The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current, August 25, 1998, Page 9, Image 9
V' 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. m 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