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Something stuck with senior Lauren Cook from the Nebraska volleyball team’s trip to Hawaii last week.

It wasn’t the 15-hour roundtrip flight, which included layover after layover. It wasn’t going to the beach or even the actual match, the reason Nebraska went to the islands.

Maui, Hawaii- The Nebraska volleyball team opened the 2012 spring schedule with a match-up against the Rainbow Wahine at War Memorial Stadium in Maui, Hawaii on Friday night. In front a sold-out crowd, the Huskers topped Hawaii 25-23, 25-16, 25-15 and 25-16.

Gina Mancuso recorded 16 kills on the evening, while Hannah Werth notched 16 kills and 17 digs of her own. Morgan Broekhuis tallied nine blocks, two aces and three digs, while Hayley Thramer hit .636 behind eight kills on 11 attacks. Allison McNeal tabbed four kills and seven block assists, and Lauren Cook finished with 42 assists. Paige Hubl led the Huskers defensively with 19 digs, giving NU a 48-23 digs advantage over Hawaii.

The Huskers continue their spring schedule on Saturday, April 7 as they take on North Dakota State in Norfolk, Neb., at the Cox Activities Center at 3 p.m.

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LINCOLN - Nebraska will spend one week of its spring exhibition volleyball season in Hawaii.

The Huskers leave Saturday and will train and enjoy the sights in Hawaii during spring break. On March 23, the Huskers will play Hawaii, which was ranked fifth in the final AVCA poll. Nebraska was ranked 12th with a 25-5 record.

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LINCOLN — Nebraska volleyball coach John Cook confirmed on Wednesday the transfer destination of one former Husker and said another player will be leaving the program to pursue a different sport.

Cook said outside hitter Taylor Simpson, who left the program following her freshman season in December, will transfer to Florida State.

LINCOLN - The Nebraska volleyball team announced two more matches to complete the 2012 spring schedule. The Huskers will take on Hawaii on Friday, March 23 at 1 p.m. at War Memorial Gym in Maui, Hawaii and will travel to Ames, Iowa to face Iowa State at Hilton Coliseum on April 21 at 5 p.m.
Hawaii finished the 2011 season ranked No. 5 in the final AVCA poll after advancing to the NCAA Honolulu Regional. The Rainbow Wahine won the Western Athletic Conference for the 16th time with a record of 14-0.

The Huskers last met the Cyclones on Sept. 17 at the Devaney Center where Nebraska swept Iowa State 3-0. The two teams also met during the 2011 spring season, where the Huskers swept the Cyclones at the NU Coliseum.

Nebraska had previously announced a spring match on Saturday, April 7 against North Dakota State in Norfolk, Neb., at the Cox Activities Center at 3 p.m. and a match against Wichita State on Saturday, April 14 at 5 p.m. at the NU Coliseum.

North Dakota State will be a common foe for Creighton and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln during the spring volleyball season.

The Bison will face Creighton on Saturday, March 24 at 12:30 p.m. at the D.J. Sokol Arena. Iowa State is also taking part in the event.

NDSU will play Nebraska at 3 p.m. Saturday, April 7, at the Cox Activities Center at Northeast Community College in Norfolk, Neb.

LINCOLN - Three members of Nebraska's 2012 signing class recently earned honors for their prep success. Lauren Sieckmann, who enrolled at Nebraska in January, and Kelsey Fien and Alexa Strange, who will both join the Huskers in August, were each named to Volleyball Magazine's FAB 50 list.

Sieckmann graduated from Elkhorn South High School early and will participate in the Huskers' upcoming spring drills. She is a two-time Super-State setter who played at both Marian High School and Elkhorn South High School. Considered one of the top prospects nationally in the class of 2012, she has played on the U.S. Youth national team and was part of a Nebraska Junior club team that won the 16-and-under open division at the USA Volleyball junior national tournament last year. An outstanding all-around player, Sieckmann was picked as a MaxPreps Preseason First Team All-American and guided Marian High School to the 2009 Class A state championship, while being named the top sophomore player in the country that year by PrepVolleyball.com. The Crusaders compiled a 112-16 record during the time Sieckmann guided the squad.

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LINCOLN — In his quest to have a raucous student section for the Nebraska volleyball program when the team begins play in a remodeled Devaney Center, Husker coach John Cook apparently has quite a few willing partners.

Cook said the results of a recent NU athletic department survey of Nebraska students indicated an overwhelming interest in student tickets for volleyball. Of the approximately 1,000 students who responded to the survey, Cook said 97 percent said they had a strong interest in volleyball tickets.

NU officials are still deciding where exactly to locate the student section in the Devaney Center, which will become volleyball's full-time home in the fall of 2013. But Cook said students will have a prime location likely either behind the teams' benches or behind one of the end zones.

ELKHORN – Since finishing up her high school volleyball career at Elkhorn South at the state tournament in November, senior Lauren Sieckmann has been busy preparing for the next stage of her life as a student and volleyball player at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

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LINCOLN — Taylor Simpson, a reserve outside hitter on the Nebraska volleyball team, has left the program and appears to be planning to transfer to the Huskers' former Big 12 rival, Kansas State.

"Taylor Simpson informed us over break that she would like to pursue another option and has made the decision to no longer be a part of the Nebraska volleyball program," NU coach John Cook said in a statement Tuesday afternoon. "We have released her from her letter of intent in order for her to pursue another program and receive aid immediately. We wish Taylor nothing but the best of luck in the future."

With the release, Simpson would not have to sit out a year and would be eligible to play for a new school next fall, likely Kansas State, The World-Herald has learned.