Lincoln – The No. 9 Nebraska volleyball team rallied from a slow start to defeat the Creighton Bluejays 3-1 (21-25, 25-22, 25-20, 25-20) in the first meeting between the teams since 2011 before 8,060 fans at the Bob Devaney Sports Center on Wednesday night.

The Huskers improved to 6-2 with their sixth straight win. Creighton fell to 6-4. Kadie Rolfzen led the Huskers with a season-high 16 kills and added 10 digs and five blocks. Alicia Ostrander provided a big spark off the bench, coming on in the middle of the third set and finishing with seven kills and two blocks. She hit a career-best .353 and gave the Huskers a boost when they had just let Creighton back into set three.

Amber Rolfzen had seven kills and seven digs, and Kelsey Fien had six kills. Meghan Haggerty had five kills and six of Nebraska’s season-high-tying14 blocks. Mary Pollmiller had 39 assists and eight digs, and Justine Wong-Orantes had 18 digs.

The Huskers hit .134, the lowest they’ve hit in a match that they’ve won in the John Cook era (dating back to 2000). They were able to secure the win by holding the Bluejays to a .126 hitting percentage. Both teams had 31 attacking errors, but the Bluejays had 12 service errors to just four for the Huskers. Nebraska outdug Creighton 59-54, and blocks were nearly identical with Creighton holding a 14.5-14.0 advantage. Creighton’s Kelli Browning had 17 kills and hit .400 on the night.

The Huskers fell behind 6-3 in the first set but came back to tie it at 8-8 on Melanie Keil’s kill down the right side. Creighton went up 11-9, 13-11 and 14-12 before the Huskers rallied to tie the set each time. The Jays continued to fend off the Husker rallies, but with CU leading 19-17, the Bluejays served long and then tipped wide after a long rally to even the set again at 19-19. But out of a timeout, Lauren Smith killed the Husker momentum for a 20-19 lead, and Nebraska hit long to fall down 21-19. Kadie Rolfzen’s kill brought NU within 21-20, but Smith terminated at the middle of the net and the Bluejays blocked an NU attack to go up 23-20, and the Jays closed out the 25-21 win from there. NU hit .000 in the first set with nine attacking errors, while Creighton hit .135 with eight errors.

The Huskers trailed 3-2 in the second set but went on a 9-0 run to take an 11-3 lead. The run began with a CU service error, kills by Amber Rolfzen, Kadie Rolfzen and two CU attacking errors, forcing a Bluejay timeout. The timeout didn’t stop NU this time though, as Haggerty thwarted a Creighton attack and Wong-Orantes served an ace for a 9-3 Husker lead. Creighton then hit wide again and trailed 10-3, and Kadie Rolfzen swung down from the outside to finish the 9-0 run. Creighton gradually crept back into the set and cut it to 18-17 on a back row kill from Melanie Jereb to force an NU timeout. Kadie Rolfzen hammered down a kill to put the Huskers up 19-17, and Pollmiller caught Creighton by surprise with a dump to the back row for a 20-17 lead. Haggerty’s fourth block of the match made it 21-17. The Jays got back within 23-22 to make it interesting, but Fien banged down her sixth kill of the match, and Pollmiller served up a clutch ace to end the set at 25-22. NU hit .200 in the second set with 14 kills and seven errors. Creighton actually hit better in the second set (.189) than it did the first, but the Jays committed three service errors and two receiving errors.

Cecilia Hall got NU off and running in set three with two blocks and a kill to help the Huskers build a 7-1 lead and force a Bluejay timeout. But Creighton rallied to tie the set at 11-11 and force an NU timeout. After a lengthy rally, CU hit long to give NU a 12-11 lead, and Ostrander provided a solo block immediately off the bench for a 13-11 lead. Ostrander, Kadie Rolfzen and Hall recorded consecutive kills to put NU up 16-12. Haggerty and Kadie Rolfzen teamed up for a block to make it 18-13, then Kadie Rolfzen caught Creighton off guard with a sneaky soft touch just over the net to make it 19-13. Ostrander continued to provide a spark off the bench in the third set with a kill to make it 22-16 and another for a 23-17 lead. Amber Rolfzen finished off the set with a kill to give the Huskers a 25-20 win and the 2-1 lead in the match.

The teams battled in the fourth set with neither grabbing more than a two-point lead until the Huskers went up 13-9 after consecutive kills by Ostrander. NU gained separation at 16-10 on a combined block from Hall and Kadie Rolfzen. Creighton got within three points on two occasions, but Nebraska held off the Jays for the 25-20 match-clinching win in set four.

Nebraska finishes non-conference play by hosting No. 2 Texas on Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Bob Devaney Sports center. The match will be broadcast on NET.

For the first time since 2011, the No. 9 Nebraska volleyball team will face Creighton in the regular season when the Bluejays visit the Bob Devaney Sports Center for a 7 p.m. match on Wednesday. 

Although the teams met in the spring season, Wednesday’s match will be the first official match between the squads since Sept. 8, 2011 – a 3-0 (25-14, 26-24, 25-16) win for the Huskers in Lincoln. All four Creighton seniors – Kelli Browning, Leah McNary, Katie Neisler and Michelle Sicner – played as freshmen in that match. No current Husker has played against Creighton in the regular season.

The Huskers (5-2) enter the matchup riding a five-match win streak in which they’ve dropped just one set. Meanwhile, Creighton (6-3) has gotten hot of late as well, topping Pepperdine (3-1), Bowling Green (3-0) and Wichita State (3-1) last weekend to win the Bluejay Invitational.

Media Information
The Huskers will be on NET for the first of five times this season when they host Creighton Wednesday night. The match will also stream online on BTN Plus, which fans can purchase for $9.95 for one month’s access. Fans can also listen to the action with John Baylor and Diane Mendenhall on the 25-station Husker Sports Network, including B107.3 FM in Lincoln and The Wolf 93.3 FM in Omaha. Fans inside and outside the state of Nebraska will also be able to catch the live audio feed on Huskers.com for free.

Series History
Nebraska is 14-0 all-time against Creighton and has won five straight matches in sweeps dating back to Aug. 31, 2007. Overall, the Huskers have won 18 straight sets against the Bluejays. The last time Creighton took a set from Nebraska was Sept. 24, 2006 with a 30-27 win in the first set of a 3-1 Husker victory.

Last Time Out
Nebraska is coming off a pair of sweeps at the Ameritas Players Challenge over the weekend. NU hosted Denver and Colgate and its closest challenge was a 25-21 win in set three against Denver. Kadie Rolfzen was named the tournament MVP, while Justine Wong-Orantes, Amber Rolfzen and Kelsey Fien also made the all-tournament team. Nebraska put together two complete performances, racking up 11 aces in the win against Denver – matching the most since 2005 – and season bests for hitting percentage (.450) and opponent hitting percentage (.035) against Colgate. Wong-Orantes set the tone defensively for the Huskers, registering 31 digs on the weekend. Kadie Rolfzen totaled a team-high 23 kills, while Amber Rolfzen added 17. Senior setter Mary Pollmiller posted 36 assists on 37 set attempts against Colgate for a season-high .973 percentage. She also connected on 28 of 30 (.933) attempts against Denver.

Up Next
The Huskers finish non-conference play when No. 2 Texas visits the Devaney Center on Saturday, Sept. 20 at 2 p.m. That match will also air on NET and BTN Plus. The Huskers will be looking to avenge last year’s season-ending loss to the Longhorns. Texas swept Nebraska in Lincoln to advance to the NCAA Semifinals.

Noting the Huskers
• Kadie Rolfzen earned MVP honors at the Ameritas Players Challenge after averaging a team-high 3.83 kills per set and hitting .413 on the weekend. She also contributed 2.33 digs per set and 0.83 blocks per set. Rolfzen produced a career-high five blocks against Colgate and added 10 digs against Denver. 
• Junior outside hitter Kelsey Fien has played in six matches this season and has led NU in kills in four of them. For the season, Fien is averaging a team-high 3.53 kills per set to rank 10th in the Big Ten.
• Melanie Keil’s eight blocks against Denver last Friday was not only a career high for the sophomore, it was also the top mark by any Big Ten player in a three-set match this season. 
• Annika Albrecht leads all Big Ten freshmen in aces with 11 (0.48 per game) and ranks fourth in the conference among all players.
• Nebraska ranks third in the Big Ten with 2.74 blocks per set, and the Huskers’ 24 solo blocks are the most by any Big Ten team. Kadie Rolfzen’s seven lead the way, while Melanie Keil and Meghan Haggerty have also been forces at the net with six and five, respectively. 
• While the Huskers have shown great improvement in blocking, they have been better than every Big Ten team except Penn State at not getting blocked. Nebraska ranks second in blocks allowed at 1.48 per set. The Huskers have only had one solo block against them all season, while the rest of the Big Ten teams have an average of 12.9 solo blocks against them this season.
• The Huskers rank third in the Big Ten in digs per set (14.91). Justine Wong-Orantes (3.74 per set) and Kadie Rolfzen (3.09) lead the Big Red. Wong-Orantes is coming off a season-high 19 against Colgate.
• The Huskers’ 11 aces in three sets against Denver matched the most since 2005 for any number of sets. The school record for aces in a match is 16, set against Missouri in 1990 and matched at Texas in 2003.
• The Huskers’ .450 hitting percentage against Colgate was the second-best mark posted by a Big Ten team this season, giving way only to Penn State’s .576 against William & Mary on Aug. 30. Nebraska tallied 44 kills and just eight errors on 80 attacks in the sweep of the Raiders. 
• The Huskers have held three opponents to single-digit sets so far this season, matching last year’s season total. The Huskers have beaten Eastern Kentucky 25-7, Bakersfield 25-8 and Colgate 25-9. Nebraska held two opponents to single digits in 2012 and one in 2011. 
• With its No. 9 ranking, Nebraska has appeared in every one of the AVCA’s 466 all-time weekly polls. NU and Stanford are the only two programs to appear in every AVCA poll, dating back to its inception in 1982.
• Nebraska has spent a nation-leading 419 weeks in the top 10 after making its return to the top 10 this week at No. 9.
• The Huskers are 227-0 under Cook when hitting .300 or better. 
• NU is 369-15 (.961) when winning the first set under John Cook. 
• Nebraska is 138-39 against ranked teams under Cook (.780).
• Just over one-third of Cook’s total victories at Nebraska (418) have come against ranked teams.
• Nebraska volleyball leads the nation with 205 consecutive sellouts, the longest sellout streak in the history of NCAA women’s athletics. NU owns a 190-15 record during the streak.

Scouting the Creighton Bluejays
Creighton is 6-3 after three straight wins to capture the Bluejay Invitational title last weekend. The Bluejays won 3-1 matches against Pepperdine and Wichita State and swept Bowling Green. All three of Creighton’s losses this season are at the hands of top 25 teams (USC, Kentucky and Kansas).

The Bluejays have six starters and 12-of-13 letterwinners back from last season’s team that went 23-9 and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Creighton finished second in its first year in the BIG EAST. Creighton is led by its senior class of four, including two-time honorable mention all-American Kelli Browning at middle blocker. Browning tied for the national lead in blocks as a sophomore and ranked eighth nationally in blocks per set last season. She has 40 blocks already this season and leads the team with 3.29 kills per set. Outside hitter Leah McNary has led the team in kills each of the past two seasons and is averaging 3.03 kills per set. She was a first-team all-BIG EAST selection last season.

Kirsten Bernthal Booth is in her 12th season as the head coach of the Bluejays. She enters Wednesday with a career record of 216-131, making her the winningest coach in Creighton history. Bernthal Booth was the 2012 CaptainU National Coach of the Year and 2010 Collegiate Volleyball Update National Coach of the Year.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska is ranked No. 7 and Creighton is No. 23 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association preseason poll.

Defending national champion Penn State is No. 1 in the poll released Monday, followed by Texas, Stanford, Washington and Southern California. Wisconsin, which lost to Penn State in the national championship match, is ranked just ahead of the Cornhuskers at No. 6.

Nebraska returns five starters from the team that went 26-7 overall last season and was second in the Big Ten with a 16-4 mark.

The Huskers host the AVCA Showcase to open the season, playing 13th-ranked Florida State on Aug. 29 and Stanford on Aug. 30.

Creighton, which returns three starters from its 23-9 team, opens against Lipscomb in the Kansas Invitational on Aug. 29.

link to AVCA preseason poll