TODD HENRICHS / Lincoln Journal Star | Posted: Wednesday, December 14, 2005 6:00 pm
SAN ANTONIO — Although no current Nebraska player has ever played in an NCAA final four, the top-seeded Huskers have brought a been-there, done-that mentality deep into the heart of Texas.
“We were talking about that this morning, and we just feel it’s another game,” said junior Christina Houghtelling. “We have two more games to win, and we’re just looking at this as another road trip.”
But one with a little more at stake than the Huskers let on Wednesday, a day filled with news conferences and open-to-the-public practices at the Alamodome.
There was no arguing the newness of the event by players from Santa Clara and Tennessee, both schools making their first appearance in the pinnacle of the collegiate volleyball season.
Nebraska meets 11th-ranked Santa Clara in today’s 8 p.m. match, the second of two semifinals to be televised by ESPNU. The first unseeded team to ever make it to the final four, Santa Clara welcomes the role of Cinderella this weekend.
“We have always been the underdog in the past few games,” libero Caroline Walters said. “We heard people saying that Stanford would win 3-0. Well, we proved them wrong.
“(Arizona), 3-0. We proved them wrong. We are just so excited for the game and hopefully we’ll prove everyone wrong again.”
Santa Clara isn’t without talent. The Broncos feature a first-team All-American in right-side hitter Cassie Perret and two third-team picks in middle blocker Anna Cmaylo and setter Crystal Matich.
Nebraska landed four All-Americans Wednesday, including first-team picks Houghtelling, Melissa Elmer and Sarah Pavan. Jennifer Saleaumua was a third-team selection.
That depth of talent is what separates Nebraska from Stanford and Arizona, said Santa Clara head coach Jon Wallace.
“Nebraska will have four great players on the court at one time, so it will be really tough to pick our battles or guess to try to find out where they put the ball,” Wallace said. “The key is to get them to feel the pressure.”
Nebraska’s coaches and players, however, say that some of the pressure is off after winning last weekend’s regional. The Huskers are back in the final four for the first time since 2001.
In the interim, Nebraska has faced Santa Clara twice, defeating the Broncos in the U.S. Bank/Arby’s Classic in both 2002 and 2003. If Nebraska head coach John Cook has his way, this weekend’s tournament will be no different.
“Last week’s regional and the AVCA Showcase back in August, those were two huge tournaments, and we just tried to approach those as we would if we were playing in any other type of tournament,” he said. “And this is just the final tournament of the year.
“It helps keep us in perspective. It helps keep us even-keel. There’s a lot more distractions at the final four, so there is a little different feel to it, but we’re preparing like we would for anybody we’d play.”
Reach Todd Henrichs at 473-7439 or thenrichs@journalstar.com.