Kelsey Fien, Mary Pollmiller and Kadie Rolfzen were named to the AVCA All-North Region Team on Tuesday.
Pollmiller, a senior setter and captain from Littleton, Colo., is a three-time AVCA All-Region honoree, earning spots in 2011, 2013 and 2014. Pollmiller leads the Huskers with 10.10 assists per set and ranks fourth among active NCAA Division I players in career assists with 5,140. Pollmiller also adds 81 blocks (0.73 per set) to rank fourth on the team.
Rolfzen, a sophomore outside hitter from Papillion, Neb., earns her second career all-region honor after earning both all-region and all-America selections last year as a freshman. She leads Nebraska in kills with 381 (3.56 per set), and averaged 3.62 in Big Ten play. Rolfzen also tallies 2.66 digs per set to rank second on the team and establish herself as one of the top all-around players in the region for the second straight season.
Fien earns her first career AVCA All-Region honor after a breakout season. The junior outside hitter from Bakersfield, Calif., is second on the team in kills with 265 (3.23 per set) and was particularly strong in conference play, posting 3.39 kills per set while hitting .303, the best mark by an NU player and third among all B1G outside hitters.
All three players are now eligible for All-America honors. The Huskers hit the road this week for the NCAA Tournament Regional in Seattle, Wash. Nebraska will play the No. 3 seed Washington at 8:30 p.m. (CT) on Friday on ESPNU.
Senior All-American Robert Kokesh moved up to No. 1 at 174 pounds in every major NCAA wrestling poll this week following his first-place finish at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational over the weekend.
Kokesh, a Wagner, S.D., native, earned the top spot from InterMat, WIN Magazine, TheOpenMat.com and Asics Flo Rankings. He entered the weekend ranked second before reeling off five wins en route to the 174-pound title in Las Vegas, Nev. Kokesh opened with a pair of major decisions before knocking off ranked wrestlers Mark Martin of Ohio State (No. 12), Tanner Weatherman of Iowa State (No. 6) and Blaise Butler of Virginia (No. 9).
Kokesh is 14-0 on the season with a 4-0 dual record, and claimed first place at the Cowboy Open on Nov. 8. Kokesh has four victories against ranked opponents to go along with three pins, two technical falls and two major decisions.
The two-time All-American ranks seventh in school history in career victories with 119. He finished fourth at the 2014 NCAA Championships after taking third in 2013. Kokesh is also the reigning Big Ten champion at 174 pounds.
The Huskers (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) host Big Ten rival Wisconsin on Saturday at 6 p.m. (CT) at the Devaney Center. The dual will mark Nebraska’s final competition of 2014 before it opens 2015 at the Southern Scuffle in Chattanooga, Tenn., Jan. 1-2.
Lincoln – The University of Nebraska Athletic Ticket Office announced Tuesday that a limited number of tickets for the Huskers’ holiday break games against Indiana (Dec. 31) and Rutgers (Jan. 8) will go on sale tomorrow morning at 8 a.m.
Tickets can be purchased online at Huskers.com or by calling the NU Athletic Ticket Office at 800-8-BIGRED and are available for $10 (300 Level) and $30 (100 Level) apiece and are available because of the UNL Holiday break between semesters.
UNL Students and Red Zone Members can still claim their free tickets for both holiday break games by logging into their student ticket accounts until 11 p.m. tonight.
NEW YORK (AP) — The NFL has created a sportsmanship award to be voted on by league players.
Commissioner Roger Goodell announced the award Tuesday, with each team nominating one of its players during the season. A panel of former players will select eight finalists from the 32 nominees.
Hall of Fame running back Curtis Martin will be on the panel, along with Warrick Dunn, Karl Mecklenburg and Leonard Wheeler.
The eight finalists will be listed on the Pro Bowl ballot under the NFL Sportsmanship Award when the players vote on Dec. 19. From the eight finalists, each team’s players will submit a consensus vote of its choice for the winner. As in Pro Bowl voting, a team cannot vote for its own player.
The winner will be announced during the nationally televised “NFL Honors” show on Jan. 31, the night before the Super Bowl. The Associated Press NFL individual awards are announced during that show.
For the first time in two seasons, the Husker men’s basketball team will look to rebound from a home non-conference loss, as the Huskers host Incarnate Word at Pinnacle Bank Arena Wednesday evening.
A limited number of tickets for Wednesday’s contest are available, beginning at $7, by visiting Huskers.com, calling the Nebraska Athletic Ticket Office at 800-8-BIG RED or at the Pinnacle Bank Arena box office beginning Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.
Tipoff is set for 7:02 p.m. (central) and will be available on ESPN3 and on the WatchESPN app with Shawn Kenney and Mac McCausland on the call. For more information on WatchESPN and ESPN3, visit watchespn.com.
The game will be broadcast across the state of Nebraska on the IMG Husker Sports Radio Network, including KLIN 1400 AM in Lincoln, 1110 KFAB in Omaha and KRVN 880 AM in Lexington with Kent Pavelka calling the action and Matt Davison adding color commentary. The game can be heard for free on Huskers.com and available on the Huskers’ app on iOS or android devices, as well as on TuneIn Radio and SiriusXM Satellite Radio.
The Huskers are 5-2 on the season and are coming off a disappointing 65-55 loss to Creighton on Sunday. In that game, the Huskers let a 10-point first-half lead slip away, as the Bluejays shot 47 percent, including 44 percent from 3-point range, and held the Huskers to 38 percent shooting. It marked the first time in 2014-15 that NU had been outshot from the field and snapped the Huskers’ 12-game home win streak in the process.
While Terran Petteway and Shavon Shields have been among the Big Ten’s top scorers this season at 21.0 ppg and 18.1 ppg, respectively, Nebraska has been looking for a consistent third offensive option. In Sunday’s loss, senior forward David Rivers gave the Huskers a boost with nine points and season highs in both rebounds (eight) and assists (two). Rivers is averaging career bests in scoring (6.6 ppg), rebounding (5.1 rpg) and shooting percentage (.600), while he is third on the team in rebounding and fourth in scoring.
Incarnate Word is 5-1 on the season following an 81-65 loss at UTEP on Monday night. The Cardinals, who are in the second year as a Division I program, went 21-6 last year and finished fifth in the Southland Conference with a 9-5 record. The Cardinal are a high-scoring squad, averaging 86.2 points per game this season and have four players averaging double figures, including senior guard Denzel Livingston, who is averaging 20.7 points per game.
Sally Thalken is the winningest active coach in the National Junior College Athletic Association.
During her 34-year career as head volleyball coach at North Platte Community College, Thalken has had 921 wins and 610 losses, coached 12 All-Americans and led her team to nationals five times.
She has been named Region IX Coach of the Year, District Coach of the Year and has been inducted into the NJCAA Volleyball Hall of Fame. However, it’s not the athletic victories that stand out in her mind – it’s the personal ones.
“You can’t get hung up on titles,” said Thalken. “For me, this job is all about the relationships you build with the kids.”
Coaching volleyball wasn’t her goal when she graduated from Ogallala High School in 1971. Partly, because she never played the sport.
“At that time, we only had track,” said Thalken. “I swam competitively at the University of Nebraska – Kearney my sophomore and junior years, so really, my sports background upon completion of college, was in aquatics.”
Her first job after UNK was teaching kindergarten through 12th grade physical education in Ainsworth.
“It was pretty remote, but I really loved it,” said Thalken. “I coached volleyball, basketball and track during my six years there. I kind of regret that I never got to serve as an assistant coach under someone great, though. I’ve been a head volleyball coach for 39 out of 40 years and just kind of grew into the job.”
It was in the summer of 1981 that Thalken heard about the opportunity to teach and coach volleyball and basketball at NPCC. Her predecessor left behind a skilled group of athletes willing to work hard.
“I walked into a real good situation,” Thalken said. “I had tremendous support from the administration, and I had great athletes who were smart kids. We were able to be successful not because of me, but because of them.”
She coached basketball at NPCC from 1981-1991, and recruited 62 players during that time. On the volleyball side, she has recruited 251 students for the college, 37 of whom were from North Platte.
“I’ve tried to recruit from our 18-county area,” said Thalken. “I like the idea of recruiting highly skilled kids who can be supported by their families and friends. It’s my philosophy, and it’s worked so far.”
That being said, the practice doesn’t come without its challenges.
“One is that a lot of the kids started for three to four years at their high schools, so helping each feel like she can contribute can be difficult,” said Thalken. “They come here with the vision and intent of competing, and sometimes it doesn’t work out. The goal is to have great players work together.”
She remembers many individual players who have stood out over the years – as well as several groups.
“We had a group qualify for nationals in ’84, back when we competed without divisions,” Thalken said. “We were truly the best team that year. It was quite an accomplishment. But, I also have fond memories of years when we weren’t as good. Sometimes the teams that are the most successful aren’t the ones with the most wins.”
Walking away from coaching was something she had given serious thought to for years. She attributes the decision to a combination of factors.
For one thing, it will allow her to be more available to her 91-year-old mother, who is in an assisted living home in Ogallala, instead of being out of town for games. Thalken will also be able to pursue hobbies she hasn’t had time for previously.
“Plus, I believe the team needs more youthful leadership,” said Thalken. “Although the kids keep me young at heart, sometimes it’s difficult to find that physical energy required day in and day out for coaching and teaching in the classroom.”
She will remain area chair of the Mid-Plains Community College mathematics and science division, will continue to teach at the college and will still be a familiar face at NPCC volleyball games.
“What will I miss the most? I really don’t know because I haven’t gotten there, yet,” said Thalken. “I do know that it seems like the right time to go.”
TORONTO (AP) — Kyle Lowry had 13 points and 13 assists, Jonas Valanciunas added 18 points and 12 rebounds, and the Toronto Raptors rallied to beat the Denver Nuggets 112-107 in overtime Monday night.
Lou Williams scored 26 and Amir Johnson had 18 for the Raptors, who trailed by five points with less than three minutes to play but got a game-tying 3-pointer from Patrick Patterson with 28 seconds left.
Patterson finished 5 for 7 from 3-point range, while his teammates were a combined 4 for 26.
Patterson had 19 points and Terrence Ross 16 for Toronto, which leads the Eastern Conference with a 16-5 record.
BOCA RATON, Fla. (AP) — NHL commissioner Gary Bettman confirmed that the Board of Governors had no objection to billionaire businessman William Foley exploring the level of interest in an expansion team coming to the city of Las Vegas.
Bettman was adamant that nothing more should be read into the league’s consideration of Foley’s request in terms of any advancement in expansion discussions. He explained that the interest from Foley and Las Vegas raised questions about the viability of that market being able to support a team, which is why Foley wants to conduct a season ticket drive and see what kind of numbers are achieved.
There are currently 30 franchises operating in the NHL and even though there has been interest shown by other cities in addition to Las Vegas, like Quebec City and Seattle, there is no guarantee that enough votes would be procured to approve any expansion. That was the main point Bettman wanted to get across after this first of two days of meetings.
NEW YORK (AP) — Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota, Alabama receiver Amari Cooper and record-breaking Wisconsin running back Melvin Gordon are the finalists for the Heisman Trophy.
Mariota is considered the clear the front-runner to win the 80th Heisman on Saturday night in New York. He would become the first Oregon player to earn college football’s most famous player of the year trophy.
Mariota and the second-seeded Ducks will face Florida State and last year’s Heisman winner Jameis Winston at the Rose Bowl in the College Football Playoff semifinal on Jan. 1.
Cooper helped Alabama earn the top seed in the playoff. The Crimson Tide plays Ohio State in New Orleans.
The deadline for voting was Monday afternoon. Finalists are determined by percentage of votes received from 929 media members and former winners.
Lincoln – The Big Ten Conference announced Monday afternoon that Nebraska’s game on New Year’s Eve against Indiana will tip off at 4:30 p.m. at Pinnacle Bank Arena and will be televised nationally on BTN.
The game, which is the conference opener for both teams, was listed as TBA on tickets, schedule posters and schedule cards until the conference set the schedule for that day’s basketball games. The matchup between the Huskers and Hoosiers caps a tripleheader on BTN, as Wisconsin will host Penn State at Noon and Purdue will host Minnesota at 2:15 p.m.
The Huskers’ games on Feb. 22 (vs. Iowa) and March 8 (vs. Maryland) are Wildcard Weekend and will not be determined until later in the season.
Kelsey Fien, Mary Pollmiller and Kadie Rolfzen were named to the AVCA All-North Region Team on Tuesday.
