Huskers Ready for Weekend Slate With Penn State, Rutgers

The No. 11 Nebraska volleyball team (19-6, 13-3 Big Ten) plays its final two home matches of the regular season this weekend, welcoming No. 15 Penn State (19-7, 12-4) and Rutgers (8-19, 0-16) to the Devaney Center. First serve against the Nittany Lions on Friday, Nov. 19 is set for 8 p.m., and the game will be televised on BTN and streamed via its digital extension on the FOX Sports app. Larry Punteney will handle play-by-play duties, and Audrey Flaugh will provide color commentary.
 
On Saturday, Nov. 20, the Huskers’ play host to the Scarlet Knights on Senior Night at 7 p.m. The match will be televised in a statewide broadcast on Nebraska Public Media and streamed on B1G+ with Punteney on play-by-play alongside color analyst Kathi Wieskamp.
 
This week’s action will be carried on Huskers Radio Network with the NU radio team of John Baylor and Lauren Cook West. Baylor is in his 28th season handling play-by-play duties for the Husker volleyball program, and West, a former All-America setter at NU, will provide color commentary for the sixth straight year.
 
Huskers Radio Network will carry the matches on HRN radio affiliates, including 107.3 FM in Lincoln and AM 590 in Omaha. A live audio stream will be available at Huskers.com and on the Huskers app. Inside the Devaney Center, fans can access the direct radio call of the match at 87.7 FM.
 
Quick Hits
• Nebraska is tied with Wisconsin for the lead in the Big Ten standings at 13-3.
• The Huskers stayed at No. 11 in the AVCA national poll this week. NU is No. 13 in the latest NCAA RPI report.
• Nebraska will play on back-to-back nights this weekend (Nov. 19-20) and next weekend (Nov. 26-27) to close out the Big Ten slate. The Huskers have previously had at least one day between all other conference matches this fall. Their last time playing on consecutive nights was the Ameritas Players Challenge (Sept. 3-4).
• All five Husker seniors — Kayla Caffey, Nicklin Hames, Callie Schwarzenbach, Lauren Stivrins and Lexi Sun — will be honored with Senior Night festivities following Saturday’s match.
• NU’s final four matches of the regular season include three top-15 opponents: No. 15 Penn State (Nov. 19), No. 5 Wisconsin (Nov. 26) and No. 6 Purdue (Nov. 27).
• Across all matches this season, the Huskers have held their opponents to .150 hitting, the 10th-lowest mark in the country.
• Nebraska was the last unbeaten team in Big Ten play. Its 10-0 start was their second-best since joining the conference in 2011.
 
Scouting the Penn State Nittany Lions
Penn State is 19-7 (12-4 Big Ten) and carries a four-match win streak after a 3-1 road win over Michigan State last Saturday. Adanna Rollins reached 1,000 career kills and 1,000 career digs in the match, finishing with a double-double (16 kills/10 digs). Kaitlyn Hord added 14 kills and five blocks, and Allie Holland had 10 kills. Gabby Blossom and Jenna Hampton each had 18 digs, and Blossom totaled 53 assists for another double-double.
 
Hord leads the Big Ten with a .470 hitting percentage in conference matches, and Holland is fourth (.393). Hampton also leads the way with 4.81 digs per set in conference play. As a team, PSU leads the league with a .272 attack percentage, 14.89 kills per set and 13.78 assists per set.
 
Russ Rose is in his 43rd season at Penn State with a career record of 1,328-225.
 
The Nittany Lions have gone 8-3 since their first meeting with Nebraska this season on Oct. 8.
 
Noting the Series: vs. Penn State
The Huskers have won 10 of the last 11 meetings with Penn State. They lead 24-11 in the all-time series, including 15-6 in the John Cook era and 11-5 in Big Ten matches. NU has an 18-3 advantage over the Nittany Lions in Lincoln, including 6-1 at the Devaney Center.
 
The last NU-PSU meeting at Devaney was Nov. 2, 2019, which the Huskers won 3-2.
 
Scouting the Rutgers Scarlet Knights
Rutgers, which visits No. 9 Minnesota Friday night, enters the weekend at 8-19 (0-16 Big Ten) and looks to snap a 17-match skid. The Scarlet Knights suffered a 3-0 loss at Michigan last Saturday, and Kamila Cieslik finished with a team-leading five kills.
 
Caitlin Schweihofer is in her second year at Rutgers with a record of 14-33 and a career mark of 87-141 over eight seasons as a head coach.
 
Noting the Series: vs. Rutgers
The Huskers lead the all-time series with Rutgers 11-1 and have triumphed in 11 straight against the Scarlet Knights. All 11 of those matches were as members of the Big Ten, and all but one were sweeps. NU is 6-0 when facing Rutgers at home, all at the Devaney Center.
 
Up Next
Nebraska brings the regular season to a close next weekend, starting with a visit to Wisconsin on Friday, Nov. 26. First serve is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. at UW Field House in Madison, Wis. The match will be televised on BTN and streamed via its digital extension on the FOX Sports app. John Baylor and Lauren Cook West will also have the radio call on Huskers Radio Network.