Sports
Coach: Team rallies
at match crunch time
By John Adkisson
Staff Reporter
The Nebraska volleyball team is
13-1, and experience has gotten it
there.
The Comhuskers, which open their
home conference schedule at 7:30
p.m. Saturday against Missouri at the
NU Coliseum, have dominated close
matches this season.
In Nebraska’s first conference
match Wednesday at Kansas, Nebraska
came from behind to win the first two
games 15-12 and 15-13 before rout
ing the Jayhawks 15-5 in the third.
For the season, Nebraska has a 13-4
record in games decided by three points
or less.
“We seem to raise our level of
play near the end of close games,”
said Huskcr coach Terry Pettit. “And
I think that can be attributed to our
experience.”
Pettit said he doesn’t like having
to watch his team rally, but added he
doesn’t expect Nebraska to dominate
every match from the start.
“We’re dealing with human beings
here,” he said. “You can’t just ex
pect a team to perform like a printout
says they should perform.”
Pettit also credited senior co-cap
tains Val Novak and Becky Bolli for
rallying the team at crunch lime.
“It’s not a matter of them getting
the team motivated,” Pettit said. “It’s
just that they raise their level of play
and play error-free volleyball.”
The team tries to focus on being
intense rather than being emotional,
Pettit said.
“We’re not a perfect volleyball
team,” Pettit said. “Over a long pe
riod of time, it’s hard to maintain a
high emotional level.”
At Kansas, Pettit said that the
Huskers’ setting and defense were
“sub-par.” He credited Bolli and
outside hitter Janet Kruse for playing
well.
“Janet handled the ball about as
well as she has all year, and as usual,
Bolli came up with the big serve
when we needed it,” he said.
Missouri was 4-8 and 0-1 in the
Big Eight going into Thursday’s match
at Oklahoma. The Tigers’ conference
loss was to Iowa State. Pettit said he is
familiar with the talents of Tiger outside
hitter Yvette Buhlig, who ranks third
in the Big Eight with a .297 hitting
percentage.
“She’s an exceptional player for
them,” Pettit said. “She played in the
Olympic Festival, so we know she
can play.”
He said he hadn’t seen Missouri
play, but added that Tiger coach Craig
Sherman had “an exceptional recruit
ing year” in 1990. Nebraska has won
the last 18 matches against Missouri,
including two straight-game victo
ries last season. Pettit said the Husk
ers will not be focusing on the Tigers
as much as on their own level of play.
“We won’t necessarily prepare for
them as much as we’ll work on get
tingoursclvcs ready, especially in the
technical aspects,” Pettit said.
Winning the match is not his only
concern, Pettit said.
“I believe wc'U control the match,”
Pettit said. “But we’re just looking
for improvement every game.”
Joe Heinzl<
No. 1 Nebraska is home Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Here Cris Hall goes high for a kill in the Wis
consin match.
Kansas State's big start
leads to NU upset hopes
By Chris Hopfensperger
Senior Reporter
Kansas State is supposed to lose.
The Wildcats are supposed to come
on the field, play a few downs, roll
over, and die. That is the historic
role of a team that has two winning
seasons in the last 20 years.
Apparently no one told Coach
Bill Snyder and this year’s team.
The Wildcats, 3-1 this season,
arc off to their best start since 1982.
This year they already have scored
more points than all of last year
and won as many games as the past
four seasons combined.
Even more unusual than Kansas
State actually winning, Nebraska
coach Tom Osborne said, the Wild
cats now think they can win.
‘‘1 think it's a little different
situation than we’ve faced from
them in a long time,” Osborne
said. ‘‘I think that for the first lime
that we’ve played them in several
years they might have a genuine
feeling that they’re capable of
beating us if they play well.”
So far this season some of the
Wildcats have played well. Run
ning back Pat Jackson is fifth in the
Big Eight in rushing, averaging
94.3 yards a game. Quarterback
Carl Straw leads the Big Eight and
is sixth in the nation in passing
efficiency, completing 62.5 per
cent of his passes.
“Their main thing is to confuse
you,” Osborne said. “They run a
lot of sets. Just about every forma
tion known to man, they run.
“They’ve tried to work at a
running game and they run it fairly
well. That makes them a little bit
harder to defense.”
Straw, hobbling from an ankle
injury from last weekend’s game
with New Mexico, has delayed the
announcement of a definite starter
at quarterback. His replacement,
Paul Watson, is a good player,
Osborne said.
“They’re a little like Minnc
See WILDCATS on 8
Coach says Cats could win
if football gods wear purple
By Paul Domeier
Senior Reporter
More wins haven’t meant more
Ians for the 3-1 Kansas State Wild
cats, Nebraska’s football opponent
Saturday at 1:10 p.m.
After three home games, Kansas
Slate has drawn 67,444 spectators.
That’s total, not average. The aver
age has been 22,481 a game at the
42,000-seat KSU Stadium in Man
hattan, the site of Saturday’s contest.
“People have been very positive
and supportive, w ith the exception of
attendance,’’ said Kansas State coach
Bill Snyder.
In 1989, Snyder’s first season as
coach, the team averaged 26,726
spectators per home game.
“Part of our program w as that we
would campaign heav ily to gel people
in the stands, with the hope that the
players would respond to that kind ol
support,” he said.
So far, without support, the play
ers have responded. Kansas Stale has
defeated Western Illinois 27-6, New
Mexico State 52-7 and New Mexico
38-6 at home. The Wildcats lost 42
37 at Northern Illinois.
Three wins for Kansas State is the
most since 1982. To add a fourth this
weekend, though, Snyder said just
about everything would have to go
Kansas State’s way: Nebraska must
See SNYDER on 8
Missouri coach says frustration
may continue for young team
By Sara Bauder Schott
Senior Reporter
A frustrating couple of weeks may
be extended for the Missouri volley
ball team, said Coach Craig Sher
man.
Frustrating, Sherman said, because
for the Tigers’ wins have been few
and the team faces No. 1 Nebraska on
its home floor at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
Going into Thursday night’s match
against Oklahoma, Missouri was 4-8
“4 4
The last couple of
weeks, we’ve been
looking so hard for
wins that it is hard to
see the positive steps
we’ve made.
Sherman
Missouri volleyball coach
-1»
overall and 0-1 in the Big Eight.
Nebraska is 13-1 and 1-0 al ter sweep
ing Kansas Wednesday.
“The last couple of weeks, we’ve
been looking so hard for the wins that
it is hard to see the positive steps
we’ve made,’’ Sherman said. “We
have improved, but the W’s aren’t
there.’’
The Tigers are a young team with
only two seniors and three juniors,
and Sherman said the big problem is
little experience. Against Nebraska,
Sherman wants his young group to be
in position to win a couple games.
Sherman said Missouri is looking
forward to playing Nebraska for one
reason. He said the Tigers arc anxious
to play in front of the NU Coliseum’s
large crowd -- a luxury the Tigers
don’t have.
The Comhuskers lead the nation
in attendance, averaging 2,624 a matc h.
Missouri’s average is 147.
Finishing fourth in the Big Eight is
Sherman’s goal for the season. The
Tigers finished seventh last year. He
said Nebraska and Colorado proba
bly have the lop two spots sewn up,
but there could be a “neat little dog
fight’’ for the remaining teams.
Husker middle blocker Stephanie
Thaler is from Union, Mo. Sherman’s
hopes of nabbing Thater were short
lived.
“She had a good high school ca
rccrand was being recruited by all the
lop* 10 schools,” he said. “We were
out of it pretty early.”
Coming into this week, Thater led
the Big Eight in hitting percentage
with a .372 average. She was fol
lowed by teammate Cris Hall (.313)
and Missouri’s Yvette Buhlig (.297).
#1 Nebraska Missouri j
(13-1). W,(4-8)*
.I-'' "xl.
Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at NU Coliseum
_Nebraska leads series 30-2-1_
Nebraska
Name Position Height Year Hometown
Becky Bolli DS 5-8 Sr. Burwell
Cris Hall OH 6-2 Jr. Chanute, Kan.
Janet Kruse OH 6-1 Jr. Fort Calhoun
Val Novak S 5-10 Sr. Oak Lawn, III.
Eileen Shannon OH 6-0 So. Elmhurst, III.
Stephanie Thater MB 6-2 So. Union. Mo.
Missouri
Name Position Height Year Hometown
Cindy Attenberry S 5-5 Fr. Eldon, Mo.
Shannon Brown MB 6-0 So. Belleville, III.
Yvette Buhlig OH 5-11 Jr. Alma, Mo.
, Sherri Gentry MB 5-11 Sr. Osage Beach, Mo.
Shelly Lowery MB 5-11 Fr. Independence, Mo.
Jodi Lucas OH 5-8 Jr. Festus, Mo.
UNL students free with student ID.
‘Does not include Thursday night's game. John Bruce Daily Nebraskan
