MattMiller/DN
MEGAN KORVER takes a swing during Nebraska’s four-game loss to Stanford on Dec. 19 at the Convocation
Center in Cleveland.
Stanford ends NU tun
Huskers finish 304
, after losing to
national champion
Cardinal.
By Mitch Sherman
Senior Reporter
CLEVELAND — Thirty-four
vicious right-handed swings from
Stanford’s Kerri Walsh and Kristin
Folkl left the
Nebraska vol
leyball team
with a clear vi
sion of where it
is and exactly
where it wants
to be.
Walsh, a su
percharged Car
dinal freshman,
and Folkl, a Nepo
proven veteran, directed the final
act of NU’s unlikely season last
month in the first of two national
semifinal matches.
But wh«n the Comhuskers ex
ited Cleveland State’s Convocation
Center into a downtown frozen by
sub-zero temperatures, they left
with their pride, knowing they had
exceeded nearly an eariy-season
expectations.
Nebraska finished 30-4 and
ranked fourth in the nation, ad
vancing to the Final Four for only
the fifth time in school history. The
15-9, 7-15, 9-15,18-15 loss to
Stanford paved the way for the
Cardinal (31-2) to rout Hawaii two
days later, claiming its third na
tional title in five years.
Stanford blends the graceful
power of Walsh and Folkl with the
precision of setter Lisa Sharpley
and the sheer force of middle
blockers Eileen Murfee and Bar
bara Ifejika.
“If this team plays anywhere
near its potential,” Stanford Coach
Don Shaw said, “it can be scary.”
Hawaii felt the force of
Stanford’s attack in the champion
ship match, scoring a record-low
15 points and erasing Nebraska’s
mark of 18 set in the 1989 title
match against Long Beach State.
The Cardinal allow little room
for error on the opposing side of
the net, a recipe NU hopes to feed
opponents next season. Nebraska
returns nine of 12 players next sea
son and adds to that mix a diverse
group of freshmen.
“I’ve already been thinking
about it,” said Lisa Reitsma, the
lone senior on next year’s Husker
squad.
Reitsma, a two-time first-team
All-American, eclipsed the 600-kill
mark in 1996, finishing the season
with a school-record 611 kills af
ter her match-high 22 against
Stanford.
“This was our goal from the be
ginning of the season to be here,”
Reitsma said. “We had a great sea
son, so I’m not disappointed at all.
There’s a lot of people who didn’t
think we would make it here. This
was supposed to be a rebuilding
year, but it wasn’t:”
NU swiftly rebuilt a team that
claimed the national title a year ago
behind the direction of three stel
lar seniors. The 1996 Huskers be
gan with little experience — only
Reitsma and Kate Cmich started
in 1995—but NU managed to find
leadership from a first-year starter.
Fiona Ncpo, a sophomore who
saw little time behind Christy
Johnson last, year, emerged into a
superstar. One day before Nil faced
Stanford, the AVCA named Nepo
a first-team All-American.
“There’s a lot of reasons we are
here,” Nebraska Coach Terry Pettit
said, “and Fiona is (Hie of the ma
jor reasons. It’s her heart, her
athleticism, her enthusiasm.
“I really think this became her
team, and that’s when we became
a great team.”
NU players agreed that the
Huskers became great during a late
November trip to Texas. Nebraska,
needing one win to clinch the first
ever Big 12 title, dismantled con
ference rivals Texas and Texas
-. —' : --j ■"» v -
NU’s two seniors
enjoy final season
By Shannon Heffelfinger
Staff Reporter
CLEVELAND — Kate
Cmich and Maria Hedbeck lost
more than just the chance to
help the Nebraska volleyball
team defend its national title
when the Comhuskers suffered
a season-ending defeat to
Stanford in the Final Four.
NU’s two seniors ended their
college careers when they
walked off the court at the Con
vocation Center Dec. 19. They
left four years of hard work and
dedication to the Husker volley
ball program behind them.
“At the end of the match,
when I knew ft was going to be
over, I just kept thinking that I
didn’t ever want it to end,”
Cmich Said. “Everything just
went too fast.”
Coach Terry Pettit said both
Cmich, an outside hitter from
River Forest, 111., and Hedbeck,
a defensive specialist from
Sollentuna, Sweden, gave every
thing they had throughout the
1996 season.
‘‘Kate and Maria can be very
proud that they had the kind of
year that allowed their team to
have the chance to compete for
a national championship instead
of just being another team,”
Pettit said.
The Huskers were in danger
of becoming “just another team”
after losing three All-Americans
from the 1995 championship
team. The team was dealt an
other blow with the loss of se
nior middle blocker Jen
~r:rjoni5
1
A&M. Two days later, the Huskers
earned another reward with the
opportunity to play host to an
NCAA regional for the third
straight season.
“When we went down to Tfexas,
that was when we realized how well
we could play,” senior Maria
Hedbeck said.
Early in the season, Hedbeck
said, she had doubts.
In the weeks before the season,
Nebraska lost incoming freshman
Katie Jahnke, senior Jen McFadden
and redshirt freshman Denise
Koziol to season-ending injuries.
NU opened with a victory over
Illinois State but followed with a
three-game loss to top-ranked Ha
waii.
“Wc felt we were so far behind
them,” Hedbeck said. “We knew we
could get good, but we didn’t know
if we would.”
, • . - ■
Nebraska did get good. But it
took tune, and it required growing
pains. After a loss to North Caro
lina on Sept. 13. the Huskers won
25 of their next 26 matches, fell
ing only to Texas Tech in five
games on Oct. 26.
On Dec. 14 at the NU Coliseum,
the Huskers defeated Penn State in
a match that defined the season.
NU trailed 10-4 and U -5 in the
fifth game before rallying to win
20-18 — the longest tournament
game in school history — and ig
niting a celebration reminiscent of
1995’s national championship.
To these Huskers, that win
proved die critics wrong. Nebraska
was back in the Final Four, this
time as an underdog. A powerful
Stanford team awaited, having not
Please see VOLLEY on 15
NU fights
off Aggies
at buzzer
Tyronn Lue scores
season-high 29 points
in Huskers’ second
straight win.
\ wm
1
By Mitch Sherman
Senior Reporter
The Nebraska basketball team es
caped disaster on Saturday, and in the
process gained much-needed momen
tum heading
into a crucial
stretch of con
ference games.
Facing a 13
point deficit to
Texas A&M
midway through
the first half Mid
the possibility of
a fifth loss in
seven games,
NU fought back, showing the mental
toughness it needs to survive in the
Big 12 Conference.
Saturday’s 74-72 win over the
Aggies before a crowd of 10,052 at the
Bob Devaney Shorts Cepler giyesihe
ning streak oil the heels of a three
game skid that began last month in
Puerto Rico.
NU (9-5 overall and l-l in the Big
12) plays host to two more winnable
league games this week, beginning
Wednesday night with Kansas State.
“This win was very important,”
said point guard Tyronn Lue, who led
NU with a season-high 29 points and
five assists. “Coming into the Big 12,
I think we need to split on the road
Please see WIN on 14
W atA&M
eases pain
of CU loss
ByMikeKluck
Senior Reporter
After having its heart broken a
week ago at home by Colorado, the
Nebraska women’s basketball team
went on the road to try and mend its
feelings Saturday night.
The Cornhuskers, who opened
their season with a nine-game winning
streak — the best start in school his
tory—and were ranked25th, lost Jan.
4 in their conference opener to the
Buffaloes 65-58.
And despite defeating an out
manned Minnesota team 68-47 on
Jan. 7 at the Bob Devaney Sports Cen
ter, the Huskers still sought their first
ever Big 12 Conference win when they
traveled to Texas A&M this weekend.
After falling behind by 14 points
early, NU rebounded to take a six
point halftime lead and nevdr trailed
in the second half as they won 75-65.
Please see WOMEN on 14