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The NCAA volleyball championship will be held in Big Ten territory again this season, with the final four taking place in Columbus, Ohio, on Dec. 15 and 17. Last year, the season concluded in Omaha, Nebraska, with the Big Red favorites from down the road in Lincoln taking the title.The Huskers will start this season ranked No. 1, but there will be plenty of challengers on Nebraskas road to a possible repeat. Here are five questions to ponder as we get set for the season.1. Will it be Nebraska vs. Texas again in the final?The Huskers swept the Longhorns in the championship match last December, and the teams begin this season ranked 1-2 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association poll. So we might indeed see them in the 2016 final.However, since the NCAA volleyball tournament began in 1981, theres been only one instance of the same teams playing in back-to-back championship matches: Penn State and Stanford in 2007 and 08, with the Nittany Lions winning both.We dont have to wait until the NCAA tournament, though, for a Nebraska-Texas matchup; they play Saturday at the VERT Challenge in Eugene, Oregon.Any time Nebraska plays Texas, its a huge game, Huskers setter Kelly Hunter said. Last year we played them early on, and it didnt go our way. Then we saw them again at the end of the year. So its about who gets better throughout the course of the year.We finished on a high note, so were expected to start on a high note. And we have that expectation of ourselves.The Huskers, who won 16 consecutive matches to end last season, return 10 players, including the junior Hunter, the senior Rolfzen twins: Kadie (outside hitter) and Amber (middle blocker), and sophomore hitter Mikaela Foecke, the most outstanding player of the 2015 championship. Among the Huskers additions is junior middle blocker Briana Holman, who was a first-team All-American at LSU before transferring to Nebraska, and senior outside hitter Andie Malloy, who transferred from Baylor.Texas lost three seniors who were the glue last season, including Big 12 player of the year Amy Neal. But the Longhorns, whove advanced to the final four seven of the last eight years, never lack for talent. Among the standouts they have back are setter Chloe Collins and fellow senior Paulina Prieto Cerame, their returning leader in kills with 337 last year. Joining her at outside hitter are two players who were expected to be big contributors last year but were sidelined by injuries: Ebony Nwanebu and Micaya White.Texas is again the Big 12 favorite, but the Longhorns have some company near the top of the poll from Kansas. The Jayhawks -- who made a breakthrough last year by going to their first final four -- are ranked No. 5. They will try to challenge Texas stranglehold on the Big 12 and the league player of the year award, which a Longhorn has won the last seven seasons. This year, the preseason pick for that honor is actually a Jayhawk: junior right side hitter Kelsie Payne.2. Will the Big Ten be the toughest conference?When Nebraska coach John Cook says it might be harder to win a Big Ten title than an NCAA championship, its not just pro-conference hyperbole. The NCAA title requires six victories. The Big Ten title requires coming out on top after a 20-match gauntlet that typically includes several NCAA tournament-qualifying teams. Last year, the Big Ten had nine squads in the postseason.Nebraska joined the Big Ten in 2011 and won the conference title that year. Since then, the Big Ten title has gone to Penn State (2012 and 13), Wisconsin (2014), and Minnesota (2015). Those three schools join Nebraska in the preseason top 10, with Illinois, Ohio State, and Purdue also in the top 25.Seven-time NCAA champion Penn State finished fourth in the Big Ten in 2015, falling to Hawaii in the NCAA regional semifinals. But the Nittany Lions had won six of the previous eight NCAA titles, so they were due to have something of a rebuilding season, even though that term really never fits how good Penn State always is.Will it be another survival-of-the-fittest endurance test in the Big Ten? Of course, and it will be no surprise to see at least two teams from that conference in the final four. Thats been the case three of the last four years.3. Can Stanford make a title run?Before she became queen of the sand, Kerri Walsh Jennings was an indoor volleyball star, leading Stanford to two NCAA titles. That was during a stretch from 1992-97 when the Cardinal won four of six national championships. Stanford added two more titles in 2001 and 2004.But Stanford hasnt won an NCAA title in the past 11 years, and has made just one final four appearance in the last seven seasons. Its not for lack of success in the Pac-12, though. In the last 10 seasons, Stanford has won or shared the conference title seven times. (In all, Stanford has 16 Pac-12 crowns since league play began in 1986.)But the Cardinal have had several big disappointments over the past decade in the NCAA tournament, including last seasons 3-0 second-round loss to Loyola Marymount on Stanfords home court at Maples Pavilion.With four starters returning from a team that finished third in the Pac-12 in 2015, Stanford is picked to win the conference title this year. But can the Cardinal climb to the very top spot in volleyball?It will help to have back middle blocker Inky Ajanaku, who missed 2015 with a knee injury. And outside hitter Hayley Hodson, who was the national freshman of the year last season, should be even better as a sophomore.Of course, just like with the Big Ten, the Pac-12 always has a pileup of very good teams who go to the NCAA tournament. Last year, seven from the Pac-12 made the postseason, but for the first time ever, there was no West Coast/Hawaii presence in the final four. It looked as if top-seeded Southern Cal was headed to Omaha, but the Trojans collapsed late in the fifth set against Kansas in the regional final, losing six consecutive points and the match.USC lost 2015 AVCA national player of the year Samantha Bricio to graduation, but still has plenty of talent, including sophomore Alyse Ford and junior Brittany Abercrombie.For what its worth, the AVCA poll has USC and Washington as the top-ranked Pac-12 teams, tied for seventh, with Stanford at No. 11.4. Will Texas A&M top the SEC again?The boss of this conference has, for the most part, been Florida. And the Gators are going to be in the thick of things again this season, especially with middle blocker Rhamat Alhassan and right-side hitter Alex Holston returning. Florida, which is a perennial contender, lost in a regional final last year to Texas. The Gators will open this season against No. 1 Nebraska on Friday.But the 2015 SEC champion was Texas A&M, led by setter/right side Stephanie Aiple and middle blocker Jazzmin Babers. The Aggies were picked by the SEC coaches to win the conference again in 2016, with the Gators picked to finish second. The AVCA poll, however, favors Florida at No. 10, with Texas A&M at No. 16.Last year, Texas A&M fell in the NCAA second round at home against Hawaii, and the Aggies definitely hope for a better postseason showing in 2016.5. Who are among the best of the rest?Hawaii?is No. 6 in the AVCA preseason poll and picked to win the Big West again. The Rainbow Wahine went 16-0 in conference play last year, then fell to Minnesota in a regional final.Colorado State has won the last seven Mountain West titles and is picked to make it eight in a row this year. But the Rams, ranked No. 25, may be challenged in the league by Boise State, which has preseason player of the year Sierra Nobley.The ACCs final four breakthrough came in 2011 with Florida State. The conference is still looking for a follow-up trip. North Carolina was chosen as the 2016 ACC favorite, followed by the Seminoles, Miami, and last years regular-season champion, Louisville. The highest ranked of the ACC teams is Florida State at No. 17.BYU, ranked No. 13, will be going for its third consecutive West Coast Conference title. Among the challengers is Loyola Marymount, which is ranked No. 21. Creighton advanced to the regional semifinals for the first time last season, and looks to build on that. The No. 18 Bluejays are the Big East favorites, having won the conferences regular-season and tournament titles last year. Custom Toronto Blue Jays . Klitschkos management company says the bout will be the Ukrainian fighters 25th world championship fight. 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HOUSTON -- Lance McCullers isnt reveling in his success after two straight 10-strikeout games.Houstons 22-year-old starter remains focused on improving.Its a good two starts, but tomorrow its back to what I can do to try to help the team win against Toronto the following week, he said. So thats all Im really thinking about right now.McCullers fanned 10 in six solid innings, Colby Rasmus broke out of a slump with a two-run homer and the Astros beat the New York Yankees 4-1 on Wednesday night.McCullers (6-4) allowed five hits and one run and his 10 strikeouts tied a season high.All in all hes becoming a little more of a complete pitcher the more that he utilizes all his weapons, manager A.J. Hinch said.He kept the Yankees off-balance by throwing almost as many curveballs as fastballs, but to Brian McCann it seemed like more than that.Hes got one of the better curveballs youre going to see and out of 90 pitches it seemed like he threw 89 of them, McCann said. He has a great arm and a really good curveball.Rasmus snapped an 0-for-29 skid when he sent an off-speed pitch from Masahiro Tanaka (7-3) into the seats behind the bullpen in right-center field to make it 4-0 with one out in the third.He said he hasnt felt right most of this month after getting an ear infection early in July.My ear had a little bit to do with it, kind of got me down those few days there to get my balance off and what not, he said. I was trying to play through it and suck it up. I got that kind of tamed now ... so Im hoping that can get me on a good roll and I can help this team win some ball games.Ken Giles and Luke Gregerson pitched a scoreless inning each before Will Harris got his 11th save by striking out two in the ninth.Tanaka, who entered the game with a 1.50 ERA in nine road starts, allowed seven hits and four runs in five innings for the loss. He had thrown 12 1/3 straight scoreless innings on the road before an RBI single by Carlos Gomez with one out in the first inning.He had the onee bad inning.dddddddddddd He left the (splitter) up, he left a couple pitches up that inning, manager Joe Girardi said. They made him work. He had a real easy first inning and then after that they really made him work. The one inning really did him in.Marwin Gonzalez extended his hitting streak to a career-high 11 games with a single to start the third. He advanced to second on a groundout and took third on a wild pitch. A single by Carlos Correa came next to score Gonzalez and push the lead to 2-0.Rasmus then collected his first hit since July 5, when he also homered and drove in two runs, on his 12th homer this season.McCann cut the lead to 4-1 when he led off the fourth inning with a home run to center field.Didi Gregorius singled with one out before McCullers walked Starlin Castro. But McCullers ended the threat by striking out the next two batters to end the inning.McCullers then struck out the side in the fifth to make it five in a row.McCanns homer was the highlight of the night for the Yankees, who managed just four other hits, which were all singles, and struck out a season-high 15 times.TRAINERS ROOMAstros: Houston 3B Luis Valbuena was out of the lineup after leaving Tuesdays game in the second inning with a strained right hamstring. Hinch said he was feeling better on Wednesday and was confident that he would avoid a trip to the disabled list. ... Gomez left the game before the third inning with a strained right hamstring, but said after the game that he didnt think it was serious.UP NEXTYankees: New York has a day off Thursday before opening a three-game series at Tampa Bay with Ivan Nova (7-5, 4.65) on the mound.Astros: Houston is off on Thursday before Collin McHugh (7-6, 4.18) starts in the opener of a three-game series at Detroit. McHugh allowed two runs and six hits in six innings of a win over the Angels on Saturday. ' ' '