SportsMonday
Waiting it out: NU receives first seed
■The women's volleyball
team will play Princeton on
Friday at the Coliseum.
BY SEAN CALLAHAN
What a jam packed weekend
for the Nebraska volleyball
team.
After a five game victory at
K-State oh Saturday night, the
top-ranked Comhuskers (28-0,
20-0) found out who would be
coming to Lincoln for the NCAA
volleyball tournament on
Friday.
The Huskers earned the top
seed in the Central region.
Hawaii (27-1), Southern
California (25-2) and Wisconsin
(28-3) were the other top seeds.
NU takes on Princeton (20
8) at 7:30 p.m. in the Coliseum
on Friday. The winner of that
match faces either South
Carolina (21-6) or George
Washington (25-5) on Saturday
at 7:30.
Nebraska learned its desti
nation at a special selection
show party held in the Don
Bryant Media Facility at
Memorial Stadium.
Husker Coach John Cook
said the No. 1 seed, while
expected, wasn't a free pass to
the Final Four.
“I think there’s a lot of parity,
and it’s going to be a really excit
ing tournament,’’ Cook said.
“The biggest challenge for this
team and for everybody around
here is not to pencil us into the
Final Four and the National
Championship.
“We have to focus on what
we need to do each day, on what
we need to do to play Princeton.
We found out some things at K
State that we need to get better
at and that needs to be the focus
of the week.”
Against the Wildcats, the
Huskers were without their left
side hitter Laura Pilakowski,
having appendicitis for the sec
ond match in a row.
Cook said that didn’t play
out to be as big of a factor as one
would think.
“K-State played well at home
like they always do,” he said. “I
think the last time they lost at
home was to us last year.
“We were in a situation
where K-State had a lot more on
the line then we did. We were a
little bit tentative, but in the
fourth game we decided we
were going to take the match
instead of protecting what we’ve
already done.”
What NU has done thus far
in the 2000 season has been
impressive.
In matches against 10 differ
ent tournament teams NU com
piled a season record of 15-0.
Looking at entire field of 64,
the Big 12 along with the PAC-10
and the Big 10 continued their
dominance each landing six
teams.
Cook said he was pleased to
see that the Big 12 got six teams
despite the fact many called it a
down year for the conference.
“The good news is we got six
teams,” Cook said. “The bad
news is only one is hosting the
first round.
"There were some missed
opportunities there, but it just
shows we are one of the
strongest conferences.”
Steven Bender/DN
Members of the Nebraska volleyball team watch the 2000 NCAA Women's Volleyball Selection television show on Sunday at the
Don Bryant Media Facility. The undefeated Huskers received a No. 1 seed and won't have to leave the friendly confines of Memorial
Coliseum until the Final Four.
Huskers
get easy
victory
■Nil's early lead against SLU
helps women's team win
despite sloppy second half.
BY JOHN GASKINS
Looking every bit like a team
that’s 4-0, the Nebraska women’s
basketball team is about to
embark on the difficult part of its
non-conference schedule.
Consider NU’s Saturday night
romp over Southeastern
Louisiana the calm before the
storm.
Things could not have been
much easier for the Huskers in
their 83-59 blowout of SLU.
NU came in a confident 3-0,
hosting a Southeastern Louisiana
team that had just come off a 26
point loss to Prarie View A&M,
and arrived at the Bob Devaney
Sports Center 35 minutes before
tip-off, exhausted from a 4 a.m.
wake-up and a nightmare day of
flight delays.
SLU Coach
“We WOn Frank
24 ‘ Schneider said
7. he had never
points. faced a bigger
What do teamnorabig
ger crowd in
you guys his 16-year
want? It’s career at the
. school.
not like We The result
needed to was a swift NU
Virb n cakewalk
kick a which includ
field goal ed first-half
at the ru"s °f 15:°
and 8-0 and a
DUZZer to 46-17 halftime
yy/M " lead. Each of
NU’s first 23
field goals
_ . . , came from
Sanderford 355^
NU women’s Though
basketball coach trailing by 36
points at one
time, SLU (1-2) came back to
outscore a much sloppier NU
squad that used all 14 players in
die second halt 42-37, but Coach
Paul Sanderford didn’t sweat it too
much.
i was pieasea wnn our locus
in the first halt” Sanderford said.
“When you’re 29-30 points up, it's
difficult to keep your focus.
“We won by 24 points. What
do you guys want? It's not like we
needed to kick a field goal at the
buzzer to win,” referring to the
NU football team’s last-second
victory Over Colorado on Friday.
But now, the road gets mighty
tough. NU - 4-0 for the first time
in Sanderford’s four years here -
hits the road for games at No. 22
Wisconsin, in-state rival
Creighton and Washington.
From there, NU plays four
NCAA Tournament teams in six
games to round out the non-con
ference^late. If only the Huskers
can start those games like they did
against the Lady lions in front of a
crowd of 3,193 at the Devaney.
Please see SANDERFORD on 9
* “ ft
No problem with shooting, turnovers the key
BY JOSHUA CAMENZ1ND
When Nebraska and Winthrop take the floor
tonight, Bob Devaney Sports Center janitors might
want to have a couple of new nets handy.
The Comhuskers are shooting a blazing 56 per
cent from the field in their last three games - the first
against Yugoslavia Select in an exhibition win.
“If you take good shots, then you have a good
opportunity to shoot a higher percentage,” Cary
Cochran said. “We got the ball where we needed it”
NU, which is 1-1 on the season, only rose above
the 50 percent mark in field goal shooting three times
all of last season. But the Huskers have been above 55
percent in both regular season games thus far.
Leading the good shooting performances have
been forward Steffon Bradford, who is 15 of 18 from
the field in the last two games. Bradford recorded
double-doubles in both contests, averaging 19 points
and 14.5 rebounds per game.
“You have to be pleased with our shooting per
centages,” Collier said. “We have a number of differ
ent guys scoring in different ways.”
Nebraska’s field goal percentage was not hurt by
die return of center Kimani Ffriend from his three
game suspension to start the season. Ffriend led the
Huskers in shooting last season, connecting on 54
percent of his shots.
The native Jamaican did not disappoint in his
debut against Eastern Illinois, hitting 8 of 10 shots on
his way to 17 points. Ffriend nearly missed a double
double, coming two rebounds shy with eight
“His inside presence is substantial for our team,”
Collier said.
oiu lAicmaii bmu i\u b uueiibive buccebb bo iar
comes from better decision-making instituted by
Collier and his system. “We don't want good shots, we
want great shots,” he said.
Against Winthrop, which comes to Lincoln with a
3-2 record and a defense that is holding opponents to
37 percent shooting, NU will have to take a lot of great
shots and make better decisions, Collier said.
Despite their blistering shooting, the Huskers are
averaging 19.5 turnovers per game - right on pace
with last season’s clip of 193.
“We have had lots of different kinds of turnovers,”
said Collier, who noted that aggressive play and
unselfishness led to the bulk of his team’s mishan
dling of the basketball.
Winthrop, which lost to North Carolina and
Arizona State in its first two games before bouncing
back with three straight wins, is forcing opposing
teams into 14 turnovers per game. The Eagles have 10
players over 6-foot-6 to match up with Bradford and
Ffriend inside, as well as two 6-3 guards (Roger Toxey
and Derrick Knox).
While Collier said die turnover situation must be
addressed against the two-time defending Big South •
champions, a win and a good team attitude have
masked some of those worries.
"I told our team before the game that had I arrived
last week; I would have had no idea what everybody is
talking about having a bad attitude,” Collier said.
“They have demonstrated a great attitude on and off
the floor, on the road and they have been more appre
ciative of everything.”
Nebraska center
Kimani Ffriend
and the
Comhuskers
face off against
Winthropat
7:05 p.m.
tonight at the
BobDevaney
Sports Center.
Talentedjunior college transfer signs with Huskers
■The former Wyoming
cornerback is the eighth solid
pledge for the 2001 class.
BY SEAN CALLAHAN
The three-month football
recruiting dry spell for the
Nebraska football team has finally
ended.
Hutchinson Community
College standout Cliff Brye said he
gave word to the Cornhusker
coaches on Thanksgiving he
would accept a scholarship and
join the Huskers for the 2001 sea
son.
Brye, a 5-foot-10,180-pound
defensive back, is a Lincoln
Northeast graduate. He played his
first two years at Wyoming, red
shirting his first year.
In his second season with the
Cowboys, he was a starter at cor
nerback, but decided to transfer
after a coaching change.
Coming to Nebraska after one
season at Hutchinson was an easy
decision, Brye said.
"I would have committed
there out of high school if I had the
grades,” Brye said. “Now my
whole family can come watch me
play."
With 4.4 second speed in the
40-yard dash, a bench press of 300
pounds and a squat of445 pounds
Brye gives NU a needed skill play
er to their class of2001.
Playing mostly wide receiver
at Hutchinson, Brye said he
scored six touchdowns and ran
v7
one kick back.
“Nebraska really likes my
speed and quick feet,” Brye said. “I
hope I can help the team right
away, whether it be on defense or
special teams.”
Brye said NU was very inter
ested for quite some time, but did
n’t offer until they saw how he
stood academically.
“Coach (Dan) Young called me
on Thanksgiving with the official
offer,” he said. “Nebraska was the
only team that really recruited
because I told everybody else I
wasn't interested.”
The commitment gives
Nebraska eight solid pledges for
the class of2001.
The number would be at 10,
but Dan Stevenson (offensive
lineman, Barrington 111.) and Con
“Nebraska was the only team that really
recruited because / told everybody else I wasn't
interested
Cliff Brye
__NU football recruit
Ross (defensive back, Denver)
have both decided to take other
visits before making their com
mitments official.
In other recruiting news,
Sunday marked the first day
coaches could take in-home visits.
Nebraska Coach Frank Solich
went to Atlantic, Iowa to talk to
offensive lineman Blake Larsen.
According to Rivals.com,
Larsen is the second best lineman
V
in the country.
At one time, NU was Larsen'S
top team, but currently the 6-foot
7,305-pounder said he is wide
open to Oklahoma, Michigan
State, Notre Dame, Miami, Iowa,
Tennessee and Nebraska.
“Solich came over for dinner,
and we talked for about two
hours,” Larsen said. “I have five
more coaches coming in for visits
in the next three days.”
