NebSkan QPORT^
Wednesday, December 1,1993 kJA. \yAVl k-J
NCAA title in reach
for volleyball team,
Husker setter says
By Tim Pearson
Senior Reporter_
Nebraska’s volleyball team comes
into the NCAA Championships as the
fifth-seeded team in the Mideast Re
gion.
They hope to come out of the
NCAA Championships as the top team
in the country.
The Comhuskers’ quest for a trip
to the Final Four begins when they
face Cornell in the First round in a 7
p.m. match Wednesday at the NU
Coliseum.
Husker setter Nikki Strieker, who
was part of the last Nebraska team to
go to the Final Four in 1990, said
another Final Four appearance is pos
sible.
“We’re real excited,” she said.“It’s
within our grasp. I’m just glad to be
there, and I’m ready to get going.”
Nebraska enters the match with a
24-5 mark. They’ll go up against 17
9 Cornell, which will be making its
first-ever appearance in the tourna
ment. Cornell won its Final Five match
es.
Husker coach Terry Pettit said he
knows little about the Ivy League
champions.
“I assume they’ll be a good ball
club,” he said. “Cornell will be a good
team but we’re going to spend all of
our energy on us.”
A win against Cornell tonight
would mean a rematch with Notre
Dame, which defeated the Huskers
earlier this season in four games. A
win over the Irish would make Ne
braska the host of the Mideast Re
gional.
Husker middle blocker Allison
- it
(The Final Four) is
within our grasp. I’m
just glad to be there,
and I’m ready to get
going.
—Strieker
Nebraska setter
-»» -
Weston said the Fighting Irish, which
received a bye to the second round,
will see a different Nebraska team.
“It’ll be a good rematch,” she said.
“We’ve improved on just about ev
erything. This team has grown tre
mendously.”
But Huskcr outside hitter Billie
Winsett said the Huskers can’t over
look Cornell because of its record.
“Records are no indication of how
good a team is,” she said. “Volleyball
is a game of momentum and you can’t
not take anyone seriously.”
Pettit said his team is in a good
position to advance to the Final Four
in Madison, Wis., Dec. 16 and 18.
“It’s an interesting draw for us,” he
said. “There’s not a dominant volley
ball team out there this year.
“I suspect that had we not been a
possible regional site, we might’ve
gotten a bye, but I’m willing to trade
that for hosting the regional.”
Nebraska has made it to the NCAA
Tournament the past 12 years. Their
record in the tourney is 22-11, and
they have never lost a tournament
See TOURNEY on 8
Nee: First loss won’t hurt
basketball team’s chances
By Tim Pearson
Senior Reporter _
Last season, the Nebraska basket
ball team didn’t lose at home during
its non-conference season.
After two games this season, the
C'ornhuskers have already lost one
non-conference game in the Bob
Dcvaney Sports Center.
But after Sunday’s 78-75 loss to
Texas, Husker coach Danny Nee said
he’s confident his team can rebound
against Appalachian State tonight in a
6 p.m. game in Boone, N.C.
“It’s very disappointing to play 39
minutes and 30 seconds and in the last
lew seconds let it slip away,” Nee
said. “In the last minute there were
Tour critical errors.
“I’m very concerned, but I do think
the errors are correctable.”
Nee said the one loss to Texas was
disappointing, but it won t attect the
Huskers’ play.
“We know we’ll be playing a lot
more games,” he said. “(Texas) will
probably win the Southwest Confer
ence. We can learn from it.
“They certainly e xposed our weak
nesses. We’ll take this and build on
it.”
Texas went to a zone defense,
which surprised Nee and the Huskers.
“Their zone defense was very ef
fective,” he said. “Last year, wedidn’t
see a zone until I don’t know when.
“But I feel comfortable with the
shots we’re getting.”
Appalachian State comes into the
meeting with a 72-65 win over Uni
versityofNorthCarolina-Wilmington.
The Mountaineers, coached by former
Creighton and Colorado coach Tom
See REBOUND on 8
Shaun Sartin/DN
Nebraska’s Tommie Frazier, a sophomore from Bradenton, Fla., looks forward to a
return trip to his home state and a chance for revenge aaainst Florida State. ul always
wanted a chance to play for a national championship,” Frazier said.
Winning attitude
Frazier: Huskers can beat FSU this year
By Derek Samson
Staff Reporter
Nebraska quarterback Tommie
Frazier can’t wait to go home again.
Frazier, a 6-foot-2, 200-pound
sophomore from Bradenton, Fla.,
said he and his teammates were
ready for the chance to redeem
themselves against the Seminoles
in Miami Jan. 1, after losing to
Florida State in last year’s Orange
Bowl.
“It’s meaning a lot more to me
this year than last year,” he said.
“There is a lot more on the line.”
The heavily recruited Frazier
said he left his family and friends
behind in his home state for exactly
what he’s getting this season — a
shot at the national title.
“I always wanted a chance to
play for a national championship,”
• Frazier said. “I felt coming to Ne
braska would give me the best
chance for that, and it has. I am
looking forward to going back to
Florida, especially being No. 1.”
Hov/ever, Frazier said, he ex
pects to end this homecoming on a
happier note than last year. Frazier
threw for 146 yards and two touch
downs on 10-of-21 passing against
the Seminoles last season. But he
also threw two interceptions and
had just one yard rushing.
He said he and his teammates
seemed to have a different attitude
this season.
“We feel like no matter what,
we’re going to find a way to win it,”
Frazier said. “We went through a
lot of adversity this year, and peo
ple just kept putting us down. Most
teams would have broken down
and fell apart, but we stuck together
and kept winning.
“When you set your goals high
like we did and you accomplish
them, it feels mighty good. We just
have one goal left now.”
Frazier said Nebraska realized
it would be in the role of David
against Goliath when it met Florida
State.
“That’s the thing about college
football, is any team can beat any
other team from week to week,” he
said. “It’s hard for a team to play
11-straight games with the same
emotion and come out undefeated.
We proved we could get through
our schedule undefeated.
“I think a lot of people were
surprised that we weren’t winning
by 40 or 50 points every week, but
we kept winning. This team finds a
way to win, and we’ll be ready for
the Orange Bowl.”
Husker luck improves during season—will it continue?
When did the Nebraska football
program get so lucky?
Since Turner Gill’s pass slipped
through JeffSmith’s fingers in theend
/one in Miami in the 1984 Orange
Bowl, Nebraska fans have felt jinxed.
Every time it appeared the Huskers
had that mythical national champion
ship within reach, they faltered in
November.
On Nov. 4,1989, the Huskers were
K-0 and ranked No. 3, but fell to
Colorado 27-21 in Boulder.
In 1990, the Huskers were 8-0 again
and had a 12-0 lead over the Buffaloes
in Lincoln on Nov. 3, before collaps
ing in the fourth quarter. The Huskers
lost 27-12 and ended the season 9-3.
Last year, the Huskers saw some
had breaks in a 29-14 loss to Washing
ton, but bounced back by bashing the
Buffaloes and the Jayhawks in Lin
coln.
They played themselves back into
title contention with the impressive
wins, but then not only tripped, but
fell flat on their faces in a 19-10 loss
to Iowa State on Nov. 14.
But this November, Nebraska’s
luck changed.
In the last month, the Huskersdidn’t
exactly look like the best team in
college football, but they did pick up
the breaks they needed to ascend to
the top spot in the coalition poll.
The Huskcrs were fortunate to es
cape Lawrence, Kan., with a 21-20
victory after a failed two-point con
version by the Jayhawks.
But Nebraska didn’t look so lucky
the following Sunday, Nov. 8, the day
the bowl coalition controversy began.
The win against Kansas moved the
Huskers to 9-0, but Nebraska dropped
one spot in the bowl poll to No. 4,
behind once-beaten Miami.
Associated Press voters wanted to
see a rematch of Florida State and
Miami, but those ideas were short
lived after the mighty ‘Noles fell to
Jeff
Griesch
the Irish in South Bend, Ind., 31 -24 on
Nov. 13.
The Huskers moved ahead of the
‘Canes, but after some clever crying
by some Scminoles who couldn’t ac
cept that thev had let another title shot
slip away, Florida State held on to No.
2. Writers again looked for a rematch,
this time between the Seminoles and
No. 1 Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl.
Nebraska looked like it would be
locked out of a title shot if Notre
Dame could beat Boston College and
Florida State could survive in
Gainesville, Fla., against the Gators.
During the game with the Scmi
noles, it appeared the luck of the Irish
and God were on Notre Dame’s side,
but Notre Dame’s luck soon ran out.
The Huskers got their second big
break when Boston College upset the
Irish 41-39 in South Bend.
The Huskers claimed the top spot
in the coaches and coalition polls and
it looked like justice had been served.
Now all Nebraska had to do was
beat Oklahoma.
After the first Oklahoma drive, it
looked like the Huskers’ luck had run
out, but a string of turnovers by the
usually sure-handed Sooners gave
Nebraska its chance.
Oklahoma dominated statistical
ly, amassing 294 total yards to Ne
braska’s 179 yards—the lowest total
ever in a win by a Tom Osborne
coached’Nebraska team.
This may not be Nebraska’s most
talented team under Osborne, but it
has certainly been his luckiest so far.
“Yeah, I guess you could say that
we have been pretty lucky,” Nebraska
1-back Calvin Jones said after Nebras
ka’s winover the Sooners. “You know
the old saying that the nice guy always
finishes last... it’s not happening to
us.”
Linebacker Troy Branch said he •
hoped the Huskers’ luck continued.
“Maybe it’s destiny — maybe it’s
luck combined with a lot of hard work
— whatever it is we’re focused on
finishing 11-0.”
While a lot of Huskcr fans think
Nebraska’s luck may have run out
with Florida State finishing No. 2 in
the bowl noil, maybe they should take
another 1 x)k.
Maybe Nebraska’s luck will con
tinue to improve.
Maybe the Huskers’ luck will fi
nally change in January.
It certainly couldn’t get any worse.
Griesch is a Junior news-editorial major
and a Daily Nebraskan senior reporter and
columnist.
T"“ ‘
