Picture it: Papillion, Nebraska, August 1994. Mark and Teresa Rolfzen had known each other since high school. Both played basketball, graduated from Nebraska-Kearney, had a young son. Late that month, their golden girls -- Kadie and Amber -- would be born to complete the family.We really didnt read any books about raising twins, but we knew we wanted to go out of our way to treat them as two different individuals, Mark Rolfzen said. Not force them to do things together. But that part worked itself out, because they always wanted to play whatever sport was in season. And they always have gotten along really well, and been each others best friend.Eventually, volleyball became the twins primary passion. Which was just perfect in a state where that sport is wildly popular.Kadie and I have talked about that, Amber said of how meant to be it all seems. It is really cool to think you were born into the Nebraska volleyball spirit.They are seniors at Nebraska now, playing in their second consecutive final four. They helped the Huskers win the national championship last season in Omaha, close to where they grew up in the suburb of Papillion. You cant help but mention to them that their lives could be a Disney movie.They already made one like that, Amber said.Shes referring to Double-Teamed, a 2002 film about basketball-playing twins Heather and Heidi Burge, who went to three final fours while at Virginia in the early 1990s.Oh, they were real? Amber said. I didnt know that.Indeed, Heather and Heidi are as flesh-and-blood as Amber and Kadie, just a couple of decades older. There have been several other twin sisters whove competed at a high level in Division I athletics, including Minnesotas Hannah and Paige Tapp, who also are playing in volleyballs final four for the second year in a row.Part of what makes the Rolfzens particularly compelling, though, is just how thoroughly and completely Nebraska they are; they committed to the Huskers before they were even in high school.Whats it going to be like when we come back in January, and theyre not here? Nebraska coach John Cook said, dreading the spring semester when the Rolfzens -- who graduate this month -- are likely to be playing professionally somewhere far from Lincoln. Its like theyve been part of this program forever.Theyre not gone yet, though. They have at least one match left -- theyll face Texas in Thursdays semifinals in Columbus, Ohio -- and Teresa probably wont eat anything. She typically battles anxiety on game days. She jokes with her friends, You want to know what a diet is for me? Its August to December.But some nerve-induced nausea has been a small price to pay for watching two dreams come true, side-by-side.***Picture it: Grand Island, Nebraska, November 2010. Amber and Kadie lead Papillion-La Vista South High School to the Class A championship in a 41-0 season. Its one of three state titles they would win. As 6-foot-3 teens, they were dominating the prep volleyball court.Practically every kid in the state wants to be a Husker, and Kadie and Amber, at age 16, already had been committed to Nebraska for two years. How easy would it be for their egos to swell? Impossible, as it turns out.Their parents always reminded them to stay grounded: Just do your thing and dont crow about it.But the twins had no desire to show up anybody. They competed in other sports in high school, including basketball and track, did their homework, and got to bed on time. They remain good eggs. After a recent match, Kadie told Amber to call Grandma.Their attitude was, This is what God gave me, and what Im going to work with. And this is how Im going to handle it, Teresa said.It actually took a while for their parents to even believe Kadie and Amber were that good at volleyball. Mark and Teresa were athletes, too. But if you ask which one may have passed on the most ability to their daughters, rather than playfully brag, they stress they never competed at the twins level.Both of us are kind of perplexed about where exactly they got it, Mark said.Which is why the parents were quite surprised when their 14-year-olds returned from a volleyball camp at Nebraska and matter-of-factly mentioned they had scholarships to become Huskers. Surely, Mark and Teresa thought, theyre confused.Quite honestly, their mother and I didnt really believe it, Mark said. I actually had to call Coach Cook the next day to find out what happened, and sure enough he did offer them scholarships.Cook knew, even when they were that young, that he wanted them at Nebraska as much as they knew they wanted to be there. The twins were in total agreement that there was no sense looking around when Nirvana was right up the road and had already opened the gates.That said, Kadie and Amber do not agree on everything; each is very clearly her own person. They banter over what they both call stupid stuff. On those rare occasions when a squabble does happen, whos the first to ease the tension?Both of us, Kadie said. Its like we might argue or whatever, and five minutes later, Ill walk into her room and say, Hey, you want to go to dinner? Shell say, Sure, OK! and its like nothing happened.Of course, theyve rarely been apart, and have shared almost everything, including their SUV. But who is usually in the drivers seat? In perfect twin logic, I usually drive to places, Kadie said, And she usually drives from them. Although sometimes its different.***Picture it: Omaha, Nebraska, December 2015. The Rolfzens had come to the Huskers with the highest of goals. Nebraska was a good team their first two seasons, but fell short of the final four.You go back to 2013, their first year, we were playing Texas here [in the regional final], and they imploded, Cook said. They melted down. Part of that was the expectations they had on them. They were freshmen, and werent able to handle all of it. Their growth since then has been incredible; they worked really hard on it.Nebraska lost again in the elite eight in 2014, this time to BYU. But the next year, the stakes were at their highest: the final four was in Omaha. As 12-year-olds, the Rolfzens had watched the Huskers and one particular hero, Jordan Larson, win the 2006 NCAA title in Omaha. Now was supposed to be their turn.But would the Huskers make it? The twins switched positions at the start of their junior year, with Kadie going to the right side and Amber becoming a middle blocker. The moves benefited both of them -- providing each with a more distinct on-court identity from the other -- and the team.However, in October, the Huskers lost back-to-back matches at home to Big Ten rivals Minnesota and Wisconsin. Stress built up a little more.Until you walk in their shoes, you dont know how much pressure it was about making it to Omaha, Cook said.Indeed, people would come up to the Rolfzens all the time and say, Hey, I got my tickets to Omaha, as if it were a given that Nebraska would be playing there. But a maturity factor kicked in.Youre going to have people say all these things, Amber said, but it gets to the point where you block out all those expectations. You just focus on the team and what you can do to improve yourself.Those losses to the Gophers and Badgers were Nebraskas last of the season. They got on a victory streak that went all the way through the NCAA final. Amber had 10 kills and four blocks in beating Texas, while Kadie had four kills and 10 digs.They just had so much put on them, but they also wanted that, Cook said. That was what was so cool about going to Omaha and winning it.***Picture it: Lincoln, Nebraska, December 2016. The Rolfzens Husker careers looked over on a Friday afternoon, on their home court, at the hands of an archrival having somewhat of a down season.It couldnt actually end like this, could it?Penn State was up 2-0, and the score tied 22-22 in the third set of their regional semifinal. The music that accompanies the end of time outs/return to action at the Devaney Center is off a random set list, yet it seemed ominously appropriate.The chimes of AC/DCs Hells Bells sounded like a signal that time was up for the Huskers.That led into a riff from Metallicas Enter Sandman. Remember, its a song about nightmares.Thats what this felt like to Nebraska fans: A nightmare in the middle of a day when so many took off from work or school to make sure the arena was packed as usual. Among the red-clad faithful, you saw pinched faces, gritted teeth, hands wringing.But Kadie, Amber, and their Nebraska teammates were in their own world, one theyd been trying to maintain all season. Dont look ahead; dont look back. Stay in the moment, point by point.It was going to get worse before it got better, though.Penn State would win the next two points, making it five in a row, and the Huskers were right at the edge of the cliff, one foot in the air. Down two match points against a team they seemingly couldnt stop.It flashed through Ambers mind: This could be it. But the enormity of that didnt paralyze her. The opposite happened, in fact. Be aggressive, she thought. Dont get timid now.And if the Rolfzens story actually were a movie, this is the part that would really have the critics rolling their eyes.Because Nebraska climbed out of that enormous hole, with Amber getting a kill and a block to save the two match points. The twins combined for 29 kills and eight block assists, with Kadie also getting 18 digs.The next day, playing with the lightness of a new life, the Huskers demolished Washington and earned the programs 13th trip to the final four.Kadie and Amber lingered after the regional final, sitting in the stands near their parents, wearing their Huskers jackets and knit caps. Theyve played the last of their matches on their home court, where theyd gone 63-11, losing just once there as seniors. They were headed to Columbus, and could say goodbye to the Devaney Center with smile... if a bit wistfully.Amber was asked about the semifinal escape. As steely-eyed as she was in the moment, she said, I cant watch the last four points in the third set, even though I know the outcome. I get nervous, and its like a What if? thing goes through your head.Whatever happens at the final four, their story is a smashing success. This week, Kadie was named an AVCA first-team All-American for the second year in a row. Amber made the third team, and was second team last season.There have been -- and will continue to be -- many very good players from Nebraska who daydream of playing for the Huskers, and then actually do it. There have been sisters whove done it, too. The state is a volleyball factory.But twins? Who are this talented, this low-maintenance, and this high-character? Who are, as they put it, each others No. 1 fan? It cant get more special than that.I have a very strong connection with both of them, Cook said. There are challenges to coaching twins, and Ive learned a lot about it from them.Theyre two incredible young women. It feels like when my own daughter graduated from here, like theres going to be this big void. But theres two of them to miss, not just one. Ilya Samsonov Jersey . NBA officials ruled the court unplayable in the Bucks final exhibition game on Oct. 25 because players were slipping, and the game was cancelled midway through the first period. Taylor Chorney Jersey . As he recorded his 23rd and 24th points of the evening, a segment of the sellout Air Canada Centre crowd expressed their appreciation for the Raptors point guard with a smattering of MVP chants. http://www.capitalsauthority.com/authentic-jay-beagle-capitals-jersey/ .ca. Hey Kerry, big fan of yours, just finished reading your book. I think that we all saw the Canucks/Flames line brawl just after puck drop. It was obvious that something was about to happen, even to the referees because the fourth lines were on to start. Matt Niskanen Jersey . Having already announced that the race will start May 9 with three stages in Northern Ireland and Ireland and finish in Trieste on June 1, the rest of the route was unveiled Monday. Dennis Maruk Jersey . -- Playing time has been limited for Maxim Tissot this season, so the Montreal Impact defender made the most of his first scoring opportunity on Saturday. CINCINNATI -- During the fifth inning of the Reds final game, their new general manager held an impromptu session with reporters at the back of the press box. Dick Williams listed the items on their must-do list.The bullpen was at the top.Reds relievers were historically bad in 2016, the overriding factor in another lost season. As if anyone needed a reminder, the bullpen blew a lead with two outs and none on in the ninth inning Sunday as the Chicago Cubs rallied for a fitting 7-4 win in front of thousands of blue-clad fans.We wont be playing the high end of the free agent market, but I could see us spending some money on the bullpen, said Williams, who takes over for the retiring Walt Jocketty in the offseason.After two years of trading their top players and rebuilding, the Reds can see some pieces coming together in the everyday lineup and the rotation. They suffered through a horrific first half, going 32-57 before the All-Star break with five starters spending time on the disabled list.Once the rotation stabilized and some of the young players settled in, they became competitive, going 36-37 the rest of the way.I think were headed in the right direction, said Joey Votto, who batted .408 after the All-Star break. We need to add talent. In my experience, this is a fun city when we play good ball and frustrating when were not.The Reds lost 98 games in 2015 and 94 this year, the first time theyve had back-to-back 90-loss seasons since 1933-34. Attendance plummeted from 2.4 million last season -- when Cincinnati hosted the All-Star Game -- to 1,894,085, the second-lowest in the league behind Miami.Cincinnati answered its biggest offseason question by giving manager Bryan Price a one-year contract extension through 2017.I know the managerial position is polarizing one, Price said. I think people are going to want to see our team show real significant signs of improvement. I think the second half is the first stage of that improvement with our club, and Im happy to be here.Some takeaways from the Reds season:YOUNGSTERS EMERGE: Infiellder Jose Peraza was the most impressive in a group of young players who got their first chance in the majors during the season.dddddddddddd Peraza was among the NLs top rookies with a .324 average, three homers, 25 RBI and 21 stolen bases. Adam Duvall led the team with 33 homers and 103 RBI.MESORACOS LATEST COMEBACK: Catcher Devin Mesoraco had a significant operation for the second year in a row. A hip problem wiped out most of his 2015 season, and shoulder surgery made him sit out most of this year. The Reds expect him back in full health for spring training, but his injury history is troubling.BAILEYS EXTENDED REHAB: Homer Bailey had several setbacks during his recovering from Tommy John surgery, limiting him to six starts and 23 innings. The Reds are hoping hes fully healthy next season. Bailey, who has thrown a pair of no-hitters, is owed $63 million over the next three years. Anthony DeSclafani went 9-5 with a 3.28 ERA in 20 starts, solidifying his spot. Brandon Finnegan and Dan Straily earned consideration for next years rotation.HORRIFIC NUMBERS: The Reds went into the season with no proven closer and it cost them. That blown save in the final game left Cincinnati only 28 of 53 in save chances. The bullpen gave up a major league record 103 homers and led the league in walks. Overall, the Reds allowed 258 homers, shattering the previous major league mark.PHILLIPS EXTENDED STAY: The second baseman blocked a trade to the Nationals, which would have opened up more time for a young player. He batted .291 in 141 games with 11 homers, 64 RBI and 14 errors, his highest total in 10 years. Hell make $14 million in the final year of his contract, very pricey for a team with the Reds budget. Theyre still interested in trading him, if hell acquiesce.Well talk to him again this year, Williams said. I think one area of depth for us is our middle infield.---Follow Joe Kay on Twitter: http://twitter.com/apjoekay Cheap Soccer Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Hockey Jerseys Nike NFL Jerseys China Cheap Nike MLB Jerseys China Wholesale Baseball Jerseys China Wholesale College Jerseys Cheap Jerseys From China Wholesale Jerseys Near Me Cheap Jerseys Online Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys Authentic Cheap Soccer Jerseys China Cheap NCAA Jerseys Authentic Cheap Nike NBA Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys Authentic MLB Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Throwback Jerseys Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China ' ' '