Sports
6
Pettit: NU has
chance to earn
national title
By John Adkisson
Staff Reporter
For the Nebraska volleyball team, going to
the Final Four is nothing new.
But winning the national championship would
be.
The Comhuskers, 32-2 and ranked second
nationally, make their third Final Four appear
ance in the last five years when they take on
fifth-ranked Pacific tonight at 7:30 in College
Park, Md. The match will be broadcast live by
KFOR (1240 AM).
Last season, Nebraska advanced to the cham
pionship match before being dismantled by
Long Beach State in straight games. The Husk
ers also were swept in the finals bv Pacific in
1986.
Despite those poor performances in past
championship matches, Huskcr coach Terry
Pettit expects belter results if Nebraska returns
to the finals this year.
“If we can put ourselves in position for the
final match, then we’ll compete very hard in
that match and play well,” Pettit said.
The Huskers have won 15 consecutive
matches dating back to an Oct. 12 loss at
Stanford. Last weekend, Nebraska won the
Mideast Regional in Lincoln by turning away
prcvioubly-undefcated Penn State 15-12, 16
14, 10-15,15-5. The Huskers ended the Lady
Lions’ season at an impressive 44-1.
Pettit said if Nebraska duplicates Saturday’s
performance against Penn Slate this weekend,
the Huskers have a good shot to win it all.
“If we play as well as we did Saturday night,
we will put ourselves in the position to win a
national championship,” Pettit said. “And dial’s
all you can ask for.”
But before talking about a national champi
onship, the Huskers first have to get by Pacific.
The Tigers have won six matches against Top
10 teams this season, including a four-game
victory over Long Beach State in the finals of
the Northwest Regional.
The Tigers have no player under 6-foot in
their starting lineup, and Pettit said that height
Nebraska’s Cris Hail picks up a kill during the Huskers’ match with Pittsburgh
on Friday at the NU Coliseum. Nebraska is in the Final Four and plays Pacific
tonight at 7:30.
definitely is a concern.
“Pacific’s the biggest team in the country,”
Pettit said. “They’re a very complex team to
prepare for, and we really have our work cut
out for us in terms of that”
In a meeting between the two schools earlier
this year at the Illini Invitational, Pacific handed
the Huskers their first loss of the season by
winning in four games.
“I didn’t think either team played excep
tionally well, but they certainly played better
than we did,” Pettit said. “They outserved us,
and they outpassed us.”
Nebraska outside hitter Janet Kruse said
defense was the difference.
“Our defense wasn’t where it was supposed
to be,” Kruse said. “They’re a quick team, and
we just didn’t play very well.”
Pacific won back-to-back NCAA titles in
1985 and 1986, but hasn’t returned to the Final
Four since. Kruse said Nebraska, which re
turned 10 players from last year’s Final Four
team, has the edge in experience.
“When it comes to crunch time, we’re really
focused,” Kruse said. “Being at the Final Four
last year certainly will help us.”
In comparing this team with the team that
made it to the 1989 Final Four, Pettit said the
1990 team is more consistent.
“I think the difference may be mentally this
team has a better chance to play three great
matches than last year’s did,” Pettit said.
Pettit also said this team plays well under
pressure and on the big points. For this year’s
team the magic number is 12, he said.
“If we can get ourselves in position from 12
(points) on, we’re an exceptional team,” Pettit
said. “Husker fans can sit on the edge of their
seat until we get to 12 or 13, then they can think
‘The Husker s are where they’re comfortable’.”
In the other semifinal, top-ranked and 34-1
UCLA plays South Regional champion Louisi
ana State. The Bruins, who are the favorites to
win it all, lost early in the season to Nebraska in
a five-game match at the Wahinc Invitational
in Honolulu.
Although the team isn’t looking past Pacific
to a possible matchup with UCLA, Pettit said,
the Bruins are a team that Nebraska feels
comfortable playing.
Coaches: UCLA,
Huskers favored
in Final Four
By John Adkisson
Staff Reporter
UCLA and Nebraska will be the favored
teams in this weekend’s volleyball Final Four,
participating coaches said.
Louisiana State and Pacific round out the
field for this year’s national semifinals and
finals to be played tonight and Saturday in
College Park, Md.
Pacific’s John Dunning, whose Tigers wor
national championships in 1985 and 1986, said
the Bruins are the best team in the country.
“Out of the teams we’ve seen all year,
UCLA by far played the best match against us,”
Dunning said. “I’d say they have to be the
favorites this weekend.”
But Dunning also added that Nebraska is a
talented team that could beat UCLA.
“Nebraska’s got the Final Four experience,”
Dunning said. “And they’ve got some girls
who can really smash the ball.”
Louisiana Slate coach Brad Luster coached
the Tigers to a five-game upset over Texas in
the finals of the South Regional. That match
was played at Texas.
Now Luster has to prepare his team for
UCLA on a neutral floor.
“They (UCLA) are obviously the team to
beat,” Luster said. “But Nebraska also has
some great athletes that have been there a long
time.”
Although LSU is a decided underdog in
tonight’s match against the Bruins, Luster said
the Tigers may surprise some people.
“My team is so loose,” Luster said. “We’re
just going to the Final Four with the altitudes
that we have nothing to lose.”
UCLA coach Andy Banachowski said al
though his team is 34-1 and No. 1 in the nation,
he doesn’t sec any of that as a clear edge.
“We’ve all got a good shot,” Banachowski
said. “Both we and Nebraska have some confi
dence going in, and that should help us a little
bit.”
The Bruins were upset in the Final Four
semifinals last season by Nebraska, and the
See COACHES on 14
Osborne needs to stop
kicking his quarterback
with motivational tactics
Shelled by injuries, interceptions,
a loss and time on the bench, Mike
Grant now is being shot in the back
by his coach.
Grant is the only healthy quar
terback on the Nebraska football
team with enough talent and expe -
rience to lead the Comhuskers on
New Year’s Day against second
ranked Georgia Tech. Yet Coach
Tom Osborne hasn’t committed to
starting Grant.
Osborne declared the spot open
after the Huskers were crushed 45
10 by Oklahoma on Nov. 23. He
Domeier
has milked this for all possible
good; scaring Grant into practicing
hard. But if Osborne keeps this up,
all he will be doing is undercutting
an already shaken player.
After this season, Grant needs
to be built up, not threatened with
humiliation and replaced for a big
game by Nebraska’s third-string
quarterback. Remember, Osborne
once thought enough of Grant to
make him the starter ahead of
Mickey Joseph.
That was at the beginning of the
season, when Grant led Nebraska
to a 13-0 victory against Baylor.
Grant then missed two games
with a knee strain. He returned to
start against Oregon State and
Kansas Slate and, frankly, the of
fense looked terrible when he was
in the game. Joseph, poor arm and
all, became the starter.
With Joseph having earned the
spot, Grant was free to retreat, lick
his wounds and prepare for spring
practice and a chance to reclaim
the starting spot.
Of course, Joseph’s career-threat
ening injury on the sixth play of the
Oklahoma game forced Grant back
onto the Held. Grant came in to
complete eight of 19 passes, throw
ing three interceptions and losing a
fumble.
He didn’t play well and should
be replaced if Osborne had a Bruce
Mathison, Travis Turner or Clete
Blakeman as an option. But he has
third-string junior Tom Haase and
fourth-string junior Keithen
McCant.
If Osborne is using the ambigu
ity as a psychological ploy, se
cretly planning to present Grant as
the starter in a week or two, he’s
wasting his time.
Osborne threatening to bring up
a third-string player for the bowl
game is like saying, “Well, if you
don’t shape up, maybe we just won’t
have a quarterback.” Grant will
have to use his imagination to take
this threat seriously.
If Osborne is actually consider
ing replacing Grant, he’s making a
mistake. Grant, despite all of his
problems against Oklahoma, is the
only player with the minimum
amount of experience.
See GRANT on 14
NU volleyball player credits
team’s chemistry for success
By John Adkisson
Staff Reporter
If the Nebraska volleyball team is
able to put it together and win a na
tional championship this weekend, it
may be a chemistry lesson to other
teams across the country.
The Comhuskers’ roster includes
two All-Americans and several all
conference selections. Senior setter
Val Novak and junior outside hitter
Janet Kruse were named to the 1989
and 1990 All-American first-team
selections. Sophomore middle blocker
Stephanie Thaler was named second
team this season. The team returned
four starters from last year’s team
that lost in the NCAA championship
final match.
Too many egos? No, that’s not a
problem.
As it has been all season, the team
has the unity it takes to win a national
championship, outside hitter Cris Hall
said.
“We work together incredibly well,”
Hall said. “Instead of trying to work
through our problems individually,
the whole team has focused on pick
ing up somebody who may be down.”
The Huskers, who play Pacific at
7:30 tonight in the semifinals of the
NCAA tournament’s Final Four in
College Park, Md., have lost only two
matches all season.
A large part of Nebraska’s success
this season can be attributed to the
team’s chemistry, Hall said.
“Weareall totally differcntpeople
on the court,” she said. “I know I’m
not like anybody else out there. But
on this team, we emphasize the posi
tive aspects of each player, and it’s
worked well.”
Hall, a two-time All Big Eight
pick, said personal egos and statistics
are irrelevant. “When a team is fight
ing for a national championship, indi
vidual goals don’t matter,” Hall said.
“And the people we have this year
realize that.”
Kruse said the team’s cohesive
ness showed Saturday when the Husk
ers rallied from a 12-4 deficit in the
first game to beat Penn State 15-12.
The Huskcrs went on to win that
match in four games.
“Nobody got down on anybody
else, and that’s the way it has been for
us ail season,” Kruse said.
Whenever strife surfaced, Kruse
said, it was resolved quickly.
“Any time a problem comes up, if
somebody’s having trouble with
somebody else, we’ve gotten it into
the open right away and talked it out,”
Kruse said.
Kruse said Husker coach Terry
Pettit stresses that a good atmosphere
on the court is essential to a winning
volleyball team.
“The whole coaching staff has an
influence on how we play,” Kruse
said. “We can see how well they get
along, and that positive relationship
comes through in our play.” Hall
agreed.
“Coach Pettit is a very good per
son when it comes to getting a team to
work well together," Hall said.
“However far a team is down, if they’re
still touching and talking to one an
other positively, they’re not going to
lose.”
Hall said players such as Becki
Bolli, Debbie Brand and Linda
Barsness have accepted their roles
AVCA names
Kruse, Novak
All-Americans
From Staff Reports
Nebraska outside hitter Janet
Kruse and setter Val Novak were
chosen for the first team of All
American squad for the second
time, the American Volleyball
Coaches Association announced
Wednesday.
The announcement was made
at College Park, Md., site of this
year’s Final Four. Kruse, a jun
ior, and Novak, a senior, also
were named to the 12-tcam 1989
AVCA All-American team.
Cornhusker sophomore
middle blocker Stephanie Thaler
was named to the 1990 second
team.
The Nebraska team is in
Maryland, where it will play
Pacific tonight at 7:30 in the
Final Four semifinals.
tnd “done the job” when called upon.
“I admire them for what they do,”
Hall said. “It’s tough to sit on the
bench sometimes and watch, but they
have never had any qualms about
their roles.”