Huskers to Battle Spartans, Wolverines

• After a successful East Coast road trip last weekend, the No. 3 Nebraska volleyball team is back on the road again this week for two matches. The Huskers will battle the Michigan State Spartans on Thursday at 7 p.m. (CT) at the Breslin Center in East Lansing, Mich. NU will then travel to Ann Arbor for a 6 p.m. (CT) match on Saturday against the No. 24 Michigan Wolverines. 
• Nebraska (12-1, 4-0 Big Ten) has won its first four matches to start the Big Ten schedule and has won five in a row overall. Entering the week, Purdue is the only other Big Ten team still without a conference loss.
• The Huskers were on the road for four days last week playing at Rutgers and Maryland and will spend four days on the road this week. By the time the road swing is over on Saturday night, the Huskers will have been away from home eight of the previous 10 days. 
• Thursday’s match at Michigan State will be televised on the Big Ten Network and can be streamed on FoxSports.com. Saturday’s match at Michigan will not be televised but will be streamed online on B1G+ (subscription required). 
• The Huskers Radio Network will broadcast all the action on their radio affiliates, including 107.3 FM in Lincoln and AM 590 in Omaha. A live audio stream will be provided at Huskers.com and the Huskers app. John Baylor is in his 29th season doing play-by-play for the Husker volleyball program. Lauren (Cook) West, a former All-America setter for the Huskers, will provide color commentary.

NOTING THE HUSKERS
• The Huskers are hitting .241 as a team and are holding their opponents to .118 hitting, which leads the nation. 
• Against Rutgers last Friday, Nebraska hit a season-best .405 and held Rutgers to -.012, the first time the Huskers have held a Big Ten foe to a negative hitting percentage since 2019. 
• Nebraska outscored Rutgers 75-35. The school record for fewest points allowed in a match in the rally-scoring era is 32.
• The Huskers served a season-high 12 aces against the Scarlet Knights. 
• Nebraska fought past Maryland on Sunday for a 3-1 win despite being blocked 18.5 times, the third-most by a Husker opponent in the rally-scoring era. 
• The Huskers were sharp defensively in the match, holding Maryland to .059 hitting and posting 13 blocks of their own. 
• Outside hitter Madi Kubik is averaging a team-high 3.31 kills per set and adds 2.29 digs per set. Kubik surpassed 1,000 career kills on Sept. 10 against Long Beach State, becoming the 24th Husker all-time to reach that mark. 
• Outside hitter Whitney Lauenstein is averaging 3.16 kills per set and has a team-high 12 service aces. Lauenstein had a career-high 25 kills on .385 hitting in a win at No. 17 Creighton on Sept. 7. It was the most kills by a Husker in a match since Mikaela Foecke had 27 kills in the NCAA…