The wild cheers on Thursday (Dec. 14) as the Husker volleyball team swept Pitt in the national semifinals turned to tears on Sunday (Dec. 16), when returning champion Texas turned the tables on Nebraska and swept them.
If you’re good enough to make it to the postseason — in any sport — every team but one ends their season with a loss. The Huskers’ loss on Sunday was already painful for players and fans. But Nebraska coach John Cook was right when he said: “We had a bad year. One of the greatest seasons we’ve ever had at Nebraska.”
Five more seasons ended in national championships for the Huskers. The sixth would have been a perfect story ending. But the 33-2 unbeaten seniors, led by the USA Volleyball Coaches Association Coach of the Year, are fueling a die-hard fan base with hope for next season and beyond — a dynasty and Devaney.
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But what this young team and the community that supports it accomplished this year cannot be reflected in wins, losses or lifting a trophy.
The magic began on Aug. 30, when more than 92,000 fans packed Memorial Stadium to celebrate Nebraska Volleyball Day, setting a world record for attendance at a women’s sporting event. Dominating efforts, bold displays and intelligent play kept the fan intensity level high.
Volleyball has been important in Nebraska for a long time — thanks to a legacy of great Husker players, coach Terry Pettit before Cook, and high-level high school programs. The game in Devaney was always going to be a tough ticket.
But this year, enthusiasm for the program seems to have reached a new level. The final game was against Texas on network television. Top programs across the country set attendance and viewership records. On the weekend, the football team and volleyball team played at home back-to-back (both wins, vs. Northwestern in football and vs. No. 2 Wisconsin in volleyball) Journalstar.com saw more people reading volleyball stories than Football content.
Even in Sunday’s defeat, Journal Star and Husker Extra writer/reporter Amy Jost noted the immeasurable impact on young female athletes and on all volleyball players that this well-deserved attention has had.
Commenting on Nebraska Volleyball Day, Journal Star volleyball writer Brent Wagner wrote, “People in Nebraska are leaving their wedding parties to get ahead of traffic.” During that beautiful evening at Memorial Stadium, it seemed like no one wanted to Ends today.”
No one wanted this magical season to end either, especially the way it ended Sunday. So Husker fans can celebrate it at first.