First Bank I
Several members of the Nebraska
volleyball team established careers
highs this weekend at the First Bank
Invitational. Friday night during the
Comhuskers’ five-game victory over
Arkansas, NU setter Fiona Nepo
posted a career-high 82 assists while
outside hitter Mandy Monson pound
ed 13 kills, bettering her previous
high of 12.
Saturday against Pacific, middle
blocker Megan Korver had a career
best 22 kills, while Denise Koziol
hammered 10.
. m
Pacific may have lost more than
just a match Saturday night. Late in
the fifth game, junior Elsa
Stegemann jumped for a kill attempt,
yelled in pain and fell to the floor as
she injured her left knee.
The junior outside hitter led
Pacific in almost every offensive cat
egory in 1996, including attacks
(1,068) and kills per game (4.19).
Stegemann was selected to the All
Big West first team last year and
competed with USA Volleyball’s
World University Games team this
summer.
A total of 11,451 fans attended
the Huskers’ three victories this
weekend at the NU Coliseum.
Saturday night’s attendance mark of
4;318 wasr the l^-largest total in
NU history. Nebraska also improved
its nation-leading home winning
streak to 36 matches.
Nebraska’s depth proved to be a
factor in its success this weekend.
NU coach Terry Pettit used 14 differ
ent players. Freshman Kim Behrends
recorded her first kill in the third
game of the Huskers’ victory over
George Mason on Saturday morning,
and freshman Jill McWilliams
served the final two points of the
match.
Pettit also substituted often, using
Koziol and Katie Jahnke a great deal
in the Huskers’ win over Pacific.
Monson-spent much of Saturday
night’s matcj^pn the bench after start
ing and playing every game Friday
night ana Saturday morning.
: wt
... .
Nil’s Lisa Reitsmahds a%abit of
performing well against
The senior outside hitter sur
passed the 30-kill marie for the third
time in her career and for the second
time against Arkansas Friday night
with 32 kills. The only other time
came against Florida in 1995, also a
five-game match won by Nebraska.
■
Nepo and Reitsma were selected
to the all-tournament team along
with Pacific’s Stegemann, Addie
Hauschild, George Mason’s Olga
Matejickova and Arkansas’s Jessica
Field arid Yarleen Santiago.
Nepo was named the tourna
ment’s most valuable player.
Volleyball Notebook compiled
by assignment reporter Shannon
Heffelfinger, staff reporter Andrew
Strnad and senior reporter David
Wilson.
Five-game win over Tigers caps perfectly dramatic weekend for NU
By Shannon Heffelfinger
Assignment Reporter
Against all odds, the Nebraska
volleyball team gambled and won this
weekend at the 'First Bank
Invitational.
Twice the fifth-ranked
Cornhuskers tempted fate with
missed opportunities, nearly slipping
for the second time in as many days
Saturday night before a packed NU
Coliseum. 6
Nebraska, which has not lost a
match in the First Bank Invitational in
five years, squeaked by No. 25
Arkansas ( 4-2) in five games on
Friday night. The Huskers regained
their footing during a three-game
sweep of George Mason Saturday
morning and held the momentum in a
fast two-game start against seventh
ranked Pacific later that night.
After soundly defeating Pacific
(5-1) in the first two games 15-12,15
6, the Huskers appeared poised to
sweep the Tigers with the score tied at
seven in game three. But NU could
not overcome senior middle blocker
Addie Hauschild and junior outside
hitter Elsa Stegemann, who combined
for seven kills driving Pacific to a 7-0
run and tripping up the Huskers.
Pacific’s comeback in the third
game transformed the match from
what seemed to resemble a sure victo
ry for NU into a two-hour, 40 minute,
down-to-the-wire battle. The Huskers
(5-1), who have not losta home match
after a 2-0 start since 1978, eventually
wrapped up a 15-12, 15-6, 12-15, 10
15, 17-15 victory, escaping their sec
ond near loss of the weekend with the
help of 4,318 screaming fans. On
Friday, Nebraska defeated No. 25
Arkansas 15-5, 12-15, 15-11, 14-16,
15-13.
“It was one of the most intense
matches I ever played in,” Pacific out
side hitter Liina Veidemann said.
“Both teams played with a lot of
heart.”
In the final game of the marathon
Pacific match, Lisa Reitsma pounded
her 67th kill of the weekend to give
Nebraska a 15-14 advantage.
Pacific’s Sara Bronson tied the
score for the seventh time with her
first kill of the night in the rally-scor
ing game, but Reitsma responded
once again with a kill. Leading 16-15,
the Huskers finally found the winning
touch when Megan Korver and
Denise Koziol blocked Tracy
Chambers for the victory.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever said this
before in a match, but the fans were
the MVP tonight,” NU coach Terry
Pettit said. “I realty believe they were
the difference from about the 10th
point (of the fifth game) on. They
gave us energy. They were an intimi
dating presence. It was incredible. If
we hadn’t gotten that transfusion
from the fans, I don’t know that we
would have gotten up off the floor.” 4
Pettit,said the fan support and the
overall tone of the match reminded
him of NU’s five-game victory over
Regional championship at the colise
um last year.i match in which Korver
dominated at times. Saturday, the
Hu$foers relied heavily on the 6-foot-1
junior, who recorded a career-high 22
kills. Friday against Arkansas,
KorverVI8 kills tied her previous
high.
“Megan Korver kept us in the
match,” Pettit said. “She was our go
to person in the latter half of the
match. She and Denise (Koziol) real
ly kept us in it offensively.”
Korver posted 14 of NU’s 40 kills
lird and fourth games. The
tried to keep Pacific off bal
ance, switching Reitsma to the middle
to block and middle blocker Katie
Jahnke to Reitsma’s natural position
on the right side. With her 28 kills
Saturday, Reitsma moved up to sev
enth on Nebraska’s all-time kill chart, jjf
surpassing former Busker star
Stephanie Thater.
“I’ve become more confident
playing in the middle,” Reitsma said.
“I have fo work at it. I had been play
ing so bad all night that I just wanted
to get the ball so I could put it down.”
Despite NU’s offensive effort,
Pacific blocked the Buskers 11 times
in the fourth game and reeled off eight
straight points to send the match to a
Please see PACIFIC on 10
• I