Quest for the Qwest, 11/8
digg it!
Facebook
del.icio.us
Seed Newsvine
Fark It
Reddit
A weekly look at volleyball from a national perspective as Nebraska prepares to host its first NCAA championships in December.
FIRST SERVE
Planning continues for the first of what officials hope will be many final fours to be played in Nebraska.
“One of the things that we’re trying to do is to make this the permanent site,” said Butch Hug, NU’s assistant athletic director in charge of events. “So in doing so, we want to make sure that every conceivable area is covered.”
The top priority is providing a great experience for the participating student-athletes. The guarantee of a sold-out arena is one big thing, but officials are hoping to build on that with events like a private dinner involving all four teams at Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo.
For fans, officials are planning a riverfront pep rally for the night before play begins.
For those lucky fans with tickets, plan for some late nights at Qwest Center Omaha. The semifinals on Thursday, Dec. 14, are set for 6:30 and 8:30 p.m. The championship on Saturday, Dec. 16, is slated to begin at 8 p.m.
HUSKER-O-METER
Nebraska’s prospects for making it to the final four in Omaha.
This week: Promising
It’s a good sign that senior Dani Mancuso has developed into more of a consistent threat of late with eight or more kills in 11 of Nebraska’s last 15 matches. Over Nebraska’s last seven contests, Mancuso is hitting at a .297 clip. Before that, Mancuso was hitting just .182.
“I’m sure she felt a lot of pressure early trying to get comfortable,” Nebraska head coach John Cook said. “Now she knows what we need from her, and in the last month, there’s been a big change in her demeanor and confidence.”
FINAL FOUR FAVES
As of today, the four teams best positioned to be in Omaha:
Stanford (20-2) can cement its spot atop the Pac-10 race with wins over No. 5 UCLA and No. 6 Southern California this week.
Nebraska (22-0) is again the unanimous No. 1 team in the country. The Huskers have held the top spot in 26 of the last 27 polls.
If Washington (21-3) can make a deep run into the NCAA Tournament, Courtney Thompson could become the all-time NCAA assist leader. At her current pace, Thompson will finish as the all-time leader in assists per game.
Penn State (24-1) has limited opponents to .111 hitting, the best mark of any of the powers in major conferences.
THE BUZZ
* Of Nebraska’s six-member recruiting class, only four — Brooke Delano of Bellevue West, Colorado natives Lindsey Licht and Danielle Minch and Tara Mueller of Scottsdale, Ariz. — are expected to sign letters of intent with the Huskers this week. Kayla Banwarth of Dubuque, Iowa, and Scottsbluff’s Jordan Wilberger will be walk-ons in 2007.
* Northern Iowa played for the final time in 81-year-old West Gym on Tuesday, where the Panthers enjoyed a remarkable 188-12 mark since 1990. They’ll christen the 7,000-seat McLeod Center on Nov. 18 against Bradley.
* Utah is riding a school-record 20-match winning streak, which trails only Nebraska (22) and Stephen F. Austin (21).
TONIGHT’S MATCH
Nebraska at Iowa State, 6:30 p.m.
It was 1995 and Christy Johnson was Nebraska’s setter when the top-ranked Huskers ventured to Ames and won before what still ranks as the all-time largest crowd in Cyclone volleyball history.
Tonight, Iowa State will try to break that record as Johnson, now the Cyclones’ head coach, tries to notch another milestone in what can only be considered as a remarkable turnaround within the Iowa State program.
The Cyclones (17-7, 9-5) are on a five-match winning streak, stand fourth in the Big 12 standings and are on the cusp of their first NCAA Tournament berth since the 1995 season.
“Iowa State’s not a Cinderella story any more,” said Nebraska’s John Cook. “They made major progress last year, they have a lot of seniors and this is their last shot at playing us.”
The Cyclones, the top blocking unit in the Big 12, can challenge Nebraska with their defense. Erin Boeve averages 3.32 kills and a league-best 1.67 blocks per game for Iowa State. Katie Jessen and Lauren Cummings are also offensive threats.
“You’ll see some great volleyball: No. 1 in the country against an emerging Iowa State team,” said Johnson, imploring fans to turn out. “It should be a great match.”
Most Commented news