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Huskers Open NCAA Tournament with Jackson State
The
No. 2 Nebraska volleyball team (24-4, 17-3 Big Ten) will open the NCAA
Tournament at home for the eighth straight season on Thursday night
when it hosts the Jackson State Tigers (26-9, 8-0 SWAC) at the NU
Coliseum. The match is set to start at 7 p.m., or 30 minutes after the
first match of the day ends between Kansas State and Wichita State.
Nebraska, who recently won its first Big Ten title, will be making its 30th appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
Jackson
State will be making its first appearance in the national tournament
after winning its first Southwestern Conference title in program
history. The Tigers went undefeated in conference play and are coming
off a 3-1 win over Alabama A&M in the SWAC Championship match.
Thursday
night’s match will be the first-ever meeting between Nebraska and
Jackson State. It will be the second time the Huskers have ever played
a team from the Southwestern Conference as Nebraska played Alabama
A&M in 2005.
Fans can listen to all of the
action with John Baylor and Diane Mendenhall on the 25-station Husker
Sports Network, including B107.3 FM in Lincoln and Twister 93.3 FM in
Omaha. Fans outside the network will also be able to catch the live
audio feed for free on Huskers.com.
Getting to Know the Jackson State Tigers
Location: Jackson, Miss.
Enrollment: 8,699
Nickname: Tigers
Colors: Blue and White
Head Coach: Rose Washington (Jackson State, ‘77)
Record at School: 151-184 (10 years)
Overall Record: same
Asst. Coach: Latasha Pusha
2011 Record: 26-9
2011 SWAC Record: 8-0
2010 Postseason: None
2010 Final Ranking: NR
Series Record: 0-0
Last Meeting: Never
Last Nebraska Win: Never
Last Nebraska Loss: Never
Longest Nebraska Winning Streak: 0
Current Nebraska Winning Streak: 0
NU at home: 0-0
Nebraska on the road: 0-0
Nebraska at neutral sites: 0-0
Three sets: 0-0
Four sets: 0-0
Five sets: 0-0
The Jackson State Tigers
No.
Name
Yr.
Pos.
Ht. Hometown (Previous School)
1
LaTosha Scott So.
MB
6-0 Louisville, Ky.
(Presentation Academy)
2
Donisha Dunn Sr.
MB
6-2 Austin, Texas (Del Valle)
3
Daedra Carline Sr.
DS
5-4 Fairview, Ore. (De La
Salle North Catholic)
4
Kameron BogganJr. MB/OH
5-10 Portland, Ore.
5
Paige Williams So.
MB/S 6-1
Alrington, Texas (Mansfield Timberview)
6
Krishauna
Kindall
Sr.
OH
5-6 North Little Rock, Ark.
(Central Baptist)
7
LaToya Clark
Sr.
S
5-4 Tallahassee, Fla.
(Florida State University)
8
Angelica Kelley So.
S/DS 5-7
Desoto, Texas (Desoto)
9 Alexis Ammerman Fr. OH/MB/RS 6-0 Tucson, Ariz.
10
Briana Hopkins So.
DS
5-8 Houston, Texas (North
Shore Senior)
11
Ryan Irving
Fr.
DS
5-4 Avondale, Ariz.
12
Chyna Coleman Sr.
OH
5-8 Phoenix, Ariz. (Phoenix
College)
19
Jazmyn Hunter Fr.
MB
6-2 Buckeye, Ariz.
20
Christine Edwards Jr.
OH
5-10 Lakewood, Calif.
Head Coach: Rose Washington (10th Season)
Assistant Coach: Latasha Pusha (3rd Season)
Pronunciation Guide
Daedra Carline: Day-Druh Car-Line
Krishauna Kindall: Chris-Shawn-Ah
Cyna Colman: China
Scouting the Jackson State Tigers
• The Tigers enter Thursday night’s match with a 26-9 overall record and an 8-0 record in the Southwestern Conference.
•
Jackson State won its first SWAC Tournament title this season, which
earned them the program’s first trip to the NCAA Tournament.
•
Christine Edwards leads the Tigers offensively with 565 kills and an
average of 4.22 kills per set. She ranks 25th nationally in kills per
set.
• Chyna Coleman has 368 kills for Jackson State on the year, averaging 2.96 kills per set.
•
At the net, Paige Williams leads the Tigers in blocks and ranks 35th
nationally in blocks per set with a total of 134 and an average of 1.26.
•
Jackson State had three players selected as first-team All-SWAC
honorees as Edwards was joined by teammates Williams, Daedra Carline
and LaToya Clark, while Donisha Dunn earned a spot on the second-team.
•
Edwards guided Jackson State to their first ever SWAC title with 17
kills on 39 attacks and .308 hitting as the Tigers took on Alabama
A&M. Chyna Coleman had 15 kills for Jackson State, while Donisha
Dunn had nine. LaToya Clark and Coleman both notched 13 digs, while the
Tigers had eight team blocks. Jackson State held Alabama State to a
.037 hitting percentage. Edwards was named the tournament MVP, as she
was joined on the All-Tournament team by Coleman and Clark.
• At setter, LaToya Clark has 1,356 assists on the year, averaging 10.04 per set.
•
Defensively, Carline has 396 digs on the season and an average of 3.33
per set. Coleman has notched 364 digs on the year, while averaging 2.94.
• Jackson State carries a hot winning streak into the NU Coliseum, as they have captured eight consecutive conference matches.
•
Since Head Coach Rose Washington arrived 10 years ago, the Jackson
State volleyball program has grown each year. Washington is a 1977
graduate of Jackson State. Her leadership guided the Tigers to their
first SWAC Championship in 2011.
Big Ten Weekly Awards
(3 honors by 2 players)
Gina Mancuso
Co-Player of the Week (Sept. 26)
Mancuso
averaged 3.7 kills per set with a .319 hitting percentage, along with
1.6 digs and 0.4 blocks per set in the Huskers’ back-to-back wins over
Penn State and Ohio State. She recorded a double-double against Penn
State with 22 kills and 10 digs, marking the fifth double-double of her
career. She also tied her career-high mark for attacks against Penn
State.
Player of the Week (Oct. 23)
Mancuso
posted 4.1 kills, 3.3 digs and 1.0 block per set in Nebraska’s wins
over the Hawkeyes and Fighting Illini. She recorded her 10th
double-double of the season with 15 kills and 14 digs, adding five
blocks and two aces to help the Huskers take down Illinois. She also
notched 14 kills, nine digs and two blocks against Iowa. Her efforts
helped Nebraska earn its first win over a top-ranked opponent since
1990. The honor marked the second conference player-of-the-week award
for Mancuso.
Hannah Werth
Player of the Week (Oct. 17)
Werth
averaged 4.0 kills and 2.9 digs per set and recorded a .385 hitting
percentage in back-to-back wins at Wisconsin and Minnesota. She posted
17 kills on .536 hitting and added 10 digs against the Badgers. Werth
recorded her second double-double of the weekend against the Gophers,
tallying 15 kills and 17 digs while adding six blocks.
Player of the Week (Nov. 21)
Werth
recorded 3.8 digs and 3.5 kills on .323 hitting to lead No. 4 Nebraska
to four-set wins over No. 19 Minnesota and Wisconsin, helping the
Huskers clinch at least a share of the Big Ten title. She posted 14
kills, 17 digs and a .379 hitting percentage against Minnesota. Werth
then notched her second double-double of the week against the Badgers,
recording 14 kills and 13 digs. She was also selected as the Sports
Imports/AVCA National Player of the Week.
Nebraska Clinches Outright Big Ten Title
Huskers Earn First Big Ten Title in School History
Nebraska
clinched its first Big Ten Championship on Tuesday after a 3-0 sweep of
the Iowa Hawkeyes at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. With the championship,
Nebraska also earned the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA
Championship.
The 2011 Big Ten title marks the
32nd conference title for Nebraska overall and their first as a member
of the Big Ten Conference. It is also the first Big Ten Conference
crown for any sport at Nebraska.
Hot in November
Huskers Boast All-Time Record of 220-20 in November
Historically,
the Huskers’ two best months are September (293-26) and November
(220-20), as they have all-time winning percentages of .919 and .921,
respectively.
Comeback Kids
Huskers Are 7-3 when Losing the First Set of a Match
The
Huskers have dropped the first set nine times this season, most
recently against Northwestern on Nov. 26. However, Nebraska holds a
record of 7-3 when losing the first set in 2011.
Volleyball Blackshirts
Huskers’ Defense Halts Opponents
Nebraska
held Iowa to a .000 hitting percentage on Oct. 19, marking the lowest
percentage for a Nebraska opponent this season. The Huskers also held
Albany to a .038 hitting percentage for the match, Creighton to a .053
hitting percentage on Sept. 8, Indiana to a .022 hitting percentage on
Oct. 8 and Michigan State to a .026 hitting percentage of Nov. 5.
Scouting the Huskers
• Nebraska is 24-4 in 2011 and enters this weekend’s match ranked No. 2 in the latest AVCA Coaches Poll.
•
The Huskers are 20-2 this season when holding opponents below .200
hitting. Nebraska is 4-2 when opposing teams hit above .200.
• Nebraska has totaled double-digit blocks in 15 matches this season, including a season-high 18 blocks against Michigan.
•
The Huskers tallied a season-low six errors against Albany on Sept. 3.
The last time NU had six errors or less in a match was against Sacred
Heart on Dec. 2, 2010.
• Gina Mancuso has 372 kills so far in 2011, averaging 3.54 per set.
•
Mancuso was named the Big Ten Player of the Week on Monday, Oct. 24
after leading the Huskers over previously top-ranked Illinois and the
Co-Big Ten Player of the Week on Monday, Sept. 26 after her stellar
weekend against Penn State and Ohio State.
• Werth
was named the Big Ten Player of the Week on Monday, Oct. 17 and Oct.
21, after solid outings at Wisconsin and Minnesota. She was also named
the Sports Imports/AVCA National Player of the Week.
•
Lara Dykstra has 380 digs so far in her freshman campaign, averaging
3.62 per set. She now ranks first in the all-time freshman digs record
at Nebraska.
• Lauren Cook has totaled 1,072 assists in 2011, averaging 10.94 per set.
•
Brigette Root made her first career start at setter against Michigan on
Friday, Nov. 4. She notched the first double-double of her career with
25 assists and 11 digs.
• As of Nov. 27, the
Huskers ranked 26th nationally in blocks per set with 2.65. NU was 16th
in hitting percentage at .262. Lauren Cook ranked 40th nationally in
assists per set (10.94).
• Nebraska is making its
30th consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Only Penn State and
Stanford have more trips with each making their 31st appearance this
year.
• The Huskers have 82 all-time NCAA Tournament wins, second behind Stanford (97).
•
Nebraska continued its string of All-America success in 2010, as Brooke
Delano, Lindsey Licht and Hannah Werth were named AVCA All-Americans.
The trio upped Nebraska’s NCAA-leading totals to 34 players and 70
certificates. Nebraska has had at least one All-American every season
since 1983, a total of 29 straight seasons, including 35 All-America
awards in Cook’s 11 years at Nebraska.
• Nebraska
has eight players on its 2011 roster who were Volleyball Magazine Fab
50 selections, representing the top 50 players in that year’s
recruiting class.
Year Players
2008 Allison McNeal
2009 Gina Mancuso, Hannah Werth, Hayley Thramer, Lauren Cook
2010 Morgan Broekhuis
2011 Lara Dykstra, Taylor Simpson
Tough Tests
With the match against No. 19 Minnesota on Nov. 16, Nebraska was taking on its 13th top-25 team this season.
Opponent
Result
at No. 15 Colorado State L, 3-2
vs. No. 12 Iowa State W, 3-0
vs. No. 5 Penn State W, 3-2
vs. No. 24 Ohio State W, 3-1
at
No. 11
Michigan
W, 3-0
vs. No. 11
Purdue
W, 3-1
at No. 14 Minnesota W, 3-2
vs.
No. 1
Illinois
W, 3-1
at No. 23 Ohio
State
W, 3-1
at No. 8 Penn
State
L, 3-1
vs. No. 23
Michigan
W, 3-1
at No. 10
Purdue
L, 3-0
vs. No. 19 Minnesota W, 3-1
Cook Reaches 500
With the Huskers’ win over Albany on Sept. 3, Head Coach John Cook tallied his 500th win as a head coach.
No Place Like Nebraska
Nebraska
celebrated a streak of 150 consecutive sellouts at the NU Coliseum on
Sept. 8. It is the longest continuing sellout streak across all NCAA
women’s athletics. The Huskers averaged 4,632 fans per home contest
last season. As of Nov. 28, Nebraska ranks first nationally in current
home win streaks with 38.
Small Membership
Lara
Dykstra became just the seventh true freshman to start a season opener
during Head Coach John Cook’s era at Nebraska. Sophomore Morgan
Broekhuis was the last Husker to do so in 2010.
Dykstra Digging
Through
the first 28 matches of her collegiate career, freshman Lara Dykstra
has notched 380 digs of her own and an average of 3.62 digs per set.
Her 28 digs against New Mexico State ranked ninth in Nebraska
volleyball single-match performances and were the highest total by a
Husker since 2009.
Thramer Makes Impact
Sophomore
Hayley Thramer made her first career start at New Mexico on Aug. 27.
She notched a career-high 10 blocks against Illinois on Oct. 22. She
currently ranks sixth in the Big Ten in blocks, averaging 1.13 per set.
Producing Double-Doubles
Five
Huskers have combined for 45 double-doubles in 2011, with Mancuso
tallying 12, Broekhuis tabbing six, Root adding one, Werth notching 10
of her own and Cook adding 16.
Brigette Root | 2011 (1) | NU Career (1), All (1)
Opponent
(Date)
K
A
D B
Michigan
(Nov. 4)
5
35
11 2
Gina Mancuso | 2011 (12) | NU Career (12), All (12)
Opponent
(Date)
K
A
D B
New
Mexico State (Aug. 26)
16
0
14 2
Colorado
State (Sept.
2)
24
3
10 1
Creighton
(Sept.
8)
12
0
10 1
Saint
Mary’s (Sept.
9)
15
1
11 3
Iowa State
(Sept.
17)
14
0
11 1
Penn State
(Sept.
21)
22
0
10 2
Michigan State
(Sept. 30)
12
1
10 3
Purdue (Oct.
7)
16
0
19 0
Minnesota (Oct.
15)
18
0
15 5
Illinois (Oct.
22)
15
0
14 5
Minnesota (Nov.
16)
14
1
16 1
Northwestern
(Nov.
26)
13
0
17 2
Lauren Cook | 2011 (16) | NU Career (35)
Opponent
(Date)
K
A
D B
New
Mexico State (Aug. 26)
1
51
10 0
New Mexico
(Aug.
27)
0
40
12 1
Colorado State
(Sept.
2)
2
49
12 2
Albany (Sept.
3)
2
34
13 1
Creighton
(Sept.
8)
5
33
13 0
Penn State
(Sept.
21)
1
53
17 2
Ohio State
(Sept.
24)
4
41
14 3
Purdue
(Oct.
7)
0
51
12 1
Wisconsin (Oct.
14)
1
38
11 0
Minnesota
(Oct.
15)
2
45
19 0
Iowa (Oct.
19)
4
32
16 0
Illinois
(Oct.
22)
0
54
13 0
Penn State
(Oct.
29)
1
32
11 0
Minnesota (Nov.
16)
1
47
12 4
Iowa (Nov.
22)
3
32
10 1
Northwestern
(Nov.
26)
2
38
15 3
Hannah Werth | 2011 (10) | NU Career (32), All (32)
Opponent
(Date)
K
A
D B
Colorado
State (Sept.
2)
12
0
15 1
St. Mary’s
(Sept.
9)
10
1
11 1
Wisconsin (Oct.
14)
17
0
10 0
Minnesota (Oct.
15)
15
2
17 6
Illinois (Oct.
22)
14
1
17 0
Ohio State
(Oct.
28)
11
1
13 3
Michigan State
(Nov.
5)
11
0
10 3
Minnesota (Nov.
16)
14
0
17 2
Wisconsin (Nov.
19)
14
0
13 2
Northwestern
(Nov.
26)
15
0
14 2
Morgan Broekhuis | 2011 (6) | NU Career (6), All (6)
Opponent
(Date)
K
A
D B
Iowa
State (Sept.
17)
11
2
10 4
Penn State
(Sept.
21)
12
4
11 4
Purdue (Oct.
7)
13
2
10 2
Illinois (Oct.
22)
17
2
11 4
Minnesota (Nov.
16)
14
1
16 1
Northwestern
(Nov.
26)
12
2
10 3
Broekhuis Breakout
Morgan
Broekhuis recorded the first double-double of her career against Iowa
State on Sept. 17, with 11 kills and 10 digs. She has notched five
others this season. Her 22 kills at Michigan State on Sept. 30 marked a
career high for her.
Mancuso Paving Her Way
Gina
Mancuso has notched 12 double-doubles so far in 2011, most recently
against Northwestern on Nov. 26. She tallied 13 kills and 17 digs.
Wilberger’s Senior Night Performance
Jordan
Wilberger notched career-high numbers in kills and hitting percentage
on senior night against Wisconsin. The Scottsbluff, Neb., native tabbed
12 kills and a hitting percentage of .750 in guiding the Huskers to a
3-1 win.
It’s Routine
A trip to the NCAA
Tournament goes along with breathing at Nebraska and this year is no
different as the Huskers will be making their 30th straight trip to the
national tournament as the No. 2 overall seed.
2011
also marks the eighth straight season that the Huskers have opened the
NCAA Tournament at home. In 29 previous appearances, the Huskers have
started the postseason on the road just twice, as they played in
Kalamazoo, Mich. in 1983 and were sent to East Lansing, Mich. in 2003.
Nebraska,
Hawaii and UCLA are all making their 30th trip this season, while only
Stanford and Penn State have longer resumes with 31 appearances each.
Tournament Tough
The
Huskers have been hard to beat in the NCAA Tournament and their 82-26
record proves it. Nebraska’s .762 winning percentage and 82 wins.
Husker Hardware
After
the completion of the Big Ten schedule the Huskers were all over the
conference honors list. Five Huskers were honored with All-Big Ten
accolades.
Gina Mancuso was a unanimous selection
by the Big Ten Coaches led the NU contingent. She was joined by setter
Lauren Cook and outside hitter Hannah Werth. Sophomore Morgan Broekhuis
and senior Brooke Delano were both honorable-mention selections, while
senior Brigette Root was honored with the Sportsmanship Award.
Fear the Coliseum
Nebraska
has swept the last three NCAA Tournament matches its played at the NU
Coliseum since Liberty took the Huskers in four sets in the first round
of the 2008 NCAA Tournament.
In 39 all-time first
or second round matches in the Lincoln the Huskers have posted 30
sweeps. Nebraska has been taken to four sets six times and five sets
just three times. The last time NU was forced to play five sets was in
2000 against South Carolina. Prior to 2000, Weber State took NU to five
in 1988 and Penn State did so as well in 1986.
During Big Ten play at the NU Coliseum the Huskers lost just eight sets all season.
Filling Both Hands
With
the Huskers winning their 32nd conference title and first in the Big
Ten era, Head Coach John Cook now has 11 Conference Championship rings.
Cook earned his first as an assistant coach in 1999 under Terry Pettit
and has guided the Huskers to 10 league titles during his tenure as
head coach. Cook won three straight titles from 2000-02 and then
another five in a row from 2004-08.
Fantastic Four
The
2011 senior class has been the latest group to continue Nebraska’s
winning tradition. The team held Senior Night on Saturday, Nov. 19
during the final regular-season match of the season when the Huskers
hosted Wisconsin and the class improved its overall record to an
impressive 109-16 (Now 110-17).
The group of
Brooke Delano, Brigette Root and Jordan Wilberger has won three
conference titles, made one Final Four appearance and led the Huskers
to a trip to the NCAA Regional final.
Huskers Add Three for 2012
Nebraska
Head Volleyball Coach John Cook announced the addition of three high
school players to the Huskers’ 2012 roster on Thursday, Nov. 10. All
three players rank in Prepvolleyball.com’s top-100 Senior Aces.
The
class includes outside hitter Kelsey Fien (Bakersfield, Calif.),
setter/opposite side hitter Alexa Strange (San Clemente, Calif.) and
setter Lauren Sieckmann (Omaha, Neb.).
Fien is
rated as the No. 19 player in the country by Prepvolleyball.com, while
Strange ranks 46th. Sieckmann was picked as a MaxPreps Preseason
First Team All-American.
Top Digger
With
her nine digs in the match against Iowa on Tuesday, Nov. 22, freshman
libero Lara Dykstra took over the top spot on the NU freshman digs
chart with the 360th dig of her career.
Dykstra is replacing Kayla Banwarth, the all-time digs leader at Nebraska.
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