Neb“yskan SPORTS
Huskers tame Wildcats on volleyball court
DN Fite Photo
Sophomore outside hitter Billie Jean Winsett receives the ball in a match
earlier in the season. Winsett helped the Comhuskers down Kansas State
on Wednesday.
By Tim Pearson
Senior Reporter
Coming into Wednesday’s match against
Nebraska, the Kansas State volleyball team
hadn’t won a game against the Comhuskers
since 1987.
The Wildcats also had never beaten the
Huskers in a match — and they had 47 tries.
Kansas State also had not won its last 18 Big
Eight matches.
Those three streaks continued Wednesday
night against a Husker team playing without its
leading blocker, freshman Jen McFadden.
McFadden didn’t make the trip to Manhattan,
Kan., because of an ankle sprain.
The Huskers beat the Wildcats 15-5, 15-5,
15-7 at Aheam Field House.
The win raised the Huskers’ record to 16-3
and 5-2 in the Big Eight. With Oklahoma’s loss
to Colorado in three games Tuesday night at
Boulder, Colo., Nebraska is only a half-game
behind the second-place Sooners.
Nebraska and Colorado will meet in Lincoln
Saturday night.
Nebraska coach Terry Pettit said his team
did a good job against the 7-15 Wildcats, who
stand in last place in the conference.
“I thought we did a nice job,” he said on his
post-match radio show on KFOR-AM. “Every
body did their job, and we get to go home
early.”
The Huskers jumped out early in the first
game. With a 2-1 lead, Nebraska then scored 12
of the next 13 points to take a 14-2 lead.
The Huskers served for the game six times
unsuccessfully, allowing the Wildcats to score
three more points. But Nebraska middle blocker
Allison Weston put down a kill to win it.
Playing in McFadden’s place was junior
middle blocker Peggy Meyer, who responded
with eight kills, four coming in the first game
alone.
Pettit said Meyer played well, and he said
she might play against Colorado in Me Fadden ’ s
place, depending on the seriousness of
McFadden’s injury.
“I haven’t even talked to the doctors yet,” he
said. “McFadden is a great ball player, but
Peggy has the most experience and probably is
our strongest sub.”
The second game was much the same. The
Huskers jumped out to an 11-1 lead before
Kansas State made the score 14-5.
The Wildcats jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the
third game. With the Huskers behind 6-4, junior
Kim Tonniges came in for Nebraska and served
three aces in a row to give the Huskers the lead
for good at 9-6.
Pettit said the win was a good tuneup for
Colorado.
“It’ll be a challenge, but I think we’ll be up
to it,” he said. “As a coach I’m really looking
forward to this one.”
Moving Pickens
Former Husker enters a greener pasture with Packers
By Jeff Singer
Senior Editor
For Bruce Pickens, it’s as though a
change in geography means a second
chance in life as well.
In 1991, the former Nebraska de
fensive back was the second pick
overall in the NFL draft when he was
selected by the Atlanta Falcons. But
Pickens has had nothing but trouble
since setting foot in Atlanta.
Before his rookie season, Pickens
held out of the Falcons’ training camp
because of disagreements in contract
negotiations, and he was one of the
league’s last first-round draft picks to
sign.
Squabbles with Atlanta coach Jerry
Glanville limited playing time, and
rape charges—which were eventual
ly dropped — didn’t make the next
season and a half any easier. But they
all made his trade to Green Bay two
weeks ago a welcome transition.
“I’m really happy to be out of
Atlanta,” Pickens said. “It’s like a
new life.”
Pickens said he thought his career
was doomed before he even played a
single down in Atlanta.
“The contract negotiations set off
a war between me and Glanville, and
things were never the same,” said
Pickens, who eventually signed a
multi-year contract for more than $2
million per year.
Pickens was Nebraska’s highest
draft pick since Irving Fryar was the
No. 1 overall selection in the 1984
draft. He said his early selection led to
some high expectations of him —
expectations some have said he has
not fulfilled.
But Pickens said he knew why he
hadn’t excelled as quickly as other
ickens played in only 27 games
and started only seven times in his
two-and-a-half seasons in Atlanta. He
said being on Glanville’s bad side
limited his playing time as well as his
chances to improve to a professional
caliber.
I should’ve had the
opportunity to be
thrown Into the fire.
Being a cornerback,
you learn by trial and
error.
“I didn’t get to play as much as I
would have liked,” he said. “I
should’ve had the opportunity to be
thrown into the fire. Being a
cornerback, you learn by trial and
error."
Pickens was involved in the trade
that temporarily sent him and former
All-Pro running back Eric Dickerson
to the Packers for John Stephens and
a future Packer draft choice.
'ers.
- u
—Pickens,
Green Bay defensive back
99 —
But when Dickerson failed his phys
ical with Green Bay and consequently
retired, the trade became a straight
Pickens-for-Stephens swap.
Pickens said Green Bay was aplace
he knew would suit him well.
“They’re going to give me the
opportunity to come in and play right
away,” Pickens said. “They play a lot
of man-to-man (defense), and it’s just
1 ike in basketball playing one-on-one
—that’s what all good athletes want.”
Pickens remained on the Packers’
inactive list in his first game with
Green Bay last Sunday against Tam
pa Bay. But as long as he isn’t both
ered by a lingering hamstring injury,
he is expected to suit up for this
week’s game against Chicago.
Even if his hamstring injury does
persist, he said there were some things
he learned at Nebraska to help him
overcome such a dilemma.
“At Nebraska, they help you to
reach inside yourself and get the very
best out of you,” Pickens said.
Despite his professional aspira
tions, Pickens said, he still watches
theComhaskers. This year’s team has
been taught the same lessons Pickens
learned, he said, and can consequent
ly compete for the national champi
onship.
“(Nebraska) has given up a few
more points than they would have
1 iked,’* Pickens said. “But the quicker
lincbackcrswe have will hclpuswhen
we play the good quarterbacks that
Florida State or Miami has.”
DN File Photo
Bruce Pickens, left, celebrates a sack with former
Cornhusker Kenny Walker in Nebraska’s 13-0 win over
Baylor in 1990.
Pesky policies, picky pollsters destroy beauty ot birth
Before I begin my column, I want
to protest the way I have been treated
by the Daily Nebraskan.
Last Sunday I wanted to go home
to witness the birth of my gerbil
Mookie’s first litter. I informed the
Daily Nebraskan of my intentions,
and they proceeded to tell me I would
be fined $125,000 and suspended.
They further stated that the Houston
Oilers had set the precedent and they,
the DN editors, were only abiding by
the common-law role. On, how cruel
the law can be.
However in all this policy squab
bling, there’s really only one true
victim: Mookie. As she went into
labor, her little eyes probably turned
to the top of her cage to look to me for
comfort. All right, gerbils are blind—
but my point is that she needed me to
be a calming force at a turbulent time.
I usually sing her her favorite Nirvana
songs for such relaxation—and where
was I?
Slaving away on a terminal, that’s
where.
I’ll continue to write for this heart
less paper, but 1 hope they don’t ex
pect me to go to their friggin’ Christ
mas party. Damn you, Daily Nebras
kan. And that’s from Mookie, too.
After the long day Mookie and I
went through, we looked forward to
viewing the new Associated Press
poll and seeing our Huskers vault to
the top of the college ranks.
Imagine her pain at seeing the
‘Skersdrop to sixth in the poll. At first
I thought they were penalizing us for
not having any Canadians on our team,
but then I realized it went much deep
Beau
Finley
er than that.
Those weasel sportswriters are still
getting us back for giving up 487
passing yards to Kansas State. Hey,
the KSU Air Kitties are a good team.
Maybe they DID make our secondary
look like a bunch of hairy ballerinas.
And maybe switching from the nickel
to the dime defense makes that extra
defensive back worth about five cents
—probably raising the issue of infla
tion. But I say “silence” to the critics.
Amidst the adversity, we got the “W.”
But I guess that’s not good enough
for the pollsters. It doesn’t even seem
to be good enough for some fans.
After the game with the KSU Fight
ing Felines, it was reported that the
wife of secondary coach George
Darlington was being unmercifully
heckled in the stands. Security finally
had to remove Chancellor Spanier
after he repeatedly yelled: “Wanna
see some ‘Green Space?’ Take a look
at the that (expletive) zone.”
But the problem is not with the
Huskcr defense; it’s with the whole
theory of football. I mean, look at the
size of the field. When a receiver
knows where he’s going and the de
fender doesn’t, the receiver will be
able to find an open area. It’s only
logical that a team could throw for
400-plus yards.
What football needs is a little help
for the defense. It would make the
game more violent and keep KSU
scenarios to a minimum.
I propose that the defense get a
center fielder for the secondary. In the
Husker tradition of naming defensive
positions, I call this defender the
“Sidney." The Sidney will provide
the needed support to the pass cover
age. This counter-balances the offen
sive advantages, making the game
more fair, but it also provides one
more person to hit the ball carrier.
That’s one thing football could al
ways use: more violence.
But this is only a fantasy, much
like the one with me maTrying Allie
Weston in a vat of tapioca pudding.
See FINLEY on 8