Premium ContentMouse over Home then click on Premium Content for information.LINCOLN — In his quest to have a raucous student section for the Nebraska volleyball program when the team begins play in a remodeled Devaney Center, Husker coach John Cook apparently has quite a few willing partners.
Cook said the results of a recent NU athletic department survey of Nebraska students indicated an overwhelming interest in student tickets for volleyball. Of the approximately 1,000 students who responded to the survey, Cook said 97 percent said they had a strong interest in volleyball tickets.
NU officials are still deciding where exactly to locate the student section in the Devaney Center, which will become volleyball's full-time home in the fall of 2013. But Cook said students will have a prime location likely either behind the teams' benches or behind one of the end zones.
"We're going to have students right on the court," Cook said. "We're going to dedicate a lot of space for students."
Current student seating in the 4,100-seat NU Coliseum is limited to a small block of 50 to 100 seats, which has fueled complaints from students who get shut out, Cook said.
"Now, the goal is to have a dedicated space for those students so they can buy tickets ahead of time and have their seats and be right on the court," Cook said.
John Ingram, NU associate athletic director for capital planning and construction, told The World-Herald in December that logistical plans for seating should be finalized at the end of this basketball season.
On Jan. 27, the NU Board of Regents approved the $20 million Devaney Center renovation plan which will include new video scoreboards, locker rooms, heating, air and electrical systems, and a seating configuration that will regularly hold 7,000 fans.
Huskers hire strength and conditioning coach
Cook said Nebraska has hired Lauren Harris as a new strength and conditioning coach to replace Laura Buttermore. Harris will oversee conditioning for Husker volleyball as well as Nebraska's softball, women's gymnastics and rifle teams.
Harris comes to Lincoln after spending three years as the director of strength and conditioning at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
Harris previously spent three years as an assistant strength coach at Ohio State following an All-American basketball career at Division III Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas.
McNeal working her way back to court
After missing all of last season with a health condition unrelated to volleyball, middle blocker Allison McNeal is making strides to get back on the court during the team's winter conditioning period, Cook said.
The 6-3 McNeal, rated the No. 4 high school prospect nationally in 2007, sat out all of the 2011 season after starting 17 matches as a sophomore in 2010.
Cook said the Schulenburg, Texas, native was "at about 90 percent" and is expected to make a full recovery after regaining her conditioning.
"It will just take her some time to build back up," Cook said. "She was out for six months. She basically did nothing. She's doing really well in the gym. She's farther along than I thought she'd be."
The upcoming season would be McNeal's final year of eligibility unless the NCAA grants her a sixth season, since she also redshirted in 2008. Her return would be a big boost to Nebraska, which is replacing senior middles Brooke Delano and Jordan Wilberger. The Huskers also return junior-to-be Hayley Thramer, who started 21 matches last year, and promising redshirt freshman Cecilia Hall at the position.
NU seniors taking part in leadership training
Several Husker players found another class added to their spring semester this year in an effort by Cook to get a head start on developing leaders for the upcoming season.
Cook said he has started meeting with NU's seniors-to-be Gina Mancuso, Lauren Cook and Hannah Werth on Wednesday nights for a weekly leadership training session.
"I think leadership is like a muscle or skill. You've got to develop it," Cook said. "I think we take it for granted and we just assume these guys are leaders, but you have to work at it. I think our job as coaches is to facilitate their development as leaders — what it means, what it takes, what it looks like, how do you go about it."
The players do much of the curriculum design, are given assignments and take turns leading sessions, which occasionally are joined by guest speakers. Cook said Athletic Director Tom Osborne is set to speak with the group in March.
Cook noted many academic departments at UNL already require students to take leadership classes as part of their degree path. He plans to continue holding the meetings throughout the semester.
"We'll do it until we feel like we have a great understanding of leadership," he said.
Simpson still searching for new program
Taylor Simpson, who left the Nebraska program in January after her freshman season, told The World-Herald on Monday that she is still looking into transfer options to continue her volleyball career. The 6-3 outside hitter played in 12 matches last fall before missing the last two months of the season with a back condition.
"I am in the process of choosing another school right now to play ball at next fall. I am looking at five or six schools and plan to enroll somewhere in May or June," Simpson said in an email to The World-Herald.
In January, The World-Herald reported Simpson had applied for admission to Kansas State. Simpson did not address a question about attempting to join the Wildcats in the email and has not responded to other messages seeking an interview.
John Cook told The World-Herald last week that Simpson had received a release from her letter of intent to Nebraska and would be free to transfer to any school without having to sit out a year.
Contact the writer:
402-444-1201, sports@owh.com
Copyright ©2012 Omaha World-Herald®. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, displayed or redistributed for any purpose without permission from the Omaha World-Herald.
RSS Feeds