Sports
Kruse dominates
after recovery
By John Adkisson
Staff Reporter
Janet Kruse couldn’t have asked
for a worse start to her senior volley
ball season at Nebraska.
But now, things couldn’t be going
better for her.
The Comhusker outside hitter from
Fort Calhoun has rebounded from an
ankle injury in Nebraska’s first match
of the season. Kruse has been a cata
lyst in the team’s current 12-match
winning streak and drive toward a
third-consecutive NCAA Final Four.
Kruse exhibited her resurgent play
Saturday in Nebraska’s three-game
sweep of eighth-ranked Texas. Kruse
finished with a season-high 23 kills
and a .462 hitting percentage in the
victory.
This just may be vintage Janet
Kruse.
“I hope so,” she said. “I’ve always
been motivated to play well against
Ta» QC einAA T L- non) o 1r\t r\f nlai/Arc An
their team.”
Kruse, a two time All-American
and Husker co-captain, said the Texas
match was one of the best she’s seen
Nebraska play in her four years as a
Husker.
“It was definitely one of the best
matches that I can remember us play
ing,” she said. “We stayed controlled,
and we didn ’ t get excited when Texas
did something well or the crowd started
to get into it.”
Nebraska Coach Terry Pettit said
as much as anything, Kruse’s im
proved play can be attributed to better
ball-handling and setting by her team
mates.
“Her success is in a large part due
to our improved passing and setting,”
Pettit said. “Our setter (sophomore
Nikki Strieker) has been getting her
the ball in great position.”
Without Kruse in the Nebraska
lineup, Nebraska lost matches to UCLA
and Brigham Young. Her return, in a
Husker loss to New Mexico on Sept.
28, was the last time Nebraska lost.
Coming back from the sprained
ankle suffered in Nebraska’s opener
against Wisconsin was slow for Kruse.
During a four-match stretch in the
middle of the season, she totaled just
23 kills in 64 attacks.
Then Kruse exploded in a match in
Boulder, Colo., against the Buffa
loes, recording 19 kills in the Husk
ers’ three-game sweep. In the Husk
ers’ three matches since, Kruse has
led the team in kills.
Kruse said she could still improve
aspects of her game.
“Serving is something I’ve always
had trouble with,” Kruse said. “I’ve
served all right the last couple games,
but I still need to keep improving.”
.Pettit said that as much as any
thing, Kruse and fellow senior Cris
Hall have added leadership to the
young HusKer team.
“We’ve gotten good leadership from
both Hall and Kruse,” Pettit said.
“Their play and their intensity in
practice has been important for us.”
Now, Kruse and the Huskers must
turn toward three final Big Eight
matches, the conference tournament,
and the NCAA Tournament.
“There are still some things that
we did in Texas that can be improved,”
Kruse said. “That’s what we need to
work on.”
And, Kruse said, if those thingsare
improved, maybe the Huskers can
make another trip to the Final Four.
Is that a goal?
“The goal is to play every match
like we did down in Texas, and then
coming home with a national cham
pionship trophy in my lap,” she said.
“That would be the ultimate.”
Klley Timperley/DN
Nebraska’s Janet Kruse digs the bail during action against Kansas State earlier this season.
The senior from Fort Calhoun has come back from an ankle injury to help the Cornhuskers to
their current 12-match winning streak.
Tennis team to close fall
with toughest competition
By Jeff Singer
Staff Reporter
The Nebraska women's tennis
team is hoping the moving of the
region’s tennis championships closer
to home will help bring winscloscr
to home as well.
The ITCA Midwest Regional
Championships have been moved
from their previous home in Salt
Lake City to Omaha, but the Com
huskers will need more than a
geographical change to help them
beat some of the region’s top play
ers, Nebraska Coach Scott Jacob
son said.
“This is the best competition we
will see all year,” Jacobson said.
“We’re going to need to play well
to help our confidence for the rest
of the year.”
Junior Ann Flannery agreed.
“The tournament is very impor
tant for the rest of the year, and is a
Preat way to end the fall season,”
tannery said. “We’ll be playing
against some great competition, and
our play should help determine the
lineup for the rest of the year.”
The competition includes na
tionally-ranked Brigham Young and
del ending Big bight champion Okla
homa State.
Jacobson said he wants to see
his team improve mentally in prepa
ration for conference play in the
spring.
“We’ve been playing well physi
cally, but not mentally,’’ he said.
“We need to improve mentally.”
— 44
We’re going to need
to play well to help
our confidence for
the rest of the year.
Jacobson
women's tennis coach
-ff -
Along with Flannery, Zarina Gal
van and Frauke Hachtmann will be
playing singles in the individual
based tourney. Galvan will team
with senior Rachel Collins to play
on the only doubles squad the
Huskers will be sending to the Rjver
City. The tournament, the last
competition for Nebraska this fall,
will continue through Saturday.
Tickets remain for Iowa State
From QtaM Ponnife
Nebraska athletic ticket manager
Joe Selig announced Wednesday that
about 1,000 tickets remain for the
Nebraska-Iowa State football game
Nov. 16 in Lincoln.
Tickets are priced at $18.50 and
may be purchased at the South Sta
dium Ticket Office, by mail or by
phone with Visa or Mastercard. Any
one with questions may call the ticket
office for more information.
Irish hoopla pathetic, pointless
Pay-per view game too much
As if Bill Walsh wasn’t enough to
make somebody hate Notre Dame’s
football program.
Now Irish officials are breaking
new ground and offering their school’s
Nov. 16 game against Penn Stale on
pay-per-view television to 50 percent
of the country.
You don’t pay, you don’t sec Rick
Mirer play. It’s that simple.
Maybe I’ll fork over a few bucks
to watch the two most overrated teams
in the country battle it out.
Or maybe I can find something
better to do.
Like lining up my Q-tips for my
weekly ear-cleaning.
Nonetheless, the announcement of
pay-per-view for Notre Dame-Penn
State is the latest in the sorry saga that
has transformed the Irish from one of
the country'’s most respected football
teams into representatives of the greedi
est athletic department in the nation.
By now, almost everybody has
watched Notre Dame Saturday on NBC
with Dick Enberg and his sidekick
“He’s good, but he’s no Joe Mon
tana” Walsh.
On those broadcasts, Enberg and
Walsh, the ex-coach of the San Fran
cisco 49ers, try their best to do an
impartial announcing job while Notre
Dame kicks the snot out of some
powerhouse like Navy.
But the two NBC boys sometimes
go into a lapse and show their true
green blood, referring to Mirer as
simply “Rick” or tight end Derek
Brown a& “Derek” and going nuts
when an Trish player crosses the goal
line.
In other words, they’re overglori
Tied Kent Pavelkas.
Both Walsh and Enberg spend a
day before the game on the campus of
the opposing school, supposedly to
make the broadcasts even more im
partial.
I can just see Walsh now, sporting
a 49ers jacket, a leprechaun cap, and
a Lou Holtz button, asking the oppos- ]
ing coach and laughing, “Hey, Bob, 1
do you really think you can slop Rick
and Derek?”
Of course this weekend, Walsh '>
and Enberg will have the tough task
of calling a real game: Notre Dame
plays Tennessee in South Bend, Ind.
If the game is close in its final \
stages, pay close attention to Walsh’s
behind-thc-mikc tactics. Undoubtedly, !
as he did in NFL games last year, he’ll :
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ment or talk about how Ronnie Lott (
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. John 1
Adkisson <
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would’ve broken up that pass.
But as bad as Waish is, even NBC’s <
decision toputhim in acollegebroad- I
cast booth is not as bad as the pay-per- :
view announcement.
Now that’s poor. '
Having to pay to watch Mike Tyson I
and Evander Holyfield wouldn’t be a I
great option, but that’s a once-a-year
spectacle like the Olympics or the I
Super Bowl.
On any given Saturday, hundreds i
3f college football games are played
icross the country.
A game involving Notre Dame
isn’t necessarily better than a game
involving Clcmson or Washington or
Iexas Tech or Toledo or Peru State or
Nebraska Wesleyan.
When fights are on television,
people can get together to defray the
:ost of pay-per-view. But can you
magine, when in a few years every
Irish game will be pay-per-view, asking
ill your friends to come over and
vatch Notre Dame play Air Force?
It may be excusable if the game
vere for the national title. But no
natter what Notre Dame does against
Icnnessce this weekend, the game
igainst Penn State won’t even be a
ihowdown between two Top Five
cams.
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Stale is still in the Top 10 despite a
oss on the road to Southern Cal, a
earn which is not even going to a
x)wl game.
The two teams have as many
:ombined losses as Nebraska and
Colorado did entering their game last
veekend. Yet, that game was piped
nto my living room without a hitch.
In fact, Notre Dame officials are
expecting the general public to pay
or their 2:30 p.m. game, which is the
;econd televised game of the day.
What’s the first game on Nov. 16,
/ou ask? Just a little 11 a.m. matchup
>etween Florida State and Miami, the
op two teams in the country.
Maybe the best things in life are
ree after all.
Adkisson is a Junior news-editorial major
ind a Daily Nebraskan staff reporter.