Huskers Open Big Ten Play on the Road

The top-ranked Nebraska volleyball team opens its 20-match Big Ten schedule with three straight road matches, beginning with two against ranked foes in Michigan this weekend. The Huskers will face No. 22 Michigan Friday at 6 p.m. (CT) at Cliff Keen Arena in Ann Arbor. They will then head to East Lansing for a Saturday match at No. 20 Michigan State at 6 p.m. (CT) at Jenison Field House.

Both matches will be streamed online with a BTN Plus subscription. Husker Sports Network will air the broadcasts on select HSN affiliates, including 107.3 FM in Lincoln and 105.9 FM in Omaha.

Series History
• Nebraska is 11-3 all-time against Michigan and defeated the Wolverines twice last season, 3-1 in Lincoln and 3-1 in Ann Arbor, although the Ann Arbor match was played at the Crisler Center and not at the smaller confines of Cliff Keen Arena. Nebraska has won three in a row over Michigan.
• Nebraska is 16-2-2 all-time against Michigan State. The Huskers won 3-1 in Lincoln last season and rallied from a 2-1 deficit on the road to beat the Spartans 3-2 last November. NU has won five straight against the Spartans.

Coaches
• Nebraska head coach John Cook is in his 17th season at Nebraska and 24th overall season as a head coach. Cook is 477-62 at NU and 638-135 overall.
• Mark Rosen is 350-222 in his 18th year as head coach at Michigan.
• Cathy George is 218-155 in her 12th year as head coach at Michigan State.

About the Huskers
• The Huskers are 9-0 on the season and have been the unanimous No. 1 team in the AVCA Coaches Poll for the last four weeks.
• Nebraska has won 25 straight matches, its longest win streak since the end of 2006 and beginning of 2007 (29). Since John Cook took over in 2000, the Huskers have won at least 20 straight matches nine times. The longest win streak in Nebraska history is 36, spanning 2000 (Cook’s unbeaten national title team) and beginning of 2001. The Huskers also had a 36-match win streak to begin the 1976 season.
• The Huskers have picked up where they left off in 2015, outhitting their opponents .349 to .128 this season. Serving, passing and defense triggered the Huskers’ run to the national title last season, and NU has excelled in those areas so far in 2016 with a 44-to-16 advantage in aces and a 77.5-to-38 edge in blocks.
• The Huskers’ .349 hitting percentage leads the nation, and their 14.93 kills per set are second nationally and first in the Big Ten.
• The Huskers rank second in the Big Ten and eighth nationally in assists per set (13.69).
• Nebraska’s opponent hitting percentage (.128) ranks second in the Big Ten and ninth nationally.
• The Huskers have won nine straight matches against ranked opponents.
• Nebraska’s .885 win percentage under head coach John Cook is the best by any program since Cook took over in the 2000 season.

Last Time Out
• The Huskers, winners of 25 straight matches, are coming off three wins at the Ameritas Players Challenge last weekend. After two quick sweeps against Montana State and Gonzaga, the Huskers were tested in a 3-1 victory against in-state rival Creighton. After dropping set one by two points, NU captured the next three sets, 25-13, 27-25, 25-18, to take the tournament title and improve to 9-0 on the season, their best start since a 20-0 start in 2008.
• Kadie Rolfzen was the tournament MVP after nearly recording a triple-double in the win against Creighton (17 kills, 13 digs and a career-high nine blocks). She averaged 3.10 kills, 2.90 digs and 1.30 blocks per set on the weekend while hitting .324. Briana Holman and Justine Wong-Orantes were also members of the all-tournament team.

Huskers Top AVCA Coaches Poll
• The Huskers remained at the top of the AVCA Coaches Poll that came out on Monday, for the fourth straight week as a unanimous No. 1. The Huskers collected all 64 first-place votes and have been at the top of the poll since winning the national title in 2015, six straight polls dating back to last season.
• The Huskers began the year at No. 1 in the preseason poll for the fifth time in school history (2001, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2015). The 2006 squad went wire-to-wire to win the national title. This year’s Husker team is aiming to become the first in program history to repeat as champions.
• NU’s No. 1 ranking marks the 91st poll all-time in which they’ve earned the top spot, the most in NCAA history.
• The Huskers have been ranked in the top 10 a total of 446 times, which is the most in NCAA history.
• Nebraska has appeared in all 499 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.

Scouting Michigan
• No. 22 Michigan is 11-1 this season with its only loss coming on Sept. 10 at Pittsburgh (3-2). The Wolverines are 6-0 at home this season. Michigan ranks second in the Big Ten in hitting percentage (.301), behind only the Huskers. The Wolverines are also second in digs per set (14.78). Second-team All-American Abby Cole averages 3.75 kills and 1.19 blocks per set and is hitting .347. Jenna Lerg is first in the Big Ten with 5.15 digs per set. Carly Skjodt adds 2.79 kills and 2.16 digs per set.

Scouting Michigan State
• No. 20 Michigan State is 11-1 entering a Friday match at home against Iowa. The Spartans’ only loss came Sept. 4 against Florida (3-0) in East Lansing. Michigan State ranks first in the Big Ten and fourth nationally in aces per set (2.18). They are third in opponent hitting percentage (.139). Autumn Bailey averages a team-best 3.36 kills per set and adds 2.53 digs per set. Chloe Reinig adds 3.06 kills per set. Setter Rachel Minarick chips in 10.17 assists per set.

Up Next
• Nebraska continues its stretch of three straight Big Ten road matches at Illinois on Wednesday, Sept. 28 at 7:30 p.m. The match will be televised on BTN. NU will also host Ohio State next Saturday, Oct. 1 at a revised start time of 7:30 p.m. That match will air on NET.

Three-Time All-American Kadie Rolfzen Leads the Attack
• Senior outside hitter Kadie Rolfzen was named a first-team AVCA All-American in 2015, her third career All-America honor but first selection to the first team. Rolfzen was also a unanimous All-Big Ten selection, her third straight season on the team.
• Rolfzen leads the Huskers with 3.21 kills per set and adds 2.72 digs per set. Her double-double (17 kills, 13 digs) against Creighton was the 43rd of her career. She also has a team-high 12 aces this season.
• Rolfzen ranks ninth in school history with 1,287 career kills. Against New Mexico on Sept. 10, she became the fifth Husker all-time to reach 1,000 career kills and 1,000 career digs.
• Rolfzen was named the most valuable player at the Nebraska Invite, Lobo Classic and Ameritas Players Challenge this season.
• Rolfzen was not only productive on the court in 2015, she excelled off of it. The graphic design major posted a perfect 4.0 GPA in 2015-16 to earn Big Ten Distinguished Scholar honors.

Amber Rolfzen Set to Build On Second-Team All-America Honors
• Senior Amber Rolfzen made a position switch from outside hitter to middle blocker before the 2015 season, and the switch resulted in second-team AVCA All-America honors and the Big Ten blocks title for the Papillion, Neb., native.
• Rolfzen is averaging 1.90 kills per set and a team-high 1.24 blocks per set and is hitting .353.
• Rolfzen was named to the All-America second team and the All-Big Ten Team after posting 1.58 blocks per set in 2015, which led the Big Ten and ranked fourth nationally. Her block average was the best by a Husker since Melissa Elmer’s school-record 2.17 in 2005.
• Rolfzen was named to the NCAA Championship All-Tournament Team after 10 kills and four blocks with a .625 hitting percentage in the championship win over Texas.
• Rolfzen accumulated three Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honors in 2015.

Wong-Orantes Back For More After Breakout Season
• Senior libero Justine Wong-Orantes burst onto the national scene in 2015 with third-team AVCA All-America honors and the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year award.
• Wong-Orantes is averaging 3.97 digs per set this season and was named the best libero at the Nebraska Invite and Ameritas Players Challenge.
• Wong-Orantes ranks third in school history with 1,523 career digs and with 46 this weekend will pass Jennifer Saleaumua for second all-time. Wong-Orantes is chasing Kayla Banwarth’s career record of 1,706. Banwarth is the starting libero for the U.S. Women’s National Team, and Wong-Orantes is trending on that path. Wong-Orantes played with the U.S. Women’s National Team at the Pan American Cup over the summer, averaging 4.8 digs per set while helping the Americans to the bronze medal.
• The Cypress, Calif., native averaged 4.55 digs per set with a total of 555 digs in 2015, the third most by a Husker in school history.

Experienced Hunter Leads Huskers as Captain Again
• Despite being in her first season as the Huskers’ starting setter last year, Kelly Hunter was picked as one of the team captains. Now a junior, Hunter is the Huskers’ lone captain as selected by head coach John Cook.
• Hunter is averaging 11.34 assists, 2.03 digs, 1.24 kills and 0.76 blocks per set. She has served 11 aces.
• Hunter was named the Big Ten Setter of the Week for the third time in her career after 12.43 assists per set on opening weekend, as well as 1.43 kills per set and 2.00 digs per set. She was named to both the Nebraska Invite and Lobo Classic All-Tournament Teams.
• The Papillion, Neb., native guided the Huskers to the national title in 2015 and received AVCA All-America honorable mention. She was named to the NCAA Championship All-Tournament Team after posting 42 assists, four digs and three blocks in the championship match.
• Hunter averaged 11.64 assists per set last season and totaled 1,501, the third most in the nation. She had 10 double-doubles and was the Big Ten Setter of the Week twice.

Foecke In Rare Company
• Mikaela Foecke was the NCAA Championship Most Outstanding Player last season, becoming just the third freshman to earn the honor, after 19 kills on .385 hitting in the championship win against Texas.
• This season, Foecke is averaging 2.76 kills per set and hitting .358.
• Foecke received AVCA All-America honorable mention and was a unanimous selection to the All-Big Ten Freshman team in 2015.
• Following her freshman season, Foecke was a finalist for the AAU Sullivan Award, presented annually to the top amateur athlete in the United States.

Holman Makes Long-Awaited Return
• Junior middle blocker Briana Holman made her first official appearance in a collegiate match since December 2014 when she took the court with the Huskers at the season-opening VERT Challenge. Holman transferred from LSU to Nebraska but did not receive her scholarship release, so she was forced to sit out the 2015 season.
• On opening weekend, Holman had an immediate impact. She was named the espnW National Player of the Week after averaging 2.57 kills and 1.43 blocks per set while hitting .571 in the wins over Florida and Texas. Holman had 10 kills and seven blocks against the Gators, and eight kills and three blocks against Texas with a .727 hitting percentage.
• Holman is averaging 2.31 kills and 1.17 blocks per set to lead the team in that category. She is hitting .365. Holman was named to the Ameritas Players Challenge All-Tournament Team.
• Holman was a first-team AVCA All-American at LSU in 2014 with 3.94 kills and 1.47 blocks per set. She was a two-time All-SEC performer for the Tigers and represented the U.S. Collegiate National Team at the World University Games in South Korea in July 2015.

Malloy Brings More Experience to Husker Roster
• Senior transfer Andie Malloy gives the Huskers more depth and experience at outside hitter. A two-time All-Big 12 performer at Baylor, Malloy earned her degree in 2015 and had one season of eligibility remaining.
• Malloy is averaging 2.96 kills per set for the Big Red. She had a season-best 14 kills at New Mexico and was on the Lobo Classic All-Tournament Team.
• Malloy came to Nebraska after ranking second in the Big 12 in kills per set (3.89) and double-doubles (17) in 2015.

Huskers On Television
• The Nebraska volleyball team is set to receive extensive television coverage in 2016. The Huskers will make at least 14 regular-season TV appearances, including an ESPN2 showdown with Purdue on Sunday, Oct. 9 at the Devaney Center.
• The Huskers will have eight broadcasts on Big Ten Network and at least five more on NET. In all, eight of the Huskers’ 10 Big Ten home matches are set to be televised, while the remaining two (Iowa on Nov. 9 and Michigan on Nov. 26) are to be determined.
• Any match on BTN or NET will also be streamed online at BTN2GO.com. For non-televised Big Ten matches, an online stream is available for purchase through BTN Plus at BTN2GO.com.