Sports
Comhuskers pounded
by Long Beach State
By Darran Fowler
Senior Reporter
Although it ended in a nightmare,
the Nebraska volleyball team still
had a dream season.
Nebraska fell one victory short of
the national title for the second time
this decade after losing to Long
Beach State 15-12, 15-0, 15-6 in the
championship match Saturday night
at the Neil Blaisdcll Center in Hon
olulu.
The Comhuskers, who ended their
season 29-4, also finished as runners
up to Pacific in 1986.
With a starting lineup of two sen
iors, tw o sophomores, a junior and a
freshman, Nebraska coach Terry Pet
tit said the Huskers accomplished
more than what could have been
expected.
” We’re certainly disappointed we
didn’t p!a> belter in the champion
shipmatch,” he said. “But lhat’sonc
of the risks you lake w hen you ad
vance a little further than your expe
rience can handle at that point.
“But, while we didn’t play up to
our potential in the championship
match, we certainly played to our
potential during the season. It was a
great >ear for us.”
Nebraska advanced to the title
match with consecutive sweeps of
Illinois in the Mideast regional final
and No. 2-ranked UCLA in the cham
pionship semifinals.
Long Beach State eliminated
third-ranked Pacific, top-ranked
Hawaii and No. 7-ranked Texas-Ar
lington en route to reaching the fi
nals.
Nebraska, which trailed UCLA
11-4 in the first game, came back to
defeat the Bruins 15-13. 15-11, 15-6
Thursday night behind a 19 kill per
formance by sophomore outside hit
ter Cris Hall.
“That's a super performance for
someone that young, but you’re not
going to be able to do that every
night,” Pettit said.
He said the Huskers’ youth was
bound to catch up with them some
time.
“We had to play extremely well
against Illinois and UCLA to win and
it’s only so long that you can keep
that up,” he said. “Emotionally the
players probably left everything at
the UCLA match.
“Some of it I attribute to Long
Beach State and some of it to our
inexperience as a team. With our
inexperience, it’s very tough to play
real big matches back-to-back and we
didn’t have the time to prepare men
tally and physically as much as we
needed to do.”
More time could have helped the
Huskers prepare for Long Beach
State’s fast-paced style, Pettit said.
“We weren’t able to adjust to
Long Beach State's tempo,” he said.
“We hadn’t played a team that
played that fast of a style. I think that
confused us.”
In the first game against Long
Beach State, Nebraska was headed
towards another sweep after erupting
to a 9-1 lead.
But even then Pettit said he didn’t
feel comfortable, because most of
those points were coming off Long
Beach State errors.
“I didn't necessarily think we
were playing that well,” he said.
“Once we got up 9-1, they just
stopped making errors.
“For some reason I didn't see the
intensity that I saw the night before.”
Notes:
• Nebraska junior setter Val No
vak and sophomore outside hitter
Janet Kruse earned lirsi-tcam Russell
All America honors. Senior middle
blocker Virginia Stahr, who was
named to the first-team in PISH, was
^elected to the second-team.
• Final Four competition will be
devised on ESPN this week, with
he semifinals at 11 p.m. Thursday
ind the final at 11:30a.m. on Sunday.
Eric Gregory/ Daily Nebraskan
Nebraska’s janet Kruse executes a spike.
Volleyball faithful spend late night by radio
The p»//a, ihc pop. ihc blanket and r
pillows. The radio was on a station I 1
I was slaying up late to listen to a
volleyball game -- a volleyball game,
lor goodness sake. The Nebraska
Comhuskcrs were set to take on the
UCLA Bruins in the semi finals of the
NCAA championships and the vol
le>hall faithful within range of
KRNU were gathered to listen to the
broadcast.
I had never listened to volleyball
on the radio before. The game goes
ux> quick to keep score and I couldn’t
read and listen at the same lime, so 1
ceded something to keep me busy,
'hat’s what the pizza was for.
The Huskers and Bruins are (or is
t “were” now) similar teams — big,
powerful, in-your-face types. When
wo similar volleyball powers meet,
hey could trade side-outs for weeks,
like Illinois and Nebraska did earlier
this year.
And the game started at 12:30
a.m., so a match ending at 3:30 a.m.
was a possibility. That’s what the pop
was for.
But the Huskers kicked sand in the
laces of the Bruins. They swept the
No. 2 team in the country, and made
it sound easy. The UCLA announcers
doing the game kept saying the
Bruins were having trouble with
Nebraska's versatility and power.
The match was even boring in the
third game, when UCLA made so
many errors that Cris Hall couldn't
set the Nebraska three-game kill rec
ord. 1 hat's what the pillows and blan
ket were lor.
Early in ihe morning the 15-H,
15-11, 15-6 victory was completed.
Huskers win! Huskers win! Huskers
win! A national championship is
coming back to Lincoln!
Long Beach State? Bah Humbug!
So w hat if they beat Hawaii and Pa
cific and bla/ing-hol Texas-Arling
ton to reach the finals. They were a
one-woman team with a 5-foot-2 set
ter. Hall would slam spikes over the
miniature Sheri Sanders, if the
Huskcr sophomore didn’t step on the
49’er senior first.
All Nebraska had to do was side
out with Co-Playcr-of-the-Year Tara
Cross in the front row, and wear down
the 4d'ers when Cross was tucked
away in back.
No pi//a, pop, pillow s or blankets
for the finals. The radio was back on
to the station I never listen to, but the
extras weren't necessary. The finals
started at 11:30 p.m. our time, and the
match would be short.
The Huskers and the 49’crs were
different types of teams. While Ne
braska relied on waves of outside
slams. Long Beach State rode on the
shoulders of 5-11 Cross and her
NCAA-record kill total.
If Nebraska could keep Cross out
of the clouds, the Huskers probably
would win in three. If Cross could do
whatever she pleased, Nebraska
would be dead in three. Either way, I
could get some sleep.
And Nebraska started strong.
They went up 9-1 in the first game.
Six more points, and one-third of the
national title would be in the hands of
Coach Terry Pettit and company.
But the 49‘ers came back with
point after point alter point. Accord
ing to the announcer, the Huskers
were having trouble with passing and
setting again, and service errors and
Cross’ excellence killed any Husk
ers' hopes. Long Beach State won the
game, 15-12, and the match was over.
Nebraska was skunked in the second
game. The third game was academic.
Wc should have known the Husk
ers couldn't keep playing like the
national team. They crushed Illinois
and UCLA, and they were doomed to
come down eventually.
Virginia Stahr and Carla Baker
wrapped their careers in a pair of
second-place finishes. The rest ol the
team can look forward to next fall.
Pettit returns two first-team All
America selections in Val Novak and
Janet Kruse. He returns Hall, who
will challenge for Tara Cross-status it
she keeps improving. He returns lu
lurc superstars Eileen Shannon and
Stephanie Thaler. He returns leader
ship in Bccki Bolli. Where do Sue
Hcsch and Linda Barsncss fit in, and
w hat about Novak's likely successor,
Valeric Vermucllen?
See REMINISCE on 10
N U wrestlers ‘mature’ in victory against Iowa State
By Chuck Green
Senior Reporter
Talent wasn t the only factor in the
Nebraska wrestling team’s 21-16
dual win against Iowa State in Ames,
Iowa, Saturday.
Maturity may have been the de
ciding factor, Comhusker coach Tim
Neumann said.
Nebraska faced adversity against
Iowa State, losing a 12-3 lead and
wrestling in front of almost 3,(XX)
highly partisan fans at the Hilton
Coliseum.
Neumann was worried about Iowa
Stale’s tradition affecting his team.
“I have a loi of guys from Iowa
and Minnesota that grew up respect
ing Iowa State wrestling,” he said.
‘ There’s so much tradition there, but
it didn’t seem to affect them.”
Iowa State’s fans didn’t affect the
Huskers either, Neumann said.
“After we won the first two
matches of the day, that kind of look
them right out of it,” he said.
But the fans wouldn't be “out of
it” for long.
At 150, Nebraska’s Paul Herrera
lost 14-6 to Torre Jackson, giving the
Cyclones a major decision and four
points.
“Paul was leading 6-1 after the
Iirsi period,” Neumann said. “In the
second, he was taken down to his
back (for 5 points) and the crowd
really got into it.”
Neumann said Herrera lost his
concentration and composure after
that.
“If we’d have won at 150, things
would have gone pretty much as
planned, he said. “But our lead was
only by five points after that.”
After the next match, at 158
Nebraska’s lead was gone. Iowa
btate s Steve Hamilton, ranked No 2
in the nation, pinned Dan Harrison
giving the Cyclones a 13-12 lead, and
Neumann’s concerns of an Iowa State
comeback seemed to be unfolding
before his eyes.
We vc been in situations like
that before and have folded,” Neu
mann said. "But it didn’t happen this
time.”
T he teams traded decisions in the
next two weight classes before Ne
braska’s C’hris Nelson beat Iowa
State’s Jim Nelson 8-6 at 190.
We figured (Chris) Nelson
would win that match,” Neumann
said. ‘ But (Iowa State’s) guy was 11
I on the season, so we weren’t over
confident.
Basically, those two guys had a
war.”
In the heavyweight class, Ne
braska’s Joe Malccck dccisioncd
Todd Kenney 7-3.
“I knew that if we were within
three points going into the heavy
weight class, we’d win with Joe out
there,” Neumann said.
Overall, Neumann said, the Husk
ers performed well.
“Technique-wise, we didn i
wrestle as good as we have belorc, or
as good as we’d like,” he said. ‘
as far as maturity goes, this was the
best showing this team’s ever had.
“We took a step further than any
other tune this year.”