Sports
Monday, November 28,1994 Page 8
NU volleyball team earns top seed in NCAA regional
By Trevor Pwkt
Staff Reporter
Nothing shocked Nebraska volley
ball coach Terry Pettit when the
NCAA on Sunday released the pair
ings for the NCAA volleyball tour
nament.
The Cornhuskers are the No. 1
seed in the Mideast Regional, and
Nebraska will play host to the win
ner of the Wisconsin-Gcorge Wash
ington match.
As long as Nebraska keeps win
ning, it will play host to the regional
semifinals and finals on Dec. 8-11.
Only Nebraska, Stanford, Florida
and Long Beach State will have that
advantage.
In the Midcast region, the top four
seeds are 29-0 Nebraska, 28-3 Penn
State, 32-3 Notre Dame and 22-7
Colorado.
“I anticipated that,” Pettit said.
“Beyond that it is hard to predict.”
The 21-11 Wisconsin Badgers and
the 31-3 George Washington
Colonials will play on Wednesday at
Washington, D.C.
Pettit said the two teams were
strong.
George Washington has a player
from Russia who is one of the top
players in the country, Pettit said.
Former Nebraska assistant John
Cook is the Wisconsin coach, and the
Badgers have a good setter and
middle blocker, Pettit said.
Nebraska setter Christy Johnson
said she expected to play Wisconsin,
which should present the Huskers
with a formidable opponent.
Nebraska could have the chance
to play Colorado for the fourth time
this season in the regional semifinal.
The Buffaloes play host to the
Rider-Northern Iowa winner.
Johnson said she expected to meet
up with Colorado again.
“We’ll be more fired up to pla^
them more than we ever have been,”
Johnson said.
Pettit said he was happy to see
another Big Eight team gain a good
seed in the tournament.
“I anticipated that we would meet
Colorado,” Pettit said. “I hope we’re
“I anticipated that we would meet Colorado. I hope
we’re fortunate ...to play them here in Lincoln
again.”
■
TERRY PETTIT
NU volleyball coach_
fortunate to do the things we need to
do to get the opportunity to play them
here in Lincoln again.”
Of the 48 teams in the NCAA tour
nament, seven are from the Pacific
10 Conference, and six are from the
Big 10 Conference. Four of those
teams — Penn State. Iowa, Illinois
and Wisconsin — arc in the Mideast
region.
Pettit said this was a good bracket,
but it was not the most difficult.
“I’m not going to say that there is
an easy region,” Pettit said. “I’ve been
through it enough, and it’s tough to
do no matter where you arc.”
_—_mm-i
SIMM Sartta/DN
Nebraska mldcfle blockar Allison West on goes up for a Mock against Okla
homa during tho first round of tho Mg Eight town among. Tho Hunkers de
feated tho Soonors In three games and Colorado In few to win tho title.
Huskers get by Colorado
to seize Big Eight title
By Mitch Shfmn
Senior Reporter
OMAHA — For the third time this season,
the Nebraska volleyball team had the opportu
nity to gain revenge on defending Big Eight
champion Colorado.
And for the third lime this season, the
Cornhuskcrs did just that.
Before a season-high crowd of 5,038 at the
Civic Auditorium in Omaha on Saturday night,
the Huskcrs turned the BufTs away 15-6, 13
15, 15-6, 15-8 in the Big Eight tournament
championship game.
“It was a very intense match,” Nebraska
coach Terry Pettit said. “We had control of the
first, third and fourth games, but it didn't feel
that way. Colorado did a good job of making
some adjustments.”
No. 1 Nebraska improved to 29-0. Colorado
fell to 22-7.
Colorado coach Brad Saindon said the Buf
faloes' goal coming into the match was to chal
lenge Nebraska, something the BufTs had failed
to do in two previous losses to the Huskcrs.
“We wanted to see if we pressed Nebraska
how they would respond,” Saindon said, “be
cause they have not really been pressed this
year. We wanted to see if cracks would occur
We were able to test them, but they passed th<
test.”
Nebraska didn't crack, Pettit said, in large
part because of the play of national player-of
the-year candidate Allison Weston.
The 6-foot junior from Papillion, who was
named Big Eight player of the year last week,
pounded a career-best 37 kills and hit .600 foi
the match. Thirty-seven kills is a Nebraska
record for a four-game match.
“When Ali gets in a rhythm,” Husker settei
Christy Johnson said, “she's unstoppable. She
makes me look good, because when you get
her the ball, she puts it down.”
Nebraska never was challenged in the first
game. The Huskcrs led 9-1 before allowing the
Buffs to score five of the game’s next six points.
But the Huskcrs answered with a 5-0 run to
take the game.
The second game, however, was a different
story. Colorado stayed close and took a 7-6 lead
on a service ace by Leah Williams. Nebraska
came back to take a 10-8 lead, but the Buffs
scored three straight points to go ahead 11-10.
A kill by Huskcr outside hitter Billie Winsctt
tied the game at 11, but Colorado scored four
of the next six points, winning the game'on an
ace by Janine Zumcrchik.
MI thought Colorado was playing harder
than we were in the second game,” Pettit said.
“And I haven’t had that feeling much this year.
It cost us a game, and when you look at the
statistics, it wasn’t Colorado’s offense. It was
our passing that broke down.”
The Buffs stayed competitive in the third
game, closing to within 8-6. Nebraska then
i looked to Weston — who posted 12 kills in
Game 3 — and cruised to a 15-6 win.
“It was sometime in the third game,”
Saindon said, “when one of our assistant
coaches turned to me and said, ‘ It’s the Allison
Weston show.’ If I was Christy Johnson, I’d
set her the ball every time, too."
Colorado tied the fourth game at 8, but
Nebraska didn’t surrender another point. With
Weston serving the last of five consecutive
points, the Huskcrs won the match on a long
hit by Colorado swing hitter Karric Downey.
“It’s always tough to play a pood team a
i third time,” Pettit said. “The third time, it’s
always easy to make adjustments.”
Basketball team takes third in tournament
From Stiff Reports
The Nebraska men's basketball team
opened its season with a third-place finish
at the San Juan Shootout in Bayamon,
Puerto Rico.
The Cornhuskers defeated College of
Charleston 74-72 on Sunday in the third
place consolation game.
Nebraska was led by Melvin Brooks, who
had 16 points. Brooks scored 13 of those
from the frec-throw line.
Coach Danny Nee said he was pleased
to see the lone senior on the team have a
big game.
“Melvin came up with some big num
bers,” Nee said on his post-game KLIN ra
dio show from Puerto Rico. “I think what
we saw him do tonight he can do every
night.” i
With 3:30 remaining, Nebraska led 72
66 after an Erick Strickland 3-pointer.
The Cougars then cut the deficit to only
j i 72-70 on two free throws by Stacey Harris
jf and Rodney Conner.
College of Charleston had a chance to
tic the game with 33 seconds remaining,
but Marion Busby missed the first of two
foul shots, and Nebraska still led 72-71.
Nebraska’s Jaron Boone was fouled with
18 seconds left and made the second of two
free throws for a 73-71 lead.
Strickland fouled Busby with seven sec
onds left. However, Busby only was able to
pull the Cougars within one after making
one of two free throws.
Brooks made one of two free throws to
give Nebraska a 74-72 lead, and Tom Wald
ended the game by intercepting an inbounds
pass from Harris.
The entire game was close, up until the
end.
At the end of the first half, Chris Sallee's
tip-in with one second remaining gave Ne
braska a 43-42 advantage.
Nebraska led for most of the first half
before Harris made a 3-pointer to tie the
game at 39.
The Huskers led by 10 twice in the game.
In the first half, two Boone free throws gave
Nebraska a 21-11 advantage, and in the sec
ond half, a Boone three-pointer gave the
Huskers a 65-55 lead.
Nee said a win against a ball club like
the Cougars was a good step for his team.
“1 thought it was a real quality win,” Nee
said. “It’s a name school that we don't hear
about in the Midwest.”
In the semifinal on Saturday, the Husk
ers lost to Virginia Tech 87-81.
The Huskers had a 47-36 halAime lead
over the Hokies, but Virginia Tech outscorcd
Nebraska 26-11 to start the second half.
Ace Gustis led the Hokies with a career
high 30 points. Gustis scored 20 of those in
the second half.
Strickland led the Huskers with 19 points
against Virginia Tech.
In the opening game of the tournament,
Nebraska defeated Northeast Louisiana 99
77.
Six minutes into the season opener, Nee
was ejected for protesting a no call when
Wald apparently was fouled.
Tommie
Continued from Page 7
then he would get the job done, but wc were
just concentrating on who was in the game
at the time. Brook was in the game, so we
had to work with him, and that's what wc
did.”
But neither quarterback was as willing
to talk about the situation.
Frazier did not talk to reporters after the
game, while Berringer brushed off questions
about the subject.
“I never even thought about it,” Berringer
said when asked if he thought Frazier might
replace him in the second naif.
Berringer said later that sideline conver
sations did not change between him and
Frazier.
“There is always encouragement,”
Berringer said. “But wc don’t sit around and
talk about defenses or what’s going on out
there.”
Osborne said he expected Frazier to be
recovered for the Orange Bowl.
“I kind of thought ne’d be there, and I
think he'll be ready to play January 1,”
Osborne said