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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 3, 1999)
Friday, December 3,1999 Page 7 r NU rolls foe with block By John Gaskins Staff writer While walking out of their press confer ence after their first round NCAA tourney loss to Nebraska, Davidson’s Mara Mordini and Gina Lawrence could only laugh as they read the match’s play-by-play sheet. “Shot by Mordini, block. Shot by Mordini, block” Mordini said, shaking her head. That’s pretty much how the Wildcat’s first ever NCAA Tournament appearance went in Thursday night’s first round Pacific Regional match. The 10th-ranked and fourth-seeded Comhuskers used their massive size advan tage and tough blocking to make quick dis posal of the Wildcats, 15-3,15-5, 15-3 and advance to the second round for the 16th straight season in a match that took just one hour. NU, which outblocked Davidson 11 -4, will meet No. 25 San Diego tonight at 7 to decide which team advances to next week’s regional semifinals in Palo Alto, Calif. “We had never seen a block like that before,” Davidson Head Coach Lisa Marston said. The Wildcats (31 -4), who lost for just the second time in 24 matches, hadn’t experi enced much of anything else they got a taste Nebraska 15 1515 Davidson 3 5 3 ofThursday. It was their first ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament, and the NU Coliseum crowd of 2,854 was by far the largest they had played in front of all year. So it was business as usual for the Huskers, making their 18th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. The win also boosted NU’s current winning streak to 11. Nebraska Head Coach Terry Pettit said he was especially pleased with die Huskers’ defense, which held Davidson to a -. 107 hit ting percentage, the lowest a team has hit vs. NU this season. Mordini and Lawrence, the two leading attackers for the Wildcats this season, were held to -.135 and -.273 percent ages, respectively. “All things considered, I think we did a pretty good job,” Pettit said. “Sometimes, the matchups, in a situation like that, when physically, you’re a little quicker and bigger than the opponent, can be difficult. You can block too high and jump too high. “So, defensively, we were pretty disci plined. The best thing was we didn’t give anything away with our block.” The best thing was we didn’t give anything away with our block. ” Terry Pettit NU coach Junior Angie Oxley led NU with five block assists, while junior Nancy Meendering, sophomore Jenny Kropp and freshman Amber Holmquist all contributed four. “I think blocking has always been a strong point for this team,” Meendering said. “As we keep playing better, you see that. Tonight, we outmatched them in size, and we wanted to use that to our advantage and we did.” Davidson at least provided a stronger challenge than last year’s opening round opponent, Morgan State, which managed to mount only three points on NU. The Wildcats took an early 3-1 lead in game one before the Huskers brought them back to reality. “We were just thrilled to be here,” Lawrence said. “We knew we could dig some balls against one of the best teams in the country and stay with them for some of those rallies.” Mike Warren/DN NEBRASKA’S NANCY Meendering jumps and spreads her arms to block a spike during the second game against Davidson in the NCAA playoffs. Huskers, UT brace for round two ■ While NU has lost the past three contests to Texas, the Huskers are ranked higher for Saturday’s game. By Darren Ivy Senior staff writer Although it hasn’t had all the national hoopla of a Mike Tyson vs. Evander Holyfield fight, the Nebraska-Texas series has turned into a showdown of heavyweights in the 1990s. Round four of the two Big 12 Conference Goliaths is at 2:36 pm Saturday in San Antonio with the Big 12 Championship trophy on the line. Nebraska Coach Frank Solich expects another close contest. All three were great football games, Solich said. “I think both teams played tremendously hard in all three games. I think it will again be the type of game where both teams play tremendously hard with great talent on the field.” Despite winning the three previous encounters in the ’90s, Texas, 9-3 and 6-2 in the Big 12, is anything but die unanimous favorite. In fact, odds-makers have die Longhorns listed as 8.5-point underdogs. For the Huskers, 11-1 and 7-1, being the favorite m the game has been the kiss of death. They have been favored in each of the last three losses. To really size up this rematch, a look at the tale of the tape might be the best bet. On offense, UT’s Major Applewhite and NU’s Eric Crouch are basically a draw. The coaches could n’t decide when it came to naming a Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year so they called it a tie. Meanwhile, the writers gave the edge to Applewhite. “They have a great quarterback who is a leader and who is able to make big plays and move die foot ball no matter what it takes,” Solich said. Nebraska may have to do without the service of tight end Tracey Wistrom, who, as of Thursday, was still questionable for the game. Wistrom has a knee injury, but Solich would not say how serious it is. On the offensive line, NU will have to find a way to stop the Longhorns’ Casey Hampton, Aaron Humphrey, Cedric Woodard and Shaun Rogers. Those players accounted for nine tackles for a loss in the first meeting. Lane Hickenbottom/DN DAN ALEXANDER and the rest of the Huskers prepare to take on the Longhorns In San Antonio on Saturday for tho Dig 12 championship. “They’re the best down linemen I’ve faced,” offensive tackle Adam Julch said. “Maybe Steve Warren and Loran Kaiser here arc as good. I’ve never had to go against them in a game, but I have in prac tice. The Texas guys are just as good.” On the defensive side, die teams were pretty much even in the first game. Along with every prize fight also comes the trash talking. Before the last game Oct. 23, NU center Dominic Raiola spouted off that he “hated everything about Texas.” This week Applewhite caught the he of McBride with his comments about the Husker defensive Please see CHAMPIONSHIP on 8 Bulldogs handle NU press Drake 88 Nebraska 77 By Brandon Schulte Staff writer It wasn’t exactly the way the Nebraska women’s basketball team wanted to start a four-game homes tand. For the second time in as many games, NU lost on its home floor as Drake defeated Nebraska 88-77 in front of 3,046 fans at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. It was the Comhuskers’ fourth loss in its last six home contests after it won its first 27 home games under Coach Paul Sanderford. aandenora said tnat Drake (z-5) wanted to win more than his team did. “As I told our kids,” Sanderford said, “Drake really came in hungry tonight. They played with tremen dous emotion and intensity. I thought they played better than we did and deserved to win.” The Huskers (2-2) came out strong in the second half as they went on a 15-2 run to erase' a three-point halftime deficit. But NU’s 53-43 lead quickly evaporated as DU went on a 15-2 run of its own to reclaim its three-point lead with 11:03 left in the game. Nebraska guard Brook Schwartz said she knew Drake wasrgoing to go on a run, but NU did a poor job of countering die run. “Every good team is going to get on a roll and make a run,” said Schwartz, who contributed a career high 31 points to go along with six steals. “It’s almost exactly like the Please see DRAKE on 8