Volleyball vs Campbell NCAA Tournament Preview

#10 Nebraska (21-7, B1G 15-4) vs Campbell (21-9, Big South Champion)
When: Friday, December 3, 2021, 7:00 pm (CT)
Where: Lincoln, NE
Video: ESPN+
Radio: Husker Sports Network - Lincoln (B107.3 FM); Omaha (AM 590); Huskers.com; Huskers App

The 10th-seeded Nebraska volleyball team (21-7) begins postseason play this weekend, welcoming Campbell, Florida State and Kansas State to the Devaney Center for the NCAA First and Second Rounds. Nebraska made their 40th straight NCAA Tournament selection — second most in NCAA history behind only Penn State (41).

Louisville, Texas, Pitt and Wisconsin received the top four seeds from the NCAA Tournament Committee. Should those teams all advance past the first weekend, they would host an NCAA Regional the following weekend. Nebraska is in the same region as Texas along with No. 7 national seed Kentucky and No. 15 Washington. The Huskers would have an opportunity to host an NCAA Regional only if they advance past the opening two rounds and Texas and Kentucky were upset in the first or second round.

Entering the weekend, Nebraska is 118-34 all-time in the NCAA Tournament. The Huskers rank second in NCAA history in postseason wins and winning percentage (.778). NU is 33-1 all-time in first-round matches, having won their last 32 first-round contests dating back to 1984. The Huskers are 75-7 all-time in NCAA Tournament home matches, including 20-2 at the Devaney Center. They have won 14 consecutive home matches in the NCAA Tournament. NU is 54-1 all-time against unranked opponents in the NCAA Tournament.

University of Nebraska (21-7, B1G 15-4)
#1 Nicklin Hames 5’10’’ SR Setter
#2 Kenzie Knuckles 5’8’’ JR DS
#3 Kayla Caffey 6’0’’ SR MB
#4 Anni Evans 5’9’’ SO Setter/Serving Specialist
#6 Keonilei Akana 5’9’’ SO DS
#7 Rylee Gray 6’4’’ FR MB
#8 Lexi Rodriguez 5’5’’ FR Libero
#9 Kennedi Orr 6’0’’ FR Setter
#10 Madi Kubik 6’3’’ JR OH
#11 Lexi Sun 6’2’’ SR OH
#13 Whitney Lauenstein 6’2’’ FR OH
#14 Ally Batenhorst 6’4’’ FR OH
#20 Kalynn Meyer 6’3’’ SO MB
#22 Lindsay Krause 6’4’’ FR OH
#25 Callie Schwarzenbach 6’5’’ SR MB
#26 Lauren Stivrins 6’4’’ SR MB

Campbell Camels (21-9)

1 Claranne Fechter So. DS 5’9”
2 Emily Mitter Jr. S 5’9”
3 Chloe Cook So. OH 5’9”
4 Kate Menz Sr. OH 5’11”
5 Emily Campe R-Fr. RS 6’3”
6 Madee Miner 5th S 5’8”
7 Maggie Salisbury Fr. MB 6’3”
8 Elyse Gross Jr. DS 5’6”
9 Riley Dean Fr. DS 5’10”
10 Melody Paige Jr. MB 6’0”
11 Grace Kane Sr. DS 5’2”
12 Sarah Colla Sr. OH 5’10”
13 Ananda Patterson Jr. MB 5’11”
14 McKenna Sciacca R-So. S 5’10”
15 Hailey Wilson Sr. MB 6’1”
16 Lailah Green Jr. OH 5’10”
17 Jaden Tuttle Fr. S 5’9”

Campbell is 21-9 on the season after capturing the Big South title for its first NCAA Tournament appearance in program history. The Camels carry a five-game win streak, having swept four of their last five opponents.

After finishing as regular-season runner-up, they clinched the conference tournament title with a five-set triumph over High Point on Nov. 21. Big South Tournament. MVP Sarah Colla led the way with 13 kills on .258 hitting to go with eight digs. Lailah Green added a double-double with 11 kills and 12 digs, and Emily Mitter had another double-double effort on 23 assists and 13 digs.

Green leads the Camels with 2.62 kills per set, and three other players average at least two kills per set: Chloe Cook (2.60), Colla (2.66) and Melody Paige (2.00). Paige is Campbell’s top blocker at 0.96 blocks per set. As a team, Campbell has the 11th-best opponent hitting percentage at .149, just behind NU.

Head coach Greg Goral is in his ninth season at Campbell and owns a career record of 136-124.