NU Volleyball takes
strange route to title
SEASON from page12
In the weeks leading up to
Nebraska’s first match of die sea
son, John Cook made his first
major decision as coach of
Nebraska.
Cook announced that All
American outside hitter Nancy
Meendering would redshirt.
The preseason pollsters let
Nebraska have it, ranking them
as low as No. 11 to start the sea
son.
Judging by his comments in
Nebraska’s preseason press con
ference, it’s safe to say Cook felt
his team was better than a No. 11
ranking. ^
“If there’s 10 teams better
then us, it’s going to be a hell of a
year in college volleyball,’’ he
said. “I think we’re pretty good.”
It didn’t take long for
Nebraska to show the country
exactly how good they were
Meenderingless.
“I think it was after the
Colorado State game that we
knew that this year could be spe
cial,” senior right-side hitter
Angie Oxley said.
Colorado State was
Nebraska’s third match of the
season. CSU came to the NU
Coliseum hot, having knocked
off preseason No. 1 UCLA a week
before.
Nebraska spotted the Rams a
1-0 games lead, but would rally
and win the match in four
games.
A star was born that day.
Sophomore outside hitter Laura
Pilakowski led the way with 25
kills.
Confidence was brewing.
Nebraska traveled to Notre
Dame the following week for the
Notre Dame Tbumament
There, the Huskers took
down three ranked teams,
including UCLA. By Monday of
the next week, Nebraska was the
No. 1 team in die nation.
Nebraska liked gripping the
top ranking so much that they
never let it go.
After his team grabbed the
top spot, Cook had his players
tote around Nebraska’s 1995
national championship trophy
everywhere they went
“We had a good idea we
would win the national champi
onship, and I wanted our players
to start visualizing it,” Cook said.
"At that point there wasn't
another team in the country in a
position to think about it or that
would probably talk about it
everyday. I wanted our players to
visualize it”
The doubters were begin
ning to dwindle.
Big 12 romp
For most of the Big 12 sea
son, Nebraska was bored stiff.
Practice was the hard part.
Going against each other was
intense. Winning matches was
easy.
Nebraska went through the
first nine matches without los
ing a game.
“I haven’t played a whole lot
of No. 1 teams, but they play like
a No. 1 team,” Oklahoma Coach
Kalani Mahi said after Nebraska
manhandled his team in late
September. "They have the com
plete package.”
The Nebraska match was
always a night opposing confer
ence coaches used as a "step
ping-stone match.” It gave them
"something to build on,” it was
“a learning process.”
It became other team’s goals
to make Nebraska at least break
a sweat
Nebraska outscored confer
ence opponents 958-471 in
points. Nebraska won 60 games
and lost five.
There was much shock and
amazement throughout the NU
Coliseum in a September match
against Texas, when the
Longhorns almost beat
Nebraska in a game but lost 16- 1
14.
Colorado players and coach
es seemed happy as a kid on
Christmas after losing in a late
season sweep to Nebraska.
“We don’t like to reveal our
trade secrets,” CU junior outside
hitter Sonja Nielsen said.
Trade secrets? Didn't the
Buffaoloes get swept?
Sure, but they'' forced
Nebraska to work. It was a win in
their book.
Nebraska would lose only
three games throughout the
conference schedule until they
traveled to Kansas State for the
final match of the regular sea
son.
www.dailyneb.com
The Wildcats took the
Huskers five games, but
Nebraska won, even with
Pilakowski sitting out the match
after having her appendix taken
out
The wake-up call
“The Kansas State game was
a good confidence builder, but
South Carolina was the turning
point game for us, “Cook said.
“We knew we’d have to step it up
to win the championship after
that game. So thank you Lady
Gamecocks.”
It was the Gamecocks who
came within a whisker of ending
Nebraska’s season in early fash
ion in the NCAA tournament’s
second round.
South Carolina led the
Huskers 2-1 in games and found
themselves leading 12-8 in game
four, three points away from a
truly monumental upset
But behind a deafening
home crowd, NU rallied and
advanced to the Sweet 16.
Cook called that match a
“wake-up call.”
He labeled it correctly.
Nebraska awoke from its
slumber and swept Ohio State
and Arizona the next weekend,
earning a Final Four spot
meAwaras
Before the Final Four began,
Nebraska stole about every post
season accolade given in the col
lege volleyball world.
NU had three sophomore
All-Americans. Holmquist
notched a spot alongside
Pilakowski.
That dynamic duo joined
Cepero, who was also named
college Player of the Year by the
American Volleyball Coaches’
Association.
Cepero would also rack up a
Final Four MVP when the tour
nament was said and done.
“The most rewarding one
was winning the champi
onship,” Cepero said of her hon
ors. “For me no individual
accomplishment is greater than
winning as a team.”
Cook was named AVCA
Coach of the Year before his
team played in the Final Four.
Cook said the spotlight
seemed to fall at a bad time for
him. Cook and Cepero both had
to attend a banquet honoring
them the day before the Fiqal
Four began.
He, like Cepero, had bigger
fish to fry.
“I gave a horrible speech
because I was so focused on the
match,” Cook said.
Finalizing perfection
On the day before the Final
Four, Cook directed his team
through a furious practice.
After 45 minutes, Cook
stopped the practice.
"You’re ready to play,” Cook
said. "You think you're playing
Hawaii today or something?”
The next day his team
marched all over No. 2 Hawaii in
four games.
The win set up the uncom
fortable matchup with Cook’s
old team, Wisconsin.
Cook had left the Badgers’
program only two years ago to
assume a top assistant position
at NU, and the eventual coach
ing gig.
“We knew they’d be fired up
to play against Coach Cook,”
senior outside hitter Kim
Behrends said.
“Wisconsin had nothing to
lose,” Cook said. “They were just
hitting the lights out of the ball.
But once they went ahead, the
pressure shifted to them.”
Nebraska would come back,
of course.
And the history books will
look favorably upon NU's 34-0
^season.
— The Huskers joined only
Long Beach State in the perfect
season category. LBSU compiled
a 36-0 record in 1998.
Cook said this perfect season
probably blind-sided most of
the country.
Nobody would have ever
thought this Meenderingless
team could reign over college
volleyball.
“If you would’ve asked any
body at the beginning of the year
if they thought Nebraska would
go undefeated and win the
national championship, they
would have said, ‘no way.'”
Except Greicha, of course.
Nebraska on verge of several more titles
DYNASTYfrom page 12
This is the same guy who
can scowl at a stat sheet after a
three-game victory. Why?
Because he didn’t feel his team
played at a national champi
onship caliber.
This is the same guy who
was openly talking about win
ning a national championship
back in September.
Most coaches choke on
their gum when the words
"national championship" are j
brought into a conversation. H
Not Cook.
He had a blank picture
frame above his desk through
out the 2000 season. Why was
it blank? He was just waiting to
fill the frame with a nice color
photo of his 2000 champi
onship team. Confident chap,
ain’t he?
He has good reason to be.
Cook might as well put a few
more blank frames up there.
Let’s look ahead to the 2001
season.
Nebraska will be starting
four All-Americans.
Amber Holmquist, Laura
Pilakowski and 2000 Player-of
the-Year Greichaly Cepero all
return.
Then throw in the return of
s Nancy Meendering, who red
shirted this season and, well,
it’s just plain cheating.
Most people considered it
a kamikaze act when Cook
elected to redshirt
Meendering. Now, Cook is
laughing all the way to the
next Final Four in San Diego.
If you take the binoculars
and look way down the road,
you will see that Nebraska will
still have three All-Americans
on the 2002 squad with only
Meendering and Jenny Kropp
graduating next season.
And don’t doubt that Cook
doesn't have his eye on a
young small-town Nebraska
high schooler who will prove
to be the next Meendering or
Pilakowski.
Cook is always planning,
always looking at every detail.
He demands perfection, and
his work ethic has caught on
with his players.
Attention to detail with
tremendous athletes is too
tough for anyone to topple,
f
Ask Wisconsin.
"You’re cooked John,” a
Wisconsin grandmother had
yelled with her team leading
Nebraska 2-1 in games in the
championship match.
Shortly after this cute
statement, Cook was celebrat
ing his first national champi
onship. *
Afterwards, Nebraska’s
coach looked drained for the
first time all season, admitting
that the Final Four weekend
was still a blur to him.
No worry. There was this
feeling, a scary one to some,
that Cook would grow quite
used to this championship
spotlight, and would probably
be basking in it again sooner
rather than later.
NU wins national title
VKTORYfrompage12
Nebraska’s powerful block
also wasn’t nearly as dominat
ing as it had been two nights
prior in a four-game semifinal
victory over Hawaii.
Still, Cook believed his team
would take the match.
“Even after the third game,
I still felt confident,” he said.
“I’ve seen this team come back
several times. They rise to the
challenge.”
Cook’s team also had no
intention of letting its new
coach lose to his old team.
“That was in the back of
our mind,” Nebraska senior
outside hitter Xim Behrends
said. “We wanted to win for
Coach Cook. He made a big
step to come here. He believed
in us.”
Before game four began,
Nebraska’s starting six hud
dled on the Richmond
Coliseum floor, slapping
hands, seemingly loose for the
first time all day.
“Wisconsin tightened up,
and we actually relaxed a little
bit. Specifically, Angie
relaxed,” Cook said;
“And once that started
happening we got our middles
involved, and once that hap
pened we knew they wouldn’t
be able to stop us.”
Nebraska wasn’t stopped,
dominating game four in
every phase.
The Cornhuskers block
forced Wisconsin into a horrid
.026 hitting^, percentage.
Meanwhile, NU was hitting on
all cylinders, notching a .400
hitting mark.
When it was all said and
done, Nebraska had won the
game 15-2 and had forced a
rally scoring (every serve
counts as a point) game five.
Nebraska hit on all cylin
ders in the final set, thanks
largely to a much improved
passing game compared fo
games two and three.
Cook said the improved
passing game allowed
GreichaLy Cepero, sophomore
setter and National Player of
the Year, the chance to distrib
ute the ball to the best match
ups favoring Nebraska.
Cepero isn't Playerof the
Year for nothing, wisely
spreading the ball to various
Nebraska attackers, but ulti
mately relying on her All
American sophomore outside
hitter Laura Pilakowki.
Pilakowski knocked home
five of her match-high 23 kills
in the deciding game, includ
ing two in a row which pushed
the NU lead to 4-0.
Wisconsin chopped the
lead to 4-3, but a Badgers’ net
serve gave Nebraska a free
point.
NU’s sophomore defensive
specialist Lindsay Wischmeier
then served three consecutive
points, the last coming on an
ace, which gave the Huskers
an 8-3 advantage.
Junior setter Lizzy
Fitzgerald said coming back
from an 8-3 deficit in rally
scoring, especially against
Nebraska, is a tall task.
“There's no room for error
in rally play. Nebraska came
out real strong,” Fitzgerald
said. “We did a good job in
decreasing the spread, it just
didn’t work out for us.”
The Badgers edged the
score down to 13-9, but
Behrends hit a huge kill to give
Nebraska a 14-9 lead and
championship point.
“You try not to pay atten
tion to the score, but you see
the scoreboard up there after
every point,” Oxley said.
One point to go for NU,
and the Huskers completed
perfection on a very familiar
looking play.
Nebraska served,
Wisconsin returned, but there
was a dig by Nebraska, a pass
up to Cepero, Cepero to
Pilakowski and the kill.
“I don’t even remember the
play," a relieved Cook would
say following the match. “Is
that what happened?”
Forgive Cook for the foggi
ness that surrounded the
moment.
In his first year as coach of
Nebraska, he had achieved
Coach of the Year honors, a
national championship and
perfect season.
“I’m just very thankful,”
Cook said. “This team maxi
mized every ounce of ability
they had to accomplish this.”
Freshmen step up for
women's gym in Hawaii
BY JASON MERRIHEW
The Nebraska women's gym
nastics team benefited from
strong freshman performances
as the Huskers finished second
at the Maui Invitational in
Wailuku, Hai.
NU finished with a team
score of 194.95, trailing only top
ranked UCLA. The Bruins won
the invitational with 196.20
score. Eleventh-ranked Arizona
State finished third with a
191.525 showing.
NU was paced by the success
freshman Alecia Ingram had in
the all-around. Ingram won the
individual all-around title with a
score of39.425.
“I didn't know I won the all
around until the end of the
meet,” Ingram said. “I just want
ed to go out and hit all of my rou
tines.”
Nebraska’s Coach Dan
Kendig felt the team’s success
hinged on the play of the new
comers.
“Alecia and the rest of our
freshman really did a nice job for
us,” Kendig said. “They stepped
into some pressure-filled situa
tions and performed. On beam,
we had missed our first three
routines, but Alecia came up
and nailed her routine to get us
going. It was good to see them
(the freshmen) step up for us
tonight.”
Freshman Gina Bruce came
off the bench to fill in for Bree
Dority O'Callaghan, who suf
fered a knee injury on her first
event.
“I think Gina’s beam routine
turned it around for us tonight,"
Kendig said. “We got off to a
good start on uneven bars, but
struggled on beam after Bree’s
injury, missing our first three
routines. Gina really came
through for us. She didn't warm
up on the event, but she came in
and hit a big routine.’’
The lone senior on the
squad, Amy Ringo, also turned
in a stellar performance for NU.
Ringo tallied a career best on the
balance beam with a 9.925 score.
Ringo also tied a school record
on the floor exercise with a 9.95
score.
“Amy put together two nice
routines on floor and beam,”
Kendig said. “She is our only
senior, and we are counting on
her to come up big in situations
like tonight, and she did."
The Huskers competed
without the service of NU top
all-arounder AJ. Lamb (back),
and junior Laura Goss (ankle)
and Dority O’Callaghan (knee)
saw limited action.
Nebraska will make its home
debut Sunday as they host
Oregon State in a dual at die Bob
Devaney Sports Center.
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WAITED:
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