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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 20, 1999)
Wednesday, October 20,1999___Page 9 Huskers roll over Tigers ■ With a win over MU, Nebraska is in the driver’s seat to earn the top seed in the conference tourney. By Brock Wendlandt Staff writer The No. 4 Nebraska soccer team proved Sunday that being No. 1 in the Big 12 Conference equates to not only having superior talent but having great support When that first line of talent is depleted. The Comhuskers (14-1-1 overall and 7-0 in the Big 12) took advantage of a deep bench and a second half wind to hand No. 18 Missouri a 5-1 loss in front of 1,234 at the Abbott Sports Complex. The win put NU in a position where it would have to lose all three of its remaining conference matches to relin quish the top seed in the conference tournament. NU was forced to play the match without All-Big 12 seniors Amy Walsh,, who missed her second game because of an ankle injury, and Lindsay Eddleman, who saved a one-game sus pension after receiving her fifth yellow card of the season in Friday’s 8-1 win over Kansas. However, NU Coach John Walker said freshmen Christine Latham and Kori Saunders, who started in place of Eddleman and Walsh, stepped up. Latham scored two goals and Saunders finished with an assist. Walker said he was especially impressed with Saunders’ play as center midfielder. “(Kori) did a great job of winning the ball in the midfield,” Walker said. “She was dangerous in some attacks, and she kept possession for us. “Amy Walsh, from a ball-winning standpoint, has to be one of the best in the country. And for us not to lose that ball-winning battle mentality in the middle of the field was very important.” The Tigers (11-4 and 6-2), who were in sole position of second place in the conference, were hoping to take advan NU SOPHOMORE Kelly Rheem scoots around a Missouri midfielder Sunday at the Abbott Sports Complex. Nebraska defeated the Tigers 5-1 before 1,234 fans. tage of a Husker squad lacking two of its top starters. Missouri was the aggressor in the first 15 minutes with a wind advantage. The Tigers looked poised to challenge NU for the Big 12 title when forward Erin Grimsley rebounded a ball past NU goalkeeper Karina LeBlanc, who had punched the ball out from a comer lack, to give them a 1 -0 lead at the 20:42 mark. Nebraska responded quickly to Missouri’s challenge and struck just minutes later. Forward Kelly Rheem sent a perfect cross to midfielder Shannon Tanaka, who tied die game 1-1 at the 23:13 mark The Huskers kept the ball on MU’s end of die field for much of the remain der of the first half, and the game was still tied going into halftime. “We were a little upset it was tied,” Latham said. “Buf we knew in the end that our team has enough depth to come up with the win.” Latham took charge in the second half. She put NU on top with a header in a crowded Missouri box and then fin ished an open field assist from mid fielder Meghan Anderson by blasting a far post shot past MU goalkeeper Jackie Adamec. Anderson finished the scoring with two late goals. “(Going against the wind) was diffi cult for us,” MU Coach Bryan Blitz said. “We just continued to compete and tried to play as hard as this Nebraska « We knew in the end that our team has enough depth to come up with the win” Christine Latham NU freshman team. It’s good for our team to see the cream of the crop in the Big 12, and we’ll see those guys again in the Big 12 tournament.” Jitters aside, rookie boosts NU ■ Seeing more playing time, freshman Amber ttolmquist is producing fortheHuskers. By John Gaskins Staffwriter Amber Holmquist’s life has changed dramatically in the past month. After seeing very little playing time in the team’s first 13 matches, the 6 foot-4 freshman has burst into the Big 12 Conference volleyball scene after being thrust into the lineup by Coach Terry Pettit and has played a major role in the Cornhuskers’ four-match win streak. In the process, the former U.S. Junior National Team member has led the team with a .434 hitting percentage and is second in blocks at 1.77 per game. Such marks have added to an already sparkling, third-ranked national freshman class dial Pettit is calling “by far my best ever” and “a class that will someday win a national champi onship.” And if there is such a thing as fresh man jitters, Holmquist doesn’t seem to have diem. “I’ve been excited about playing. I feel very comfortable,” Holmquist said. “There was pressure to please people at first, but I’ve gotten better at handling that. There is always going to be pres sures, but that’s positive. You have to have them.” The fact that two ofher fellow fresh men had already felt those pressures might have helped Holmquist. Before Holmquist emerged, setter Lindsay Wischmeier and setter/hitter Greichaly Cepero had already given the 12th ranked Huskers a spark. But the 1998 All Greater Houston Player of the Year has addeda lot more fuel to the fire. “Amber is just a great physical pres ence,” Pettit said. “Sometimes a fresh man or a new player will win a starting position, look up after two or three matches and say, ‘What am I doing here?’ But she hasn’t done that. She’s kind of put daylight between her and other people.” Holmquist has made enough of an impact to impress the former starter she replaced - senior Tonia Tauke. “She’s playing big,” Tauke said. “She’s getting kills. She sets up a really big Mock. She’s putting the ball down, and that’s exactly what this team needs.” u There is always going to be pressures, but thats positive Amber Holmquist NU freshman Tauke knows exactly what Holmquist is going through. In 1996, she set freshman records by playing in 115 games and recording 127 block assists, helping NU reach the national semifinals. “She’s not a freshman anymore,” Tauke said. “I went through die same thing. At Nebraska, it doesn’t matter if you’re a freshman, sophomore, junior or senior. If you’re playing good every day in practice and working hard, you’re going to play.” That’s not to say that Holmquist and her three fellow freshmen teammates - Wischmeier, Cepero and Big 12 presea son freshman of the year Laura Pilakowski - haven’t formed a chem istry. Holmquist said she especially relates to her roommate Cepero. Both are international junior prodigies and distant outsiders to Nebraska (Holmquist is from Houston and i Cepero is a Puerto Rico native) and are trying to fit it on a team made up of nine Nebraskans. “She’s the crazy one, and I’m kind of just there,” Holmquist said. “We’re very different, but we get along real well. I feel blessed to have her around. She’s always positive. We’re around each other almost all the time.” And they’ll have to get used to that, especially on the court Holmquist said now that die Huskers have a more con sistent lineup and game plan - with the freshmen playing a significant role - they are ready to prove that despite some tough early losses, they are more than just a “team of the future” in a “transition year.” “A lot of opinions are out there about this team,” Holmquist said. “We have nothing to prove. It’s just die mid dle ofthe season, and we’re gaining con fidence. I’m really excited about the years to come. We can only get better.” NU set to pressure Texas QB By Samuel McKewon Senior staff writer The blueprint for stopping Texas’ offense was drawn by a team in pur ple. That means Nebraska’s defense will get help from an unlikely source - Kansas State - this week in prepa ration for one of the Big 12 Conference’s most dangerous offen sive attacks. “We’ve looked at the tape of that game, yeah,” junior middle line backer Carlos Polk said. “Every time you get the opportunity, you hit their quarterback and see if he keeps get ting up.” KSU’s defensive plan in a 35-17 win over UT on Oct. 2 was simple: pressure Texas sophomore quarter back Major Applewhite, the Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year. The plan worked with eerie precision. Applewhite got sacked four times. He fumbled three times, losing them all. On top of it, he threw three interceptions, the last of which was returned by K-State linebacker Mark Simoneau for a touchdown, all but sealing UT’s doom in that game. Nebraska has a stronger front seven than KSU and a comparable secondary. It doesn’t necessarily mean a team-wide sellout on blitz, Polk said, but it does mean stopping Applewhite will be a priority. ‘We know if we get enough pres sure on Major, he will throw the ball up,” Polk said. “He doesn’t always make wise decisions. We’ll try and shake him up, and he’ll throw us a couple of interceptions.” Applewhite has a trademark of sticking the pocket, NU Defensive Coordinator Charlie McBride said. Poise is an adjective that often comes in describing the guy who’s thrown for 2,091 yards and 14 touchdowns. It’s part of what made him so effec tive in Texas’ 20-16 upset at Nebraska last year. “He’s just one of those guys that gets it done,” McBride said. “Applewhite is a guy that won’t take a sack.” But that works against him, too, as it did vs. Kansas State. Applewhite said his offensive line was “soft” against KSU, but it performed much better in a 38-28 win over Oklahoma the next week. The Longhorn line, called “large and reasonably aggres sive” by NU rover Joe Walker, could turn out to be the key of the game. Applewhite will be helped out if Texas can establish a decent running attack, which it has done on and off this season. When asked if he was impressed by the UT line, Polk replied: “Not really.” “They can’t have a good running game,” Polk said. “We try to make the game one-dimensional. We have to establish hat.” Nebraska’s cause will be made easier by the return of weakside line backer Eric Johnson, who has been out since the Southern Mississippi game. "McBride said the rotation of Johnson and current starter Julius Jackson makes few a fresher, deadlier blitz package. With the week off, Polk doesn’t see a problem with freshness. And if things go according to plan, Texas won’t move the ball much at all. “We aren’t worried,” Polk said. “We feel like we can come out and dominate from the opening play.”