recorded 16 double-doubles this season and has nine straight postseason double-doubles dating back to her freshman season in 2013. The junior outside hitter earned her third career All-Big Ten honor as a unanimous selection, and is likely to be named an AVCA All-American for the third time on Wednesday.
• Junior libero Justine Wong-Orantes averages 4.53 digs per set and was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and AVCA All-Region. Wong-Orantes averaged 4.57 digs per set in conference matches to rank second in the Big Ten.
• All-Big Ten and AVCA All-Region middle blocker Amber Rolfzen leads the team with 174 blocks. Her 1.61 blocks per set ranks first in the Big Ten and third nationally, and her block total and average is the best by a Husker since Melissa Elmer’s school-record 250 and 2.17 in 2005.
• True freshman outside hitter Mikaela Foecke averages 3.01 kills per set and was a unanimous Big Ten All-Freshman Team selection, as well as an AVCA All-Region pick.
• Setter Kelly Hunter guides the Husker attack with 11.57 assists per set and was a two-time Big Ten Setter of the Week and AVCA All-Region selection.
• Outside hitter Kelsey Fien, an All-Big Ten performer in 2014, is averaging 2.64 kills per set.
• Senior middle blocker Cecilia Hall is putting up 1.69 kills per set and 1.05 blocks per set on the season.
• Sophomore Annika Albrecht has a team-leading 39 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 KANSAS
• Kansas (30-2) is making its first NCAA Semifinals appearance in program history. Before this year, the Jayhawks had never been past the Sweet 16. KU has now been to four straight NCAA Tournaments. The Jayhawks’ only two losses this season were to Texas.
• The Jayhawks are led by 18-year head coach Ray Bechard, who is 325-228 at Kansas. Bechard was the Big 12 Coach of the Year in 2012, 2013 and 2015 and has won more than 1,000 career matches in 31 years as a head coach.
• Ainise Havili, the Big 12 Setter of the Year, is No. 2 nationally with 12.23 assists per set.
• Sophomore hitter Kelsie Payne leads the Big 12 and is 19th nationally with 4.35 kills per set. She was an All-Big 12 First Team selection and is hitting .379.
• Libero Cassie Wait averages 5.17 digs per set to rank 24th in the nation.
• Junior middle blocker Tayler Soucie was also an All-Big 12 First Team pick and averages 1.24 blocks per set.
• The Jayhawks’ 15.14 kills per set ranks second in the nation, and their .305 hitting percentage is fourth.

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.

• Rolfzen was named the Lexington Regional Most Valuable Player after averaging 4.57 kills per set, 3.86 digs per set and hitting .397 in the two matches. She had 20 kills and 15 digs against No. 1 Washington, her ninth straight postseason double-double.
• Rolfzen proved herself to once again be a top six-rotation player in the Big Ten with 3.26 kills per set and 2.72 digs per set in conference play, earning All-Big Ten and AVCA All-Region honors for the third straight 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 41 career double-doubles (16 this season) and was the Big Ten Co-Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 21.
• In addition to three All-Big Ten honors, Rolfzen is an academic All-Big Ten honoree.

WONG-ORANTES GAINING RECOGNITION
Junior libero Justine Wong-Orantes ranks fourth in school history in career digs. Wong-Orantes is in the midst of one of the best defensive seasons by a Husker all-time and was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year for her efforts, as well as an AVCA All-Region selection:

• Wong-Orantes has 521 digs on the season for an average of 4.53 per set, which would be the fifth-best single-season mark in school history. Assistant coach Dani Busboom Kelly holds the school record at 5.04 digs per set in 2006.
• Wong-Orantes joined Busboom Kelly and Kayla Banwarth as the only Huskers to reach 500 digs in a season.
• 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 on Oct. 17, 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 with 1.61 blocks per set, ranking third in the nation. She capped the regular season with the first All-Big Ten selection of her career and also added AVCA All-Region honors.
• 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.
• Rolfzen added a third Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honor on Nov. 30 after 17 kills and 15 blocks combined against Illinois and Penn State, including a .567 hitting percentage.

HUSKERS TURN TO SOPHOMORE SETTER HUNTER
Redshirt sophomore Kelly Hunter coordinates the Husker attack with 11.57 assists per set and earned AVCA All-Region accolades in her first season as the Huskers’ starting setter. 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 .275 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 earned Big Ten Co-Setter of the Week on Nov. 23 after posting 12.71 assists per set and leading the Huskers to a combined .340 hitting percentage in two wins.
• 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 eight times this season.
• Hunter has 10 double-doubles this season.

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 (3.01) and service aces (24).

• Foecke was one of four Big Ten freshmen to earn a unanimous selection to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team. She was also one of two freshmen on the AVCA All-North Region team.
• Foecke was 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 had 12 kills in each of her first two NCAA Tournament matches. She also added a career-high nine digs in the first-round win over Harvard.
• Foecke served five aces in back-to-back sweeps at Northwestern and Illinois on Oct. 16 and Oct. 17.