Post by bigfan on Nov 21, 2006 14:23:58 GMT -5
Week offers NU 2 chances to seal Big 12
By: Jeff Sheldon
Sarah Pavan and the No. 1 Cornhuskers can clinch the Big 12 championship with a win Wednesday at Kansas or Saturday against Texas. On Monday, Pavan was named the conference's Player of the Week for the second time this season.
With a pair of matches over the holiday break, arguably the two most important cogs in Nebraska's offense are not heading home for Thanksgiving, but at least they're not bitter.
Well, maybe a little.
"It's sort of a sore subject," joked setter Rachel Holloway, a Franklin, Tenn., native. "We don't want to bring it up."
But when you've had the week Holloway and outside hitter Sarah Pavan have had for the top-ranked Cornhuskers, maybe sticking around Lincoln isn't so bad. You don't want any of those good vibes to rub off.
NU (25-1, 17-1 Big 12 Conference) heads into the week with two chances to clinch the Big 12 championship, coming off two of the most dominant offensive matches of the season. The Huskers hit .436 in last Wednesday's sweep of Texas A&M, followed by notching a .450 mark in Saturday's win over Baylor.
Those standout performances have come on the heels of a five-game loss at Colorado - NU's lone defeat of the season in which the Huskers committed 28 hitting errors in a sluggish display.
"We had been winning so much, so easily," Pavan said. "It's disappointing to say this, but we just got complacent. I think we just figured we can play good or bad and just win."
The Huskers regrouped with two blowout wins and have already earned a share of the league crown, which NU can clinch outright with a win Wednesday at Kansas (10-17, 3-15) before second-place Texas comes to town to end the regular season on Saturday.
NU's recovery can be credited at least in part to Holloway's improved connection with Pavan, who on Monday was named Big 12 Player of the Week for the second time this season. The junior from Kitchener, Ontario, averaged 7.67 kills per game last week while hitting .557.
"We've been struggling to find the right tempo for the sets that she wants, and I finally got the ball to her high enough," Holloway said. "I saw her driving to the ball and I saw the fire in her eyes. She is a go-to player, and I saw it come out last week."
Holloway said the improved timing came when she slowed the tempo of her outside sets. The redshirt freshman likes to run the Husker offense at a quicker pace to keep teams off balance, but with the size and power of Pavan, sometimes it's better just to put the ball in the right area and let her do the work.
"I've never set a 6-foot-5 lefty before, so it's something I had to get used to," Holloway said.
A win Wednesday would give Nebraska's its ninth title in the 11-year history of the Big 12 and keep the pressure off Saturday's match with No. 8 Texas, who NU beat in a five-game thriller in Austin back on Oct. 18.
"I think everybody around here is looking forward to the Texas match," Pavan said, "but if we lose (at Kansas), then it all comes down to Saturday."
Note: Outside hitter Jordan Larson did not practice Monday because of a slight knee injury, said NU Coach John Cook. The sophomore from Hooper banged her knee in the Huskers' sweep of Baylor on Saturday.
"She's fine," Cook said, adding Larson will play Wednesday at Kansas.
By: Jeff Sheldon
Sarah Pavan and the No. 1 Cornhuskers can clinch the Big 12 championship with a win Wednesday at Kansas or Saturday against Texas. On Monday, Pavan was named the conference's Player of the Week for the second time this season.
With a pair of matches over the holiday break, arguably the two most important cogs in Nebraska's offense are not heading home for Thanksgiving, but at least they're not bitter.
Well, maybe a little.
"It's sort of a sore subject," joked setter Rachel Holloway, a Franklin, Tenn., native. "We don't want to bring it up."
But when you've had the week Holloway and outside hitter Sarah Pavan have had for the top-ranked Cornhuskers, maybe sticking around Lincoln isn't so bad. You don't want any of those good vibes to rub off.
NU (25-1, 17-1 Big 12 Conference) heads into the week with two chances to clinch the Big 12 championship, coming off two of the most dominant offensive matches of the season. The Huskers hit .436 in last Wednesday's sweep of Texas A&M, followed by notching a .450 mark in Saturday's win over Baylor.
Those standout performances have come on the heels of a five-game loss at Colorado - NU's lone defeat of the season in which the Huskers committed 28 hitting errors in a sluggish display.
"We had been winning so much, so easily," Pavan said. "It's disappointing to say this, but we just got complacent. I think we just figured we can play good or bad and just win."
The Huskers regrouped with two blowout wins and have already earned a share of the league crown, which NU can clinch outright with a win Wednesday at Kansas (10-17, 3-15) before second-place Texas comes to town to end the regular season on Saturday.
NU's recovery can be credited at least in part to Holloway's improved connection with Pavan, who on Monday was named Big 12 Player of the Week for the second time this season. The junior from Kitchener, Ontario, averaged 7.67 kills per game last week while hitting .557.
"We've been struggling to find the right tempo for the sets that she wants, and I finally got the ball to her high enough," Holloway said. "I saw her driving to the ball and I saw the fire in her eyes. She is a go-to player, and I saw it come out last week."
Holloway said the improved timing came when she slowed the tempo of her outside sets. The redshirt freshman likes to run the Husker offense at a quicker pace to keep teams off balance, but with the size and power of Pavan, sometimes it's better just to put the ball in the right area and let her do the work.
"I've never set a 6-foot-5 lefty before, so it's something I had to get used to," Holloway said.
A win Wednesday would give Nebraska's its ninth title in the 11-year history of the Big 12 and keep the pressure off Saturday's match with No. 8 Texas, who NU beat in a five-game thriller in Austin back on Oct. 18.
"I think everybody around here is looking forward to the Texas match," Pavan said, "but if we lose (at Kansas), then it all comes down to Saturday."
Note: Outside hitter Jordan Larson did not practice Monday because of a slight knee injury, said NU Coach John Cook. The sophomore from Hooper banged her knee in the Huskers' sweep of Baylor on Saturday.
"She's fine," Cook said, adding Larson will play Wednesday at Kansas.