No. 6 Huskers Look to Bounce Back at Minnesota

The No. 6 Nebraska volleyball team (16-4, 10-1 Big Ten) looks to bounce back this Saturday, Oct. 30, visiting No. 11 Minnesota (13-6, 8-3) at Maturi Pavilion in Minneapolis, Minn. First serve is set for 7 p.m., and the match will be televised on BTN and streamed via its digital extension on the FOX Sports app with Larry Punteney and Audrey Flaugh on the call. The match begins a three-match road swing for the Huskers and is their third ranked opponent in eight days.
 
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.
 
Quick Hits
• No. 6 Nebraska and No. 3 Wisconsin are tied for first place in the Big Ten standings. The Huskers were the last unbeaten team at 10-0 in conference play before falling to the Badgers Wednesday night.
• NU faces its third of three straight top-15 opponents Saturday at Minnesota.
• No Husker had a double-figure kill night against Wisconsin — just the second time that has happened this season.
• The Huskers moved up three spots to No. 6 in the AVCA national poll this week.
• The Huskers’ season-long 10-match win streak was their longest since 13 straight wins, Nov. 2 – Dec. 13, 2018.
• NU leads the conference with 15.00 kills per set, 1.75 service aces per set and 17.69 digs per set in Big Ten matches.
• The Huskers’ 10-0 start to Big Ten play was their second-best since joining the conference in 2011.
• Nebraska held a streak of 60 straight weeks in the top 10 of the AVCA poll before briefly dropping to 12th in the Sept. 20 and Sept. 27 releases. It was the only time the Huskers had ranked outside the top 10 since Sept. 18, 2017, when they were 14th.
• Five of NU’s six freshmen have seen the court this year.
 
Scouting the Minnesota Golden Gophers
Minnesota is 13-6 (8-3 Big Ten) after a sweep of Indiana Wednesday night. Stephanie Samedy topped 1,800 career kills on the way to a match-high 18 kills with 15 digs, while Melani Shaffmaster had 36 assists and 10 digs. As a team, the Golden Gophers hit .304 and had 10 blocks.
 
Samedy, a four-time All-American and the reigning Big Ten Player of the Year, leads the conference with 4.54 kills per set. CC McGraw is fourth with 4.51 digs per set. Minnesota second only to Nebraska with 16.85 digs per set as a team.
 
Hugh McCutcheon is in his 10th season and owns a career record of 245-62 at UM.
 
Noting the Series: vs. Minnesota
Nebraska leads the all-time series with Minnesota 36-10, including 14-6 in the John Cook era and 10-6 as Big Ten peers. The Huskers have an 8-3 advantage against the Golden Gophers on the road.
 
The two teams split a series last season at the Devaney Center, with the Huskers winning the last meeting on Feb. 20 with a sweep. The most recent contest in Minneapolis was Nov. 22, 2019, which NU won 3-2.
 
Up Next
Nebraska heads to Illinois on Thursday, Nov. 4, with first serve scheduled for 8 p.m. at Huff Hall in Champaign, Ill. 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.