Huskers Host LMU, Ole Miss

• The No. 2 Nebraska volleyball team is back at home this week for a pair of matches. The Huskers will host Loyola Marymount on Thursday at 6 p.m. and Ole Miss on Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. Those matches are part of the three-day Husker Invitational. On Friday, Loyola Marymount and Ole Miss will play in a neutral-site match at 6 p.m. that will be free admission.
• Thursday’s match against Loyola Marymount will be broadcast on Nebraska Public Media and streamed on B1G+. Saturday’s match is set for a Big Ten Network television broadcast and will be streamed on FoxSports. 
• The Huskers Radio Network will broadcast all the action on their radio affiliates, including 107.3 FM in Lincoln and AM 590 in Omaha on Thursday and 105.9 FM in Omaha on Saturday. A live audio stream will be provided at Huskers.com and the Huskers app. John Baylor is in his 29th season doing play-by-play for the Husker volleyball program. Lauren (Cook) West, a former All-America setter for the Huskers, will provide color commentary.

NOTING THE HUSKERS

• Nebraska leads the nation in opponent hitting percentage after holding its three opponents at the Ameritas Players Challenge to a combined .010 hitting percentage. 

• The Huskers hit .388 in the season-opening sweep against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. It was NU’s best hitting percentage in a season opener since hitting .400 against Hawaii in 2001. NU’s defense was just as impressive, holding the Islanders to a -.021 hitting percentage, NU’s best defensive performance in a season opener since 2013.

• The Huskers averaged 3.44 blocks per set last weekend, which ranks seventh nationally. Kaitlyn Hord led the way with 2.00 blocks per set, a mark that ranks eighth in the nation. She also hit .375 and posted 1.78 kills per set.

• Nebraska swept all three of its opponents on opening weekend. The last time the Huskers started the season with three straight sweeps was 2006, when NU opened the season with six consecutive wins by sweep.

• Madi Kubik leads the Huskers with 4.00 kills per set and adds 2.00 digs per set. 

• Whitney Lauenstein is averaging 3.44 kills per set with a .353 hitting percentage to go with 1.44 blocks per set. 

• Libero Lexi Rodriguez put up 4.33 digs per set last weekend to lead the Big Red back row. Nicklin Hames chipped in 3.44 digs per set. Rodriguez and Hames each had three service aces. 

SERIES HISTORY

• Nebraska is 4-0 all-time against Loyola Marymount. The teams met in 2019 at the Devaney Center with the Huskers claiming a 3-1 (31-33, 25-19, 25-20, 27-25) win. 

• Saturday’s match-up between Nebraska and Mississippi will be the first meeting between the two schools in volleyball. Mississippi is one of just six current Power 5 conference schools that Nebraska has never played. The others are Boston College, Mississippi State, North Carolina State, Syracuse and Virginia Tech. 

SCOUTING LOYOLA MARYMOUNT

• Loyola Marymount went 1-2 on opening weekend in Salt Lake City, Utah, falling to No. 22 Utah (3-0) and No. 23 Kansas (3-0). The Lions beat Utah Valley (3-0). 

• Middle blocker Phoebe Awoleye, a transfer from Georgia, averaged 2.67 kills per set last weekend with a .468 hitting percentage, and she had 1.11 blocks per set. 

• Setter Isabella Bareford and outside hitter Kari Geissberger were preseason All-WCC selections. Bareford averaged 10.12 assists per set and ranked second on the team in digs last season with 206. Geissberger ranked second in the WCC last year with 3.96 kills per set.   

• Aaron Mansfield is in his sixth season as head coach at LMU and has a 77-60 overall record. 

SCOUTING MISSISSIPPI

• Mississippi went 0-2 last weekend at home against two top-20 opponents. The Rebels dropped 3-1 matches to both No. 9 Georgia Tech and No. 17 Illinois. 

• Middle blocker Sasha Ratliff was named to the preseason All-SEC Team. Ratliff had a school-record 113 block assists as a sophomore last year and ranked third in the SEC with a .385 hitting percentage. Last weekend, Ratliff averaged 2.25 kills on .382 hitting with 1.13 blocks per set. 

• Senior outside hitter Anna Bair led the Rebels last weekend with 4.25 kills per set on .358 hitting. Bair was an AVCA South All-Region pick last season after leading Ole Miss in kills with 3.45 per set. 

• Kayla Banwarth is in her third season as head coach at Ole Miss and has a record of 22-30. Banwarth’s Rebels recorded the best turnaround in Division I last year, going from 1-19 in 2020-21 to 21-9 in 2021 and the Rebels’ first NCAA Tournament appearance in 11 years.  

BANWARTH’S RETURN

• Ole Miss head coach Kayla Banwarth is making her first trip back to the Bob Devaney Sports Center as the head coach at Mississippi. Banwarth was a standout libero at Nebraska from 2007-10 and a national champion assistant coach for the Huskers in 2017. 

• After walking on at Nebraska in 2007, Banwarth became the starting libero midway through her freshman season and remained in that role through 2010, receiving All-Big 12 honorable mention as a junior and senior. She led the Huskers to the NCAA Semifinals in 2008 and to three Big 12 titles. She was Nebraska’s all-time career leader in digs with 1,706 until 2016.

• The Dubuque, Iowa native completed an illustrious playing career for the Huskers in 2010 before embarking on a professional playing career that saw her win an Olympic bronze medal as the U.S. National Team libero, as well as an FIVB World Championship. 

• After finishing her professional playing career, Banwarth returned to Nebraska to serve as an assistant coach under John Cook from 2017-19. She was the Huskers’ recruiting coordinator and libero coach, helping guide the Huskers to the 2017 NCAA title and a runner-up finish in 2018. Banwarth was named the head coach at Ole Miss in December of 2019. 

HUSKERS RANKED NO. 2 IN AVCA POLL

• Nebraska is ranked No. 2 in the AVCA Coaches Poll this week. 

• The Huskers were ranked No. 1 in the preseason poll, the first time since 2016 the Huskers started a year atop the poll. Nebraska has been ranked No. 1 in 101 all-time polls, the most in NCAA history. 

• The Huskers have been ranked in the top 10 a total of 517 times, which is also the most in NCAA history.

• Nebraska has appeared in all 573 AVCA Coaches Polls it has been eligible for since it was established in 1982. Nebraska is the only program to be ranked in every eligible poll all-time.

KNUCKLES, KUBIK, RODRIGUEZ NAMED TEAM CAPTAINS

• The three team captains for the Nebraska volleyball program in 2022 are senior defensive specialist Kenzie Knuckles, outside hitter Madi Kubik and sophomore libero Lexi Rodriguez.

• After two years as NU’s libero, Knuckles moved into a defensive specialist role last season and was named a team captain for the first time. She averaged 2.06 digs with 0.29 aces per set. Knuckles finished with a double-digit dig performance seven times and ranked 10th in Big Ten play for aces per set (0.31). Knuckles also contributed 52 kills as an attacker out of the back row. 

• Kubik was an AVCA third-team All-American in 2021, and she received first-team AVCA North All-Region and first-team All-Big Ten honors. She averaged a team-leading 3.49 kills per set to go with 2.11 digs while adding 21 aces and 55 blocks. Kubik ranked third in Big Ten play in kills per set with 4.11. 

• Rodriguez was recognized as the National Freshman of the Year, a first-team AVCA All-American, North Region Freshman of the Year and first-team North All-Region by the AVCA in 2021. She was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and was a first-team All-Big Ten and Big Ten All-Freshman Team selection.

AVCA HALL OF FAMER JOHN COOK IN 23RD SEASON AT NEBRASKA

• Nebraska head coach John Cook is in his 23rd season as the Nebraska volleyball head coach in 2022. He has led the Huskers to four national championships, 10 final fours, 12 conference championships and 20 top-10 final rankings since 2000. 

• Cook has 794 career wins and is one of the all-time winningest coaches in NCAA history. Since taking over the program in 2000, Cook has led the Huskers to a nation-leading .873 win percentage (633-92). 

• Under Cook, the Huskers have achieved 57 AVCA All-Americans and 19 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans, both among the best in the nation. He is a two-time AVCA National Coach of the Year, earning the prestigious honor in 2000 and 2005, and a seven-time conference coach of the year, including Big Ten Coach of the Year in 2016 and 2017, his first and second Big Ten honors with the Huskers in their Big Ten era (2011-present).

• Cook is one of only three active coaches – and one of six all-time – to be a two-time AVCA National Coach of the Year and was honored in 2008 by USA Volleyball, receiving its All-Time Great Coach Award.

• Cook was inducted into the AVCA Hall of Fame in 2017, joining former Husker volleyball coach Terry Pettit in the hall. 

REYES STEPS INTO LEAD ASSISTANT ROLE

• Last December, assistant coach and recruiting coordinator Jaylen Reyes moved into the Huskers’ lead assistant role following the departure of associate head coach Tyler Hildebrand, who was named the new head women’s volleyball coach at Long Beach State.

• Reyes joined the Husker staff in March 2018. As the Huskers’ recruiting coordinator, he has helped NU land the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class for 2021 and the No. 2 class for 2022, according to PrepVolleyball.com.

• Reyes coaches the Husker liberos and defense while helping coordinate game plans and scouting reports and assisting with other positions. 

• In 2021, Nebraska boasted an elite defense and held opposing teams to just .148 hitting for the year. A former libero at BYU, Reyes led Nebraska’s back row defense to unprecedented heights in the 2021 season. Led by AVCA first-team All-American and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Lexi Rodriguez, the Husker defense propelled the young squad all the way to the NCAA Championship match. Rodriguez set a Nebraska freshman record for digs in a season (524), and as a team the Huskers averaged 16.98 digs per set, the third-highest total in school history. 

HUNTER EARNS FULL-TIME ASSISTANT POSITION AT ALMA MATER

• Last December, volunteer assistant coach Kelly Hunter was promoted to a full-time assistant role for the Huskers beginning in 2022.

• Following her professional playing career overseas, Hunter joined the Husker staff two years ago. She has served in multiple roles as a volunteer assistant (2020-21), interim assistant coach (January-August 2020) and graduate assistant (2019). She fulfilled her stint as an interim assistant coach in 2020 while former associate head coach Tyler Hildebrand prepared for the 2020 Olympic Games prior to his arrival in Lincoln.

• Hunter set the Huskers to national championships in 2015 and 2017 and was a two-time All-American. She was also the 2017 Big Ten Setter of the Year and a two-time All-Big Ten selection. The three-year Husker captain received numerous honors from volleyball publications, including National Player of the Year and All-America first-team honors from PrepVolleyball.com. Hunter was also named co-Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Championship with teammate Mikaela Foecke after the Huskers beat Florida in the national title match in 2017.

CLOSING IN ON 300 CONSECUTIVE REGULAR-SEASON SELLOUTS

• All season and single-game tickets for the 2022 Nebraska volleyball season have been sold. The Huskers entered the season with 286 consecutive regular-season sellouts and – barring any cancellations – will celebrate their 300th consecutive regular-season sellout on Nov. 11 against Iowa. 

• Nebraska’s sellout streak is an NCAA women’s record. The Huskers have led the nation in attendance every season since moving into the Bob Devaney Sports Center in 2013. 

• Nebraska set a new school record for attendance – 8,632 – against No. 2 Stanford on Sept. 18, 2019. 

• A new NCAA attendance record was set at the 2021 NCAA Championship with 18,755 fans turning out to watch Wisconsin and Nebraska battle for the national title at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio last December. 

• The top eight crowds in NCAA Volleyball history are all matches that have involved the Huskers.  

OMAHA TO HOST NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP FOR THIRD TIME IN EIGHT YEARS

• The NCAA Championship returns to Omaha in 2022 for the third time in the last eight years and the fifth time overall. The University of Nebraska and the Metropolitan Entertainment & Convention Authority (MECA) will host the NCAA Championship at the CHI Health Center on Dec. 15-17.

• Omaha has served as the most frequent host of the NCAA Championship in the 41-year history of the tournament. Omaha has hosted the event four times: 2006, 2008, 2015 and 2020.

• Omaha hosted the entire 48-team NCAA Tournament in April 2021 after the 2020 season was delayed until the spring because of COVID-19. Kentucky beat Texas, 3-1, to win its first NCAA title that season. 

• The Huskers won NCAA titles in Omaha in both 2006 (vs. Stanford) and 2015 (vs. Texas), and the Big Red reached the final four in 2008 before losing a five-set thriller to Penn State in the semifinals. 

• Four of the top 11 crowds in NCAA history have occurred at the NCAA Semifinals and Finals played at the CHI Health Center in Omaha. 

• Future NCAA Volleyball Championship sites include Tampa (2023), Louisville (2024) and Kansas City (2025). 

HORD HEADLINES TALENTED GROUP OF NEW HUSKERS

• Nebraska has five new players on its roster this season: Penn State graduate transfer Kaitlyn Hord (Lexington, Ky.), freshman middle blocker Bekka Allick (Lincoln, Neb.), freshman defensive specialist Maisie Boesiger (Firth, Neb.), freshman outside hitter Hayden Kubik (West Des Moines, Iowa) and freshman middle blocker Maggie Mendelson (Ogden, Utah). The Huskers’ signing class was the No. 2-ranked class by PrepVolleyball.

• The 6-4 Hord was named to the AVCA All-America Second Team and was a first-team All-Big Ten choice for the third straight season last year at Penn State. She averaged a career-best 2.92 kills per set while hitting .394. Hord recorded 1.40 blocks per set, which ranked third in the Big Ten and seventh nationally.

• Hord ranks among the NCAA active career leaders in three categories. The middle blocker is No. 2 among active NCAA Division I players in career hitting percentage (.408), total blocks (540) and blocks per set (1.32).  

NINETEEN TV APPEARANCES FOR THE BIG RED IN 2022

• Nebraska plays on TV 19 times this season, including 14 national TV broadcasts.

• The Huskers appear on the Big Ten Network 12 times during the regular season, and Nebraska plays at Creighton on FS1 on Sept. 7 and at Kentucky on ESPNU on Sept. 18. 

• In addition to the 14 national TV broadcasts, Nebraska Public Media is televising five matches: Tulsa (Aug. 26), Loyola Marymount (Sept. 1), Ohio State (Sept. 24), Northwestern (Oct. 16) and Iowa (Nov. 11). 

• The 10 matches that are not on TV can be streamed with a B1G+ subscription. Every match throughout the season airs on the Huskers Radio Network and can be heard on Huskers.com and the Huskers app. 

THREE HUSKERS NAMED TO PRESEASON ALL-BIG TEN TEAM

• Three members of the Nebraska volleyball team were named to the Preseason All-Big Ten Team. Kaitlyn Hord, Madi Kubik and Lexi Rodriguez were all voted to the 15-player preseason team by the conference’s head coaches. All three were All-Big Ten First Team selections last year. Kubik was the only player in the Big Ten unanimously chosen to the preseason all-conference team. 

• Kubik was an AVCA third-team All-American in 2021, and she received first-team AVCA All-North Region and first-team All-Big Ten honors. She averaged a team-leading 3.49 kills per set to go with 2.11 digs while adding 21 aces and 55 blocks. Kubik ranked third in Big Ten play in kills per set with 4.11. 

• Rodriguez was recognized as the AVCA National Freshman of the Year, a first-team All-American, North Region Freshman of the Year and first-team All-North Region in 2021. She was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and was a first-team All-Big Ten and Big Ten All-Freshman Team selection.

• Hord, a transfer from Penn State, was named to the AVCA All-America Second Team and was a first-team All-Big Ten choice for the third straight season last year. She averaged a career-best 2.92 kills per set while hitting .394. Hord recorded 1.40 blocks per set, which ranked third in the Big Ten and seventh nationally.

• The Huskers were picked second in the Big Ten preseason poll behind defending national champion Wisconsin. Minnesota was third, followed by Ohio State and Penn State. 

MENDELSON, U.S. U19 TEAM WIN GOLD AT PAN AMERICAN CUP

• Nebraska freshman middle blocker Maggie Mendelson and the U.S. Girls’ U19 National Team won the gold medal at the Pan American Cup in Tulsa, Okla., in late July. The U.S. team went 5-0 at the tournament without dropping a set.

• Mendelson, the team captain, had six kills, two blocks and two ace serves in the USA’s 25-15, 25-14, 25-17 sweep of Brazil in the championship match.

ALLICK, RODRIGUEZ CLAIM GOLD AT PAN AMERICAN CUP

• The U.S. Women’s U21 National Team – with Nebraska freshman middle blocker Bekka Allick and sophomore libero Lexi Rodriguez – defeated Argentina 3-1 (25-20, 21-25, 25-22, 25-14) in June to win the Pan American Cup at La Paz Arena in Baja California Sur.

• It is the second time the U.S. has won the title. The last time was in 2017. Both the U.S. Women (5-0) and Argentina (4-2) qualified for the 2023 FIVB U21 World Championship.

• Allick added 14 points on 12 kills and two blocks. Rodriguez, the libero and team captain, was credited with 24 digs and 12 excellent receptions.