The Nebraska volleyball team is the number two overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, which opens today at sixteen host sites, including the NU Coliseum. The Big Ten Champion Huskers, who are making their 30^th appearance in an NCAA Tournament, will take on Jackson State in their first round matchup tonight. Nebraska finished the regular season on a low note, with a four set loss at Northwestern in their finale, but still finished with a 24-4 overall record. The Jackson State Tigers went 26-9 on the season and won the Southwestern Athletic Conference championship. The Huskers and Tigers will begin play following the other first round match between Kansas State and Wichita State. The winners of tonight’s matches will play each other tomorrow night for the right to advance.

The Colorado Rockies made another trade yesterday as they attempt to replenish their pitching staff. The Rockies dealt catcher Chris Iannetta to the Los Angeles Angels in exchange for right-handed pitcher Tyler Chatwood. Iannetta broke in with the Rockies in 2006 and played a career-high 112 games in 2011, batting .238 with 14 homers and 55 RBI. He was second on the team with a .370 on base percentage. Chatwood made his big league debut at age 21 for the Angels last season, going 6-11 with a 4.75 ERA in 27 games, 25 of them starts. To help replace Iannetta behind the plate, the Rockies agreed to terms on a two-year contract with veteran Ramon Hernandez. Hernandez is a 13-year veteran with a .266 career average. He batted .282 with 12 homers in 91 games with Cincinnati last season.

The North Platte Knights played the role of comeback kids last night at McDonald-Belton Gymnasium. Trailing Garden City by sixteen points in the second half, the Knights clawed their way out of the hole and earned a 60-55 victory over the Broncbusters. The Knights went on a 15-0 run in a six minute span to close to within one point with eight minutes left, and regained the lead on a Joe Swift layup with four minutes remaining. Reath Jiech blocked a game-tying three-point attempt with 15 seconds left that helped preserve the win. Jiech scored 16 points to lead the Knights in the win. The Knights are now 6-1 on the season. In the women’s contest last night, the Lady Knights fell to the Colorado Christian JV 60-52 to drop to 5-4 on the campaign. The Lady Knights play at the McCook Classic this Friday and Saturday.

Five Nebraska volleyball players were honored with the release of the All-Big Ten teams on Monday evening. The Huskers tied Penn State for the most first-team All-Conference honorees with three apiece. Junior outside hitters Gina Mancuso and Hannah Werth and junior setter Lauren Cook made the first team. Mancuso was one of seven unanimous first-team selections after ranking ninth in the Big Ten in kills. Senior middle blocker Brooke Delano and sophomore right side Morgan Broekhuis received honorable mention honors. The Huskers took the Big Ten championship, the school’s first ever, with a 24-4 record. They are the number two overall seed in the NCAA tournament, which opens tomorrow night. The Huskers take on Jackson State in their first round match at the NU Coliseum.

The Nebraska men’s and women’s basketball teams will participate in their first Big Ten/ACC Challenge tonight, as both teams take on ACC foes. The unbeaten Husker women have already conquered one team from the ACC, topping Florida State in Tallahassee on Sunday. Tonight they head to Atlanta to take on Georgia Tech. The Huskers put their 6-0 record on the line against a Yellow Jackets team that is 4-2. Tip off in the A-T-L is set for 6 PM. The Husker men will host their game tonight, welcoming Wake Forest to the Devaney Center. It’s the first time the Huskers have ever hosted an ACC opponent. The 4-1 Huskers, who are scoring more than any previous Doc Sadler team through five games, take on the 4-2 Demon Deacons tonight with tipoff scheduled for 8:15.

Nebraska players earned five first-team spots on both the Coaches and Media All-Big Ten teams announced last night. Brett Maher was named first-team All-Big Ten as both a place-kicker and punter, and he was joined on the first team by jrunning back Rex Burkhead, linebacker Lavonte David and cornerback Alfonzo Dennard. Maher, David and Dennard also earned individual awards for their excellence at their respective positions. Maher earned both the Bakken-Andersen Kicker of the Year Award and the Eddleman-Fields Punter of the Year awards. David was honored as the Butkus-Fitzgerald Linebacker of the Year, while Dennard received the Tatum-Woodson Defensive Back of the Year. Center Mike Caputo and guard Spencer Long earned second-team All-Big Ten honors; Caputo from the coaches and Long from the media.

The North Platte Community College Knights picked up a 78-57 victory over Quakerdale Prep last night in their first game at the NPCC Classic at McDonald-Belton Gymnasium. Nick Tomsick led three Knights in double figures with a game-high 21 points. Bouba Casse chipped in a double-double, scoring ten points and collecting ten rebounds. The Knights improve to 5-1 on the season with the win. They host Garden City in the final game of the NPCC Classic tonight at 7:30, a rematch of a game in Garden City back on November 11, won by the Knights 77-72. Prior to that game, the Lady Knights will take the floor to host the Colorado Christian University JV. ESPN Radio 1410 will have coverage of both games, beginning with pregame coverage of the women’s contest at 5:15.

Nebraska head football coach Bo Pelini and athletic director Tom Osborne both denied an internet rumor that Pelini had interviewed for the head coaching job at Ohio State. The website ‘Sports RappUp’ reported yesterday that Pelini had spoken with Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith about the Buckeye job, and that Pelini and Osborne had angrily exchanged words after Osborne found out about their conversation. Pelini flatly denied the story, saying “There’s no truth to any of that.” Osborne made his own remarkes, saying “Looks like somebody made up a story.” Ohio State officially introduced former Florida head man Urban Meyer as their new head coach at a press conference yesterday afternoon. Meyer replaces Luke Fickell, who had filled in on an interim basis after Jim Tressel resigned in May.

For the eighth straight season, the Nebraska volleyball team will host the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament. The Huskers concluded the regular season with a 24-4 record and captured the first Big Ten Conference championship in school history. They will enter the national tournament as the number 2 overall seed and face the Southwestern Athletic Conference champions, Jackson State, in their first round match. The NU Coliseum will also play host to the first round matchup between Kansas State and Wichita State. Tournament play begins on Thursday night, when the Huskers will take on the Tigers at 7 PM or 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first match. The winners will meet Friday night at 7 PM for the right to go to the regional round. This is Nebraska’s 30^th appearance in the NCAA tournament.

The Nebraska women’s basketball team picked up an impressive road victory on Sunday afternoon, maintaining their unbeaten record with a 66-63 win at 24th-ranked Florida State. The Huskers outscored the Seminoles 9-3 in the final two minutes to pull out the win. Lindsay Moore scored 15 points, including the final four points from the free throw line, to lead the Huskers to the victory. Three other Huskers scored in double figures. Freshman Emily Cady scored 14 points, freshman Brandi Jeffrey chipped in 12 points off the bench, and Jordan Hooper added 12 points. Hooper and Rebecca Woodberry led the team with 8 rebounds apiece. The Huskers trailed by eight at the half but battled back, with Cady’s layup with 39 seconds left the game winning shot. The 6-0 Huskers visit Georgia Tech Wednesday.