Volleyball invitational features three top teams
By Darran rowier
c#nifir Reporter
~ “Exciting” is the way to describe this
weekend’s FirsTier Invitational at the NU
Coliseum, Nebraska volleyball coach Terry
Pettit said.
Pettit said the tournament promises to be
exciting because all four participating teams
will provide Nebraska fans with an opportunity
to watch strong teams compete.
The tournament features three ranked teams
I.. Nebraska, Stanford and Kentucky. Pitts
burgh, which finished 24-9 last season, also is
competing.
In the American Volleyball Coaches Asso
ciation and NCAA Committee polls released
Tuesday, Stanford was ranked fifth. Nebraska
was ranked seventh in the AVCA poll and ninth
m the NCAA ratings. Kentucky was No. 11 in
the AVCA and No. 15 in the NCAA rankings.
“It’ll be exciting,” he said. “All the
matches will be very competitive. I anticipate
on Saturday that we’ll have a real big crowd.
It’ll be a great tournament.”
The tournament begins at6 p.m. Friday with
Stanford facing Pittsburgh, followed by a
match between Nebraska and Kentucky at 8
p.m.
Action will resume on Saturday at noon
with Nebraska playing Pittsburgh, followed by
Stanford and Kentucky at 2 p.m., and Ken
tucky and Pittsburgh at 6 p.m.
The tournament will conclude at8 p.m. with
a match between Nebraska and Stanford. That
match will be televised live by NETV.
The tournament is free for all University of
Nebraska-Lincoln students who show tneir
IDs.
Fundamentals will be the key to who wins,
Pettit said.
“It’s going to be won by who flat out plays
the best and that comes down to execution,’ ’ he
said.
Stanford, ranked No. 2 in the preseason, was
3-1 going into Wednesday night’s match at
Colorado State. The Cardinal’s only loss was to
third-ranked Pacific.
Stanford leads the series with Nebraska 3
1.
See EXITING on 16
Corporate sponsors contribute to NU volleyball success
By Darran Fowler I
Senior Reporter
Talented recruits are not the only i
reason the Nebraska volleyball team '<■
has been successful over the years. i
The support of team sponsors also <
has played a huge role. )
Nebraska volleyball coach Terry t
Pettit said one of the major develop
ments in the Comhuskers’ program in
the last four years has been that of 1
team sponsors. •
This year corporate sponsors like I
Run/a, FirsTier Bank, Baden and i
Mizuno have helped to lure some of i
the country’s lop teams to play in
Linebacker Petko
says he has much to
leam after Utah
By Chuck Green
Senior Reporter
Mike Petko was emotionally tom
after Saturday’s game against Utah.
Petko, a 6-foot-2, 225-pound
sophomore linebacker, was happy to
have started the game, which the
Comhuskers won 42-30. He even
made two unassisted tackles and an
interception.
But Petko said he thought he could
have done belter.
“It was nerve-racking out there,”
hcsaid. ‘‘Ididn’tdotoogoodofajob.
I still don't know all the defenses, and
we ran some unfamiliar ones today.”
Petko was playing as part of Ne
braska’s “dime^’ defense, which
employs five defensive backs, faster
linebackers and the team’s best pass
nishing defensive linemen. The de
fense is used on obvious passing situ
ations, or against predominantly
pass-oriented teams like Utah.
Petko said the coaches’ solution to
his mistakes against Utah was simple.
“They put (linebacker) Pat Tyr
ancc in.” he said, shaking his head.
“I jusi still have a lot to learn.”
Nebraska coach Tom Osborne
said Petko shouldn’t take his mis
takes so hard..
‘‘Petko played with a lot of
heart,’” Osborne said. “He calls the
alignments of the defense. He’s al
most like the quarterback for the
dclcnsc, and for a first-year player,
that’s pretty difficult.”
Last season, Petko started for
Shane Thorcll’s junior varsity team
and finished with 25 tackles -- 11 of
which were unassisted. He also re
corded a tackle for a five-yard loss,
recovered a fumble and broke up a
pass.
Petko, a scholarship recruit, was a
two-year starter at Anaheim Servile
I High School, where he earned all
league and All-Orange County hon
ors as a senior. During his final sea
son at Servile, Petko made 97 tackles,
five quarterback sacks, two intercep
tions and three fumble recoveries.
Nebraska recruit Derek Brown, a
Parade Magazine All-America selec
tion who is sitting out this season to
gain Proposition 48 eligibility, also
graduated from Servite High School.
Petko said many of his problems
were caused by Utah’s unique style of
offense.
“(Utah quarterback) Scott Mitch
See PETKO on 16
Lincoln.
“They are as important as our
freshman recruits because Nebraska
is only as good as the teams we play
against,” Pettit said. “We are play
ing for the national championship
every year and you can’t do that if
you’re not playing against the best
teams.”
Bowling Green, Houston and
Kansas State played in the Runza
Invitational two weeks ago, and No.
5-ranked Stanford, 1 Ith-ranked Ken
tucky and Pittsburgh will participate
in this weekend’s FirsTicr Invita
tional.
Top-ranked Hawaii also will play
Nebraska in the NU Coliseum Oct. 20
and 21 in the Baden Challenge.
“They’re our unsung heroes,’’
Pettit said of Nebraska’s corporate
sponsors.
Runza and FirsTier Bank each
gave $5,000 grants to the Nebraska
volleyball program to help attract
teams to come to play the Huskers.
That money is spent to cover the
costs of putting on a tournament.
Those costs include the fees encoun
tered for player awards, team ban
quets, lodging for opposing teams
and officials, Pettit said.
Baden contributed almost $2,000
to lure Hawaii to Lincoln, he said,
and also gives Nebraska its year sup
ply of volleyballs, which cost around
$30 each.
“They helped defray the costs to
bring Hawaii here,” he said.
Mizuno, which supplies Nebraska
with most of its equipment, acts as a
sponsor in all these events, Pettit said.
Besides Nebraska, Mizuno also
sponsors the UCLA and Stanford
volleyball teams, so “you’re in a
pretty select group there,” Pettit said.
Fern Spencer, assistant vice presi
dent at FirsTicr-L.incoln, said his
corporation’s role “is really mone
tary.”
“It’s up to the volleyball team to
use the money as they wish for the
tournament,” Spencer said. “We get
good publicity out of it and at the
same time it helps the volleyball
team. So it’s a good deal for both of
us.”
The volleyball program needs
additional financial help because its
revenue is not as great as other sports,
Spencer said.
“Since they don’t have the in
come like the football team does,
they need the outlet support,”
Spencer said.
Several other sponsors have
See SPONSORS on 16
Former Husker
to begin career
as tennis coach
By Paul Domeier
Staff Reporter
When Brad Scheidegger was at
Nebraska, Comhusker men’s ten
nis coach Kerry McDermott never
pictured him as a coach.
But McDermott will have
ample opportunities to see Schei
degger in the coaching ranks, as
the former All-Big Eight cham
pion was named the new men’s and
women’s tennis coach at Nebraska
Wesleyan. He succeeds Julie
Davis, who resigned after one sea
son with the Plainsmen.
McDermott said Scheidegger
surprised him when he announced
in mid-August that he was the new
Wesleyan coach. He said he never
pictured Scheidegger in the coach
ing ranks even though the framer
Husker claimed the Big Eight's
No. 5 singles title in 1987. .
McDermott said Scheidegger
will “have his eyes opened” when
he gets into the full swing of his
new job.
“He’ll find out it’s a lot harder
than you think it is,” McDermott
said.
Scheidegger said his job has not
been too tough so far. He said he
hasn’t even met with his players
yet because Wesleyan’s season
does not begin until after the start
of the new year.
“It’s basically a second-semes
ter (season),” Scheidegger said.
“I’m just getting the schedule
together now."
Scheidegger said the job does
present new challenges, but re
cruiting is not one of them. He said
he does not have to worry about re
cruiting because Wesleyan does
not offer atiilelic scholarships.
Scheidegger said coaching will
not be much of a change because
he has been giving tennis lessons
for over a year. He said his teach
ing position gave him a definite
advantage entering his new job.
“I kind of knew how every
thing worked, and knew how to run
practice,” Scheidegger said.
McDermott disagreed, saying
there is more to the job.
“There’s a lot of hours in
volved,” he said. “It’s not an 8-to
H ■
—— 1 j ■
New Wesleyan tennis coach Brad Schektegger.
6 I
