QpnPTQ Nebraskan
ill I VJ Tuesday, November 30,1993
No matter who’s foe,
Huskers glad for shot
By Jeff Griesch
Senior Reporter
The coalition poll is out, and so is West
Virginia.
Florida State nipped the Mountaineers by 69
points in the bowl poll to capture the No. 2 spot
and give the Seminoles the inside track to a
New Year’s Day matchupwith No. 1 Nebraska.
And despite Nebraska’s past frustrations
with Florida State, Comhusker players said
they didn’t care who they played.
Nebraska linebacker Troy Branch said that
as long as the Huskers played to their potential,
they had the ability to beat any team in the
country.
“If we go down and play to our ability, we
will win the game,” Branch said.
Although bowl pairings will not be officially
announced until Dec. 5, Husker comerback
Tyrone Williams said he did not have a prefer
ence between playing Florida State or West
Virginia.
“Whoever we play is who we play,” Will
iams said. “No matter who we play we are going
to play as hard as we can and give everything we
have.”
But Branch said he understood the Moun
taineers’ frustration at not getting a shot to play
for the national championship despite an unde
feated 11-0 season.
“You have to feel sympathy for them,”
Branch said. “You want to think that if you go
11 -0 that you should get a chance to play for the
title.”
Despite the Huskers’ No. 1 ranking, they
Coaches, player debate
volleyball rally scoring
By Tim Pearson
Senior Reporter_
Nebraska and Colorado had each
won two hard-fought games when
they squared up for the final game in
the Big Eight Tournament volleyball
championship Saturday.
The winner of the match would be
the team that thrived best under the
concept of fifth-game rally scoring, in
which every serve results in a point
for cither the serving team or the
receiving team.
In the fast-paced fifth game, the
Buffaloes came up with the win and
the automatic NCAA Tournament bid.
Although he was on the losing end
Saturday, Nebraska coach Terry Pettit,
whose team is 1 -2 in five-game match
es this season, said he liked rally
scoring because it was good for the
fans.
“I think it’sgood,” he said.“I think
a lot of coaches think that it removes
the coaching part, but it makes it
better for the player’s health and it
makes the fan interest exciting.
“It raises the overall level of play.”
But not all coaches like the con
cept of rally scoring, which was intro
duced in 1991.
This could be theyear for a national title—in volleyball
All those leaving for Madison, Wis.,
and the Final Four, please board now.
May I see your NCAA Volleyball
Championships bracket please?
Thank you, Mr. Pettit. Enjoy your
stay in Wisconsin. Next.
' Brad Saindon. I don’t sec your
name on the list, sir. Not so fast,
Saindon. Your Colorado team may
have to go through Lincoln first be
fore making the journey to Madison,
Wis., for the Final Four.
And if the Nebraska volleyball team
has its way, the Buffs won’t be seeing
much of the dairy state.
The Comhuskers, at first glance,
seem to be sitting pretty in their pur
suit of Terry Pettit’s first-ever nation
al title.
The Buffs, on the other hand, re
ceived a bye to the second round
where they will face either Illinois or
Southwest Missouri State, two teams
the Huskers have defeated this sea
Perm State coach Russ Rose, whose
team lost its match against Pettit’s
Nebraska team in a rally scoring fifth
game earlier this season, said he de
spised it.
“To me, it’s ridiculous to play 2 1/
2 hours of volleyball and then settle
the final game in six minutes,” Rose
said. “It equalizes the team that is not
as good as the other team.
“After 2 1/2 hours, it comes down
to a pinball game in the fifth game.”
While Rose said it equalized the
two teams, Nebraska assistant coach
Cathy Noth said it favored the better
team.
“I think it’s a great thing,” Noth
said. “It comes down to who is the
better ball-handling team and who
can put the ball away.
“You have to play a pretty error
less game. An error is a point no
matter what.”
However, Nebraska senior setter
Nikki Strieker said rally scoring ru
ined a team’s chemistry on the court.
“I really don’t like it,” she said. “It
makes it faster for the fans, but you get
into a rhythm in volleyball.
“ You' ve got to be able to sideouh”
Andy Banachowski, coach of sec
son.
And then Colorado would face
Penn State in the regionals which
would be held in Lincoln if the Husk
ers make it that far. Then a rematch
between Nebraska and Colorado
would be in the makings in the Re
gional final.
Can the Buffs beat Nebraska in
Lincoln? No. They haven’t ever come
close to beating the Huskers at the NU
Coliseum.
But let’s not look too far ahead.
The Huskers will face Cornell in the
first round of the NCAA Champion
ships Wednesday night. Cornell?
How did they make it into the land
of giants? These are the 48 best teams
out of the 277 total and you’re telling
me Cornell is among the best?
Take a look at the Big Red — not
Nebraska, but Cornell.
The Big Red is the Ivy League
champion with a 17-9 record. It is a
Nebraska is 6-4 since rally
scoring began in 1991. Rally
scoring is used only in the fifth
game, and awards points after
each serve, no matter which team
is serving.
Nebraska's results In
five-game matches that
have used rally scoring:
J991'
I (W) Texas Tech
(L) Brigham Young
(W)
—(1992>
(L) New Mexico
f ) Wyoming
( | Colorado
(nj Oklahoma
ON graphc
ond-ranked UCLA, said rally scoring
helped fans.
“It was made to make matches
more acceptable for fans to watch,”
he said. “It’s helped theaverage fan a
little more in enjoying volleyball.”
Tim
Pearson
relatively small team by Big Eight
standards. Cornell has one player over
six-feet tall, and she’s played in three
games all season. Nebraska has three
players over six feet, and all three
receive significant playing time.
Look at Cornell’s schedule. They
haven’t played anyone in the Top 25,
but the 24-5 Huskers have played five
teams in the Top 25.
The Huskers should send Cornell
back to New York in dominating fash
ion. We’re talking three games and a
bus trip back to Ithaca, N.Y.
But this is Cornell’s first-ever ap
pearance in the big dance. They’ll be
Odds even that Alberts
will play, McBride says
By Mitch Sherman
Staff Reporter___
As the Nebraska defense repeated
ly stuffed Oklahoma for little or no
gain in the second half of the the
Huskers’ 21-7 victory Friday, a mes
sage flashed on the scoreboard above
the Memorial Stadium’s north end
zone:
“You should see us when Trev
plays,” it read.
The sign referred to All-American
outside linebacker Trev Alberts, who
left the Oklahoma game early after
suffering a dislocated elbow.
And Alberts, who was named the
Defensive Player of the Year on Mon
day by Football News, thinks he has a
50 percent chance of playing in the
Orange Bowl on Jan. 1, defensive
coordinator Charlie McBride told the
Extra Point Club Monday.
McBride said Alberts’ arm was
placed in a cast Monday in order to
prevent nerve and ligament damage
while his elbow heals.
McBride said Alberts moved his
hand “like nothing ever happened.”
“So that’sgood, because itshowed
there was no nerve damage,” he said.
It’s also surprising, McBride said,
pumped up and ready to go. But the
Huskers have been shooting for the
Final Four since the start of the sea
son.
When the NCAA announced the
brackets Sunday night, not even a
whoop or a holler was heard from the
Nebraska players when they found
out who their first-round opponent
was.
Pettit said his team was in the
tourney for the long haul.
“If this was our first year in the
tournament, it would be different,” he
said.
And a victory over Cornell would
mean another date with Notre Dame,
the same team that defeated the Husk
ers earlier this season. Talk about
motivation. The Huskers will have
plenty of it going into South Bend,
Ind.
Nebraska was beaten decisively in
four games by the Irish. But Notre
after seeing-the extent •Rtwelbow
injury.
“When he came out of the game his
elbow was completely out of place.”
McBride said. “There was a great big
hole and you could see where his
elbow was supposed to go.
“After it happened, he couldn’t
move his hand at all.”
Losing Alberts did not hurt the
Blackshirts too much, McBride said.
“Of course it was a blow to us when
Trev got hurt,” he said, “but the way
our players responded on the side
lines, it almost helped. They knew
they had to play a I ittlc harder and step
it up a little bit.”
McBride said a similar defensive
performance would be needed in the
bowl if the Huskers are to stop the
Florida State offense.
At the head of the Seminoles’ of
fense is quarterback Charlie Ward,
who is a virtual lock to win the
Heisman Trophy, McBride said. In
last year’s 27-14 Seminole victory
over Nebraska in the Orange Bowl,
Ward completed 15 of 30 passes for
187 yards and two touchdowns, while
throwing one interception.
Dame may need more than the luck of
the Irish to get by a determined Husk
er team this time.
Even the normally reserved Pettit
is excited about his team. He wants a
return to the Final Four more than
anything, and after Saturday’s loss to
Colorado, part of his bubble seemed
to have burst.
But it looks like the Husker loss
will turn out to be a win if Nebraska
can make it to the regionals at the NU
Coliseum. It’ll be home sweet home
for the Huskers at a place where they
haven’t lost this season.
Maybe this is the year. A year
which was thought to be a rebuilding
year after the losses of Stephanie
Thater and Eileen Shannon may turn
out to be a rewarding year for
Pettit and his team.
Pearson is a sophomore news-editorial
major and a Daily Nebraskan senior report
er and columnist.
probably would be considered underdogs against
Florida State in a rematch of last year’s Orange
Bowl.
The Huskers have lost to the Seminoles three
times in bowl games during the past six years.
Last year, the Huskers lost 27-14, finishing
the season 9-3 and ranked 14th. The Seminoles
finished the season in the No. 2 spot with a 11
1 record.
In 1988, the two teams met in the Fiesta
Bowl, which Nebraska lost 31 -28. Florida State
rolled against the Huskers in the Fiesta Bowl
again in 1990 with a 41-17 win.
With those outcomes. Branch said, Nebras
ka’s underdog status is not surprising.
“I don’t think it would come as a shock to
anyone on this team that we are underdogs,”
Branch said. “And it is probably deserving
based on our past record. That doesn’t really
matter, though, because it is not this team’s
mentality to go into a game and play like
underdogs.”
Branch said the HuskerS only cared that they
had the chance to play for the national champi
onship.
“That is why guys from all over the country
come to play at Nebraska — to have a shot to
play for a national title,” Branch said.
Regardless of Nebraska teams’ past perfor
mances in bowl games, defensive back Toby
Wright said the Huskers held their destiny in
their own hands.
“It’s up to them to try and play against us.”
Wright said. “As long as we keep our desire and
our fire, I think we’ll win.”
—
]...
Shaun Sarlin/DN
Nebraska rover Toby Wright heads upfield after intercepting a pass during
the second quarter of the Cornhuskers’ win over Oklahoma. Wright says
Nebraska should win this year’s Orange Bowl. “As long as we keep our
desire and our fire, I think we’ll win,” he says.