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Big 12 teams are abundant in
preseason football and volley
ball polls. The Nebraska football
team is ranked No. 4 in the
Associated Press poll and No. 3
by the USA Todav/coaches poll.
Kansas State is ranked sixth in
both polls, the highest preseason
ranking ever for the Wildcats.
Texas A&M is No. 14 in the
coaches’ poll and No. 15 in the
AP. Oklahoma State, Texas,
Colorado and Missouri all
received points.
Nebraska also heads up the
list of Big 12 teams in the USA
Today/coaches volleyball poll.
The coaches have NU at No. 5 to
begin the year. Texas is at No. 9,
followed by Colorado at No. 12.
Texas A&M is ranked 19th. Texas
Tech, Kansas State and
Oklahoma all received points.
NU and A&M also are ranked
eighth and 11th, respectively, in
the NSCAA/Umbro top 25 soc
cer poll.
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The recent heat wave around
the Big 12 hasn’t helped players
during the fall two-a-day prac
tices. Kansas State Coach Bill
Snyder said the Wildcats’ prob
lems can’t all be blamed on the
90-degree temperatures.
“Everybody and their brother
has taken reps during two-a
days,” Snyder said. “I am not
overly impressed with the work
outs. I am worried about our con
ditioning and continuity.”
m
Missouri Coach Larry Smith
has tried to keep the focus on
football during fall practice, and
not on the death of Defensive
Line Coach Curtis Jones. Jones
died of a heart attack in the end
of July.
Jones was not only a coach at
MU, but the father of Missouri
quarterback Corby Jones. Smith
said Corby Jones and the rest of
the Tigers are doing well despite
the loss.
“The fact that (Corby) is with
his teammates is good,” Smith
said. “I think football has been a
good therapy for him.”
Baylor and Iowa State both
dipped into junior colleges to
recruit players for this year. ISU
Coach Dan McCarney brought in
18 junior college players to
Ames this season. Four of them
are going to start for the
Cyclones this fall, and another
seven are in the two-deep depth
chart. Baylor Coach Dave
Roberts said recruiting those
players can make a team a suc
cess.
“They can help you by getting
in and playing right away,”
Roberts said. “Some of the guys
we have this year are doing real
ly well.”
Big 12 notebook is compiled
by staff writer Jay Saunders.
Matt Miller/DN
NEBRASKA SOPHOMORE outside hitter Nancy Meendering looks to fill the shoes of three-time Ail American Lisa Reitsma for the NU volleyball team
this season. Meendering and Reitsma both hail from the same town in Iowa.
By Shannon Heffelfinger
Senior staff writer
Nancy Meendering has heard the
comparisons. The way she pounds
the volleyball, the presence she
exudes on the court, her huge hands,
her high vertical, her left-handed
swing - they remind most people of
former Nebraska player and three
time All-American Lisa Reitsma.
Meendering hails from the same
town, competed at the same high
school and broke the very same
Western Christian High records
Reitsma set.
And because Reitsma, who holds
school records for kills and attacks in
a single season, completed her eligi
bility in last season, Meendering
hopes to spark a comparison of
another kind.
looming lefties
Right-side hitter Nancy Meendering draws comparisons to former NU All
American Lisa Reitsma, who played the position for the past four seasons, the
following is a run-down of both Reitsma and Meenderings’s freshman season.
Yr Games Kills K/GM Err. Att. Hit pet. Aces Blocks Digs Assists
Reitsma 1994 30 29 0.97 5 49 .490 0 8 2 2
Meendering 1997 44 46 1.05 24 106 .208 2 17 17 2
The Comhuskers are counting on
Meendering, along with sophomore
Katie Jahnke, to fill the void left by
Reitsma on the right side of the
court.
“I feel like I want to play a bigger
role, and with Lisa (Reitsma) gone, I
hope I can,” Meendering said.
“That’s not only in my play. I want to
take on a more vocal role, too. She
left some big shoes to fill, and I hope
I can fill them.”
Meendering showed her poten
tial to do so as a freshman in 1997.
Although she saw limited action
playing behind Reitsma last season,
Meendering did play in 14 of 16 con
ference matches and posted 46 kills
and 16 block assists.
Meendering emerged from
Reitsma’s shadow Oct. 24 against
Baylor in Waco, Texas, pounding a
career high 10 kills with a .615 hit
ting percentage.
fcfc
“She s just a stud.
She hits the ball
harder than
anybody I’ve ever
seen.”
Fiona Nepo
NU setter on Nancy Meendering
Several fans didn’t recognize
Meendering’s name until her perfor
mance at Baylor. But NU setter
Fiona Nepo said Meendering
Please see VOLLEYBALL on 10
Buckhalter gets starting nod at I-back
By David Wilson
Senior staff writer
Solich
C o r r e 1 1
Buckhalter didn’t
appear too sur
prised when he
learned after prac
tice Monday that he
would be the
Comhuskers’ start
ing I-back in the
season opener
Saturday.
Nebraska Head
Coach Frank Solich and Running Backs
Coach Dave Gillespie made the deci
sion after learning Friday that sopho
more DeAngelo Evans likely will miss
the first three games of the season with
a knee injury. Evans had arthroscopic
knee surgery Saturday.
The decision brought an end to a
three-way race for the starting I-back
spot that began last spring when former
Husker Ahman Green opted to forgo his
senior season and was drafted by the
NFEs Seattle Seahawks.
Dan Alexander, who also was con
tending for the position, will be the No.
2 I-back when NU takes the field
Saturday at 3:08 p.m. against Louisiana
Tech, Solich said.
“I was aware of the situation that
when DeAngelo Evans went down, the
coaches might look to me to step up,”
said Buckhalter, also a sophomore.
“I’ve been trying to stay focused and
have a positive attitude.”
As a true freshman last season, the
6-foot, 225-pound Buckhalter ran for
311 yards on 54 carries behind Green.
The effort, which was granted partially
because of injuries to Evans and Jay
Sims, proved to be the ninth-best rush
ing season by a freshman in NU history.
“I think Correll has all the skills we
look for in terms of a running back,”
Gillespie said. “He has excellent speed.
He can run people over, but can also
make people miss.”
Alexander, who tore his anterior
cruciate ligament in the 1997 Spring
Game, was limited to 74 yards on 16
carries in six games. The 6-0, 250
pounder did not play in the Huskers’
first three games last season, still recov
ering from his injury.
Both Solich and Gillespie said ball
control and experience played a factor
in the decision to start Buckhalter.
“I think Correll has been a little
more consistent in taking care of the
ball,” Solich said.
“We feel comfortable with Dan, and
Dan will play. We’ll just see how it
goes.”
Buckhalter said he has concentrated
on ball control all through fall camp.
“That’s one of my main focuses,”
Buckhalter said, “because if you put a
ball on the ground, you can’t get too
much done.”
Evans, who Gillespie said moved to
the front of the I-back pack after the first
major scrimmage of the fall, said Friday
he hoped to return before the
Washington game Sept. 26.
Though Evans wasn’t available for
comment Monday, Solich said he was
Please see I-BACK on 11