Wednesday, November 3,1999 Page 7
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12 player of the year
■ Nebraska dominates
the Big 12 soccer lists after
finishing the conference
season undefeated.
From staff reports
The Nebraska women’s soccer
team, undefeated in conference play
and the No. 4 team in the nation,
dominated the Big 12 All-Conference
teams, released Tuesday. The
Cornhuskers captured two of the
three major awards and placed eight
players on the All-Conference
squads.
Senior defender Sharolta Nonen
was named the 1999 Big 12 Player of
the Year.
Nonen, a two-time All-American,
was a first-team All-Big 12 defender
in both 1997 and 1998. The native of
British Columbia played for Canada
in last year’s World Cup.
For the second time in four years,
Head Coach John Walker was hon
ored as die Big 12 Coach of die Year.
Walker last received the award in
1996, the conference’s inaugural sea
son. The coach has compiled a 99-22
2 overall record since taking the helm
for the Huskers.
Six Nebraska players earned first
team All-Conference awards. Senior
Amy Walsh, junior Jenny Benson and
sophomore Meghan Anderson swept
the midfielder position for NU.
Anderson leads Nebraska and is sec
ond in the conference with 46 points.
Nonen and senior Isabelle
Morneau, a four-time All-Big 12
selection, were selected as first-team
defenders.
Senior forward Lindsey
Eddleman also received a spot on the
team for the fourth consecutive year.
Christine Latham and Kelly
Rheem, a sophomore forward, were
selected to the All-Big 12 Second
Team.
Latham was one of only two
freshman picked for the squad. She
finished second to Iowa State mid
fielder Karie Antongiovanni in the
Rookie of the Year voting.
After Nebraska’s eight selections,
no other Big 12 team had more than
four players earn spots on the squads.
The Huskers’ six first-team honorees
also easily distanced runner-ups
Texas A&M and Baylor, which had
two All-Big 12 first-teamers.
Husker standouts
SaK^MtnSSnSSP
HntTaaa Pet
Isabelle Momeau, Sr. D
Sharolta Nonen, Sr. D
Amy Walsh, Sr. MF
Jenny Benson,Jr. MF
Meghan Anderson, So. MF
Lindsay Eddleman, Sr. F
SMMMTMi N&
Kelly Rheem, So. F
Chnstine Latham, Fr. F
Huskers open Big 12 tournament
play- see story on page 8
_
_
Matthew Hansen
Davison,
Newcombe
propel NU
Without the brilliant performance of split
end and punt returner Bobby Newcombe,
Nebraska loses to Kansas on Saturday night
Erase wideout Matt Davison’s predictably
steady play against die Jayhawks. Again, the
Comhuskers exit KU’s Manorial Field just
minutes before the goal posts.
For the first time in recent memory, the
Huskers’ win belonged not to Milt Tenopir’s
linemen, Charlie McBride’s defense or Dave
Gillespie’s running backs. In fact, at varying
stages of die game, those three coaches’ units
did all they could to hand the Jayhawks the
win.
Instead, the game ball goes to Receivers
Coach Ron Brown’s starters. On a strange night
in Lawrence, Kan., the strangest Act of all was
that Nebraska’s two starting wide receivers
were quite possibly the two most valuable
Huskers on the field
It’s not to say that Husker wideouts have
never played a major role in the past- its just
that the role was blocking.
On several occasions in the Solich era,
though, the offense has been opened up and
receivers have played a big part in the offense.
It was that way at Texas A&M last year (loss),
against Arizona in the Holiday Bowl (loss), and
this year against Texas (loss).
You following? NU has only thrown when
it was playing from behind, or when it couldn’t
get anything going on the ground. In other
words, only when it was despenjtfc^ - ^
Of course, Nebraska was a little desperate - s
on Saturday, too. There was one majpf differ
ence, though: the Newcombe and Davison duo,
Eric Crouch agreed that Aeduougs ^
Nebraska’s key to victory against KU,
“Matt and Bobby were on the field a lot
more than they normally were,” the quarter
back said “They did a tot of different tfcingsjo
raise our confidence level. That high confi
dence was the difference ”
Look at the package. Davison is Nebraska’s
Rock of Gibraltar: He has been for ova: a year. *
The consummate possession receiver, Davison
was about 7 years old the last timehe dropped
a pass. Barring injury, he will end his career
second on Nebraska’s all-time receptions list,
behind only the immortal Johnny Rodgers.
Speaking of Rodgers: Newcombe is
Rodgers Lite. He may not have quite the speed
Please see DUO on 8
rUM/UiN
Monson, Oxley bolster NLTs left side
By John Gaskins
Staff writer
There are three things that are almost
inevitable when the Nebraska volleyball team
takes the court in 1999.
Head Coach Terry Pettit will most likely
wear a sweater. The Comhuskers will rotate
players into and out of the game-as if there is an
invisible revolving door on die sideline.
And NU setters will set as many balls as
possible to All-American outside hitter Nancy
Meendering, who will inevitably scorch other
teams’ defenses with a barrage of kills.
But, as-dangerous as she is, the right-side
attacker won’t beat teams, especially tough
teams - like Kansas State last Saturday - alone.
She needs a little help frbm her friends.
Enter her left-side buddies, senior co-cap
, tain Mandy Monson and junior Angie Oxley.
When those two have big nights to go along
2 with Meendering’s days at the office, the
liuskers teem unstoppable - like they were
Saturday night.
. “What you Want to do is have Meendering
be the-difference-maker, not the person who
gets you to that point;” Pettit said. “Because, if
she has to carry you there, it’s awful hard for
her, at the end, to go ahead and do what she’s
done."
“There’s no question that, if Angie and
Mandy are playing well, we’re very difficult to
beat.”
Consider this: when K-State beat NU in
five games at the Coliseum last month, Oxley
••
Everyone was on the same wavelength. It was
comforting - like we were in a zone ”
MandyMonson
NU volleyball player
hit .089, while Monson managed just a .043 hit
ting percentage. Last Saturday, die two com
bined for 17 kills, 21 digs and a.410 hitting per
centage in what they considered NU’s finest
team effort of die year.
The result? The Huskers rolled in three sets.
“In the matches we’ve lost, we’ve lacked
continuity as a team,” Oxley said. “There was a
lot of good individual effort, like Nancy, but not
enough effort as a team.”
“It’s like we were synchronized (at Kansas
State),” Monson said. “Everyone was on the
same wavelength. It was comforting - like we
wore in a zone. Indie games we lost, it’s not that
we weren’t playing hard, but some people were
just looking at balls and letting stuff happen
that can’t happen.”
It’s no secret that die two, especially Oxley,
were playing below their potential in some
matches - particularly NU’s losses - for two
veterans in what is considered to be a well-oiled
offensive machine.
But lately the two have been working extra
hard in practice with Associate Head Coach
John Cook to prevent so many attacks from
sailing wide or long.
Their defense has improved as well.
Monson has always been known as a feisty dig
ger, but Pettit said a key point in the KSU match
may have been a deep Oxley dig off Wildcat
outside hitter Dawn Cady in die third game.
What looked like another spike-in-the-face
from the player that burned the Huskers for 37
kills in Lincoln, turned out to a symbolic turn
ing point in NU’s season.
The veterans, who have played and compet
ed together on the left for three years, feel a
vibe with each other on and off the court.
That may not seem easy when you talk to
Monson and Oxley individually. They are two
different people, two different players.
Monson is like a yard dog cm the court -
intense, fiery, screaming her way through
games. Oxley is calculated, deliberate, storing
her sneaky power only to release it at the right
time.
In interviews, Monson is animated, speaks
her mind, wears her emotions on her sleeve and
lets her words charge out of her mouth. Oxley
ponders and chooses her words carefully.
Please see VOLLEY on 8
