Huskers back at home tonight to face Missouri

Sports News

The Nebraska volleyball team returns home to the NU Coliseum Wednesday night to play host to the Missouri Tigers. First serve for the 130th consecutive sellout at the NU Coliseum is set for 7 p.m. The Huskers (16-6, 9-4 Big 12) look to rebound following a sweep at the hands of No. 2 Texas on Friday night. Lindsey Licht led Nebraska with 10 kills on .316 hitting, but the rest of the Husker attack failed to get untracked against Texas. NU hit just .168 after hitting .300 or better in four of the last six contests. Despite that, NU had chances to win the first two sets, but the Longhorns made the plays at the end of sets to remain unbeaten. Missouri (15-9, 6-6 Big 12) comes to town riding a three-match win streak following a non-conference sweep of Southern Illinois-Edwardsville on Saturday night. The Tigers have been riding the arm of outside hitter Paola Ampudia, who averages 4.34 kills per set in Big 12 action. She tied a school record with 35 kills in a four-set win over Kansas on Oct. 24 and teams with Julianna Klein to give the Tigers a potent 1-2 punch from the outside.

By the Numbers 1,001 - Career digs by Kayla Banwarth following Friday's match. Banwarth needs 17 digs to pass Maria Hedbeck for ninth on NU's career digs list. 10 - Number of service aces that Gina Mancuso has had in NU's last seven matches, an average of 0.40 aces per set. Her 0.23 aces per set are the most by a freshman since 2005. 5 - Number of Big 12 teams ranked in this week's AVCA poll - No. 2 Texas, No. 8 Iowa State, No. 10 Nebraska, No. 20 Baylor and No. 23 Texas A&M. In addition, Oklahoma is also receiving votes in this week's poll.

Scouting Missouri Under Coach Wayne Kreklow (88-57 in five seasons at Missouri), the Tigers are 15-9 overall and 6-6 in Big 12 action entering Wednesday's match with the Huskers. Missouri, which returned six starters from a team that won 13 matches last year, has won three straight matches, including a sweep of a Kansas State team that beat the Tigers two weeks earlier. Missouri is led by outside hitter Paola Ampudia, who averages a team-high 3.46 kills per set, including 4.34 kills per set in conference action. She was the preseason newcomer of the year in the Big 12 and had 23 kills in the first matchup with the Huskers. Right side hitter Julianna Klein averages 3.18 kills and a team-high 0.31 service aces per set. Returning starter Lei Wang-Francisco averages 10.77 assists, 2.39 digs and 0.75 kills from her setter spot. Libero Caitlyn Vann averages 4.32 digs and 0.30 services aces per set for Missouri, which leads the Big 12 with 1.35 service aces per set. Last Matchup: Sydney Anderson tied her career high with 57 assists, while No. 7 Nebraska hit over .300 for the third straight match in defeating Missouri, 3-1 (25-17, 25-15, 21-25, 25-13) on Oct. 17. With the win, the Huskers became the first team to win in Columbia this season, snapping Missouri's eight-match home win streak. Anderson's 57 assists tied a career high set against Washington in the 2008 NCAA Regional final, as she helped three Huskers finish in double figures. Hannah Werth tied a career high with a team-best 17 kills and added 15 digs, while right side hitter Lindsey Licht added 13 kills on .367 hitting and two solo blocks. All-American Tara Mueller was the third Husker to finish in double figures with 10 kills and 11 digs for her fifth double-double of the year. Nebraska held Missouri to just .155 hitting as Kayla Banwarth totaled a match-high 25 digs - her third straight match with at least 20 digs and the seventh time this year she eclipsed the 20-dig mark.

Nebraska-Missouri Series Notes * The Tigers feature a pair of players from Nebraska in Omaha natives Catie Wilson (2.27 kills/set on .327 hitting) and Amanda Hantouli (0.88 kills and 0.75 blocks per set). * Nebraska had won 44 straight matches against Missouri before the Tigers upset the Huskers in Lincoln in 2003. * Nebraska has swept the Tigers 53 times in the 72 all-time meetings. * The Oct. 5, 2005, matchup in Columbia featured both teams ranked in the top 10 for the first time at match time. NU was ranked first and the Tigers ranked seventh in a match that NU won in four sets.