Post by redincolorado on Apr 7, 2007 21:40:46 GMT -5
BY CHAD PURCELL
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
NORTH PLATTE, Neb. - Welcome home, Christina Houghtelling.
Welcome back, national champs.
[glow=red,2,300]You'd have a hard time telling that the goings-on Saturday at North Platte High School's jam-packed gym technically didn't mean anything.[/glow] The Nebraska volleyball team's convincing spring-season victory against Wichita State won't count one bit toward the Huskers' efforts to defend their 2006 NCAA title.
But this wasn't an exhibition as much as it was a celebration; it wasn't a scrimmage as much as [glow=red,2,300]it was one more eye-opening glimpse into the fervent following this powerhouse program enjoys.[/glow]
And nobody was happier to take part in the hullabaloo than Houghtelling.
Houghtelling, the senior out of Cambridge, Neb., hadn't been in the Huskers' rotation since the team took its trip to Japan and China last spring.
The 2005 national player of the year sat out the entire 2006 season to recover from offseason shoulder surgery, and she could only watch as Nebraska celebrated its third national championship in front of an NCAA-record crowd in Omaha.
"It's just crazy how much you miss this when you're out all year," said Houghtelling, who reserved seats for more than 30 family members and friends. "I don't know - it's just great to be back. It was so fun out there."
Well, maybe not as fun as it could have been. Houghtelling, the only current Nebraska player who hails from the western half of the state, was under strict orders from coach John Cook not to unleash her sledgehammer of a swing. She had six kills Saturday, all on tip shots.
Cook said it's not that Houghtelling isn't ready to pound overhand kills - she's already doing that in practice. It's just that Cook was worried that Houghtelling would be too eager to do something spectacular too soon.
"I know it means a lot to her in so many ways," Cook said about Saturday's match. "You have no idea how hard it is for her to hold back. I was talking to her all week about being disciplined, and she did a good job."
[glow=red,2,300]As for the atmosphere at Saturday's event, Cook said there's probably never been anything quite like it in the history of women's college volleyball.[/glow] Typically, spring exhibitions aren't played in front of an audience. More often than not, they're little more than glorified practices that happen to involve another team.
But the North Platte High School gym was nearly full about 50 minutes before the match even started. Ten minutes or so before the opening serve, a request was sent out for people to squeeze together so the capacity crowd of close to 2,400 could find a seat.
Tickets for the event, which cost $10, sold out last month in less than three hours. And the Huskers even came to North Platte a day early and spent close to three hours signing autographs Friday night.
[glow=red,2,300]"It's hard to believe, anywhere in college volleyball in the spring, something like this could happen," Cook said.[/glow] "We needed Wichita State to come here and help make it happen, and I give them a lot of credit for doing that. But we have a great relationship with the western part of the state, and we want to continue to never take that for granted.
"I know these people really appreciate it, and they saw some pretty good volleyball today."
That they did.
With Rachel Holloway and Maggie Griffin running their 6-2 attack, the Huskers rolled to an impressive 30-10, 30-20, 30-15 sweep in their first homestate appearance of 2007.
Nebraska's two-setter offense was not identical to the one it ran two years ago, because the Huskers on Saturday used Rachel Schwartz at libero.
[glow=red,2,300]But after the match, Cook raved about Schwartz's performance. The junior-to-be out of Lincoln East served up three aces and came up with plenty of spectacular digs (she was credited with more than 30 in the match, which would be an eye-popping average of more than 10 per game, but Cook wasn't certain that total was accurate).[/glow]
Sarah Pavan and Tracy Stalls led Nebraska with 12 kills apiece, while Amanda Gates added 11. [glow=red,2,300]And 6-foot-5 freshman Lindsey Licht totaled nine kills - and, like Pavan, had fans buzzing when she began ripping shots in warmups - during her first match in front of a home crowd.[/glow]
The Huskers will play their last exhibition of the spring season next Saturday, when they host Colorado State at the NU Coliseum.
GBR!
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
NORTH PLATTE, Neb. - Welcome home, Christina Houghtelling.
Welcome back, national champs.
[glow=red,2,300]You'd have a hard time telling that the goings-on Saturday at North Platte High School's jam-packed gym technically didn't mean anything.[/glow] The Nebraska volleyball team's convincing spring-season victory against Wichita State won't count one bit toward the Huskers' efforts to defend their 2006 NCAA title.
But this wasn't an exhibition as much as it was a celebration; it wasn't a scrimmage as much as [glow=red,2,300]it was one more eye-opening glimpse into the fervent following this powerhouse program enjoys.[/glow]
And nobody was happier to take part in the hullabaloo than Houghtelling.
Houghtelling, the senior out of Cambridge, Neb., hadn't been in the Huskers' rotation since the team took its trip to Japan and China last spring.
The 2005 national player of the year sat out the entire 2006 season to recover from offseason shoulder surgery, and she could only watch as Nebraska celebrated its third national championship in front of an NCAA-record crowd in Omaha.
"It's just crazy how much you miss this when you're out all year," said Houghtelling, who reserved seats for more than 30 family members and friends. "I don't know - it's just great to be back. It was so fun out there."
Well, maybe not as fun as it could have been. Houghtelling, the only current Nebraska player who hails from the western half of the state, was under strict orders from coach John Cook not to unleash her sledgehammer of a swing. She had six kills Saturday, all on tip shots.
Cook said it's not that Houghtelling isn't ready to pound overhand kills - she's already doing that in practice. It's just that Cook was worried that Houghtelling would be too eager to do something spectacular too soon.
"I know it means a lot to her in so many ways," Cook said about Saturday's match. "You have no idea how hard it is for her to hold back. I was talking to her all week about being disciplined, and she did a good job."
[glow=red,2,300]As for the atmosphere at Saturday's event, Cook said there's probably never been anything quite like it in the history of women's college volleyball.[/glow] Typically, spring exhibitions aren't played in front of an audience. More often than not, they're little more than glorified practices that happen to involve another team.
But the North Platte High School gym was nearly full about 50 minutes before the match even started. Ten minutes or so before the opening serve, a request was sent out for people to squeeze together so the capacity crowd of close to 2,400 could find a seat.
Tickets for the event, which cost $10, sold out last month in less than three hours. And the Huskers even came to North Platte a day early and spent close to three hours signing autographs Friday night.
[glow=red,2,300]"It's hard to believe, anywhere in college volleyball in the spring, something like this could happen," Cook said.[/glow] "We needed Wichita State to come here and help make it happen, and I give them a lot of credit for doing that. But we have a great relationship with the western part of the state, and we want to continue to never take that for granted.
"I know these people really appreciate it, and they saw some pretty good volleyball today."
That they did.
With Rachel Holloway and Maggie Griffin running their 6-2 attack, the Huskers rolled to an impressive 30-10, 30-20, 30-15 sweep in their first homestate appearance of 2007.
Nebraska's two-setter offense was not identical to the one it ran two years ago, because the Huskers on Saturday used Rachel Schwartz at libero.
[glow=red,2,300]But after the match, Cook raved about Schwartz's performance. The junior-to-be out of Lincoln East served up three aces and came up with plenty of spectacular digs (she was credited with more than 30 in the match, which would be an eye-popping average of more than 10 per game, but Cook wasn't certain that total was accurate).[/glow]
Sarah Pavan and Tracy Stalls led Nebraska with 12 kills apiece, while Amanda Gates added 11. [glow=red,2,300]And 6-foot-5 freshman Lindsey Licht totaled nine kills - and, like Pavan, had fans buzzing when she began ripping shots in warmups - during her first match in front of a home crowd.[/glow]
The Huskers will play their last exhibition of the spring season next Saturday, when they host Colorado State at the NU Coliseum.
GBR!
