Nebraskan QpOP I Q
Friday, November 19, 1993
Alberts makes final cut for Butkus Award
n_. _ _ .
□ y iiiii rcaiaun
Senior Reporter
Nebraska linebacker Trcv Alberts
has a team-high 94 tackles this sea
son.
He could soon
add another grab—
only of a much big
ger sort.
On Thursday,
Alberts was select
Ied a finalist for the
Butkus Award,
which is given to
the nation’s best
... .e linebacker.
Aioens Alberts joined
Florida State’s Derrick Brooks and
ULLA s Jamir Miller as a finalist for
the honor, which will be awarded
Dec. 11 in Orlando, Fla. The winner,
selected by a nationwide vote of
sportswriters, will be announced by
former Chicago Bears linebacker Dick
Butkus, after whom the award is
named.
Alberts said just being named a
finalist was an honor.
“I know there were a lot of great
linebackers out there this year,” he
said via conference call Thursday. “It
makes me feel real good to be named
with such outstanding competition.”
Alberts has had a banner season for
Nebraska this year. Against Iowa State
last Saturday, he tied J im Skow for the
Husker record for sacks in a season.
Alberts has 15 sacks for 88 yards-m
losses.
Alberts, a senior from Cedar Falls,
Iowa, holds the Nebraska school
record for quarterback sacks with 29.5
in his career.
He is 12 solo tackles away from
tying Wayne Meylan’sposition record
of 59 unassisted tackles in a season.
Alberts has 21 tackles for losses, four
short of Skow’s position record. He is
seventh on the Nebraska all-t ime tackle
chart.
Alberts said he never expected to
be a finalist for the Butkus Award.
“Certainly I have confidence in
my abilities,” he said. “But I never
really imagined I’d be sitting here
today.
“I’ve had pretty good coaches in an
outstanding program. Things have
really worked out well for me.”
Husker coach Tom Osborne said
Alberts deserved to be named a final
ist after helping lead the Huskers to a
10-0 record and a possible shot at a
national title.
“It’s a great honor for Trcv,”
Osborne said. “He’s a great player,
and he’s done an outstanding job.
“He’s a great student and a great
leader.”
- it
Certainly I have
confidence in my
abilities. But I never
really imagined I’d be
sitting here today.
—Alberts
Nebraska outside lineback
er
- 99 -
Also on Thursday, Alberts was
named a first-team All-American by
Football News. Brooks and Miller
were also named to the team.
NU volleyball players’ thoughts dominated by revenge
Huskers hope
to redeem loss
against Sooners
By Tim Pearson
Senior Reporter
Revenge will be on (he minds of
Nebraska volleyball players in their
7:30 p.m. match Friday against Okla
homa at the NU Coliseum.
Before a four-game loss to the
Sooners on Oct. 9 in Norman, Nebras
ka was 13-1 and looking for their 18th
straight Big Eight title.
The Huskers were 2-0 in the Big
Eight, but the Sooners put an end to
Nebraska’s hopes of another unde
feated Big Eight season and dealt a
severe blow to their Big Eight title
chances.
rsow u s payoacK lime lor me
Huskers, junior outside hitter Kelly
Aspegren said.
“(Revenge) will be the main fac
tor,” she said. “We know that we
shouldn’t have lostand we’ve worked
on some things since then.”
Aspegren said the Huskers
wouldn’t be looking past the Sooners
toward the postseason.
“The loss to Oklahoma was one of
their biggest matches of the season,”
she said. “Maybe we looked past them.
But if we put it all together against
them, we’ll be great.”
But Oklahoma coach Miles Pabst
said he didn’t think revenge would
play a role in the match.
“I’m sure they want to kick us
every which way but loose, but I don’t
think there’s a revenge factor,” he
said. “They know everything we have,
and we know everything they have.
“It’ll come down to the team that
executes best.”
The seventh-ranked Huskers, 21 -4
and 9-2 in the Big Eight, are on a
three-match win streak after a three
game win over Iowa State on Wednes
day.
Husker coach Terry Pettit said the
Iowa State match gave his team an
opportunity to work on some different
things that could prove beneficial
against the Sooners.
“It wasn’t a match where we said,
' Here’s the game plan.”’ he said. “We
wanted to work on several different
situations.
See REVENGE on 8
1 .... - .. .---—— *—‘-*——* —- — . ■
Kiley Timperley/DN
Nebraska’s Nikki Strieker (left) and Jen McFadden attempt a block during the
Cornhuskers’ win over Iowa State Wednesday night.
Volleyball team
coming together
as tourney nears
By Tony West
Staff Reporter
When the Nebraska volleyball
team lost back-to-back matches
against Big Eight rivals Oklahoma
and Colorado earl ier this season, some
players began to doubt the Huskers’
ability.
But now, the seventh-ranked
Cornhuskcrs appear to be stepping it
up, junior middle blocker Peggy Meyer
said.
“At the beginning, we gelled really
well,” she said. “In the middle, we had
a lax and we’re coming together again
now.”
A J it A A . __ - .L .
rvnu mai iiam unit) may uv me
reason for the Huskers’ second straight
three-game sweep. The Huskersswept
Iowa State on Wednesday night, 15
8,15-11.15-3 aftersweeping Missou
ri on Saturday. Nebraska has two
matches left — against Oklahoma
and Illinois — before the Big Eight
Tournament on Nov. 26-27 at the
Omaha Civic Auditorium.
Nebraska coach Terry Pettit said
the Huskers would have to be mental
ly ready for postseason competiton.
“At the end of the season, all the
teams play hard,” Pettit said. “Play
ing hard isn’t good enough.”
Meyer agreed.
“We just have to get mentally pre
pared foreach match,” she said. “Nine
ty percent is mental.”
Every player has to take responsi
bility and concentrate on her tasks,
also.
“Everyone knows what their strong
points arc,” Meyersaid.“I come in for
blocking and I want the rest of the
team to know that I’ll go in tough.”
Meyer came in tough last night
against Iowa State, hitting five of
eight kill attempts for a .625 attack
percentage.
With the postseason right around
the corner, Meyer said, the Huskers
can’t worry about their individual play.
“You can’t play selfish, this is a
team sport,” Meyer said. “If I’m
totally inward on myself, no one can
play around me.”
Sportswriters are less than impressed with Huskers
By Jeff Singer
Senior Editor
The Nebraska football team’s undefeated
record has impressed numerous college coach
es enough to place the Cornhuskers second in
the latest USA Today/CNN coaches’ poll.
However, several sportswriters who vote in
the Associated Press rankings aren’t exactly
overwhelmed.
“There arc at least seven teams who would
beat Nebraska on a neutral field,” said Don
Whitten, who writes for the Oxford (Miss.)
Eagle. Last week, Whitten placed the Huskers
eighth on his ballot behind Notre Dame, Florida
State, Miami, Auburn, Florida, Ohio State and
Tennessee.
The 10-0 Huskers arc ranked third in the
latest Associated Press poll and consequently
trail Florida State by 67 points in the coalition
rankings.
Thus, despite the Scminoles’ 31-24 loss to
Notre Dame last Saturday, Florida State still
has the upper hand in the bowl picture. If things
stay the way they arc, the Scminoles and Irish
will have a rematch in the Fiesta Bowl on New
Year’s Day for the national title.
The Chicago Tribune’s Ed Sherman, who
last week placed Nebraska sixth on his ballot,
said he didn’t think the Huskers deserved a shot
at the national title, even if they won their final
game next week against Oklahoma.
“You’ve got to look at their strength of
schedule and the fact that they barely beat a sub
.500 Kansas team (21 -20),” Sherman said. “They
need to goout and play a worthy schedule. They
don’t have to look far for examples cither —
look at what Colorado did.”
The Buffaloes played Baylor, Texas,
Stanford and Miami in their non-conference
games, while the Huskers played North Texas,
Texas Tech, UCLA and Colorado State. Both
teams have one preconference opponent that
remains in the AP Top 25. Miami is fourth, and
UCLA is No. 16.
Even a Huskcr win over the 15th-rankcd
Sooncrs next Friday would not impress some
writers, including the Mesa (Ariz.) Tribune’s
Bob Moran.
“This is not the Oklahoma that was coached
by Barry Switzer,” said Moran, who had the
Huskcrs sixth on his ballot. “Oklahoma has not
done well in non-conference games, and they
don’t bring much to the table. Beating Oklaho
ma does not mean what it used to.”
However, the Sooners did go 4-0 in the non
conference this season, including a 44-14 rout
of No. 10 Texas A&M in September.
Whitten, who gave Nebraska its worst vote
of the 62 members casting ballots, said he used
a simple system to vote each week.
“1 vote based on who I think is better after
each week’s games,” he said. “And right now,
I would say teams like Auburn, Tennessee and
Florida arc all on the same level. And if one is
better than Nebraska, then they’re all better
See POLLSTERS on 8