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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 15, 1997)
Huskers blast Ohio State to sweep tournament SWEEP from page 10 hitting .269. After posting 34 kills and a .351 hit ting percentage in OSU’s five-game Saturday morning loss to Oral Roberts, Pankova hit minus-.057 with 11 kills against NU. “I just think at this level, we should not be playing two matches a day,” Stone said. “That certainly didn’t lose the match for us, but if it manifested itself, it was in Pankova. After the afternoon, her gas tank was pretty low and she hit negative tonight Husker coach Terry Pettit said All-America right-side hitter Lisa Reitsma and setter Fiona Nepo played a part in Ohio State’s poor perfor mance at the net. The two blocked the Buckeyes’ outside hitters three times apiece. “I don’t think that they necessarily matched up well with us,” Pettit said. “Their best hitters hit from the left side, and we probably have the best right-side blockers in the country in Lisa and Fiona. With those two opposite each other, we did n’t have to chose who we were going to defend. “Attack-wise, Lisa could pretty much go anywhere she wanted and (Megan) Korver could go over their middles.” Korver, along with Nebraska’s other mid dles blockers, held a definite height advantage OSU’s middle blockers. The Buckeyes were forced to counteract the 6-foot-1 Korver, 6-4 Reitsma and 6-3 Tonia Tauke with three players up front who averaged about 6 feet. Offensively, the Buckeyes could only muster a .153 hitting percentage against the Comhuskers’ front line, and OSU failed to contain the Huskers attackers, who hit .309 for the match. Reitsma, the tournament’s most valuable player, led NU with 22 kills, Krondak added 13 along with 14 digs, and Korver posted 10 kills. Despite three dominating performances over the weekend, Reitsma said the Huskers need to improve this week before traveling to Madison, Wis., for the Big Ten-Big 12 Challenge. Nebraska will face No. 14 Wisconsin and No. 1 Penn State. Matt Miller/DN JAIME KRONDAK (right) celebrates with Renee Saunders Saturday in Nebraska’s win over Ohio State. Krondak gives NU a spark SPARK from page 10 hitting. 164. “The first four games we had, I didn’t hit above .220,” Krondak said. “I was just like, ‘Well geez, I suck.’” Things changed Friday and Saturday in the Arby’s Classic. In a sweep of Ohio State Saturday night, Krondak pounded 13 kills - second only to Lisa Reitsma’s team-high 22 - and hit .387 while recording 14 digs. Through the three-match tourna ment, Krondak slammed 26 kills and hit .322. “This weekend was one of the first weekends that I’ve actually thought I’ve played all-around good,” Krondak said. “My hitting has not been on at all. I felt (Friday and Saturday) that I was strong on my hitting, strong on my digging and my passing. So I’m very happy about that.” Krondak said her on-court improvements were directly related to her mental preparation for the matches, as well as the emotion she brings to the court. “I basically do think it’s confi dence,” Krondak said. “It’s not that I haven’t been ready to play, because I have been. I just think I’m dwelling on my mistakes a little bit too much. And (Saturday night) everybody was pretty low key. I’m one of those people who kind of has a lot of energy on the court, so I was basically going out there and being a complete idiot - trying to get everybody else coming along, and I think that just kind of helped me.” Even Coach Terry Pettit noticed the difference. “Jaime, you played real solid,” Pettit said to the junior outside hit ter as he left Saturday’s post-match press conference. Krondak said her success in the Arby’s Classic gave her a much needed confidence boost. “I’ve just been needing to break away from the crappy play that I’ve been doing,” Krondak said. “I needed a game to help me get my confidence back, because I’ve been pretty low on it.” As a sophomore last season, Krondak knocked 349 kills while hitting .210. The Lincoln East grad uate also recorded 387 digs - the second-highest total in school his tory behind Kate Cmich’s 390. But now as a junior and a team leader, Krondak has changed her on-court thinking. “When I was a newcomer (to the starting lineup) last year, I was concerned with how I was playing and less with the team,” Krondak said. “It’s not like a choice you make, it just kind of happens. But now that I have a year of experience starting, I’m more concerned about trying to help get everybody orga nized and figuring out what’s going on and helping people.” Take Reitsma for example. “Reitsma, I mean the girl is out standing,” Krondak said. “But she shows no emotion. Man, if I were 6 foot-4 and played that well, I’d show a lot of emotion. It’s just something that she needs to work on, like I need to work on skills.” Krondak said she began the sea son with five goals: To pick it up another level on defense, to be a captain on passing, to never hit below .220, to be a member Big 12 all-conference team and to bring emotion to the team. With the first nine matches behind her, Krondak said, she hoped to remained focused on meeting her goals for the rest of the season. “I just need to keep thinking about my goals and thinking about hitting,” Krondak said. “I believe that’s the key to bring up my whole game. 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