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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 30, 1999)
Huskers pound KU SWEEP from page 9 offensive lineup,” Pettit said. “I liked the energy Behrends and Jahnke brought tonight. They’re an impor tant part of our team. I anticipate they’ll be seeing more and more play ing time. I might like them starting.” Pettit started the match with the potent attack of Meendering, Monson and junior Angie Oxley, but NU got off to a cold start in game one. Oxley had problems keeping her attacks in bounds the whole first game and finished with four errors and a -.571 hitting attack. Kansas Coach Ray Bechard used his most powerful players in hitter Amy Myatt - who led the Jayhawks with 14 kills - and middle blocker Amanda Reves to suffocate Meendering’s side. But Pettit had guided several comebacks this year already and decided to go to Monson, Behrends and Jahnke and attack 5-foot-7 KU setter Molly LaMere. The result was a punishing night for the Papillion LaVista graduate and a stymied Bee hard. “Monson, Oxley and Behrends are great players, but they aren’t the ones that jump out at you. But they’re the ones that bit us,” Bechard said. Monson and Pettit both said that the victory and NU’s improved play from a week ago were a result of an intense week of practices that empha sized staying focused and finishing games out. The intensity paid off. “Some people really stepped up tonight,” Monson said. “(Setter) Jill (McWilliams) set some good balls. She and I kept looking at each other and communicating. We just kept saying, ‘We need to get this done.’” The Huskers take to the road to face Texas A&M on Saturday. The 1 6th-ranked Aggies were the only Big 12 team to beat NU last year. SAME GREAT FOOD Now In 2 Locations Our newest location “RED PEPPER GRILL* opening October 1, 1999 1317 N 10th 3223 Comhusker Hwy 435-5600 (Inside Sherry’s) More Caniun &r-i6-6^**7-, Coupon Good Oct 1 st & 2nd , Seafood! ! from 5-9 PM 1 i Save $2 on any Cajun Dinner ' More Tex-Mex' 1 °r 11 on our BBQ platters! | m°re texroex. , Opening Oct 1 from 5-9 PM , IWI O Or\ t i Beginning Nov 1 hours will be i more ddQ! 11 AM -2 PM and 5-9 PM • — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 1 I Think Deep! || Deep dish pizza, that is. Here’s some food for thought When you P show your student I.D. wel give you a LARGE 2-TOPPtNO = PIZZA FOR ONLY $10.99. Now that’s brain food. Phi*, get a free order of Nacho Magniflcos when you purchase 2 entrees. And take a break from the books at our awesome late-night happy hour featuring drink and appetizer specials. Welcome Back Students! Need Cheap Parking? National Garages has affordable Semester Special! September-December $80.00 Park by 4 Day $2.00 Park by Month $25 Enter at 8th & S Streets, 1 block west of Memorial Stadium * National Garages, Gold Galleria, Suite 120 • 474-2274 Kansas coach was prepared for ‘ticked off Husker squad ■ After jumping to an early first-game lead, KU struggles against NU. By Brian Christopherson Staff writer Kansas Head Coach Ray Bechard knew that the Nebraska volleyball team was still a dangerous animal Wednesday night, hungry to avenge a five-game loss to Kansas State last week. “I thought they’d be ticked off thanks to our friends from Manhattan,” Bechard said. Nebraska did struggle early in the first game, but then turned on an impressive offensive performance to win in three. “They don’t like to lose, and it doesn’t happen very often here,” Bechard said. The Jayhawks did have their chances to put some reminders of last week’s loss into the minds of the Huskers in the first game, jumping to an early 8-4 lead. The Jayhawks were overwhelmed by Nebraska’s offensive attack, though, as the Huskers rallied to take the game 15-11. “We had our opportunities in game one,” Bechard said. “But the Huskers looked for something posi tive, and they got in a rhythm.” The Huskers made it an especial ly difficult homecoming for Kansas sophomore setter Molly LaMere. The Papillion-LaVista graduate stands at only 5-foot-7 and was undersized all night long against taller Nebraska attackers. “She served well and delivered the ball well, but it did create mis matches,” Bechard said. “No team had taken advantage of that though this year like Nebraska did.” Kansas did receive an impressive performance from outside hitter Amy Myatt. The junior led the Jayhawks with 14 kills, which was one of the few sta tistics that Nebraska Coach Terry Pettit did not enjoy. “I was hoping we could do a bet ter job on Myatt,” Pettit said. “She played really well for them, but, all in all, I can’t complain.” The Huskers answered Myatt « They don’t like to lose, and it doesn’t happen very often here.” Ray Bechard KU coach with an offensive breakout game of their own, featuring an attack by Mandy Monson, Kim Behrends and Katie Jahnke. Monson led the team by record ing a season-high 16 kills, which even outdistanced All-American Nancy Meendering. Bechard was more taken aback by the play off the bench of Behrends and Jahnke, though. “Behrends comes in off the bench and just did a great job,” Bechard said. “And Jahnke showed that she is going to be a great player. “We just did not have an answer for their left side.” Garrison, Gehman, Fonoti take on true freshman roles ■ Three players that have seen action straight out of high school this season are working to adjust;" ^>' - # • By David Diehl Staff writer John Garrison’s eyes grow wide when he talks about the jump from Missouri’s biggest high school foot ball class to Division I football. “Oh man. It’s huge!” he says with a hint of amazement in his voice. Garrison is one of three true fresh man on Nebraska’s squad to see play ing time this year. Taylor Gehman has seen time as a backup rover and Toniu Fonoti is listed as the second string left guard behind James Sherman. While fonoti has played the most of any true freshman this season, Garrison is the only starter. He tops the depth chart at long snapper. Not only have the physical changes between high school and col lege been huge, but the mental part of the game has been a big adjustment for Garrison, too. “The preparation that goes into it - is a lot different - starting with two-a days and all the film you watch,” Garrison said. “The amount of film I’ve watched already doesn’t even stand to the amount I watched in high school. “High school wasn’t anything. You were mentally prepared, but col lege blows it away. There’s so much.” Kickers Coach Dan Young, who works with the long snappers, said that Garrison has handled the adjust ment and its responsibilities excep tionally well. Young said Garrison especially stood out near the end of the Southern Mississippi game when NU was backed up to its goal line. “At that point, a bad snap or a low snap or a high snap or anything really could have turned the whole game around,” Young said. “He really per formed well. “At this point, I think he has made a lot of progress, gained a lot of matu rity and is playing like somebody that has been doing it for three or four years.” As opposed to a quarterback or linebacker who plays almost every series, Garrison plays sporadically, about 10-15 snaps a game. But he still loses an entire year of eligibility. “It’s kind of rough, but I’m just so excited to be a part of something like this,” Garrison said. With Garrison snapping, it enables the other long snappers Russ Hochstein and Dominic Raiola to focus on their duties on the offensive line. Young praised Garrison’s unselfishness, sacrificing a year of eligibility for the team’s sake. “John has stepped up to the plate pretty well for the team to choose if he wanted to snap or not,” Young said. “He could have said, ‘Well, I’m only going to snap. I’m going to redshirt.’ He chose to do what he could to make the team the best it could be.” Garrison said his decision was clear. “I thought about it for about three hours,” Garrison said. “There wasn’t any doubt. I wanted to be a part of the team.” Garrison was onginally recruited at rush end but by fall camp had put on enough weight to be shifted to defensive tackle. From defensive tackle he moved across the ball to long snapper when the coaches asked for volunteers who had snapped in high school. Young said Garrison has grown into the position and has done very well learning all the blocking schemes and intricacies that go along with being a long snapper. Of course, there is a downside to being a long snapper. Ask any self respecting Nebraska fan who the starting quarterback or I-back is, and they could at least give you the play er’s name. Not so with Garrison. “I always tease with my dad or my family that the only time I’ll ever get noticed is if I messed up,” Garrison said. “Hopefully, I won’t get noticed. Sunday, if I realized I got noticed, usually I messed up.” During last Saturday’s Missouri game, the Tigers’ long snapper got noticed when he sent two first-quarter snaps over the punter’s head, leading to nine Husker points. “I just smiled, and I looked around, and all the guys looked at me and gave me that look like, ‘If you do that Garrison trailed off in ii High school wasn’t anything. ... college blows it away.” John Garrison NU freshman laughter. As for Gehman, he plays the more visible position of rover. He, too, has encountered big changes that come with college foot ball at Nebraska. A star safety at Omaha Northwest, Gehman led the state in tackles his junior and senior seasons but now is relegated to waiting until the game is decided to see action on defense. But that really doesn’t bug him. “It’s really encouraging to be able to contribute and to help the team out as a true freshman,” he said. So far Gehman has contributed on the kickoff team as well as in the sec ondary. He has played in all four games recording three tackles and forcing one fumble. Another major difference between high school and college is his team’s success. At Northwest High School Gehman’s team strug gled annually to put a winning record on the board. Aside from that, Gehman also points out the mental changes. “You have to visualize everything instead of going out there to do your own thing,” Gehman said. Studying quizzes on the opposi tion and watching game film are everyday activities for the team as opposed to high school where Gehman said that they didn’t watch any film at all. Right now, Gehman is “having a blast” playing as a reserve, and he said that as he matures and works on his weaknesses, hopefully it will all add up to being a Blackshirt someday. Becoming a defensive starter is overshadowed by one other of Gehman’s goals. “As a team, I want a national championship ring.”