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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 16, 1987)
Snorts Pabst: Sooners confident despite players’ injuries By Mark Derowitsch Senior Reporter Preparing for a match against the No. 7-ranked team in the country is never easy, but Oklahoma volleyball coach Miles Pabst said injuries have made that task even more difficult. The Sooners face Nebraska Satur day night at 7:30 in Norman, Okla., and two starters for the Sooners are listed as doubtful for the game. Kerri Mulry, who leads Oklahoma with 151 kills, is sidelined with inju ries to her knee and shoulder, while outside hitter Debbie Carlson also could miss the match because of an injured shoulder. “I don’t know about the extent of their injuries, but they’re on a day-to day basis,” Pabst said. “But both are listed as doubtful against Nebraska.” The Sooners, 12-5, are undefeated in Big Eight conference play. Pabst said he has been pleased with their play this season. “Things have been going pretty well until the injury problem hit us,” Pabst said. Despite the Sooners’ injuries, Pabst said he is confident going into the match against the Comhuskers. “I think our chances of beating Nebraska are as good as they have ever been,” Pabst said. “But Ne braska has been playing really well and they have a great ball club again.” Pabst said the rivalry between the two teams could raise the Sooners’ intensity level. “With Oklahoma and Nebraska, a rivalry is au'^matic, although I don’t think it’s as intense as football,” Pabst said. “We want to win over every team we play, but we look forward to Nebraska.” Nebraska volleyball coach Terry Petti t said the Huskers don ’ t have one specific rival. “Our rival in the conference is whoever we perceive to be the team who is the best,” Pettit said. “And over the last two or three years, that has been Oklahoma. Our players perceive this game as one of the many hurdles they must overcome to be able to defend our conference cham pionship.” Last Tuesday, the Huskers de feated Kansas State in straight sets, 15-3, 15-5, 15-10. Pettit said the match should help the Huskers Satur day. “We played better and we were more aggressive,” Pettit said. “We made only three service errors, and we know we have to play well men tally to beat Oklahoma.” Pettit said the Sooners match up well with Nebraska. “They have a little bigger team, but we’re a little quicker and play better defense,” Pettit said. “If we serve tough and play hard, we should be in a position to win the match.” Virginia Invitational provides NCAA preview By Richard Cooper Staff Reporter Nebraska cross country coach Jay Dirksen will get an early preview of what to expect during this year’s NCAA Cross Country Champion ships when the Comhuskers travel to Charlottesville, Va., to compete in the Virginia Invitational. Dirksen said the meet will not only give ihe Huskers a look at the Charlot tesville course, but also will aid them in their NCAA preparations because of the toughness of the field. Joining the No.6 Nebraska men’s team in the invitational arc No.4 Illi nois, No.5 Penn State, No.8 Virginia, No.ll Weber State, No.14 Western Kentucky, No. 15 Colorado, and Buckncll and Tennessee, both of whom arc ranked No. 18. The women’s field, in addition to Nebraska, will include No.2 Texas, No.3 Wisconsin, No.7 BYU, No.8 Colorado, No.14 Iowa, No. 16 North ern Arizona, No. 17 Clemson and No. 19 Alabama. Dirksen said the Husker men have a chance to do well despite the com petition. He said he was disappointed with Nebraska’s fourth-place finish at the Stanford Invitational two weeks ago. “We were winning the race with one mile to go and we just ran out of gas," Dirksen said. “I think the men learned something from that meet because they went out too fast. 1 think they’ll have a better race this week end. “They really need a meet of this type to help prepare them for the big meets at the end of the season." Dirksen said Sammie Resh, who captured a first-place finish in each of Nebraska’s last three meets, will meet her toughest challenge of the season this weekend. “Sam has really improved a lot this season," Dirksen said. “This meet will definitely let her know where she stands nationally because she is going to sec some of the best runners in the nation, but I think she can run with them." Dirksen said the Nebraska women have improved since the beginning of the season. “The women’s team has really been improving,” Dirksen said. “They could surprise a lot of people this week, and 1 think that a good race will really go a long way in helping them prepare for the Conference Championships.” NFL strikers surrender NEW YORK (AP) — The 24-day National Football League strike ended Thursday when the union surrendered and went to court instead of trying to Tight the club owners at the bargaining tabic. Teams began reporting back en masse even without a new contract agreement, but left after being told they had missed the deadline to play— and get paid — for this weekend’s games. The players will again be re placed by non-union players and their teammates who crossed the picket lines earlier. “It was unfair to the players to continue to sacrifice any more,” said union head Gene Upshaw, who said player representatives from all 28 teams voted to end the strike. Upshaw, a former offensive line man with the Oakland Raiders, said the union would pursue its aim in an anti trust suit filed against the league in Minneapolis. “We tried bargaining; now we’ll let the courts decide,” Upshaw said. The union statement came almost five hours after teams started reporting amid chaos and confusion in city after city. The deluge started in late morning, shortly after a telephone discussion between Upshaw and management negotiator Jack Donlan ended without accord on a back-to-play agreement. Many player representatives claimed they had been told by the union that management might waive the 1 p.m. Wednesday deadline to report for this week’s games. “We sent the players back,” Up shaw said. ’’They are ready to play; they want to play.” Doug Carroll/Daily Nebraskan Middle guard Mike Murray chases Kansas quarterback Kevin Verdugo during Nebraska’s 54-2 victory over the Jayhawks last Saturday at Memorial Stadium. The Cornhuskers travel to Stillwater, Okla., to face No. 12 Oklahoma State Saturday. V Cowboys confident over comeback, may break 25-year Huskerjinx By Tim Hartmann Senior Reporter Most of the players on the Okla homa State football team weren’t even alive the last time the Cow boys defeated Nebraska, but a 5-0 start has given them confidence this year. “There is always that mental part that we can’t beat Nebraska, but I don’t believe that,” sopho more quarterback Mike Gundy said. ‘‘We have the talent here to beat Nebraska.” The last Oklahoma State vic tory against the Comhuskers was in 1961, when the Cowboys posted a 14-6 victory. Saturday, the No. 12 Cowboys will try to break that 25-ycar win less streak when they face No. 2 Nebraska at Stillwater, Okla. The game, which is being televised live to 60 percent of tne country by CBS, starts at 1:45 p.m. Although Nebraska has a 24-2 1 record in games against the Cowboys, Comhusker coach Tom Osborne said he expects a close game because of Oklahoma S tale’s potent offense. “This is probably as good a collection of offense talent as we’ve seen, and we’ve really seen some really good teams,’’ Osborne said. Osborne said one of the keys to the Cowboy offense is Gundy’s scrambling ability. “A lot of times he’s getting five to seven seconds to throw the ball, and with players like Hart Lee Dykes and Ronnie Williams, and their light end (Brien Keith) is pretty good, he’s getting people open,’’Osborne said. “His comple tion rate is remarkable. It’s over 64 percent, and it was 75 percent against Colorado.” Gundy completed 21 of 28 passes for 257 yards in Oklahoma State’s 42-17 victory over Colo rado last week. The win gave the Cowboys their first 5-0 record since 1945 and extended their winning streak to eight games. Osborne said the combination of Gundy’s passing and senior Thurman Thomas’s running gives the Cowboys a strong offensive attack. “Their balance is very good,” Osborne said, “and with Thomas healthier this year, they’re playing much better.” Osborne said the Huskers re spect Thomas. “He’s running as well as I’ve ever seen him run,” he said. “He is a very durable guy, he carries the ball a lot of limes, and we’ve got a lot of respect for him.” Thomas leads the nation in rush ing this year with 700 yards and has rambled for 3,943 yards during his career. Defensively, Osborne said, the Cowboys are not big, but they arc quick. “They arc not the biggest defen sive team we’ve played, but they See FOOTBALL on 8