Sports
Fullback reflects on controversial fumble
By Todd Cooper
Senior Reporter
Comhusker fullback Lance Lewis
made some big plays for Nebraska on
Saturday, but he said his biggest play
was his second-half fumble that al
most secured a victory for Kansas
State.
“It’s like I told the guys after the
game, T made some big plays today
but one of them was bad,”’ Lewis
said.
Lewis was stripped of the ball by
Kansas Stale comcrback C.J. Masters
at the 40-yard line. Masters rambled
untouched into the end zone on the
play, which Coach Tom Osborne and
several players protested.
i wa* umiKiiig, vYiiai?> guiiig
on?’” Huskcr quarterback Keithen
McCant said. “I’m running over to
Coach Osborne to get a play and all of
a sudden, they scored.”
According to Osborne, the touch
down, which put Kansas State up 24
17, could have cost the Huskers the
game. Nebraska went on to win 38
31.
“I thought (Lewis) was stopped,”
Osborne said. “Several players said
they heard a whistle on the play.
“That was kind of unbelievable to
me.
Believable or not, Lewis said the
fumble shouldn’t have happened.
“I started to relax a little bit and
there went the ball,” Lewis said. “I
gave them a little present.”
Lewis said that gift could have
been costly.
“I thought, ‘Oh no, here we go, it’s
going to be a miserable evening,”’
said Lewis, whose family was visit
ing for the game.
See LEWiSon8
Robin Trimarchi/DN
Nebraska’s Keithen McCant fakes a handoff to fullback Lance Lewis as Will Shields blocks against Kansas State on Saturday. Lewis
had a career-high 79 yards on six carries, including a 25-yard run to the Wildcat 1-yard line to set up the winning touchdown.
Husker volleyball team
plans a Wildcat defeat
By John Adkisson
Staff Reporter_
Last weekend, an underdog Kan
sas State football team came within a
whisker of shocking Nebraska.
Tonight, the Kansas Slate volley
ball team will be trying to pull an
even bigger
shocker.
“I’ve seen a
real altitudinal
change on this
team,” said Kan
sas State Coach
Patti Hagemeyer,
whose Wildcats
have already lost
twice to Nebraska Pettit
this season. We re real excited to
play Nebraska again.”
Pardon the Comhuskcrs if they
aren’t impressed. Nebraska, at 14-3
overall, has won 44 consecutive
matches against the Wildcats enter
ing tonight’s 7:30 p.m. matchup at
the Bob Dcvancy Sports Center.
The Huskers are also leading the
conference and riding a seven-match
winning streak. Kansas State is in the
league basement at 0-5.
Hagemeyer said her team’s record
isn’t indicative of the Wildcats’ im
provement since Nebraska look two
September matches from Kansas State.
“We’ve spent a lot of this season
not concentrating on wins or losses,
but just improving,” Hagemeyer said,
c “Now we’re playing our best volley
ball of the fall.”
Nebraska Coach Terry Pettit said
his team will be concentrating on
improvement as well.
“They probably are not as strong
as they have been in the past,” Pettit
said of the W i Ideals. “The issue for us
is not really Kansas State, but playing
well.”
Nebraska has been doing just that.
Since a loss to New Mexico on Sept.
21, the Huskers have roared to their
customary lop spot in the Big Eight
with conference wins over Colorado,
Kansas, Iowa Stale and Oklahoma.
Part of Nebraska’s improvement
can be attributed to the play of fresh
man middle blocker Kim Tonniges.
In Nebraska’s win last weekend over
Oklahoma, Tonniges recorded a ca
reer-high 13 kills and a .667 hitting
percentage.
Pettit said Tonniges’ play is a di
rect result of belter sets from sopho
more Nikki Strieker.
“(Tonniges) played real well,” Pettit
said. “But it’s all predicated on where
Nikki gels the ball. Both of them did
a good job against Oklahoma.”
One area with which Pettit said
he’s concerned is unforced errors. In
its six conference matches, Nebraska
has committed 62 service errors, an
average of more than 10 per match.
“I think that in order to be in con
icnuon lor a national tnaiupiuiiMup,
you have to have exceptional serv
ing,” Pctlil said. “I would hope that
(serving) would begin to improve in
the next eight weeks.”
A critical match for Nebraska in
those eight weeks will be on Saturday
against Big Eight second-place Colo
rado. The Lady Buffaloes destroyed
Kansas Slate in three games last
weekend in Boulder.
Hagemeyer said Nebraska and
Colorado arc both a level above other
teams in the Big Eight at this point.
But she added that Kansas Slate
has some goals as well.
“I really think that Kansas State
has a place in the top four of this
conference,” she said. “That’s cer
tainly a goal.”
• Pettit said the loss of freshman
middle blocker Rachel Errthum, who
has been lost for the season with a
torn anterior cruciate ligament, “lim
its our options,” especially in prac
tice. Errthum, from Dubuque, Iowa,
had played in eight of the Huskers’ 17
matches.——
• Free tickets for tonight’s match
can be obtained at the door with a
donation of $1 or a can of food to the
Food Bank in Lincoln.
Shaun Sartln/DN
Nebraska’s Stephanie Thater (left) and Cris Hall attempt a block against Illinois earlier this sea
son. The Cornhuskers face Kansas State tonight, a team they have beaten twice this season
and 44 times in 44 tries overall.