Volleyball News

[NamelessHusker]

 

Numbers don't lie for NU

 

LINCOLN -- Everybody knows the Nebraska volleyball team is pretty good.

 

The No. 1 Huskers are now 6-0 after disposing of No. 4 Penn State 30-14, 30-27, 30-23 Sunday afternoon.

 

But those numbers don't tell the whole story. Just take a look at these numbers.

 

The Huskers hit .367 as a team against a very good Penn State team. Four players -- Jordan Larson, Christina Houghtelling, Sarah Pavan and Melissa Elmer -- had at least nine kills.

 

The most impressive thing is that all four of those players also hit over .400 for the match. Larson was at .480, Pavan .478 and Houghtelling .476. Elmer was way behind those three at a rather pedestrian .421.

 

Remember that a volleyball hitting percentage -- kills minus errors divided by total attacks-- is similar to a baseball average. Anything over .300 is pretty good.

 

Anything over ..400 -- well in major league baseball no one has hit .400 since Ted Williams in 1941.

 

That balance makes the Huskers so difficult for opponents to handle.

 

"That's what makes us such a good team is that we have players all the way around the court that are equally good," Pavan said. "Having that causes other teams a lot of difficulty because they don't know who to block, they don't know where to go.

 

"We're just a talented, deep team. The numbers speak for themselves."

 

And those numbers don't lie. They say that coach John Cook's system is working to perfection. They say that Cook's decision to go to a 6-2 offense instead of the usual 5-1 was a good one.

 

"That's our system," Cook said. "That's why we designed that system was to be balanced so we're not relying on anybody. That's a credit one, to that we have people who can put the ball away and two, the setters are mixing it up. It does make it difficult."

 

Penn State coach Russ Rose knew the Huskers were very good. He watched them two weeks ago when his Nittany Lions played in the AVCA.NACWAA College Volleyball Challenge at the Qwest Center in Omaha. Penn State didn't play Nebraska in that tournament but Rose got a good idea of how good the Huskers were going to be.

 

Nothing he saw Sunday changed his mind.

 

"I think they've always been a terrific blocking team," Rose said. "I think this team's defense is correlated to the quality of their block. We didn't pass well enough to mount the type of attack that really could have separated the block and they had very little difficulty with our serve.

 

"They passed very well and that enabled them to do what they wanted to do offensively, and even on some broken plays they just had the ability to jump and take a pretty big swing."

 

And a lot of those big swings resulted in big kills.

 

"Nebraska didn't have much of a problem with us at the net which is something I think will be a trend with a lot of teams," Rose said.

 

That is, as long as the Huskers remain focused. Cook said that was a problem Friday night against Pepperdine.

 

"If we have some people checked out, playing as many people as we're playing, the system will really look bad," he said. "Over the three days they really improved and obviously played extremely well tonight. I think they learned a valuable lesson, that there's an intensity and focus to being great every day."

[NamelessHusker]

 

No. 1 Huskers sweep No. 4 Penn State

 

By Bob Hamar

bob.hamar@theindependent.com

 

LINCOLN ­ The Nebraska Coliseum can have an affect on opposing volleyball teams.

 

So can the No. 1 rated Huskers.

 

No. 4 Penn State got a dose of both Sunday as Nebraska raced past the Nittany Lions 30-14, 30-27, 30-23 before a sellout crowd of 4,193 fans in the final match of the InfoUSA/Arby's Player's Challenge.

 

Penn State coach Russ Rose said he wasn't too surprised to see his team get blown out of the opening game.

 

"Not based on how scared my younger kids looked," Rose said. "I wasn't surprised and I thought Nebraska played well. I mean if you can hit .467 you can make a lot of money in a lot of situations."

 

That's right. The Huskers, who hit 367 for the match, hit a whopping .467 in the opening game.

 

"We just played really well," Nebraska coach John Cook said of the opening game. "We got a couple of stuffs early. Their passers took a while to get in a rhythm so we were breaking down their passers a little bit. We got some opportunities and made them pay."

 

Jordan Larson led the Huskers (6-0) with 14 kills while Christina Houghtelling and Sarah Pavan had 12 each and Melissa Elmer nine.

 

Elmer, who was named MVP of the tournament, said it was great to end the non-conference season with a win over a highly ranked team.

 

"Penn State is a great team," Elmer said. "To come out and win 3-0, you don't do that too often. Last weekend I don't think we played some of our best volleyball, especially against Minnesota, and Friday night we didn't play our best volleyball (against Pepperdine). It was a good way to end the weekend

[NamelessHusker]

 

Huskers off to 8-0 start

 

LINCOLN - Make that 4 for 4 against the Top 5 for the Nebraska volleyball team

 

The No. 1 Huskers swept fourth-ranked Penn State 30-14, 30-27, 30-23 Sunday to improve to 8-0 and win the Players Challenge. It marked the first time since 2002 that Nebraska won its annual preconference tournament.

 

Entering the season, Nebraska hadn't defeated a Top 5 team since 2001. But the Huskers so far have swept No. 3 and defending national champion Stanford, presason No. 4 Hawaii and now current No. 4 Penn State. NU also beat fifth-ranked Minnesota 3-2 Sept. 5 in Minneapolis.

 

Sunday's win also goes in the books as NU's first regular-season victory over a Top 5 team at home in a decade.

 

"It definitely makes you feel good," said Nebraska's Melissa Elmer - who had nine kills and six blocks Sunday and was named tournament MVP. "Penn State is a great team, and to come out and beat them 3-0, you don't see that too often."

 

Jordan Larson led the Huskers Sunday with 14 kills, and NU's Sarah Pavan, Christina Houghtelling and Jennifer Saleaumua joined Elmer on the all-tournament squad.

 

Houghtelling finished with 12 kills and a career-high 14 digs, Pavan had 12 kills and Saleaumua turned in seven kills and 12 digs.

 

Larson, Pavan, Houghtelling and Elmer all hit better than .400, and NU had a .367 attack percentage as a team.

 

Sophomore middle blocker Tracy Stalls played her first complete match of the year against the Nittany Lions and had three kills and five blocks. Stalls, who's been slowed by offseason knee surgery, made her 2005 debut Saturday in game one the Huskers' win over Pacific.

 

Nicole Fawcett and Sam Tortorello were picked for the all-tournament team from Penn State. Fawcett led the Nittany Lions with 10 kills, and Tortorello had 36 assists and 13 digs.

 

 

Waves top Pacific

 

Julie Rubenstein, who also was named to the all-tournament team, had 16 kills to lift Pepperdine (3-3) to a 30-15, 30-25, 30-17 win Sunday over Pacific.

 

The 4-5 Tigers were swept in all three of their matches at the Players Challenge

[NamelessHusker]

 

NU's volleyball coaching roots run deep

 

LINCOLN - Christina Houghtelling might not ever be able to teach anybody to hit a volleyball as hard as she can. But someday she'll try.

 

Houghtelling, the Nebraska volleyball team's powerful 6-foot-2 outside hitter from Cambridge, Neb., wants to coach after her playing days are over.

 

It's almost as much of a Husker volleyball tradition as packed houses at the NU Coliseum. When it comes to producing volleyball coaches, the Huskers have a history unlike any other college program in the country. Coaches with NU ties work at programs from coast to coast at all levels - club, high school and college.

 

When former NU coach Terry Pettit reflects on his 23 years building the school's volleyball program into a dynasty, the fact so many of his players moved on to coaching careers remains endlessly gratifying.

 

"It sure is," Pettit said. "Because I don't think they'd be doing it if their experience at Nebraska wasn't a positive one."

 

Pettit put Nebraska volleyball on the map when he took over the program in 1977. His influence now spans the map. And the trend continues to grow under current Nebraska coach John Cook.

 

Former NU assistants now leading college teams include Craig Skinner (Kentucky), Jeff Nelson (San Francisco) and John Corbelli (Texas A&M). Ex-Husker star Karen Dahlgren Schonewise led Kansas from 1994 through 1997.

 

And Russ Rose built Penn State into a national power after working with Pettit at NU in 1978 and 1979.

 

"Terry did a terrific job of making Nebraska volleyball a statewide property," said Rose, whose No. 4 Nittany Lions are in Lincoln this weekend for the Players Challenge. "Since John arrived, they've just maintained that competitive excellence."

 

Certainly, NU's record of success has a lot to do with the phenomenon. When you're involved with teams that win national championships and play in a packed arena, other programs want to tap that experience.

 

But Pettit and Cook also are renowned for a style of coaching that emphasizes teaching. Moreover, many recruits have come to Nebraska over the years with a propensity for being taught.

 

Cook, who took over the Huskers after Pettit retired in 1999, estimates that more than half the players he's guided at NU have at least one parent who teaches, coaches or does both.

 

"Coaches' kids and teachers' kids do seem to fit in really well here," Cook said. "We're a teaching program, and they just like being around people who are coaching and teaching."

 

Cook worked as Pettit's assistant before becoming Wisconsin's head coach in 1992. While there, Cook hired Christy Johnson - a two-time All-America setter for Pettit in the mid-1990s.

 

Johnson now is in her first year leading Iowa State, and her first two weeks of the season had her bumping into ex-Huskers at every turn.

 

Iowa State opened its 2005 schedule playing Creighton and Northern Colorado at the Bluejay Invitational. Angie Oxley, a Husker standout from 1997 to 2000, is an assistant at Creighton, and Lindsay Wischmeier, who played at NU from 1999 to 2002, was just promoted to full-time assistant at Northern Colorado.

 

The Cyclones played Montana on the second weekend of the season, and the Grizzlies' staff is made up entirely of coaches with NU ties - head coach Nikki Stricker Best; assistant head coach Dave Best, a former NU aide; and assistant Allison Weston.

 

"I think coaching can just get in your blood," Johnson said. "I think it's a great lifestyle, and you get to do what you love all day. I know this better than I know anything."

 

Houghtelling, an elementary education major, said she always planned on teaching and coaching at the youth or high school level.

 

But Cook has told her not to rule out coaching college.

 

With so many former Huskers now working on college staffs, Houghtelling said it's something she's definitely thinking about.

 

"I've been able to learn from some great coaches," she said, "and the exposure you get just playing Nebraska volleyball is tremendous."

[NamelessHusker]

 

 

Huskers knock off another ranked opponent

 

Considering the ease with which top-ranked Nebraska tore through No. 4 Penn State on Sunday, someone should have found a way to divide up the MVP trophy.

 

Senior Melissa Elmer earned the honor after yet another solid match, but the award could just as easily have gone to teammates Sarah Pavan or Christina Houghtelling. Even freshman Jordan Larson deserved a look, rebounding after she was pulled from the lineup on Friday to notch a match-high 14 kills in Sunday’s 30-14, 30-27, 30-23 win in the final match of the Players Challenge.

 

“What makes us such a good team is that we have players all the way around the court that are equally good,” said Pavan, one of four Huskers to finish with at least nine kills while hitting .420 or better against the Nittany Lions. “We’re just a talented, deep team. The numbers speak for themselves.”

 

On Sunday, the numbers told a story of unique domination against another championship contender.

 

Had the match been a title bout, the officials might have stopped it in game one. The Huskers ran points on six of 12 serving opportunities with all six attackers scoring kills and five recording blocks in the lopsided win.

 

Then, with Penn State in position to even the match, Pavan took over game two with back-to-back kills. Then, with the Coliseum crowd of 4,193 roaring, the 6-foot-5 Pavan stretched both arms across the net to block the Nittany Lions’ Kate Price for an insurmountable two-point edge.

 

In game three, it was Houghtelling’s turn to shine. The junior outside hitter followed up a block by blistering three straight kills in a six-point run by the Huskers.

 

Elmer added three kills down the stretch to complete Nebraska’s fourth win of the season against a top-five team.

 

“It definitely makes you feel good,” said Elmer, who had 28 kills and 27 blocks over the three-day tournament that began with wins over Pepperdine and Pacific. “Today, we came out attacking with our serve, and we definitely got them into passing trouble. Against our block and our defense, when a team gets out of system, it’s going to be hard for them to get any points.”

 

Nebraska (8-0) outdug the Nittany Lions 48-42, impressive considering that the Huskers also finished with six more blocks. Leading the way was Houghtelling, who had a double-double of 12 kills and 14 digs.

 

As a team, the Huskers hit .367 and served six aces. Penn State (6-2) hit just .168 and had little luck stressing Nebraska with its serves.

 

“Based on how scared my younger kids looked, I wasn’t surprised,” Penn State coach Russ Rose said. “We didn’t pass well enough to mount the type of attack that really could have separated the block, and they had very little difficulty with our serve.

 

“They passed very well, and that enabled them to do what they wanted to do offensively. And even on some broken plays, they just had the ability to jump and take a pretty big swing.”

 

Four Huskers were named to the all-tournament team: Elmer, Pavan, Houghtelling and senior Jennifer Saleaumua. Other selections were setter Sam Tortorello and freshman outside hitter Nicole Fawcett of Penn State, along with Pepperdine’s Julie Rubenstein. The Waves swept Pacific 30-15, 30-25, 30-17 in Sunday’s preliminary match.

 

Briefly

 

-- After seeing her first action of the season on Saturday, sophomore Tracy Stalls played the entire match against the Nittany Lions.

 

-- The last time Nebraska had beaten a top-five opponent in a regular-season match at home was 1995.

 

-- The Huskers last beat Penn State in the legendary 1996 NCAA regional final. In that match, NU rallied from down 10-4 to win 20-18 in game five.

[NamelessHusker]

 

No. 1 Huskers Stuff No. 4 Penn State

 

 

Lincoln – All-American Melissa Elmer earned InfoUSA/Arby's Players Challenge tournament MVP honors by helping No. 1 Nebraska to a three-game sweep (30-14, 30-27, 30-23) of No. 4 Penn State Sunday at the NU Coliseum. The Huskers improved to 8-0 on the season by out-hitting a powerful Penn State squad .367-.168 for the match to pick up their fourth win of the season over a top-five foe.

 

Freshman Jordan Larson added 14 kills on .480 hitting, while All-American Sarah Pavan and Christina Houghtelling each contributed 12 kills while combining to hit .477 on 44 swings. Houghtelling also matched her career high with 14 digs to record her first double-double of the season.

 

Husker setters Maggie Griffin and Dani Busboom powered a potent and balanced attack by combining for 58 assists to help the Huskers hit .350 or better for the fourth time this season. NU's percentage was made even more impressive because it came against a Nittany Lion club that held their first seven opponents to .160 hitting.

 

The decision-making of Griffin and Busboom helped the Huskers defeat a top-five regular-season opponent at the NU Coliseum for the first time in 10 years. It also marked the first time in three years that NU won its own tournament.

 

Elmer, who averaged 2.80 kills on .393 hitting and 2.70 blocks per game during the Huskers' three matches in the tournament, finished with nine kills on .421 hitting, while adding six blocks to help NU out-block PSU, 12-6 on the day. Houghtelling, Pavan and Jennifer Saleaumua, who finished with seven kills and 12 digs, all joined Elmer on the all-tournament team.

 

“That’s our system,” Cook said. That’s how we designed that system to be balanced, so we’re not relying on anybody. We have people who can put the ball away and have setters that can mix it up.”

 

Playing in front of a sellout crowd of 4,193 and a national television audience, the Huskers came out firing in game one, blitzing the Lions, 30-14 in the opener. The Huskers hit .467, had four service aces and out-blocked PSU, 4-0. Pavan’s two service aces triggered an 11-3 spurt, as NU took a 16-7 lead. PSU closed to within 20-13, but the Huskers closed out the game with a 10-1 run, capped by Houghtelling’s service ace at game point.

 

The Nittany Lions led for most of game two, but the Huskers closed the game with a fury in a 30-27 triumph. After spotting the visitors an 8-5 lead, Nebraska kept it close before finally tying the game at 17 on a PSU hitting error. Trailing 26-24, Pavan took over, recording consecutive kills to tie the match before a Christa Harmetto error gave the Huskers a 27-26 lead.

 

Pavan then blocked Kate Price to make it 28-26. After Price’s kill pulled PSU within 28-27, Pavan’s fifth kill of the game gave NU a two-point lead before Larson's sixth kill of game two sent NU to the locker room with a 2-0 lead.

 

The Huskers closed the match in style, hitting .395 in a 30-23 victory. Early on, NU used its block, stuffing the Lions three times to take an early 8-3 lead. Penn State, which came back from a 0-2 deficit at then No. 4 Hawaii one week ago, fought back and used a 6-0 run to take a 17-14 lead. Trailing 18-17, Houghtelling led NU back, ripping three straight kills to highlight a 4-0 spurt, as NU took a 21-18 lead and never trailed again.

 

Nicole Fawcett and Cassy Salyer led PSU with 10 kills apiece, as the Nittany Lions saw their six-match winning streak snapped. Fawcett and setter Sam Tortorello, who had 36 assists and a team-high 13 digs, were also selected to the all-tournament team

 

In the day’s first match, Pepperdine posted its first win of the tournament with a 30-15, 30-25, 30-17 victory over Pacific. Julie Rubenstein drilled 16 kills on .419 hitting to help Pepperdine out-hit Pacific, .356-.000. Lecca Roberts also added 10 kills and six blocks for the Waves, who improved to 3-3 on the season. Rubenstein rounded out the seven-member all-tournament team.

 

Nebraska opens Big 12 play next Saturday, Sept. 17, by traveling to Colorado. First serve is set for 8 p.m. (central) and the match will be carried live on radio by B107.3 FM in Lincoln.

 

InfoUSA/Arby’s Players Challenge All-Tournament Team

Melissa Elmer, Nebraska, MVP; Sarah Pavan, Nebraska; Christina Houghtelling, Nebraska; Jennifer Saleaumua, Nebraska; Sam Tortorello, Penn State; Nicole Fawcett, Penn State; Julie Rubenstein, Pepperdine

[Eric the Red]

Great articles....all of them, thanks NH.

 

- Make that 4 for 4 against the Top 5 for the Nebraska volleyball team

 

Says it all.

[mcrooks7]

I have always been impressed with the quality of play from these girls, and this year it looks like nothing but Husker domination in the wonderful world of Volleyball.

 

Keep it up ladies!

[Eric the Red]

I have always been impressed with the quality of play from these girls, and this year it looks like nothing but Husker domination in the wonderful world of Volleyball.

 

Keep it up ladies!

Just yesterday, the Husker volleyball team stampeded into CU and swept them 3-0. If these types of results continue, were looking at on of the greatest college volleyball teams ever. (ie '95 Husker football)

[kramer]

I have always been impressed with the quality of play from these girls, and this year it looks like nothing but Husker domination in the wonderful world of Volleyball.

 

Keep it up ladies!     

Just yesterday, the Husker volleyball team stampeded into CU and swept them 3-0. If these types of results continue, were looking at on of the greatest college volleyball teams ever. (ie '95 Husker football)

I went to a gameearlier in the year and these girls are huge.

[Eric the Red]

Larson Leads Huskers to Sweep of Baylor

 

Courtesy: NU Media Relations

Release: 10/01/2005

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Courtesy: Scott Bruhn/NU Media Relations

Jordan Larson had 14 kills and hit .667 against Baylor.

 

Lincoln – Freshman Jordan Larson’s 14 kills led a balanced attack, as No 1 Nebraska posted a 30-21, 30-17, 30-18 victory over Baylor in front of a sellout crowd of 4,157 at the Nebraska Coliseum Saturday evening.

 

The Huskers, 13-0 overall and 5-0 in the Big 12, hit .409 as a team, its highest percentage in a Big 12 match in over two years, as both Larson and Elmer hit above .500 in the sweep.

 

Larson, a freshman outside hitter from Hooper, Neb., hit a career-best .667 with 14 kills and no errors in 21 swings, the second-highest mark by any Husker this season. Larson, whose previous best was .480 against Penn State on Sept. 11, led the Huskers in kills for the sixth time this season, while also matching her season high with three aces.

 

Elmer set the tone early, recording eight of her 10 kills in the opener, as the two-time All-American hit .500 with one error in 18 attacks. Sarah Pavan and Christina Houghtelling added 11 and 10 kills, respectively, as the Huskers, who are third in the country in hitting percentage, went over .400 for the third time this year.

 

Nebraska Head Coach John Cook was pleased with the aggressive attitude the Huskers showed in posting their 20th straight home win.

 

“We worked on it in the last two practices and they did a great job with it tonight,” Nebraska Head Coach John Cook said. “Our goal tonight was to be aggressive in everything we did, and we hit .408, so you’ve got to be pleased with that.”

 

“I could tell in warm-ups they were on a mission to come out focused, so that’s a great sign,” Cook said. “I’m really pleased with how focused they were and the mentality they came out with.”

 

The Huskers, who have also won all 20 matchups with Baylor in the series history, enjoyed one of its best serving nights of the season, finishing with six aces, including three by Larson, against just seven errors.

 

Behind the play of Elmer and Larson, the Huskers pulled away late for a 30-21 game one win. Elmer had eight kills on 11 swings, with several of her kills coming off Baylor overpasses, as the Huskers hit .390. With the score tied at 21, Larson’s kill gave the Huskers the lead for good before the freshman stepped to the service line and ran off the final eight points, including a pair of aces, to close out game one. Larson also had five kills and hit .625 in the opener.

 

In game two, the Huskers continued to fire away, hitting .394 in rolling to a 30-17 victory. Once again, Larson led the Huskers, hitting .667 with six kills in nine swings, but Nebraska’s serving also played a major role. The Huskers had three aces and applied pressure with tough serves through the game. Leading 11-8, Larson had two kills in a 5-0 run before Jennifer Saleaumua’s service ace gave the Huskers an eight-point lead at 16-8. Baylor closed to within 18-12 before Larson’s serving sparked a 5-0 run that put the game out of reach.

 

In the finale, the Huskers showed its tremendous balance, as seven players had at least two kills in a 30-18 victory. Pavan and Mancuso, who entered midway through game three, did most of the damage, combining for eight kills, as the Huskers hit .439 and committed one error. Baylor was within 10-8, but could not withstand a

10-2 Husker run that turned the margin to 20-10.

 

Nicole LeBlanc led Baylor (9-7, 1-4 Big 12) with nine kills, as the Bears hit .133 in the loss.

 

The Huskers will turn their attention to Wednesday’s Big 12 showdown at No. 7 Missouri. The match, which will start at 6:30 p.m., will be televised in the Lincoln area on Ch. 13 on Time Warner Cable and on Ch. 802 on Cox Cable in Omaha thanks to the Pinnacle Sports Network. The Huskers and Tigers are tied for the Big 12 lead, as the only conference teams that are undefeated in league play.