Pettit sees benefit in Huskers’ loss to Texas
By Tim Pearson
Senior Reporter
Last Saturday’s loss to Texas may
turn out to be a blessing in disguise
for the Nebraska volleyball team.
The second-ranked Longhorns
gave the 18-4 Cornhuskers their first
three-game loss of the season last
weekend.
Husker coach Terry Pettit said he
hoped the match would help Nebras
ka prepare for post-season play.
“Losses arc never good,” he said.
“But playing good competition helps
you.
“The Texas match pointed out
some things that we need to work
on.”
Pettit said the loss to the Long
horns was a result of preparation —
lots of it on Texas’ part and not
enough on the Huskers’ part.
“Some of the problems were phys
Parity
Continued from Page 7
week and. of course, Nebraska, 19
10, last season.
“They played an awfully good
football game (against Kansas
State),” Osborne said. “The interest
ing thing was that they were very
dominant. It wasn’t a fluky win. They
were really the dominant team, par
ticularly in the later stages of the
game.”
Osborne said the continuity of the
coaches had led to consistency in the
conference.
“I think most everybody has been
here 5, 6 years or more,” Osborne
said. “So nobody’s lost a recruiting
class. Usually, if you change coach
es, you lose a recruiting class or at
least most of the recruiting class.
“Some of those teams were chang
ing coaches every four years, and
they were in a constant state of flux,
and they never did settle down.”
The parity has caused the top
teams’ records to not be as glamor
ous as in past years, Osborne said.
He said the reputation of the confer
ence has been based on the past weak
ness of Big Eight competition.
“I think that our national reputa
tion fell considerably below the level
of play you sec in the conference
right now,” he said. “I just really
think that legitimately right now.
we’re on a par with most of the better
conferences in the country.”
ical and some were mental,” he said.
“It wasn’t a matter of the system or
personnel. We just did not play well.
They were ready and we weren’t
ready.
“But I feel certain that we’ll do
better and we have a chance to im
prove against Kansas.”
Kansas comes into the match
against Nebraska with a 15-10 record
and a 4-5 mark in the Big Eight.
Earlier in the season, the Huskers
defeated the Jayhawks in three games:
15-4,15-5, 15-10.
Kansas coach Frankie Albitz said
her team played well in the first match
against Nebraska in Lincoln.
“We did a little better as far as
points scored against Colorado last
week,” Albitz said. “But I thought
we played better against Nebraska.”
But she said the Huskers probably
had improved since their first match
against her team.
“We all improve unless injuries
happen,” Albitz said. “Usually the
ball handling gets stronger as the sea
son goes on.”
Albitz said she didn’t think the
Huskcrs’ loss to Texas would have
any bearing on tonight’s match.
“Normally it might be an advan
tage for us,” she said. “But it de
pends on how a team reacts, and I
think Nebraska has a lot of confi
dence in themselves.”
Pettit said his team’s final five
regular-season matches were crucial.
“The last five matches are real
important,” he said. “The remaining
matches will determine what level
and what seed we’ll be at in the
NCAA tournament.
“We’re getting down here to the
end of the season, and some teams
get better and some don’t. 1 think
CaACAII OtotO Nebraska's team
^)t#ddUH wldlw leaders after
nine games.
RUSHING Games/ Net Yards/
Starting ATT yards Game TD
Calvin Jones 7/7 134 753 107 6 10
s & i! % a? ^
SmTSoruiing 8/2 48 283 35.4 3
, "***«■• No Ylrds u 1TDs
Abdul Muhammad 9/8 22 348 41 2
| Corey Dixon 9* 17 320 60 2
TnmuneBell 9/3 II 61 33 2
Gerald Armstrong 7/7 9 117 31 4
PASSING Games/ Comp./ Comp -
Starting Att. Pet. lnt Yds. TDs
Tommie Frazier 9/9 68/135 50.4 3 1034 10
TACKLES Games/
Starting Unassisted Assists Total
Trev Alberts 9/9 42 42 84 *
Toby Wright 9/9 38 30 68
Ed Stewart 9/9 28 34 62
Mike Anderson 9/8 19 31 50
Ernie Beler 9/8 18 28 46
John Reece 9/8 21 22 43
INTERCEPTIONS , M . Tn
Games No. Ret. yards TD
Toby Wright 9 2 33.5 2
Kareem Mots 9 1 42 0
DN graphic
-—-1
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• Laser Printers 1201 "Q" Street • 475-2679
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we’ll get better.”
The Huskcrs arc going to need
some help from Iowa State or Mis
souri to win the Big Eight title.
But even if the Huskcrs don’t win
their 18th-straight conference title,
Pettit said, they have their sights on
the Big Eight tournament and the
national tournament.
“Obviously, winning the Big Eight
is one of our goals,” he said. “We
have a lot of pride in winning the Big
Eight championship, but that doesn’t
keep us from having an exceptional
season.”
Pettit said the Huskers would get
another shot at the BufTaloes in the
Big Eight tournament.
“One way or another we’re going
to play Colorado again, maybe twice
more,” he said. “The key is to push
on through our next seven matches
before the NCAA tournament.”
_r
Nebraska (184,6-2)
Vs.
Kansas (15-10,4-5)
8 p.m. Allen Field House,
Lawrence Kan.
Nebraska
Kansas
MB Im^ramer
DN graphic
Kansas’ road to tourney
must go through Huskers
By Tim Pearson
Senior Reporter
The Big Eight volleyball tourna
ment is less than three weeks away,
but the four tournament spots are still
up for grabs.
Only louroi the
seven Big Eight
teams will partic
ipate in the tour
nament in Oma
ha, Nov. 26-27.
And as the reg
ular season clos
es down, Kansas
is hoping to be
aiks* one oi mem.
AIDitz But noihing has
been decided yet.
The Jayhawks, who play host to
Nebraska on Wednesday at 8 p.m. in
Lawrence, Kan., arc battling Iowa
State for the fourth and final spot in
the tournament. Colorado, Nebraska
and Oklahoma are the front-runners
for the other three spots.
Colorado is on top of the Big Eight
at 9-1, with Nebraska right on their
heels at 6-2. In order to get back into
the race for the conference title, Ne
braska needed Kansas to defeat Col
orado on Saturday.
But the Jayhawks couldn’t. They
lost to the Buffaloes in four games.
After facing Colorado, Kansas’ job
is equally tough — if not tougher —
Wednesday night, Kansas coach
Frankie Albitz said.
The Jayhawks need a win to stay
in fourth place. The Huskers also need
a win to stay in the battle for first.
But that is where the similarities
end.
Kansas needs Iowa State, which
has won three matches in a row, to
lose to Colorado in Ames, Iowa, Sat
urday to regain sole possession of
fourth place.
But the Comhuskcrs need a Cy
clone win over the Buffaloes to stay
in the race. If Colorado loses, it would
have a 9-2 record in the conference.
If Nebraska wins against Kansas, the
Huskers would have a 7-2 confer
ence mark.
Albitz said the race could go down
to the end. She said both Colorado
and Nebraska are good teams but
they are different teams.
“Colorado runs a much fancier
offense,” she said. “They have a
unique blocking system where they
use only one blocker.
“That gives them five diggers.”
Albitz said Nebraska coach Terry
Pettit uses a system that isn’t as com
plicated as the Buffaloes’.
“Terry’s a more kecp-it-simple
type coach,” she said. “But they have
a lot of confidence in themselves as a
team.”
Alberts
Continued from Page 7
game rallies by UCLA and Colorado
in the final quarter of both games.
And Alberts and the Blackshirts were
given a true test last Saturday at Kan
sas.
After Kansas scored a last-minute
touchdown, the Jayhawks went for
two points and the win on the con
version. However, Alberts chased
Jayhawk quarterback Ashciki Preston
as he rolled to the right side, and the
pressure forced Preston to throw an
incomplete pass and preserve Nebras
ka’s perfect season.
Alberts said the close score in
Lawrence, Kan., shouldn’t have been
too surprising.
“When you’re 9-0 and ranked as
high as we are, you have every team
shooting for us — that’s part of the
game,” he said. “We should expect
teams to be playing over their heads.”
Another team, he said, that might
play over its head — and over its 3-6
record — is Iowa State this Saturday.
The Cyclones will be coming into
Memorial Stadium looking to spoil
the Huskers’ perfect 5-0 Big Eight
record, just as they did last year in a
19-10 upset at Ames, Iowa.
Alberts, who hails from Cedar
Falls, Iowa, said he and his defensive
teammates wouldn’t have any prob
lem getting fired up for the Cyclones.
“Being from Iowa, I’ve never had
any trouble getting up for this game,”
Alberts said. “It won’t be hard get
ting up for a team that beat us last
year.
“Last year, we were the first Husk
cr team to get beat by them in so
many years, and we don’t want to
make those kind of marks.”
Alberts, who earlier this year be
came Nebraska’s all-time sack lead
er with 28.5 sacks for 195 yards lost,
said that despite Nebraska’s 9-0
record, no one had seen the Huskers
at their best.
He said he hoped the Huskers
reached their peak on New Year’s
Day.
“We’re not putting it all togeth
er,” Alberts said. “The offense is hav
ing great days and then the defense is
having better days. It sure would be
nice if we could play every game
putting it all together.
“But you never know' - we might
save that for the big one."
Recruits
Continued from Page 7
to undefeated records the past two
seasons.
Surles chose Nebraska over Iowa,
Central Michigan and California.
Reed said Nebraska was the best
place for Surles.
“He got along with Danny Nee
very well, and he especially liked
(Nebraska assistant coach) Jimmy
Williams,” he said. “He has great
ballhandling skills. He can play the
point or the two or three position.
Surlcs, who is awaiting his latest
ACT results, scored a 16 on his first
attempt. A score of 17 is required in
order to play under NCAA guide
lines. Reed said Surlcs’ first test score
was not a concern.
"He had a 16 the first time with
out studying,” Reed said. “He stud
ied a jjrcat deal for the second one.
I'm not worried about that at all.
He’ll get the score. It’s not even a
concern.”