Sports
Coach Pettit picks UCLA as national favorite
Iy Darran Fowler
inior Reporter
Nebraska volleyball coach Terry
ettit hesitated to pick a favorite to
in this year’s national champion
But after giving it some thought,
t chose UCLA.
And the Bruins are the Huskers’
inal Four semifinal opponent Friday
112:30 a m. (CST) at the Neal B lais
jll Center in Honolulu. The match
ill be broadcast on KRNU (90.3
M) beginning at 12:20 a.m.
The winner of the Nebraska
CLA match advances to a national
tampionship match against either
Dng Beach State or Texas-Arling
ton. That match will be played Satur
day at 1:30 a.m. (CST).
Pettit said he is impressed by
UCLA.
UCLA’s been hot the last six to
eight years, particularly the last
two,” Pettit said. ‘‘Their players
match up with us really well, they’re
a good ball-handling learn and
they’ve played some tough teams.”
Regardless of who is picked the
favorite, the team that wins will be
the one that executes best in a couple
of areas, Pettit said.
‘‘It’ll come down to serving and
passing, the same as it did in our
match against Illinois,” he said.
UCLA enters the championships
ranked second nationally with a 30-2
record. Nebraska, ranked fourth, is
28-3.
The Bruins have reached the Final
Four championship match three
limes, winning the title in 1984.
Nebraska is making its second trip to
the championships, losing to Pacific
in the 1986 finals at Stockton, Calif.
The two teams’ only meeting was
in 1986 when the Huskcrs swept the
Bruins.
UCLA advanced by beating Wyo
ming in the West regional, while
Nebraska knocked out Illinois in the
Mideast regional.
Tcxas-Arlington eliminated de
fending national champion Texas in
the South regional, while Long
Beach Slate prevented top-ranked
Hawaii from playing on its home
floor by beating the Rainbow
Wahines in the Northwest regional
finals.
Husker senior Virginia Stahr said
she was pleased when she first heard
Hawaii had been upset.
“Actually, I was kind of glad to
hear it,” Stahrsaid. “Had wemadeit
to the finals, I think we could have
played well but it would have been
tough to play them at home.”
Playing in tropical Hawaii will not
be a distraction, and will be no differ
ent than other road trips, she said.
“I’d rather play somewhere
closer,” she said. “I’m staying after
ward with my parents, so my distrac
tions will come after Saturday night.
“I don’t think there will be any
problems. When we go on a road trip
all we see is the gym, the hotel and the
road in between. This won’t be any
different. We’re not going to vaca
tion by any means.”
Pettit said Hawaii is a good place
to stage the Final Four.
“We have played tournaments in
Hawaii in the past and they’re very
gracious,” he said. “They’re very
supportive. It’ll be a great event and
our players won’t be distracted.”
No matter where it’s played, Ne
braska setter Val Novak said she likes
her team’s chances.
“I think we have the ability to take
it all,” she said. 4‘We just have to be
up for it emotionally.”
Columnist says Bolli led volleyball team to Final Four
J On Monday afternoon the Ne
Haska volleyball team had its last
Had ice in the NU Coliseum.
I On Tuesday it waved good-bye to
He sub-zero weather, thanked the
Holiscum for its memories and
Headed for the sunsets of Hawaii and
Hie Final Four. Ah, Hawaii . . .
Bleaches, hula-hula skirls and a new
Home for a volcano named Becky
Holli.
That's right. The team should
thank Bolli for its trip to Honolulu,
because if it was not for her ex
plosiveness, it might not be in the
50th state.
Bolli came into the first game
Saturday night against Illinois with
the Huskers down 14-12. The fans
thought the first game was all but lost
until Bolli broke Illinois’ back.
She had a service ace, and then got
two quick points, which changed the
entire momentum of the evening.
After that, the game and match was
all but academic.
But don’t tell Bolli that her ex
ploding jump serve, which looks like
a Dwight Gooden curve ball, saved
the game. She will not hear it.
“Everybody on the team has a job
to do and it must be done if we want
to win,’’ Bolli said. “Without each
. ...■ ip ■
member doing her job, there is no
way we could have gotten this far.”
When Bolli is not playing, she is
standing on the sidelines, cheering
her teammates on, many times just as
loud as the crowd. When timeouts are
called she always is the first one to
meet her teammates on the floor.
One teammate was quoted as say
ing that ‘1 Becky is the most important
player, on and off the court.”
When Bolli heard that, she dis
agreed.
‘‘There is not one person who is
more important than another,” she
said. ‘‘It takes a team effort.”
Saturday night, as Bolli stood on
the sidelines cheering, she fell pres
sured and a bit nervous about doing
her job. But when Coach Terry Pettit
called for her services, she was as
" " 11
steady as the rock of Gibraltar.
Coming into the game, Bolli said,
she felt confident about winning,
even though Illinois had beaten the
Huskers earlier in the season.
“It wasn’t like years past,’’ she
said. “I woke up Saturday morning
and just knew we would beat them.’’
Bolli said her confidence was not
newfound.
“That altitude did not come over
night. The team wrote out goals in
early February,’ ’ Bolli said,4 ‘and the
one goal on everybody’s list was to
reach and win the National Champi
onship.”
The team practice Monday was,
“relaxed but yet intense,” Bolli said,
as she helped take down the nets for
the last time in the Coliseum.
“It was like every other practice,
■ »
but in a way it was sad. I w ill never get
another chance to play in this build
ing again.”
Due to Phase III of the new recrea
tion buildings, the Coliseum now will
go under renovation, and the volley
ball team must find a new home.
It is sad that volleyball fans will
never get another chance to watch
their team in the present-day Coli
seum. They’ll sec the Huskers in a
renovated Coliseum two years from
now, but it will not be the same place
where the last 12 Big Eight regular
season championships have been
captured.
Let’s just hope that when the nets
go up next year, a National Champi
onship banner goes up with them.
McGraw Milhaven is a senior history major
and Daily Nebraskan sports columnist
I Neumann says
NU could blow
away Cyclones
4
By Chuck Green
Senior Reporter
Coach Tim Neumann said he
believes his Nebraska wrestling
team has the potential to “blow
Iowa State out of the water”
Saturday in Ames, Iowa, but
8,000 Cyclone fans will be
anxious to try to sink the Com
huskers.
Nebraska, which is ranked
fourth by the Amateur Wres
tling News, will have its hands
full when it faces seventh
ranked Iowa State.
But not as full as in past
years, Neumann said.
every one ol their guys is a
high-quality wrestler,” Neu
mann said. “Our guys have all
been there before, either wres
tling or watching last year.
They understand the level we
have to go out with to beat Iowa
State.”
Neumann said he expects at
least 8,000 fans at Hilton Coli
seum for the dual. But he said
the crowd will have little effect
because the Huskers know what
to expect.
Neumann said his team's
dual victory against Iowa State
last season also will be a help.
The Huskers beat Iowa State for
the first time in 38 years by'
posting a 19-14 victory.
‘‘It took the monkey off our
back,” Neumann said. “It’s
like we’re not climbing an in
surmountable hill anymore.
Our guys are looking at Iowa
State as an equal now.”
Nebraska is 2-0 in dual
meets this season, beating
Northern Illinois and Lock
Haven last weekend at the Bob
Devaney Sports Center. Ne
braska doesn’t have another
home meet until Jan. 20, against
Notre Dame.
The dual begins at 7:30 p.m.
turnovers bring
Huskers a loss
By Paul Domeier
Staff Reporter
The Nebraska women’s basket
ball team got into the spirit of Christ
mas with Tuesday’s game against
Wisconsin, according to Coach
Angela Beck.
"We just gave it away,’ she said.
Nebraska dropped a 77-67 deci
sion to the Badgers, and Beck said the
Comhuskers gave the game away
because they kept giving the ball
away. Nebraska had 40 turnovers and
allowed the Badgers 22 more field
goal attempts.
Beck said Wisconsin keyed on
starting point guard Kim Yancey,
whocouldn’t handle the pressure like
she has in the past. Yancey and Kristi
Dahn, the other starting guard, had 19
turnovers.
(uannj was amc to nandic tnc
pressure, but she started to lake the
game into her own hands,” Beck
said. “On the positive side, at least
somebody did. On the negative side,
we need a lot of continuity.”
Beck said she was pleased with
some aspects of the game, including
the team’s 17 of 18 free throw shoot
ing. She added that she was glad her
team has had balanced scoring after
relying on Maurtice Ivy and Amy
Stephens in her first three seasons.
For the third straight game the
Huskers had four or more players
score in double figures. Dahn led
with 18 points, while Sarah Muller
had 16, Ann Halsnc 12 and Karen
Jennings 11.
Beck said the team will focus on
rebounding, fewer turnovers and of
fensive efficiency while preparing
for its next contest, a Friday night
road game against Wichita State.
The Huskers arc 3-2 at home and
1-2 on the road, but Beck said she
isn’t looking at those records now.
"I’m not putting pressure for road
wins in December,” she said. “We
haven’t been out of any road games.”
Improvement is more important
than wins right now, she said.
“We’re building a program,” she
said. “What we need to be is com
petitive in the Big Eight.”
3h«Mn Sartin/Daily Nebraskan
Nebraska’s Dan Harrison suffers a blow to the groin white wrestling Northern Illinois' Jim
Kossakowski. ____