The ninth-ranked Husker volleyball team is back on the hardwood tonight to open their weekend slate of matches. The Huskers (20-5, 10-4 conference) are on the road to face Minnesota. In the first meeting between the two teams this season, Nebraska earned a four-set victory in Lincoln back on October 14. Nebraska has won 29 of 33 all-time matches against the Gophers. First serve tonight in Minneapolis is set for 7 PM. The match will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network.

The Husker volleyball team announced their six-player recruiting class of 2013, which features some of the best players in the entire country. Highlighting the class are three players from three-time defending Class A state champion Papillion-La Vista South: setter Kelly Hunter and twin sisters Amber and Kadie Rolfzen. Joining them will be Kira Larson from Fargo, North Dakota; Justine Wong-Orantes from Cypress, California, and Melanie Keil from Berlin, Germany.

“This group is really fitting for our program as we are graduating a large senior class with three Nebraska kids who have all had a major impact on our program,” head coach John Cook said. “These guys are going to determine the future and the next chapter of Nebraska volleyball as we move to the Devaney Center. They will get to kick off the first season at the Devaney Center and create a new tradition there. They have a tremendous opportunity to write the next chapter of Nebraska volleyball.”

Lincoln County players dominated the South Platte Valley Association’s All-Conference Volleyball teams, released yesterday. On the first team, St. Pat’s was represented by junior Brittany Lawrence and seniors Sam Byrn and Brook Boucher, while Hershey senior Daynlee Miller and Sutherland senior Sam Kennedy also earned first-team honors. Among those who earned second team laurels were Hershey junior Maegan Hiatt, St. Pat’s senior Shelby Alberry, and a pair of Sutherland Sailors; junior Jalyne Schuster and senior Joli Hopping.

2012 SPVA
All-Conference

First Team
Daynlee Miller SR (Hershey)
Brook Boucher SR (St. Pat’s)
Samantha Byrn SR (St. Pat’s)
Brittany Lawrence JR (St. Pat’s)
Shania Metcalf SR (Perkins County)
Sam Kennedy SR (Sutherland)

Second Team
Bethany Sorensen SR (Chase County)
Paige Spady SO (Chase County)
Maegan Hiatt JR (Hershey)
Shelby Allberry SR (St. Pat’s)
Joli Hopping SR (Sutherland)
Jalyne Schuster JR (Sutherland)

Honorable Mention
Brooke Munsen SO (Hershey)
Jenna Young SR (Hershey)
Josie Cox FR (Maxwell)
Michi Prante SR (Perkins County)

MVPs later today

NEW YORK (AP) — The parade of awards handed out by the baseball writers continues this evening with the announcement of the American and National League MVPs.

Miguel Cabrera is the likely choice in the AL after having a Triple Crown season for Detroit. Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton, Angels rookie outfielder Mike Trout, Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano (kuh-NOH’) and Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre (BEHL’-tray) are the other finalists.

Giants catcher Buster Posey is the presumed favorite to win the NL vote. The four other finalists are last year’s winner Ryan Braun of the Brewers, Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina, Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen and Padres third baseman Chase Headley.

Ho-hum

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Two sub-.500 teams open Week 11 of NFL play tonight when Buffalo hosts Miami. The 4-5 Dolphins have won six of their last eight meetings with the AFC East-rival Bills, including both of last year’s games. Buffalo enters play with a 3-6 record.

The Bills are coming off a 37-31 loss last week to division leader New England. The Dolphins got whacked 37-3 by the Titans.

Perfect Knicks on the road

UNDATED (AP) — The NBA’s lone unbeaten team is in for a true road test tonight. The Eastern Conference-leading New York Knicks bring a 5-0 record to San Antonio to face a Western Conference-leading Spurs team that has won seven of eight, including all three of their home games.

The first tip of the evening takes place in Boston, where the Celtics host the Brooklyn Nets. Both put a three-game winning streak on the line.

The final start tonight will be in Denver, where the 4-4 Nuggets host the 6-3 defending champion Miami Heat.

Hoosiers eyeing third straight blowout

UNDATED (AP) — Seven members of the AP Top 25 are scheduled to take the court tonight, including No. 1 Indiana. The Hoosiers are welcoming a third straight cupcake opponent to Assembly Hall in Bloomington to start the regular season. After runaway victories over Bryant University and North Dakota State, Indiana takes on Sam Houston State this evening.

Also tonight, No. 2 Louisville entertains Samford, sixth-ranked N.C. State plays Penn State in Puerto Rico, No. 7 Kansas hosts Chattanooga, No. 12 Arizona is home to UTEP, 13th-ranked UCLA hosts James Madison and No., 16 Baylor faces Boston College this afternoon in Charleston, S.C. (3 p.m. Eastern).

NEW YORK (AP) — Left-hander David Price of the Tampa Bay Rays and knuckleballer R.A. Dickey of the New York Mets are the winners of baseball’s Cy Young awards.

Price barely beat out 2011 winner Justin Verlander for the American League prize in one of the closest votes ever.

Price received 14 of 28 first-place votes and finished with 153 points to 149 for Verlander, who was chosen first on 13 ballots.

Other than a 1969 tie between Mike Cuellar and Denny McLain, it was the tightest race in the history of the AL award.

Dickey was an easy choice for the NL honor in balloting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. The 38-year-old got 27 of the 32 of the first-place votes to become the first knuckleballer to win the Cy Young Award.

Lefthanders Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers and Washington’s Gio Gonzalez finished second and third, respectively.

The AL and NL MVPs will be announced later today.

Pistons win! Pistons win!…Heat lose in L.A.

UNDATED (AP) — The Detroit Pistons earned their first victory after opening with eight defeats by bopping Philadelphia 94-76 in a game that ended with the hometown 76ers getting booed off the court by fans in the City of Brotherly Love.

Greg Monroe had 19 points, 18 rebounds and six assists to help the Pistons post their first W. Kyle Singler scored 16 points, and Tayshaun Prince and Brandon Knight each scored 15 points for a Detroit team off to its worst start in franchise history.

Four Pistons starters scored in double digits and forward Jason Maxiell had eight points and 12 rebounds.

The Sixers easily played their worst game of the season, shooting 30 percent. Lavoy Allen led Philly with 14 points.

In other NBA action:

— Chris Kaman scored 23 points and had eight rebounds in only his second start for the Dallas Mavericks, who held on for a 107-101 victory over winless Washington. The 0-7 Wizards are the only winless team in the NBA. O.J. Mayo had 25 points.

— Rudy Gay scored a season-high 28 points, Zach Randolph added 20 points and 11 rebounds before getting ejected along with Kendrick Perkins during a late-game altercation and the Memphis Grizzlies beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 107-97. The 6-1 Grizzlies have won six in a row and are on the best start in team history.

__ The Miami Heat ran into a fresher, bigger and more physical team on the road and the L.A. Clippers beat the Heat 107-100 despite 30 points from LeBron James. Jamal Crawford came off the bench and led the Clippers with 22. Blake Griffin added 20 points and 14 boards.

__Golden State edged Atlanta 92-88. Rookie Harrison Barnes scored 19 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for the Warriors.

— James Harden scored 30 points, Omer Asik added 15 points and 12 rebounds, and the Houston Rockets held off the New Orleans Hornets 100-96.

— Kemba Walker’s jumper with 0.7 seconds left lifted the Charlotte Bobcats to an 89-87 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

__ The Chicago Bulls outlasted Phoenix in overtime, 112-106. Carlos Boozer had 28 points and 14 rebounds.

— Brandon Jennings and Monta Ellis scored 16 points each to help the Milwaukee Bucks cruise to a 99-85 victory over the struggling Indiana Pacers, who lost their fifth in a row.

__ The Boston Celtics beat Utah 98-93. Paul Pierce scored 23, including two free throws with 19.5 seconds left to clinch it.

Gator perfect in win over Badgers

UNDATED (AP) — Erik Murphy tied a career-high with 24 points just days after dealing with an illness, and No. 10 Florida beat 22nd-ranked Wisconsin 74-56 in AP Top-25 college basketball.

Murphy made all 10 of his shots, including two 3-pointers. He also had seven rebounds.

Mike Rosario added 15 points, four rebounds and four assists for Florida, which is 2-0.

In other AP Top-25 hoops:

__Josh Jones came off the bench and scored all 18 of his points in the second half to compensate for Doug McDermott’s quiet night in No. 15 Creighton’s 77-60 victory over UAB. McDermott, the returning first-team All-American, got into early foul trouble and finished with five points. His 37-game streak of scoring in double figures ended.

Roethlisberger has rib injury too; out vs. Ravens

UNDATED (AP) — It turns out Ben Roethlisberger’s sprained right shoulder is just the start of his problems.

The Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback said he also dislocated a rib while getting sacked in the third quarter of Monday night’s win against Kansas City. Roethlisberger sprained the SC joint in his shoulder on the play but says the rib issue is a bigger concern. He says said doctors are concerned the rib could cut into his aorta.

He’s already been ruled out of Sunday’s game against the Baltimore Ravens. Backup Byron Leftwich will start in his place.

Roethlisberger said there is no timetable for his return.

Elsewhere in the NFL:

— San Francisco 49ers quarterback Alex Smith went through position work in a non-contact black jersey Wednesday, his status still unclear for Monday night’s NFC showdown with the Chicago Bears after he sustained a concussion Sunday against the Rams. Backup Colin Kaepernick is the Niners’ Plan B.

— Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler’s status for this week remains in question because of a concussion. Coach Lovie Smith says Cutler is “feeling a whole lot better,” but whether he’ll be ready to play against San Francisco on Monday night is another issue.

— Green Bay Packers linebacker Clay Matthews will miss Sunday’s game in Detroit with a hamstring injury.

— The New York Jets have signed running back Khalil Bell, who spent parts of the last four seasons with the Chicago Bears. Bell will add depth to their banged-up backfield.

The Husker men’s basketball team opens the inaugural Joe Cipriano Nebraska Classic tonight as they play host to Valparasio. The event honors the contributions of Cipriano, who coached the Husker program from 1963 until his death in 1980 and won three Big Eight Coach of the Year honors. New Husker coach Tim Miles was victorious in his debut on Sunday, an eleven-point triumph over Southern. Brando Ubel had a career high 21 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Husker cause on opening night. Tonight Nebraska take on a Valparasio team that is off to a 2-0 start and is coming off a Horizon League regular-season championship last year. The Crusaders are led by the reigning Horizon League player of the year Ryan Broekhoff. Tipoff is set for 8:06 PM. The game will be televised on the Big Ten Network.

The Tri-City Storm squandered an early one-goal lead in an 5-1 loss to the Dubuque Fighting Saints in USHL action at the Viaero Events Center last night. Garrett Gamez tallied his third goal of the season in the first period and the Storm led 1-0 after the first 20 minutes. But the Saints scored twice in the second period and three times in the third. It’s the third straight loss for the Storm, who head out on the road this weekend to play at Sioux Falls on Friday and at Des Moines on Saturday.

Denver Broncos defensive end Elvis Dumervil sat out Wednesday’s practice as he continues to recover from a left shoulder strain. But Dumervil is expected to try and practice either today or tomorrow and hopes to play in Sunday’s AFC West clash against the San Diego Chargers in Denver. Cornerback Tracy Porter also missed practice yesterday. He has yet to be cleared after experiencing pre-seizure symptoms last month. Back to practice on a limited basis for the Broncos are guard Chris Kuper, recovering from an ankle injury, and linebacker DJ Williams, returning from suspension.

University of Nebraska men’s basketball coach Tim Miles announced Wednesday that a pair of student-athletes have signed National Letters-of-Intent to play basketball for the Husker program beginning in the 2013-14 season.

The class includes guards Nick Fuller (Sun Prairie, Wis.) and Nathan Hawkins (Garland, Texas), both of whom are ranked among the top 30 nationally at their respective positions. Both Fuller and Hawkins are four-year starters at their respective high school programs, and Miles believes that this class, along with the six scholarship newcomers already in the Husker program for the 2012-13 season, will set the groundwork in rebuilding the Husker basketball program.

“It is a great day for Husker basketball!” Nebraska Coach Tim Miles said. “We are elated to add two guys we focused in on early.  Nick and Nate want to be part of the foundation as we build something special for this program.  Both come from great families and are true winners in every sense of the word – in the classroom, on the court and in the community. They care only about winning and will no doubt be a part of our future successes at Nebraska. Husker Nation and the Lincoln community will absolutely love them!”

— Shamus McKnight, Nebraska Sports Information

Nebraska women’s basketball coach Connie Yori announced the signing of three talented prep stars to National Letters of Intent on Wednesday, Nov. 14, to join the Huskers for the 2013-14 season.

Allie Havers, Hannah Tvrdy and Esther Ramacieri will join the Huskers in 2013-14 hoping to continue Nebraska’s tradition of postseason play. Havers, a 6-5 senior forward from Mattawan High School in Michigan, will bring outstanding height, length and athleticism to the Huskers. Tvrdy, one of the winningest players in Nebraska High School history from prep power Seward, adds another player with a point guard’s mentality to the Husker backcourt. Ramacieri adds international flavor to the Husker class, as the fourth Canadian to sign with Nebraska in 11 seasons under Yori.

“We’re excited about the addition of Hannah, Allie, and Esther to our Husker family,” Yori said. “They all are hardworking kids who fit in our system both on and off the court.”

— Jeff Griesch, Nebraska Sports Information