Husker Tickets

Huge volleyball match Saturday for Huskers

It's going to be a real clash of the titans Saturday night when No. 2 Nebraska hosts No. 3 Texas at the UNL Coliseum.

The Huskers are coming into the game on fire, staring the season 9-0 and 1-0 in the Big 12 after a four-set win at Kansas State Wednesday. The Huskers won Wednesday's game despite having two starters sit out due to disciplinary reasons. The Huskers should be back at full strength and will need every body on board for a tough Longhorns squad.

Texas broke Nebraska's 29-match win streak last year and is back with a very talented lineup that includes returning All-Americans Destinee Hooker and Juliann Faucette at the outside hitter positions. Hooker averages 3.84 kills per game and Faucette averages about three kills per game. Another player to watch is Ashley Engle, who is a versatile hitter and blocker and can also step into the setter role as well.

Both teams are hot coming into this match and ranked among the top teams in the nation. Their most memorable match came in the 1995 NCAA championship match, which Nebraska won to claim the school's first national volleyball title.

Don't miss out on this great matchup. Get your Nebraska vs. Texas volleyball tickets now at Ticket Express -- where no Husker home game is ever sold out.

Volleyball team ready for Big 12 play

The Nebraska volleyball team readied itself for Big 12 play with an impressive effort in the Ameritas Classic over the weekend.

On Friday, the Huskers played before an NCAA regular-season record crowd of 13,412 and posted an easy three-game sweep of LSU, winning 25-19, 25-15 and 25-20. As a team, Nebraska hit .387 and had only three hitting errors in the first two sets.

Jordan Larson led the way with 14 kills and a .375 hitting percentage, while Lindsey Licht added 10 kills and Kori Cooper put down eight kills and four blocks. Syndey Anderson had 33 set assists.

On Saturday, Nebraska had no problem with New Mexico, finishing off the Lobos in straight sets with a 25-19, 25-18, 25-17 win. Tara Mueller had 12 kills and three ace serves and Larson had nine kills and 10 digs to help the Huskers improve to a very impressive 8-0 on the season and post their 75th consecutive win in the UNL Coliseum.

The Huskers head into Big 12 Conference play with a good head of steam. For a team that had a ton of question marks going in, they appear to be clicking on all cylinders and look to be in position to make a real run at the conference title in 2008.

Nebraska gets its first test on the road Wednesday, as they travel to Kansas State. Their 75-match home win streak will get a huge test on Saturday night, as they play host to Texas.

Get your Husker volleyball tickets at Ticket Express -- where no Husker home game is ever sold out.

Husker volleyball team in action at Devaney

There will be a lot of electricity in the Bob Devaney Sports Center tonight as Nebraska meets LSU in the Ameritas Classic.

The matchup between the Huskers and LSU is set for 6 p.m. and will follow the 3:30 p.m. matchup between St. John's and New Mexico. Losers will meet Saturday at the UNL Coliseum at 12:30 p.m., with the championship game set for 3 p.m.

The Huskers are off to a great start and will look to continue that momentum against a very solid LSU team that could be in the thick of the national title race by season's end. A Nebraska win tonight would mark their sixth in as many tries and keep them in the discussion for a potential trip to the NCAA volleyball final four this December in Omaha at the Qwest Center.

The University of Nebraska has declared tonight's game a sellout, but there are still a few select tickets available at Ticket Express -- where no Husker home game is ever sold out.

Volleyball team serves up two more wins

The Nebraska volleyball team showed that season-opening sweep at the AVCA Showcase was no fluke, as they went on the road and humbled Cal Poly and Tulane at the Cal-Poly Invitational over the weekend.

On Friday, the second-ranked Huskers rode the 13-kill, 3-block effort from Tara Mueller to post a three-game sweep over the host team, winning 25-20, 25-19, 25-30. Mueller played an outstanding game and made good on a .440 hitting percentage and added seven digs on defense. Jordan Larson had 11 kills and 11 digs and Lindsey Licht added eight kills and three blocks.

The following night, Nebraska had no problem with Tulane, posting another three-game sweep with a 25-17, 25-15, 25-20 triumph. Mueller led the team for the second straight night with a team-high 15 kills and Larson was solid behind the serving line to keep Tulane from getting into any kind of an offensive flow. She helped out with 12 digs on defense and seven kills on offense.

Nebraska is back in action with the Ameritas Classic this weekend in Lincoln, and they play host to LSU in a big game Friday at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. You can get your tickets now at Ticket Express -- where no Husker home game is ever sold out.

Volleyball team posts impressive upsets

There was a lot of hand-wringing going on among Husker volleyball fans as the 2008 season was set to kick off.

After losing a host of talent from a team that won a national title, was a runner-up and just missed a third final four appearance in as many years, experts wondered if it would be a rebuilding year in the land of Husker Nation. Coach John Cook said that the season-opening AVCA Showcase at Qwest Center would go a long way toward telling him -- and Husker fans -- what kind of work this team needed to do this year.

Well if the results of that opening weekend are any indicator, maybe the task isn't quite as daunting as it first seemed.

Seventh-ranked Nebraska put the wood to No. 2 Stanford with a three-game sweep, then followed it up with a solid four-game win over fourth-ranked USC to get the year off on the right foot. They finished off the first weekend of the year with a three-game sweep over Oral Roberts at the UNL Coliseum on Labor Day.

On Friday, the Huskers swept Stanford 25-17, 25-19 and 26-24 behind the efforts of sophomore Tara Mueller, who finished with a career-best 15 kills on the night. Lindsey Licht also had a career night with 10 kills in her first college start and Nebraska won its first match over a higher-ranked team since 2000.

Sunday afternoon saw the talents of returning All-American Jordan Larson come to the front as she recorded a match-high 18 kills in Nebraska's 25-27, 25-19, 25-17, 25-18 win over USC. Larson was the lone Husker in double figures in the kills department as Nebraska used a balanced attack to overcome a first-game setback and win the match in dominating fashion.

Nebraska continued its momentum on Monday with an easy win over Oral Roberts. As a result of their efforts, Nebraska leapfrogged from No. 7 to No. 2 in the latest CBS College Sports/AVCA coaches poll released Monday.

The Huskers are back in action this weekend at the Cal Poly Invite, then return home for the Ameritas Classic the following weekend. Nebraska will play LSU on Friday night at the Devaney Center, then return to action Saturday at the UNL Coliseum.

Get your Husker volleyball tickets now at Ticket Express -- where no Husker home game is ever sold out.

Four of top 10 at AVCA Volleyball Classic

The Qwest Center in Omaha will be rocking this weekend as four of the nation's top college volleyball teams bang heads at the AVCA Showcase Friday and Sunday.

This year has something of a conference flavor to it, as two of the top teams in the Big 12 battle two of the best from the Pac 10. All four teams are ranked in the top 10 of the AVCA preseason poll, including three of the top four, which should make for a great season-opening test for all four teams.

The Huskers come in with a young and untested bunch after losing several key players from the 2006 national championship and 2007 NCAA tournament teams. Only one starter is back from last year's team that spent much of the season at No. 1 before falling in the regional finals. Hooper, Neb., native Jordan Larson will be called upon to be the leader of a team that will learn on the run this year.

The seventh-ranked Huskers will face No. 2 Stanford in the opening game of the classic on Friday at 7 p.m. Stanford is trying to become the third team in NCAA history to reach volleyball's final four in three consecutive seasons. Stanford is coming off a 32-3 season and a Pac 10 title and returns six starters from last year, including reigning Player of the Year Foluke Akinradewo and fellow All-Americans Cynthia Barboza and Alix Klineman. Stanford also features some Nebraska flavor in its lineup, as former Bellevue West standout Gabi Ailes is a libero for the Cardinal.

On Sunday, the Huskers get another big test against a Pac 10 power when they meet No. 4 USC in a 3 p.m. matchup. The Women of Troy reached the semifinals last  year and went 29-5, and they have five starters coming back, including All-American setter Taylor Carico and hitter Jessica Gysin. USC is a very young but very experienced team that will give the Huskers a real test in their second game.

Coach John Cook told the media this week that these are the kind of games he wants his young and inexperienced team to have right out of the gate, as it will give them an indication of where they are at and what they need to work on if they want to return to the Qwest Center this December for the NCAA Volleyball Final Four.

Huskers ranked 7th in volleyball poll

The American Volleyball Coaches Association has come out with their 2008 preseason rankings, and Nebraska is once again in the top 10 to start the season.

The Huskers are ranked seventh in the poll and received one of the 60 first-place votes. The remaining first-place votes went to defending national champion Penn State, who leads the top 25 rankings.

Stanford, Texas, USC and California fall in behind the Nittany Lions to round out the top five. UCLA is one spot ahead of Nebraska, with Florida, Washington and Cal Poly rounding out the top 10.

The AVCA Coaches Top 25 is as follows (Big 12 teams in bold):

1. Penn State
2. Stanford
3. Texas
4. USC
5. California
6. UCLA
7. Nebraska
8. Florida
9. Washington
10. Cal Poly
11. Oregon
12. Hawaii
13. Wisconsin
14. Kansas State
15. Middle Tennessee
16. Minnesota
17. Colorado State
18. Iowa State
19. Clemson
20. BYU
21. LSU
22. San Diego
23. New Mexico State
24. Long Beach State
25. Purdue

Also receiving votes -- St. John's, Michigan, Pepperdine, Dayton, Michigan State, Louisville, Santa Clara, Ohio, Texas A&M, Utah, Illinois, Missouri, Tulane, Arizona, Duke, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Wichita State, Georgia Tech, Western Kentucky.

Four of the top seven teams in the country will open the 2008 season at the AVCA Classic Aug. 29-31 at the Qwest Center in Omaha. You can get tickets for this weekend of outstanding volleyball at Ticket Express -- where no event is ever sold out.

Husker VB tix gone in 600 seconds

If you fingers didn't walk fast enough on the telephone keypad, you probably missed out on a chance to get tickets for Nebraska volleyball's 2008 home matches.

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln reported on its website Tuesday that the remaining single-match tickets for the Husker home volleyball games were snapped up in about 10 minutes by fans who either watied in line or got tickets off the school's website.

The Huskers open the season at the AVCA Showcase, Aug. 29-31, at the Qwest Center in Omaha. If you're looking for tickets to this event, as well as all Husker home volleyball games, go to Ticket Express for more information or to order tickets.

Husker volleyball recruits rank among best

Prepvolleyball.com ranked Nebraska's 2008 recruiting class sixth among the top 10 in the nation, it was announced recently.

The Huskers recruited four players with all-state honors, three of whom were among the top 20 in the nation. Girls recruited by Nebraska were Allison McNeal of Schulenburg, Texas (ranked fourth nationally); Kaitlynn James of Louisville, Ky. (ranked 13th); Jordan Haverly of Cherry Valley, Ill. (ranked 20th); and Brigette Root of Grand Island, Neb. Root is a setter, Haverly and James are outside hitters and McNeal is a middle blocker.

Two other players transferred into the program and were not included in Prepvolleyball.com's consideration of the top recruiting classes. Transferring into Nebraska are Sydney Anderson of Salt Lake City, Utah and Jessica Yanz of Bollingbrook, Ill. Both players were former Gatorade Player of the Year honorees during their senior years in high school and were ranked among the top seniors from the class of 2006 by Prepvolleyball.com.

The Prepvolleyball.com top 10 freshman classes were led by Florida, followed by Texas, Cal, UCLA, USC, Nebraska, Michigan State, Michigan, Pepperdine and Long Beach State.

Sand volleyball could become sanctioned sport

Are you ready for some -- sand volleyball?

A push is being made to make sand volleyball an NCAA-sanctioned sport, according to a recent story in the Lincoln Journal-Star.

The effort is gaining momentum this summer, with the Committee on Women's Athletics recommending that legislation be written to add the sport. Nebraska is one of 12 NCAA-sanctioned schools that has offered letters of commitment to the organization.

Under the proposal, the sand volleyball season would be held in the spring and would consist of five two-player teams, ranked 1 through 5, that would play corresponding teams from another school, similar to how tennis duals are conducted. Each match would be a best-of-five match with the team winning three matches taking the dual.

Nebraska volleyball players have represented the school in some college-based national tournaments recently in California. The school said it would support adding the sport if it didn't add expenses to the budget.

Supporters of the idea would need to get 40 schools to sponsor the sport before the NCAA would hold a championship for the sport. Bowling is one of the most recent sports that have been added to the NCAA championship agenda.