Nebraska Volleyball
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NEBRASKA VOLLEYBALL 2020-21 Nebraska Volleyball (12-2) #5 Nebraska Cornhuskers (12-2) at Michigan Wolverines (4-5) Date Opponent Time (CT) TV / Internet 1/22 at Indiana W, 3-0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-17) Thursday, March 25 / 7 p.m. CT / Ann Arbor, Mich. / Cliff Keen Arena (1,800) 1/23 at Indiana W, 3-0 (25-21, 25-16, 25-19) TV: BTN / Stream: FoxSports / Listen: HSN, Huskers.com, Huskers App 1/29 Northwestern Postponed Friday, March 26 / 6 p.m. CT / Ann Arbor, Mich. / Cliff Keen Arena (1,800) 1/30 Northwestern Postponed TV: BTN / Stream: FoxSports / Listen: HSN, Huskers.com, Huskers App 2/5 Maryland W, 3-1 (25-19, 25-27, 25-19, 25-14) 2/6 Maryland W, 3-0 (25-14, 25-21, 25-18) • The No. 5 Nebraska volleyball team heads to Michigan for its final two road matches of the Big Ten season 2/12 at Rutgers W, 3-0 (25-18, 25-21, 25-19) this week. The Huskers and Wolverines will play Thursday at 7 p.m. (CT) and Friday at 6 p.m. (CT) at Cliff Keen 2/13 at Rutgers W, 3-1 (22-25, 25-14, 25-14, 25-20) Arena. Both matches will be televised on BTN and streamed on the FoxSports platform. 2/19 #5 Minnesota L, 1-3 (15-25, 25-20, 24-26, 23-25) • Husker Sports Network will broadcast all the Husker action on HSN radio affiliates, including 107.3 FM in 2/21 #5 Minnesota W, 3-0 (25-17, 25-15, 25-22) Lincoln and AM 590 in Omaha. A live audio stream will be provided at Huskers.com and the Huskers app. John Baylor is in his 27th season doing play-by-play for the Husker volleyball program. Lauren (Cook) 2/26 at #1 Wisconsin Postponed West, a former All-America setter for the Huskers, will provide color commentary. 2/27 at #1 Wisconsin Postponed 3/5 at Illinois W, 3-0 (25-23, 25-15, 25-22) About the Huskers 3/6 at Illinois W, 3-0 (25-24, 30-28, 25-17) • The Huskers led the Big Ten in defense last season and so far this season have picked up where they left off, 3/12 #11 Ohio State W, 3-2 (21-25, 21-25, 25-20, 25-20, 15-10) holding opponents to .162 hitting to rank second in the conference behind only Wisconsin (.131). 3/13 #11 Ohio State L, 2-3 (20-25, 25-22, 25-21, 21-25, 13-15) • Nebraska’s .270 season hitting percentage ranks second in the Big Ten behind Wisconsin (.345). 3/17 at Iowa W, 3-0 (25-19, 25-21, 25-11) • Nebraska ranks second in the conference in kills (14.18 per set), assists (12.90 per set) and fourth in digs 3/20 Iowa W, 3-0 (25-14, 25-20, 25-13) (14.59 per set). 3/25 at Michigan 7 p.m. BTN / FoxSports • Senior outside hitter Lexi Sun leads the Huskers with 3.98 kills per set with a team-high 16 service aces as well as 2.20 digs per set. She ranks fourth in the Big Ten in kills per set. Sun was named the Big Ten Player of 3/26 at Michigan 6 p.m. BTN / FoxSports the Week on March 8 after averaging 5.17 kills per set on .315 hitting in the two wins at Illinois. Sun earned 4/1 #11 Penn State 8 p.m. BTN / FoxSports the conference player of the week honor again on March 22 after 4.33 kills per set on .408 hitting in two 4/2 #11 Penn State 8 p.m. BTN / FoxSports sweeps over Iowa. • Senior middle blocker Lauren Stivrins is putting up 3.29 kills per set on a team-high .465 hitting NCAA Tournament percentage, which ranks first ni the Big Ten Conference. 4/14 First Round • Sophomore outside hitter Madi Kubik adds 2.76 kills per set and 2.45 digs per set. 4/15 Second Round • Junior setter Nicklin Hames paces the Husker attack with 11.14 assists per set - most in the Big Ten - and 4/18 Regional Semifinals she chips in 2.92 digs per set with 11 service aces. 4/19 Regional Finals • Junior middle blocker Kayla Caffey has stepped in for the Huskers and contributed 1.87 kills per set on .327 hitting with 0.97 blocks per set. 4/22 NCAA Semifinals (CHI Health Center, Omaha, Neb.) • Senior opposite hitter Jazz Sweet turned in her best performance of the season on Saturday against Iowa 4/24 NCAA Championship (CHI Health Center, Omaha, Neb.) with 12 kills on .733 hitting, a career high. *Indicates match will air on 105.9 FM in Omaha and 107.3 FM in Lincoln. All other matches will be on AM 590 in Omaha and 107.3 FM in Lincoln. All matches can be heard on Huskers.com and Scouting Michigan the Huskers app. -Matches televised on BTN will also be streamed on the Fox Sports app and FoxSports.com. • The Wolverines enter the week with a 4-5 record and have not played nine of their originally scheduled -BTN+ is a web stream that requires a fee to view. Subscriptions start at $9.95 per month. matches due to COVID-19. Michigan is coming off a pair of losses at Ohio State last weekend. • Michigan is hitting .218 for the season and allowing opponents to hit .229. Those marks rank eighth and ninth, respectively, in the Big Ten. • Michigan averages more kills (14.21) and assists (13.39) than any team in the Big Ten. The Wolverines rank last in the conference in blocks per set (1.43). • Paige Jones leads Michigan with 3.84 kills per set. Jones was a first-team All-Big Ten player as a sophomore in 2019. Series History • Nebraska leads the all-time series, 17-3, and has a nine-match win streak against the Wolverines. The Huskers are 14-2 against Michigan since joining the Big Ten. Nebraska swept Michigan in Lincoln the only time they met in 2019. Coaches • John Cook: 21st year at Nebraska (600-83); 28th year overall (761-156) • Mark Rosen: 22nd year at Michigan (433-270); 29th year overall (642-307) 2020-21 Huskers at a Glance • The Huskers return every starter from last year’s 28-5 squad that reached the NCAA Regional Final against eventual national runner-up Wisconsin. • Senior middle blocker Lauren Stivrins and senior outside hitter Lexi Sun were AVCA All-Americans and All- Big Ten First-Team selections in 2019. Junior setter Nicklin Hames was also an All-Big Ten First-Team choice 1 NEBRASKA VOLLEYBALL in 2019. Stivrins and Hames return to captain the Huskers for a second straight season. AVCA Coaches Poll (March 22) • Sophomore outside hitter Madi Kubik was the Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 2019 and, along with Rk Team Points Record Prev sophomore libero Kenzie Knuckles, was a member of the All-Big Ten Freshman Team. 1 Wisconsin (56) 1496 11-0 1 • The Huskers added four newcomers during the offseason, including junior Missouri transfer Kayla Caffey. The 2 Texas (4) 1442 20-0 2 middle blocker ranked ninth nationally with a .408 hitting percentage during the 2019 season. She joins three 3 Kentucky 1344 17-1 3 freshmen who are new to the program: middle blocker Kalynn Meyer, setter Anni Evans and defensive specialist 4 Minnesota 1316 11-2 4 Kaylei Akana. 5 Nebraska 1270 12-2 5 6 Baylor 1157 18-4 6 Huskers Ranked No. 5 in AVCA Coaches Poll 7 Florida 1137 17-3 7 • Nebraska is ranked No. 5 in the AVCA Coaches Poll this week. 8 Washington 1078 13-3 8 • The Huskers have been ranked No. 1 in 100 all-time polls, the most in NCAA history. 9 Ohio State 1045 15-1 9 • The Huskers have been ranked in the top 10 a total of 512 times, which is also the most in NCAA history. 10 Purdue 946 11-5 10 • Nebraska has appeared in all 568 AVCA Coaches Polls it has been eligible for since it was established in 11 Penn State 851 9-5 12 1982. With Stanford dropping out of the poll this year, Nebraska is the only program to be ranked in every 12 Utah 811 12-4 11 eligible poll all-time. 13 Washington State 752 10-2 14 14 Louisville 715 10-2 13 Two Huskers Named to Preseason All-Big Ten Team 15 BYU 661 12-1 16 • Nebraska volleyball seniors Lauren Stivrins and Lexi Sun were voted to the Preseason All-Big Ten Team by 16 Oregon 617 11-3 17 the league’s 14 head coaches. The coaches also tabbed the Huskers as the No. 3 team in the Big Ten Preseason 17 UCLA 594 12-6 15 Poll behind Wisconsin and Minnesota. 18 Western Kentucky 440 16-0 20 • Stivrins is a two-time AVCA All-American and two-time All-Big Ten First-Team selection. She posted 2.55 19 Pittsburgh 413 11-4 19 kills per set, 1.07 blocks per set and a team-best .374 hitting percentage in 2019. The senior middle blocker 20 Pepperdine 353 13-2 22 led the Huskers to a .152 opponent hitting percentage as a junior, which ranked eighth in the nation. The 21 San Diego 272 11-3 21 Scottsdale, Arizona native also served nine aces and was a unanimous first-team All-Big Ten selection a year 22 Georgia Tech 252 11-2 23 ago.