92,003 Husker Fans Poured Into Memorial Stadium To Watch Nebraska’s Volleyball Day

It was an epic day in Lincoln, Nebraska. What started as a dream to bring the state of Nebraska together to celebrate volleyball and women’s athletics morphed into an event the world has never seen.

“There is a lot of satisfaction to know that it’s not me. It’s a celebration of Nebraska volleyball at all levels”, Nebraska head coach John Cook said. “We took a chance playing a game in Memorial Stadium and to go for the record and break it. Not only did we make a statement on how important volleyball is here, we want that record to be known around the world now. I don’t think anyone could have envisioned all this when this started. It feels like a great accomplishment for this sport called ‘volleyball’ played by the women in Nebraska. It’s a state treasure and we just proved it.”

Cook was left in tears by the end of the evening. “I’ve probably cried five times today and I’m not kidding. Several times I’ve had to bite my lip to hold it together. It’s been a very emotional day.”

The Huskers never trailed in their sweep of Nebraska-Omaha, finishing them off, 25-14, 25-14, 25-13. Every time a spectacular spike, dig or rally happened, the crowd roared their approval. During one particular official review, the entire stadium launched “The Wave”, emphasizing the sheer volume of fans who were seated throughout all levels of the stadium.

One of the iconic moments of the evening was the team’s pregame walkthrough of the tunnel from the locker room to the field. The stadium’s energy reached a crescendo when the team walked on to the floor of the stadium and climbed the steps to the competitive game platform built just for this event.

Asked what the biggest adjustment was in playing outdoors in a space that size, junior libero Lexi Rodriguez told the Daily Nebraskan “The wind on one side was blowing into our faces, and then on the other side it was blowing away from us. We kind of had to adjust to not hitting it as hard on one side and then kind of hitting it harder going into the wind.”

Cook added his observations as well. “They (the team) got to experience what the men get to experience on the same level as all the greatest football teams that have played here. We just got to experience it maybe in some ways even more because of how the crowd interacted and the students on the field.”

After distribution of game guarantees worth $150,000 to the three visiting teams, and accounting for facility set up and staffing expenses estimated to be $1.3 million, the revenue bottom line for the one night event will likely be at least $1.4 million based on an average ticket price of $30 per person.

It was a night for both the record books and for the ages. A decade from now, Nebraskans will recount their experiences and ask each other: “were you there”?

It was magical.