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NU to use big guns against Russian rifle
By Mitch Shwnan
Senior Reporter
After listening to Nebraska volley
ball coach Terry Pettit talk about the
Comhuskers’ opponent on Saturday
night in the second round of the
NCAA volleyball tournament, it
wasn’t difficult to determine his main
concern.
When Nebraska takes the court at
the NU Coliseum at 7:30 p.m. to play
32-3 George Washington, all eyes
will be on the Colonials’ star Svetlana
Vtyurina.
The 6-foot-4 product from Russia
registered 48 kills — an NCAA tour
nament record — in George
Washington’s first-round victory on
Wednesday night over Wisconsin in
Washington, D.C.
As host and top seed in the Mid
east regional, No. 1 Nebraska, 29-0,
had a first-round bye.
Pettit said Husker assistant coach
Cathy Noth made the trip to the
nation’s capital to watch the match,
and she came away impressed with
Vtyurina.
“It’s a big 6-4,” Pettit said. “She
hits the ball hard, and she hits a heavy
ball. They set her in every position.
Cathy estimated that she probably
had 20 kills from the back row.”
Pettit said the Huskers would have
a problem matching up with
Vtyurina, but as a whole, Nebraska
compared favorably with the
Colonials.
“I don’t know that that’s physi
cally possible (to match up with
Svetlana),” he said. “I’m probably
less concerned about who we have
blocking her than that we make good
decisions and don’t hit into her.
“She can only be at one position
across the net. You tell your setter to
be aware where she’s at. We’ll work
on some of those things today, and I
think we’ll be ready.”
In 12 NCAA tournaments, Ne
braska has never lost its first match.
But Pettit was quick to point out that
Nebraska also had never had a first
round bye.
“With 48 teams in the tourna
ment,” he said, “the weaker teams arc
eliminated on Wednesday night. So
you are playing somebody pretty good
in your first opportunity.”
He said Nebraska’s first opponent
a year ago, Cornell, which the Husk
ers swept, did not compare to George
Washington.
“Cornell was a much weaker
team,” Pettit said. “Cornell was not
a competitive team. GeorgeWashing
ton is. They beat Pitt. Pitt beat Iowa
(Wednesday) in the NCAA tourna
ment. Iowa was third in the Big Ten.”
The Colonials, however, are not
accustomed to playing in front of
large crowds. In their 35 matches this
season, no crowd larger than 648 has
seen George Washington play. Their
average attendance, home and away,
is 226.
At the Coliseum, Nebraska is av
eraging 3,379 fans per game, and of
ficials are expecting their fifth sell
out of the season on Saturday night.
General admission tickets still are
available. University of Nebraska
Lincoln students can buy tickets at
the South Memorial Stadium ticket
office for $3.
Nebraska In The NCAA
1993 - Second ound
loss to Note Dame
1992 rt
1991 - Regional loss to
Ohio State
199D
1989 - Loss to long
Beach State in final.
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1
Shaun Sartht/DN
Nebraska’s Kally Aspagran goes for the Mil as Colorado’s
Rachel Wacholder defends. Nebraska will play Oeorge
Washington on Saturday In the second round of the NCAA
tournament.
George Washington coach proud
By Trevor Parks
Staff Reporter
This year the George Washing
ton volleyball team has gone be
yond Coach Susie Homan’s expec
tations.
Homan said she wouldn’t mind
if her team kept exceeding those
expectations with a win against
No. 1 Nebraska in the second
round of the NCAA tournament at
the NU Coliseum on Saturday.
“We’ve had one little stumble
all year long against Massachu
setts,” Homan said, “Fortunately
we’ve bounced back, and things
couldn’t have gone better.”
Homan’s team has gone 32-3
and is making its second straight
NCAA appearance under her guid
ance.
The Colonials are coming off a
15-13,15-11,12-15, 12-15,15-10
victoiy over Wisconsin on Wednes
day in Washington, D.C.
Homan said the win over the
Badgers proved her team could
compete well against a big-name
school.
“It was a huge win for us,”
Homan said. “It wasn’t just George
Washington vs. Wisconsin; it was
Atlantic 10 vs. Big Ten. And we
wanted to beat a Big Ten team.”
Earlier this year, the Colonials
defeated Minnesota, another Big
Ten school.
Homan said East Coast volley
ball teams were not as widely no
ticed as teams on the West Coast.
However, she said her team was out
to surprise some people.
“The problem is where the West
views the East,” Homan said.
“That’s been the most difficult part
of my job, just gaining respect .”
A key factor in gaining some
national respect is All-American
Svetlana Vtyurina.
Vtyurina, a 6-foot-4 junior from
Russia, set an NCAA tournament
record with 48 kills against the
Badgers.
“She was phenomenal,” Homan
said. “I expected her to have a suc
cessful match, but to get 48 kills, 1
had no idea.”
Although the Huskers and the
Colonials are meeting for the first
time, Nebraska is no stranger to
Homan.
Homan, a native of Crete,
coached for five years at the Uni
versity of Nebraska at Omaha be
fore going to George Washington.
Homan said she had told her
team about the atmosphere at the
“She was phenomenal.
I expected her to have
a successful match,
but to get 48 kills, I
had no idea. ”
■
SUSIE HOMAN
George Washington
volleyball coach
NU vs. GW
Starters for Saturday's 7:30 p.m.
match at the NU coliseum.
Nebraska(29:0).._
S Ch|fe%Joh®>n 5-8 Jr.
MB Peggy fteyer 6-1 Sr.
MB Allifton Weslon ^6-0 Jr.
OH Mate Helbecfc ® 10 So.
OH KelpMpogrer* #11 Sr.
George Washington (32-3).
S Kate Haubenreich5-8 So.
MB Anna Krimmel 6-0 So.
MB Stefanie Francis 6-1 Sr.
OH Liu Li 6-0 Sr.
OH Svetlena Vtyurina 6-4 Jr.
OH Jill Lemmert 5-9 Jr.
NU Coliseum, and the Colonials
should be ready.
“This is a perfect dream in
terms of sports,” Homan said. “To
play in front of a packed house
against the No. 1 team, we are re
ally up for that challenge.”
George Washington was allot
ted 150 tickets for Saturday’s
match, and Homan said her team
would have some support because
of her local background.
Homan said Nebraska had done
a great job this season. Being able
to go 29-0 is something that may
be as intimidating as the Coliseum,
she said.
“I don’t care what schedule you
play,” she said, “A record like that
speaks for itself.”
Top high school quarterback likely to become Husker
By Mitch Sherman
Senior Reporter
One of the top high school quarterbacks in
the South has placed Nebraska high on the list
of schools he is considering attending next
year.
Frankie Lundin, a 6-foot-1,175-pound sig
nal caller from LaGrange High School in Lake
Charles, La., is leaning toward committing to
Nebraska, his coach said Thursday.
Mike Johns, coach of LaGrange, which
plays on Friday in the Class 5A state semifi
nal, said Lundin would fit in well if he de
cided to come to Nebraska.
“On a smaller basis,” Johns said, “we run a
lot of the same things Nebraska does. We have
got an I-formation offense. He does a lot of
things very well.”
Lundin is ranked as a 5.8 on a 6.1 scale by
National Recruiting Advisor, a recruiting ser
vice based in Austin, Texas. He has thrown
for 1,541 yards and 13 touchdowns this year.
Rushing the ball, he has scored six times and
gained 771 yards.
“He has done a great job as a leader,” Johns
said. “At the start of the year, his stats were
“Right now, lam not sure where he’s going. Nebraska is way,
way up there. He’s had a real good year, and he’s led us through
the playoffs.”
■
MIKE JOHNS
LaGrange High School coach
down a little bit, because we had only one mem
ber of our offensive line back. But as the sea
son has gone on, he has performed well when
it counts.”
Johns said Lundin had the grade point av
erage in his core classes to meet eligibility re
quirements, but he scored a 16 on the Ameri
can College Test the first time he took it.
In order to meet Proposition 48 require
ments, athletes must score a 17 on the ACT or
700 on the Scholastic Aptitude Test. Johns said
Lundin was scheduled to retake the ACT on
Dec. 10. But if LaGrange wins on Friday, it
will be playing in the state title game on that
day.
“If that happens,” Johns said, “he’ll have
to take it in February. But he’s going to pass
the test. That’s not going to be a problem.”
Along with Nebraska, Johns said Lundin
also was considering Texas A&M, Notre
Dame, Louisiana State, Vanderbilt and Baylor.
He said Texas A&M probably was second on
his list. '
“Right now,” Johns said, “I am not sure
where he’s going. Nebraska is way, way up
there. He’s had a real good year, and he’s led
us through the playoffs.”
Nebraska personnel are prohibited from
commenting on potential recruits until after
they sign letters of intent, on or after Feb. 1.
Name
Kris Brown
Carroll, Tex.
Lonnie Fulton 6-5 240 OL
Grand Island
Adam Julch
Omaha (Burke)
Kamell Matthews 5-11 180 DB
St. Charles, Mo.
Nebraska Football
Commitments
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