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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 29, 1986)
Page 11 Four return on NU Wo.4 -ranked voll all team Daily Nebraskan eye By Kristi Reetz Staff Reporter Terry Pettit has been volleyball coach at Nebraska for nine years, and for nine consecutive years the Cornhuskers have won the Big Eight women's volleyball For eight years, the Husker volley ball team has been ranked in the top 20. Last year, they compiled a 28-:) record and were ranked No. 5 in the nation at the end of the season. Pettit, who has posted a career record of 294-83 at Nebraska, was the coach for the North team at the U.S. Olympic Festival in Houston this summer. Pettit guided the U.S. team to the bronze medal. Three current Ne braska players competed in the Festi val sophomores Lori Endicott and Angie Millikin and redshirt freshman Virginia Stahr. "None of the three in the Festival were starters last year," Pettit said, "but they all played significant roles for their teams (in the Festival). It was a very good experience for them. As for me, I enjoyed it because it gave me the opportunity to work with my peers in a different way." Nebraska is ranked No. 4 in Volley ball Monthly magazine's preseason poll and four players return from last year's New offense spells w-i-n-s for Buffs Analysis by Bob Asmussen Night News Editor A year ago, people were having a good laugh on the Colorado football team. Everyone was laughing because the Buffaloes, in what appeared to be a desperation move, were switch ing to the wishbone offense. Every so-called expert thought the Buffs would fall flat on their faces and that Bill McCartney would be packing his bags and looking for a new job. Times sure have changed. Going into the 1986 season, no one is laughing at Colorado, especially opposing coaches. That's because the Colorado switch to the wish bone worked. Colorado is now a leg itimate threat to win the Big Eight Conference. Switching to the wishbone had several positive results. The first, and most obvious, was in the win loss column. Colorado improved from 1-10 in 1984 to 7-5, including a Free dom Bowl loss to Washington. Colo rado beat Arizona in Tucson and played Nebraska to within 1 0 points, 17-7, in Lincoln. The Buffs lost to Nebraska, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Washington. All five teams played in bowl games. Besides win-loss record, switch ing to the wishbone also helped the Colorado defense become one of the best in the country. The wishbone is a ball-control offense. With the wishbone, the Colorado defense didn't have to spend most of the game on the field, as it did in 1984. Having sufficient rest between ser ies, the Colorado defense became a well-rested, talented unit. The wishbone didn't generate as much offense as McCartney would have liked, but it was only the school's first year running it. Another year of practicing the wishbone has sharpened Colorado's offense. Hesi tancy will be replaced with confi dence. Third down and eight will be replaced by third down and two. The Colorado offense will be quarterbacked by Mark Hatcher. When he wasn't hurt, Hatcher was brilliant. If he can keep healthy in 1986, his statistics will improve along with the team's win total. When the Colorado offense stalls, it can turn to one of its best wea team. Karen Dahlgren is this year's team captain. The senior middle blocker from Bertrand was a 1985 Ail American, a GTE Academic Ail-American and a three-time all-Big Eight performer. Senior Tisha Delaney and junior Kathi DeBoer were included on the 1985 all-Big Eight team. The other returning starter is three-time letter winner Enid Schonewise, a senior from Beatrice. The two remaining spots on the team are still open. Nebraska's schedule begins with an exhibition game Sept. 1 against a Nebraska alumni team at Centennial High School in Utica. The regular sea son starts at home Sept. 2 with an opener against UNO at the Coliseum. As in previous years, some volleyball matches will be played after Nebraska football games. Matches will be played at 4:50 p.m. following the Nebraska Missouri football game on Oct. 11 and after the Nebraska-Oklahoma football game Nov. 1. Nebraska plays one of the toughest schedules in the country, as they play nine preseason Top 20 teams. They include No. 1 University of the Pacific, No. 3 UCLA, No. 6 Texas, No. 7 Arizona State, No. 9 Brigham Young and No. 10 San Diego State. pons, punter Barry Helton. Helton is a preseason Ail-American candidate who deserves a lot of the credit for Colorado's 1985 success. - Another weapon for Colorado is split end Jo Jo Collins. Collins will get help from tight end Jon Embree, one of the top receivers in the con ference before the switch to the wishbone. Ant hony Weatherspoon, the lead ing rusher for Colorado in 1985, returns at fullback. Mike Marquez is a likely starter at halfback. Three starters return to the of fensive line, including all-Big Eight candidate Eric Coyle at center. Every so-called expert thought the Buffs would fall flat on their faces and that Bill McCartney would be packing his bags. On defense, Colorado is led by linebacker Barry Remington. Rem ington is suffering from blurred vision caused by getting ammonia in his eyes. If he is able to play, Remington can be one of the best players in the conference. Another honors candidate is strong safety Mickey Pruitt. Nine starters return to the Colorado defense. The picture is bright for the future of Colorado football. What was once one of the worst programs in the country has turned into one of the best. McCartney has Colorado in a position where it has a legitimate shot at winning the Big Eight title. It won't happen this year, but it could happen in 1987. Hatcher needs to improve his passing to keep opposing defenses from looking for the run. Colorado needs Remington to be able to play. He's a great player. Can the Buffs beat Nebraska and Oklahoma? Maybe. Look for Colorado to win eight or nine games and knock off one of the big three on its schedule: Nebraska, Oklahoma or Ohio State. Colorado has been welcomed back to the world of respectable college football. 'X;' i L p: A Tisha Delaney and Karen Dahlgren return this year for the Nebraska volleyball team. The Huskers' preseason ranking is No. 4. NU challenges for men's track title By Rob White Staff Reporter Nebraska's men's track coach Gary Pepin will rely on a strong group of distance runners and overall team bal ance to once again challenge for the Big Eight title on both the indoor and outdoor circuits. "I think with the experience we . have returning that we'll have a really good team," Pepin said. '"I'm very pleased with our recruiting, too. We were able to fill a majority of the holes we had with what we feel are quality people." Pepin hopes the men will improve on last year's third-place indoor finish and second-place finish outdoors. He said the third-place performance was a letdown. "That was disappointing because the coaches and I felt like we had a legitimate shot at winning the confer ence indoors," he said. "In some places we didn't have good performances from the athletes, but also I didn't do a very good job of placing some of our athletes in the correct event or events, so I made some strategic errors, too." Jean Verster from South Africa will lead the long distance corps again. Verster was an All-American in the mile event last year and Pepin was pleased with his outdoor season. "We'll depend on his experience and leadership this year," Pepin said. Pepin also hopes Bryan Clark will return from injuries that held him out of the 1986 outdoor season. "He'll (Clark) play a significant part if we are to have any success this year," Pepin said. Junior college transfer Jody Fischer will attempt to replace Kurt Russell, one of the best steeplechase runners in the counry last year. Russell graduated last spring. "We're hoping Fischer will grow into Russell's shoes," Pepin said, "but I'm not trying to compare the two." The brother duo of Harald and Frank Graham and incoming freshman Joe Kirby are expected to contribute in the steeplechase also. r n ' In the middle distance events, Pepin characterizes his runners as "the strongest we've had at the University of Nebraska." Regis Humphrey has been an excit ing runner for us in the 800 meters and the 600-yard run indoors, and Karel Mouton is returning after being injured as a freshman, Pepin said. Among the group of newcomers to the 800-meter event are junior college transfers Robert Gonzales and Terry Goods. The Cornhusker track team may boast six athletes who have run the 800-meters in under 1:50 a rare accomplishment. One of the biggest disappointments for Pepin last year was the unraveling of the sprinting section of the team. "That was really frustrating for us last year. During the summer we signed two terrific sprinters who wound up not showing up in the fall. We also lost Keith Jones and Jon Kelley and didn't have Dana Brinson all year," Pepin said. With key members such as these missing, Pepin was forced to give an added workload to John Hastings- and Anthony Small, Nebraska's top two sprinters. The extra burden led to injuries for the pair and further deci mated the undermanned sprinter roster. Help has arrived, however, in the form of Bill Trott, a member of the 1984 Bermuda Olympic Team, who sports a career best of 10.27 seconds in the 100 meters. Other incoming sprinters include John Gerber, Chuck Olson and Wichita State transfer Mark Perry. Freshman Bob Jelks, who broke former UCLA standout Greg Foster's Illinois high school 200 meters record, will also contribute heavily if he is able to clear up minor eligibility require ments before the season rolls around. Pepin is awaiting word on whether European Arjen Visserman, who signed a national letter of intent with Ne braska, actually will arrive for school. The hurdles events are the weakest area on the Husker squad, but Pepin hopes challengers will step forward. "It's a young group, but we feel that fW v-v....... 1 Daily Nebraskan File Photo out of these people we'll find one or two who will develop into solid contribu tors for us," he said. The Big Eight will also hold the decathlon competition for the first time this year, with school-record hol der Jeff Loescher and pole vaulters Bump Novacek and Davin Kosmicki slated to compete. In the field events, the only question appears to be the javelin, where there are no throwers on hand. "A couple of things could happen there," Pepin said. "We'll try to bring someone in next' semester, plus this fall we'll announce a tryout for anyone who thinks they have a good arm, maybe a former quarterback or base ball player, and we'll teach them." The other throws appear solid with Mike Schnebel leading the shot put and discus throwers. Kent Wells and David Brown are other holdovers. Pepin also expects Stan Parker to come out for the discus following his senior season of football. "He's a great athlete and he's indi cated that he really wants to come out," Pepin said. Jeff Hooper and Kent Crippen were high school state champions in Cali fornia and Nebraska, respectively, and should play a key role as well. The long jump is in the hands of Von Sheppard and Anthony Bailous. Trott and Jamaica's Dwight Mitchell, the 1986 Penn Relays triple-jump cham pion, will also provide help. James Blackledge, one of the Big Eight's best, leads the high jumping crew, which includes redshirt fresh man Grant Rathman and Corey Sprin ger. Freshman Dan Hodge joins Novacek and Kosmicki in the pole vault. Pepin said he has taken a "wait-and-see" attitude toward the Big Eight race. "Not knowing who the other teams have recruited makes it really hard to know what will happen at this early date," Pepin said. "Iowa State has one of the stronger teams and Kansas has improved quite a bit, but it's really hard to tell."