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."
