A Look Ahead – Oct. 24-30

by Jen Armson-Dyer

Nebraska Faces Road Tests At Ohio State, Penn State

Fresh off a huge win over then-No. 1 Illinois at home, the new No. 1 Huskers take to the road to battle No. 23 Ohio State and No. 8 Penn State on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 28 and 29 in Columbus, Ohio (St. John Arena) and University Park, Pa., (Rec Hall) respectively. The Nebraska-Penn State match will be shown live on the Big Ten Network at 8:00 p.m. ET.

The Huskers hold a 8-3 series advantage over Ohio State, including a 3-1 win earlier this year in Lincoln, Neb., while Nebraska leads Penn State 12-6 all-time, including claiming a five-set thriller to open the Big Ten season on Sept. 21. Nebraska leads the Big Ten standings at the half-way mark while Penn State sits third and Ohio State is tied for fifth with four other schools.

Nebraska (17-1, 10-0 Big Ten, 5-1 on the road) is led by Gina Mancuso (#7) with 3.64 kills per set, Lara Dykstra (#1) with 3.70 digs per set and Hayley Thramer (#17) with 1.36 blocks per set.

Ohio State (15-8, 5-5 Big Ten, 6-2 at home) is led by Mari Hole (#14) with 4.01 kills per set, Sarah Mignin (#7) with 4.57 digs per set and Kelli Barhorst (#2) with 1.10 blocks per set.

Penn State (15-5, 8-2 Big Ten, 9-2 at home) is led by Deja McClendon (#18) and Ariel Scott (#1) with 3.35 and 3.30 kills per set, respectively, Ali Longo (#23) with 2.78 digs per set and Katie Slay (#16) with 1.42 blocks per set.

Pac-12 Showdowns: Southern California & UCLA at California & Stanford

The Southern California schools travel to the Northern California battlefield  as the No. 4 Bruins face the No. 2 Golden Bears and the No. 4 Women of Troy face the No. 5 Cardinal on Friday. On Saturday, UCLA plays at Stanford and USC plays at Cal. All matches are slated for 7:00 p.m. PT, with the USC/Cal match being televised on FSN.

Earlier this year, Cal dropped both contests to USC and UCLA – the Golden Bears’ only losses of the year to date. Stanford also fell to both schools at the end of September. Currently, USC sits atop the Pac 12 standings with a 12-1 league record while Cal and UCLA are second with 11-2 conference records and Stanford is third with a 10-3 mark (with its other league loss at the hands of Cal).

California (21-2, 11-2 Pac 12, 14-0 at home) is led by Tarah Murrey (#4) with 4.18 kills per set, Robin Rostratter (#2) with 5.31 digs per set and Shannon Hawari (#7) with 1.28 blocks per set.

Stanford (16-3, 10-3 Pac 12, 10-0 at home) is led by Rachel Williams (#6) with 4.39 kills per set, Karissa Cook (#15) with 3.14 digs per set and Carly Wopat (#2) with 1.54 blocks per set.

Southern California (17-3, 12-1 Pac 12, 8-1 on the road) is led by Alex Jupiter (#7) with 4.31 kills per set, Natalie Hagglund (#3) with 5.32 digs per set and Lauren Williams (#8) with 0.82 blocks per set.

UCLA (18-3, 11-2 Pac 12, 7-3 on the road) is led by Rachael Kidder (#11) with 4.45 kills per set, Lainey Gera (#6) with 4.88 digs per set and Mariana Aquino (#12) with 1.10 blocks per set.

Minnesota Travels To Illinois

Back on its home turf, the No. 3 Fighting Illini play host to No. 15 Minnesota on Saturday night at 7:00 p.m. CT (also hosting Wisconsin on Friday night). Links to watch and listen can be found on the Illinois website at www.fightingillini.com. Earlier this year, Illinois escaped Minneapolis with a five-set win to open conference play.

Illinois (20-1, 9-1 Big Ten, 9-0 at home) is led by Michelle Bartsch (#6) and Colleen Ward (#4) with 3.93 and 3.71 kills per set, respectively, Jennifer Beltran (#3) with 3.99 digs per set and Anna Dorn (#5) with 1.27 blocks per set.

Minnesota (12-7, 5-5 Big Ten, 5-3 on the road) is led by Ashley Wittman (#13) with 4.55 kills per set, Jessica Granquist (#2) with 4.61 digs per set and Ariana Filho (#11) with 0.97 blocks per set.

Iowa State Takes On Texas

In a battle for the lead in the Big 12, No. 14 Iowa State travels to No. 9 Texas on Friday at 8:00 p.m. CT. The match will be available on the Longhorn Network and also via audio on Texas’ website at www.texassports.com. Earlier this year, the Longhorns claimed a five-set win over the Cyclones in Ames on Oct. 2.

Texas (14-4, 7-1 Big 12, 9-0 at home) is led by Hayley Eckerman (#10) with 3.29 kills per set, Sydney Yogi (#15) with 3.42 digs per set and Rachael Adams (#5) with 1.23 blocks per set.

Iowa State (16-3, 7-1 Big 12, 8-2 on the road) is led by Carly Jenson (#1) with 3.80 kills per set and Kristen Hahn (#6) with 5.59 digs per set.

Tennessee Hosts Florida

Two more squads sitting atop their conference will face off on Friday when No. 13 Florida travels to No. 20 Tennessee. A link to watch will be on Tennessee’s website at www.utladyvols.com and audio can be found on Florida’s website at www.gatorzone.com. Earlier this year Tennessee narrowly escaped Gainesville with the win (18-16 in the fifth) on Sept. 25.

Tennessee (18-3, 11-1 SEC, 7-0 at home) is led by Kelsey Robinson (#9) with 4.52 kills per set, Ellen Mullins (#10) with 3.83 digs per set and DeeDee Harrison (#8) with 1.08 blocks per set.

Florida (17-3, 10-1 SEC, 6-1 on the road) is led by Kristy Jaeckel (#6) with 3.57 kills per set, Taylor Unrow (#55) with 3.62 kills per set and Betsy Smith (#14) with 1.02 blocks per set.

West Coast Conference Showdown

No. 17 San Diego travels to No. 18 Pepperdine Monday night at 7:00 p.m. PT. A live broadcast of the match is available at www.pepperdinesports.com. This will be the first meeting of the season for the two squads.

San Diego (22-1, 7-1 WCC, 6-1 on the road) is led by Amber Tatsch (#7) with 3.38 kills per set, Kandiss Anderson (#10) with 4.12 digs per set and Katie Hoekman (#9) with 0.95 blocks per set.

Pepperdine (14-5, 8-0 WCC, 5-1 at home) is led by Kim Hill (#13) with 3.63 kills per set, Stevi Robinson (#10) with 3.34 digs per set and Samantha Cash (#16) with 1.19 blocks per set.