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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 8, 1999)
12 lead after win By John Gaskins Staff writer Maybe it was because first place in the Big 12 Conference was on the line. Maybe it was the thirst foi revenge from an earlier season loss. Maybe it was the sellout Nebraska Coliseum crowd of 4,117 that seemed more earth-shatteringly loud than usual. Whatever it was, the No. 13 Nebraska volleyball team fed off the NCAA Tournament-like atmosphere and came out with more than enough steam to overpower No. 15 Texas A&M, 15-5, 15-7, 10-15, 15-11, Saturday night and stay tied for the Big 12 lead. At times, the Huskers had too much steam. They bolted to a 10-1 lead in game one before A&M even knew What hit it. After NU rolled to easy first-and-second game wins, the Aggies eventually caught up with NC to win the third game. But the Huskers had just enough fuel in the tank to outlast A&M by breaking an 11-11 tie in the fourth and ripping off the match’s last four points. “I think some of us were too wired in the match,” NU Head Coach Terry Pettit said. “And I think AAM nrnhahlv Pettit feit the same way. Some people just got too up for this. We’re fortunate enough to win. I’m proud of how we hung in there.” Pettit was referring to senior out side hitter Mandy Monson, one of his more fiery players, as one having too much spunk to stay in control. Monson hit -.200 while providing only two kills. But the co-captain had more than an adequate supporting cast to relieve her off night. All-American Nancy Meendering smashed 27 kills, mark Nebraska 15151015 Texas A&M 5 7 15 11 ing the 11th time she has reached or gone over the 25-kill mark and beat ing out A&M’s Amber Woolsey (22 kills) for the match high. Angie Oxley continued her hot play by tying her season highs in kills (15) and digs (17) and hitting .433. Freshman Greichaly Cepero also scraped out 17 digs, a career high, and had 11 kills. Sophomore Jenny Kropp added 12 kills, and Kim Behrends came in to relieve Monson on the left side to pound four kills, including the match winner. The multiple-pronged attack of NU’s offense, which out-hit A&M .262-.160 - combined with the Huskers’ mad dash of 10 straight points off of Jill McWilliams’ serve in the first game - was too overwhelm ing for Aggie Coach Laurie Corbelli. “It’s not easy at all (to defend . > « I don ’t think this team will face more pressure than it did tonight Terry Pettit NU volleyball coach NU’s balanced attack),” Corbelli said. “That’s what makes them one of the best teams in the nation. They put us on defense all the time, and it’s diffi cult to beat a team like that when you can’t attack them.” The win kept the Huskers (19-5 overall) in the driver’s seat with No. 11 Texas at 11-3 in league play and dropped the Aggies (19-5) one match back at 10-4. It also marked the sec ond consecutive week Nebraska avenged an earlier loss against the league’s first-place team. Last week, NU hammered then first-place Kansas State on the road to avenge the Sept. 22 upset KSU pulled off in Lincoln in the Big 12 opener. That combination of critical wins left Pettit all the more confident about his team’s big-match poise as the postseason looms. “I don’t think this team will face more pressure than it did tonight,” Pettit said. “It wasn’t pretty; it wasn’t our best match. But mentally this match wasn’t one we would have won a month ago. “When we were in this situation against Kansas State in September, that team came back, and we didn’t find a way. This time we did. I think that’s a big improvement.” smaller pool size hurts NU in Minnesota meet From staff reports The waters were choppy for the Nebraska men’s and women’s shimming and diving teams in opening dual meets this weekend in Minnesota. The men went 0-2 with a 196 174 dual loss to North Carolina and a 247-123 loss to the host, Minnesota. The women return home with a 0-3 dual record after losses of 220 148 to Michigan and of 243-125 and 233-135 to North Carolina and Minnesota respectively. However, a change in pool size may have played a factor in Minnesota’s success and some Nebraska struggles.'** “The distance of the pool was changed, and I think Minnesota was well-prepared for the meet at that distance,” NU Head Coach Cal Bentz said. Nebraska has been practicing in a 25-meter sized pool in prepara tion for the NCAA meet and the Olympics, but the Minnesota pool was at a 25-yard distance. Two Nebraska All-Americans did score big for the Husker teams on both the men’s and women’s sides. Last year’s national runner-up Adam Pine began his quest to cap ture a national title in the butterfly stroke by winning the 100-yard event with a time of 48.62. Shandra Johnson was equally impressive for the Husker women. She took home two events for NU, winning the 200-yard back stroke (2:01.01) and capturing a victory in the 500-yard freestyle (4:54.31). The men’s team also had indi vidual winners in two other events at the meet. ... Michael Windisch (400-yard individual medley, 3:57.37) and Valery Kalmikovs (200-yard breaststroke, 2:07.70) each scored big points for the Husker men with their victories. Nebraska now looks forward to coming home. The Huskers next compete Nov. 19-21 at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. There, NU will play host to the Adidas Sprint Classic and the Husker Shoot Out. “I think for our first meet, we got some good time out of some of our younger swimmers, and I was curious about some of our new peo ple,” Bentz said. “We will expect them to improve on those times in the next two weeks.” Allaire leads NU in rifle competitions ■ The Huskers continue to score well in the four-week event held in Cincinnati and Kentucky. From staff reports The Nebraska rifle team com peted in two different tournaments over the weekend. On Friday the Cornhuskers were at the Walsh Invitational in Cincinnati, Ohio. On Saturday the Huskers trav eled to nearby Lexington to com pete in the University of Kentucky Invitational. Th&final team results from either of the invites will-not he released until Nov. 21 when both of the tournaments are completed. In the Walsh Invite NU was led by freshman Amanda Trujillo’s 391 out of 400 in the air rifle. Trujillo Si'- • i was followed by freshman Nicole Allaire, who fired a 384. In the smallbore, Trujillo also led the Huskers with a 1,169 out of a possible 1,200. Allaire was sec ond with 1,154. Nebraska shot a combined team score of4,560. In Kentucky, Allaire currently leads all shooters in the smallbore with a 1,168. Trujillo shot a 1,147, and sophomore Victoria Ridge fired a 1,123 and Rachel Spiry a 1,098. The Huskers shot a 4,536 as a team in the smallbore. In the air-rifle competition, Nebraska* shot a 1,546. Trujillo led NU by firing a 390 out of a possible 400. Allaire was right behind Trujillo with a 389, followed by Ridge, who shot a 384. The Huskers will next be in action in Lincoln on D^c. 4 when they play host to the University of Missouri Kansas City and Texas Christian. i. Lane Hickenbottom/DN NEBRASKA COACH RON BROWN thinks Eric Crouch and the Comhuskers are still in the national title race. Brown: NU not out of title picture By Joshua Camenzind Staff writer Despite losing 24-20 three weeks ago to Texas, Nebraska ReceiversCoach Ron Brown is not ruling out national title hopes for the Comhuskers. Since the loss in Austin, Texas, NU has won two straight and gained momentum going into its matchup on Saturday with Kansas State. Brown said he feels that NU is still in the national title picture after Saturday’s upsets. “I felt that after the Texas game that we were still in it,” Brown said. t Both Penn State and Georgia Tech lost on Saturday, with Virginia Tech and Kansas State avoiding scares. There are now five undefeated teams left - Florida State, Virginia Tech, Kansas State, Mississippi State and Marshall. The Huskers come into the KSU game off a 38-0 win over then-ranked No. 18 Texas A&M. While many of the top teams are stumbling, NU looks to be in top form heading into the home stretch. “We are in it,” Brown said. “Look at what happened yesterday. We got two teams that went down, a third that almost went down - that were ahead of us in the polls. 1 would have to say that we have as great of a shot as anyone - we have everything in the world to play for.” There is no doubt that the top 10 will be rearranged again next week with many intriguing games. FeeiksH Tap 25 The Top 25 teams in The Associated Press college football poll. laafc Team 1 Florida St (66) 9-6 2 Virginia Tech (4) 8-0 3 Tennessee 7-1 .4 Florida 8-1 *5 Kansas St. 9-0 v 6 Penn St. 9-1 ' . 7 Nebraska 6-1 8 Mississippi St. 8-0 9 Wisconsin 8-2 10 Texas 8-2 11 Alabama 7-2 12 Marshall 9-0 13 Georgia Tech 14 Georgia 6-2 15 8YU 8-1 16 Michigan 7-2 17 Michigan St. 7*2 18 Mississippi 7-2 19 $ Miami Fia. 5*3 20 Minnesota 6-3 21; :: S. Mississippi 6-3 v 22 * Purdue 64 23* Washinton 6-3 24 E. Carolina 7-2 2$ . Ohio St. 6-4 KSU visits Lincoln, which will pit the No. 5- and No. 6-ranked teams in die nation against one another. Virginia Tech will square off against Syracuse while MSU plays Alabama. Brown was asked if it was danger ous for the team to focus on the national picture while trying to focus on the Wildcats. He said it would not be a prob lem if the Huskers can find middle ground. “As long as the two go together,” College Football jL_ ; Coaches Tea 25 -^0 The Top 25 teams in The Coflege Football Coaches Poll IMI IMM 1 F&da St (57) 9-0 ! 2 Virginia Tech (1) ~ 8-0 i 3 Tennessee (1) 7-1 . ' 4 Florida 8-1 ! 5 Kansas St. 9-0 j 6 Nebraska 8-1 *7 . Mississippi St. 8-0 8 Penn SL 8-1 9 - Wisconsin8-2 10 Texas 8-2 11 . Marshall 8-0 | 12 BYU 8-1 ! 18 Alabama \ 14 Georgia Tech 6-2 15 Mkfwgan 7-2 I 16 Georgia 6-2 17 Michigan St 7-2 18 Mississippi 7-2 19 Miami fK 5x3 20 S. Mississippi 6-3 21a Minnesota . 6-8 22 Washinton 6-3 23 * Texas A8M . 6-3 b. 24 E. Carolina 7-2 2S:^:v Boston Cddefle _ 8-2 Brown said. “Every game is a huge game, certainly one step at a time. You take care of die practice tomorrow, you take care of the game on Saturday. The winner of that game really has an oppor tunity at the next step, the Big 12 Title and then the national championship.” Brown said that he sees this season unfolding much like that of the 1993 campaign where FSU lost late in the season to Notre Dame but still ended up playing NtJiii the Orange Bowl.