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Nebraska maintains focus in sweep
■ Despite playing the lowly
Cyclones, the Huskers resist
complacency and cruise to easiest
win of the season so far.
By Darren Ivy
Senior staff writer
AMES, Iowa - Despite losing its second
conference game of the young season Saturday
against Texas A&M, Nebraska Head Coach
Terry Pettit had a good feeling about his No. 12
team going into Wednesday’s match with Iowa
State.
“We had a good practice Monday, a good
practice Tuesday and a good practice this after
noon before the match,” Pettit said.
Pettit’s reading of his team was accurate as
a very focused and determined Cornhusker
squad showed up at the Hilton Coliseum. It
took just 15 minutes for NU to claim game one
15-0. The next two games
took 15 and 14 minutes
respectively as NU won
15-2 and 15-0.
Afterward, Pettit
expressed approval of the
way the Huskers, 11-4 and
3-2 in the Big 12
Conference, maintained
their intensity through the
entire match.
Pettit
“It’s hard to maintain
focus when the other team
is overmatched,” said
Pettit, who improved to 55-0 all-time versus
Iowa State. “I was pleased with what they did.
We really needed to do that. We needed the
mental exercise out there as much as the physi
cal. The issue wasn’t so much whether we
would win or lose as it was if we could go out
there for three games and maintain our focus.”
NU definitely maintained its focus, and it
didn’t show any mercy on the hapless
Cyclones, who dropped to 2-10 and 0-5. Pettit
kept his starting rotation, which included
freshmen Greichaly Cepero and Amber
Holmquist on the floor for the duration of the
match.
“I wanted to develop a rhythm,” Pettit said.
“We have played a lot of people throughout the
year, and now it’s time to develop a rhythm, and
that’s what we did.”
Junior outside hitter Nancy Meendering,
who led the Huskers with 15 kills, said in lop
sided matches, such as Wednesday night, play
ers have to focus on their own play rather than
the opponents.
Along those lines, Nebraska wanted to
make sure it finished the match strongly, she
said.
“That has been one of the main things - we
Volleyball ~
Nebraska 15
Iowa State 0
get up and then don’t finish,” Meendering said.
“In both our losses, we got up but didn’t finish.
Tonight, I felt that for the most part when we
got up, we were able to put the ball away and
finish the game.
We are learning to pick up the intensity and
get it done.”
Pettit agreed that his team was improving
and said it needs to continue to be self-motivat
ed.
“They came out and did what they needed
to do,” he said. “I didn’t have to make a chal
lenge.
They know what they need to do. This is
just one small step toward being as good of a
team as we can be at the end of the year. The
next step is Saturday afternoon.”
Darren Ivy
Dubose’s
woes bad
for Tide
It is always nice to see the under
dog win, especially if the favored
team is Florida.
However, after Alabama’s 40-39
upset in the swamp Saturday, I soon
learned there was a dark side to
Alabama Coach Mike Dubose. Prior
to the game, I have to admit I was
vaguely familiar with his situation.
After doing some research on
Dubose, I became greatly troubled
about some post-game comments.
After the game, Dubose had the
nerve to say, “We have made mis
takes here but feel the team is going
in the right direction.” Excuse me
Mike, you made the mistake, not any
one else on your team.
In May, Dubose lied to school
administrators about a personal rela
tionship with his secretary. In
August, this same woman filed sexu
al harassment charges against
Dubose, and the school settled the
case with the woman.
Uh oh! Explain this little screw
up to the higher-ups at Alabama.
Dubose did, and University of
Alabama President Andrew
Sorensen and Athletic Director Bob
Bockrath basically put Dubose on
probation and kept him as coach.
Alabama cut two years and
$360,000 from his newly signed five
year contract.
If any more negative reports
about his private life were brought
forward, he would then be asked to
resign.
I think they dropped the ball on
this decision. I think itfe a case of that
"j". J: :
Please seeIVY on 11
I Fall important for Van Horn, NU
■ The Huskers hope to
reload after a record
season that saw them win
the Big 12 Tournament.
By Matthew Hansen
Staff writer
After a season that saw the
Nebraska baseball team win the Big 12
Conference Tournament, receive its
first NCAA Tournament bid in 14
support, the Comhuskers soldier on,
this time unnoticed.
While Husker fans focus their
attention on football and volleyball,
the baseball team is busy preparing for
the upcoming season without much
fanfare. Fall baseball may be a season
invisible to fans, but according to
Coach Dave Van Horn, it is an
extremely important time for the base
ball program.
“It’s nice to get any coverage dur
ing the football season,” Van Horn
said. “What is really important to us,
though, is improving and preparing for
the spring.”
The Huskers didn’t waste any time
getting started. For the first three
weeks of school, the coaching staff
conducted skills instruction with small
groups of players. The team also lifted
weights and concentrated on condi
tioning.
Full squad practices began Sept.
17, with 25 woikouts scheduled. Fall
practice culminates with the Red
White World Series later this month.
With fewer than 10 practices left
before the conclusion of fall camp, Van
Horn said he is pleased with the team’s
performance.
“It has been a good fall for us so
far,” Van Horn said. “It seems like we
are developing good depth. Also, we
have good competition for positions
right now. These are both building
blocks for a successful season.”
Sophomore shortstop Will Bolt
took his assessment of the team one
step further.
“At this point, we’re definitely
ahead of where we were at this time
last fall,” Bolt said. “I feel like we have
more talent than last year. Now it’s just
a matter of developing die team chem
istry we had in the spring. I think we
are doing that right now.”
A key component of fall camp is
the orientation of new Huskers.
Freshman and junior college transfers
need to have an opportunity to adjust to
Division I baseball. The coaching staff
and veteran players are also able to
teach die newcomers the Nebraska
system.
Mike Warren/DN
JAMIE R00RI6UE, a freshman left-handed pitcher for the Huskers, comes off the pitching mound to field a ball
during infield drills Wednesday night at Buck Beltzer Held. The Nebraska baseball team will finish fall practice
next week with the Red-White World Series.
~ “Freshmen are usually shocked
when they get here and realize that, for
the first time, they aren’t die best play
er on the team,” Van Horn said “(The
coaching staff and older players) help
them adjust and also teach them the
philosophy we like around here. The
fall is a great time for that”
Boh smiled as he remembered last
yearns fall camp, his first.
“I basically didn’t know what to
expect,” said Bolt, who played exten
sively as a freshman. “The level of
pitching and the speed of the garoe*sur
prised me at first, but I adjusted pretty
quick.”
Bqlt said that fall camp is still very
valuable to him this year. The extra bat
ting practice before and after class as
well as the emphasis on fundamentals
in fall camp will give him increased
confidence in the spring.
Of course, foil baseball can get a
little boring. Van Horn explained that
with almost two months of practice
without a game, waning intensity can
be a problem.
“While our players do a good job
of motivating themselves, there are
stitt going to be times when they get a
little bored,” Van Horn said. “We try to
Please see FALL on 11
