3*'
Fire to win national title motivates Husker
By John Adkisson
Staff Reporter
And the flame rises.
Call it what you will, but Nebraska
volleyball senior Cris Hall has only
one word to describe how bad she
wants to return to the NCAA Final
Four and win a national title.
“It’s definitely a fire,” Hall said.
“I’ve had it ever since my sophomore
year when we came so close. We’ve
done everything else possible, and
now it’s time to win a national cham
pionship.”
Listening to Hall, you might think
the trophies are already engraved with
Nebraska players’ names.
B ut the 6-foot-2 outside h itter from
Chanute, Kan., knows that it will take
more than lip service to lead the
Comhuskers to their third consecu
tive national semifinal.
“It’s going to be really hard for
anybody to dampen my fire,” she
said. “If it’s 14-12 and we’re down,
I’m going to be aggressive. It’s going
to take a lot to stop me.”
Not much has stopped Hall re
cently.
She has exploded late in the sea
son, pounding 20 kills in a Nebraska
loss two weeks ago to Pacific and
more recently leading the Huskers’
first round NCAA win over Illinois
with 14 kills and a .500 hitting per
centage Saturday.
The next challenge is leading the
26-4 Huskers into this weekend’s
Mideast Regional semifinals Friday
against Wisconsin. A win would mean
a Saturday match against the Ohio
State-Penn State winner and a chance
to again play in the Final Four.
Hall has already seen two Final
Fours. In 1989, she and her team
mates lost in the final to Long Beach
State. Last season, Pacific took out
Nebraska in the semifinals.
What is different about this year’s
team and its chances?
“In ’89, we had a conflict among
teammates, and that’s why we didn’t
win it,” she said. “In ’90, it was a lot
of things. I was playing on a broken
foot, coach (Terry Pettit) was sick ..
william Lduei/uiN
Nebraska tri-captain Cris Hall passes the ball against Kansas earlier this season. The senior from Chanute, Kan., has provided
valuable leadership this season, Coach Terry Pettit said.
. there was a lot involved in it.”
Now, with just four possible
matches left until the Huskers have
another shot at a title, Hall said all the
problems she has seen in the past are
no longer there.
“The only way you can win it is
going into it thinking ‘We’re going to
win it,”’ she said. “And that’s theonly
attitude we have right now.”
A new challenge confronting Hall
is her role as team captain. Last week,
the Husker coaching staff named Hall
as a tri-captain with senior Janet Kruse
and sophomore Nikki Strieker.
But don’t think that a new title will
do anything to change Hall’s me
thodical, workmanlike attitude.
“Right now, when I step on the
volleyball court, I’m out there to have
fun,” she said. “B ut I’m out there to do
business, to do the job. And that comes
first.”
And if the job gets done, Hall and
her goal of bringing a national title to
Nebraska can finally rest.
“If we do win, years from now,
nobody will remember we won a na
tional championship,” she said. “But
I’ll know that I set a goal, and I
ac h ie vcd that goal. I’ 11 al way s be able
to keep that feeling.”
Season of giving brings sports awards
Christmas quickly is approaching
and we are entering the season of
giving. Therefore, it seems appropri
ate college football is beginning its
yearly onslaught of awards.
On Saturday afternoon, Michigan’s
Desmond Howard most likely will
receive the biggest present under the
tree when he is handed the 1991
Heisman Trophy and others will write
Santa asking for one of the other
prizes, which arc given out to the
player whose school has the best pub
lic relations department.
But there is one award ceremony
which isn’t highly publicized — The
David Moyer Graduation Awards.
After several frustrating years
watching Nebraska sports, I’m finally
ending my misery by heading into the
real world. For that reason, here is the
best and worst from Nebraska sports
during my academic career.
The Best Car Deal Award — To
former Comhuskcr basketball play
ers Tony Farmer and Jose Ramos.
They got a deal they couldn’t refuse
and now have a lot of free time to
practice driving. My car has a lot of
rust, maybe I should sec Raymond
Peery.
The Give It Time ... It Will
Happen... Eventually... Hopefully
Award — To the Nebraska football
team, for finally beating a ranked
team, and the basketball team, for
finally winningon ESPN. It just shows
how lots and lots and lots of persis
tence eventually pays off.
The Mick Jaggcr “I Can’t Get No
Satisfaction” Award—To volleyball
coach Terry Pettit. He continually has
one of the nation’s best teams, mak
ing the Final Four three of the past five
years, but can’t win it all. It’s kind ol
like writing your name in the snow.
but having to leave off the last letter.
It feels good, but you just don’t quite
finish it off.
David
Moyer
The Clarence Thomas Award —
To Bob Dcvaney. After allegations of
sexual harassment about women’s
swimming coach Ray Huppcrlearlier
this year, Dcvaney had to divert his
attention to something else besides
the Huskcr turf drive. In an effort to
solve both problems, the athletic di
rector is rumored to be re-releasing
M.C. Hammer’s “Can’t Touch This”
on video. His world tour begins with
Gloria Estefan at the Orange Bowl in
Miami. Devaney Time!
The Nice Try Award—To Danny
Nee for beginning Dead Dog Alley.
Granted the Dcvaney Sports Center is
quieter than Love Library at times
and something needed to be done, but
Huskcr fans just aren’t the wild beasts
Nee expected. Dead Dog Alley has
turned into the Sleeping Kitty-Litter
Box.
The Sticks and Stones Award —
To defensive coordinator Charlie
McBride, who weathered a lot of heat
early in the season after his young
defense faltered against Washington,
but was able to turn it around in time
for the goal posts tocome down against
Oklahoma.
The Worst Halftime Show—Hands
down it is Nebraska basketball. It’s
bad enough we have to sec gymnas
tics every other night, but we have to
sit through the lamc-o’s from the au
dience trying to make a free throw for
a gift certificate or whatever. The idea
is good, but they always seem to find
the biggest corncob in the stands.
“You mean I just throw it in that there
hole?” Yes, Jethro.
The Francis Allen Award — Usu
ally given to Allen, the men’s gym
nastics coach, himself for his peren
nial predictions of a national champi
onship, usually backed up. This sea
son it is given to Pettit. Before playing
Colorado at Boulder this year, Pettit
boldly proclaimed the Huskers match
against the Buffaloes would be “the
only other conference match (Colo
rado) will lose.” He was right.
Best Memorial Stadium Perform
ance — Sorry Tom Osborne, it isn’t
the Huskers. It goes to the Colorado
State Ram. The Rams’ mascot kept an
otherwise bored Husker crowd
amused by ramming the goalposts,
making Herbie Husker look like the
Farmer Ted he is. Maybe if Herbie
would run into the goalposts like the
ram did, it would knock some sense
into him, or at least knock him out.
Where Are They Now? — The
Husker special uniforms. The basket
ball team came out in all black against
Iowa State last season and actually
looked pretty cool. Derrick Chandler
insists he’s an intimidator so let’s
bring them back and let him be “the
man in black.”
The David Can Beat Goliath Award
— To Tom Osborne for insisting his
team can get beat by anyone on any
day. I’ve seen less smoke blown in
O’Rourke’s on a Friday night.
Moyer is a senior speech commit mentions
major and Daily Nebraskan sports staff re
porter.
Standout NU gymnast
has eyes on Olympics
By John Gardner
Staff Reporter
Nebraska gymnast Dennis
Harrison is only a sophomore, but
already he has made his presence
known.
Harrison, who so far this season
has led the Comhuskers in scoring
in the first two meets, doesn’t con
sider himself lobe the leader of the
team, though.
“My role is to be really consis
tent inevery competition,” Harrison
said. “If Ntgtually had to lead the
team, I’d just key on doing well
enough for my teammates to count
on me.”
Josh Saegert is the captain of the
team, so Harrison said it’s probably
more his job to do the leading.
He said Saegert, a junior, is the
oldest member of the young team.
Despite this, Harrison said, he is
excited about this team.
“We have a really strong team
this year,” he said. “We don’t have
any real weaknesses, with a lot of
quality gymnasts up and down the
lineup.”
Harrison said when the Huskers
get Saegert, Che Bowers and spe
cialist,'Louis Ball back, they will
be even tougher.
Saegert is out with an injury
until January, and Bowers has a
shoulder injury that has limited his
action.
By the time Harrison reached
high school in Ralston, success was
inevitable. He won the Metro
Championship all three years, was
the Nebraska all-around champion
his junior and senior year and placed
third as a sophomore. Harrison
looked at various schools, but knew
all along where he was going.
“I pretty much chose Nebraska
before the state meet my senior
year,” he said.
Now that he’s settled in Lin
coln, Harrison has one simple goal.
He wants to win a national champi
onship.
“My personal goal is to make an
Olympic squad some lime,” he said,
“but for the rest of the team, we
want to win it all.”
Last season, the Huskers weren’t
really in the running for the title,
but Harrison, as a freshman, had a
moment of glory. At the NCAA
Championships, he made it to the
vault finals. And the team, despite
its youth, had a few good moments
as well. Harrison said he was really
pleased with the way the Huskers
fared at the NCAA Rcgionals.
“We gave a lot of schools a
tough time last season,” he said. “A
lot of them didn’t really think we
could give them a run, either.”
Now Harrison looks ahead. He
said he would like to teach history
some day and become a gymnas
ticscoach. Harrison said he coaches
some kids back home, as well as
some alcoach Francis Allen’sclub.
For now, however, Harrison said
he is concentrating on getting bet
ter.
“I pretty much train all year
round,” he said. “Gymnastics is a
pretty continuous sport, so you can’t
really take any time off.”
