No. 12 Nebraska Meets Michigan State in Sunday Matinee

The No. 12 Nebraska volleyball team (9-3, 3-0 Big Ten) concludes its three-match home stand this Sunday, Oct. 3 with Michigan State (8-4, 1-2) at 3 p.m. at the Devaney Center. The match will be televised on Big Ten Network and streamed through its digital extension on the FOX Sports app with Chris Vosters on play-by-play and Michelle McMahon providing color commentary.
 
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.
 
Huskers Celebrate Hall of Fame Induction, Weekend of Champions
• The 2020 and 2021 Nebraska Athletics Hall of Fame classes were officially inducted Friday afternoon, including three volleyball inductees: Jordan Larson (2005-08) and former head coach Terry Pettit (1977-99) from the 2020 class and Cathy Noth (1981-84) from the 2021 class.
• Three Husker volleyball teams are being honored as part of a Weekend of Champions at the Devaney Center. On Friday, NU’s 1990 NCAA Semifinal team were honored during the match. Coached by Pettit, the 1990 squad swept three matches to advance to the national semifinals and finished 32-3.
• On Sunday, NU will recognize both the 2000 and 2001 Husker teams in-match. The 2000 squad was John Cook‘s first team at Nebraska and posted a perfect 34-0 season en route to the national championship. The 2001 team finished 31-2 and reached the national semifinals.
 
Quick Hits
• With its third straight win, Nebraska has now gone at least 3-0 to start Big Ten play nine consecutive years.
• Nebraska’s .462 hitting Friday vs. Michigan was the highest of any Big Ten team this season.
• Friday’s 3-0 sweep of Michigan was the Huskers’ fifth sweep of the season and its second straight.
• Nebraska’s four attack errors were its fewest since Sept. 15, 2018, when it had four against Missouri State.
• Nicklin Hames is one assist away from moving up to fourth all-time for career assists. Nikki Stricker’s 3,786 assists from 1990-93 currently occupies No. 4 on the list.
• NU opened 2021 with a six-match win streak, then dropped three straight to No. 20 Utah (Sept. 11), No. 16 Stanford (Sept. 14) and No. 5 Louisville (Sept. 18) before rebounding with three wins.
• Nebraska held a streak of 60 straight weeks in the top of the AVCA poll before moving to 12th on Sept. 20. The last time the Huskers ranked outside the top 10 was Sept. 18, 2017, when they were 14th.
• The Huskers played four straight top-20 opponents in an 11-day span last month with No. 19 Creighton (Sept. 8), No. 20 Utah (Sept. 11), No. 16 Stanford (Sept. 14) and No. 5 Louisville (Sept. 18).
• Five of NU’s six freshmen have seen the court so far this year.
 
Scouting the Michigan State Spartans
Michigan State picked up its first conference win of the season Friday and is 8-4 (1-2 Big Ten) after sweeping Iowa.  Sarah Franklin delivered 20 kills and hit .375 to lead MSU, which plays four straight road matches to open the Big Ten season. Franklin’s 5.80 kills per set in conference play leads all Big Ten players.
 
Michigan State finished 3-12 last spring. Cathy George is in her 17th season in East Lansing with a record of 299-219 and a career mark of 664-443 over her 35 years as a head coach.
 
Noting the Series: vs. Michigan State
The Huskers lead 22-2-2 in the all-time series with Michigan State, including 17-2 in the John Cook era. The Huskers have posted 11 straight wins over the Spartans. They have a 12-0 advantage at home, including 6-0 at the Devaney Center. Nebraska is 14-2 against MSU as Big Ten peers.
 
The most recent Nebraska-Michigan State contest was Nov. 13, 2019 in East Lansing, Mich., where the Huskers posted their first road sweep of the Spartans. Madi Kubik had 16 kills and hit .306.
 
The last meeting at the Devaney Center was Oct. 11, 2019, and NU won 3-1 after dropping the first set. The Huskers had 14 blocks and held MSU to .038 hitting on the night. Jazz Sweet finished with 16 kills and five blocks, and Lauren Stivrins had 13 kills on .667 hitting with six blocks. Lexi Sun put down 13 kills and 10 digs for a double-double, and Callie Schwarzenbach led the defensive effort with seven blocks. Nicklin Hames added 46 assists and 14 digs for another double-double, and Kenzie Knuckles put up a match-high 21 digs.
 
Up Next
Nebraska visits No. 14 Penn State on Friday, Oct. 8, with first serve set for 6 p.m. CT at Rec Hall in University Park, Pa. The match will be televised on Big Ten Network and streamed on the FOX Sports app. John Baylor and Lauren Cook West will also have the radio call on Huskers Radio Network.