The History of Nebraska Cornhuskers NCAA Volleyball

The Nebraska Cornhuskers women's volleyball team, representing the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, competes in NCAA Division I as part of the Big Ten Conference. The program became an official varsity sport in 1975 and has since become one of the most decorated in women's volleyball. Nebraska has achieved remarkable success, boasting the most all-time wins (1,495), consecutive winning seasons (50), and weeks ranked No. 1 (108 weeks) of any program. The Huskers have won five NCAA Championships and have placed as the runner-up six times in program history.

Early Years and the Rise to Prominence

Nebraska's volleyball history began in 1967 as an "extramural" sport operating as part of the school's physical education department. The team was generally coached by graduate students seeking a teaching credit and had no dedicated uniforms or practice time. In 1975, when UNL formed its official women’s volleyball team, Pat Sullivan became its first coach. Though official, the volleyball team initially did not receive state funding. The 1975 team was invited to the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women’s (AIAW) National Volleyball Championships and finished with a 34-8 season record.

In 1978, Terri Kanouse and Shandi Pettine became the first volleyball student-athletes at Nebraska (and among the first at any school) to receive full scholarships. The pair were the first All-America selections in school history and led the Cornhuskers to four consecutive AIAW tournament appearances, helping to establish Nebraska as one of few prominent volleyball programs outside of the West Coast.

The Terry Pettit Era: Building a National Powerhouse

Head coach Terry Pettit, hired in 1977, turned the Cornhuskers into a national power at a time when the sport was traditionally dominated by West Coast schools. Pettit flew to Oregon to interview with the Ducks in 1985 but declined an offer to become their head coach, and soon his Nebraska program took the final step toward becoming a national power. NU reached the national championship game for the first time in 1986, led by middle blocker Karen Dahlgren and her revolutionary "slide attack" (rarely seen in college at the time). NU returned to the title game in Hawaii in 1989 as a fan favorite among locals, but was swept by Long Beach State.

Pettit's 1989 team included Janet Kruse, Virginia Stahr, and Stephanie Thater, who became NU's first players to twice be named a first-team All-American. With Kruse and Stahr graduated, Nebraska lost control of the Big Eight in 1993 after seventeen consecutive regular-season championships, twice losing to Colorado and exiting the NCAA tournament before the regional semifinal for the first time since 1983.

Papillion native Allison Weston was a sophomore on this team, receiving the first of three first-team All-America selections. Weston led a resurgent Nebraska to a 29-0 regular season with just five set losses in 1994, the best start in school history, but Nebraska was upset at home by Penn State in the regional final. After an early loss to Stanford in 1995, Nebraska won twenty-six consecutive games to finish the regular season 27-1 and enter the postseason as the country's top-ranked team for a second straight year. NU avenged its 1994 tournament loss to Penn State in Lincoln and rallied from first-set losses to Michigan State and Texas to claim the program's first national championship. Nebraska was just the third school from outside California or Hawaii to win a men's or women's volleyball national title, and Weston became NU's first athlete to be named AVCA Player of the Year.

Months after the title game, the Cornhuskers and Longhorns became conference foes when the Big Eight merged with the Southwest to form the Big 12 Conference. He won 694 games and thirty-seven combined conference championships (regular season and tournament) across twenty-three years, producing more All-Americans than any other program during his tenure. When Nebraska moved its volleyball program to the Bob Devaney Sports Center in 2013, the playing surface was dedicated in Pettit's honor.

The John Cook Era: Sustained Excellence

Head coach Terry Pettit, hired in 1977, turned the Cornhuskers into a national power at a time when the sport was traditionally dominated by West Coast schools. He produced NU's first national championship in 1995 before handing the program over to assistant John Cook five years later. Cook led the NCAA's second-ever undefeated season in his debut as head coach and soon established himself as one of the best coaches in the sport's history, winning four national championships and producing some of volleyball's biggest stars, including Sarah Pavan, Jordan Larson, and Lexi Rodriguez. Nebraska regularly leads the NCAA in attendance and has competed in several of the highest-attended and most-watched volleyball games ever played.

Led by setter Greichaly Cepero, the 2000 AVCA national player of the year as a sophomore, and a returning Metcalf, Nebraska finished 20-0 in conference play in each of the 2001 and 2002 seasons, extending a Big 12 win streak that would eventually reach seventy-seven. Sarah Pavan takes a swing against Texas at Gregory Gymnasium on Oct. Pavan led a blistering start to 2005 that saw Nebraska defeat four top-five opponents within the season's first two weeks. Nebraska lost only once in 2006, becoming the top seed in the NCAA Division I tournament for a third consecutive year. A five-set win over Minnesota sent Cook's team to the national semifinal, hosted in Omaha for the first time ever.

Nebraska's 2000 NCAA Division I championship team was honored by President George W. Bush at the White House. Nebraska's 2006 NCAA Division I championship team was honored by President George W. Bush at the White House. Hoping to capitalize on momentum after winning a title in its home state, Cook took his team to North Platte to play a spring exhibition in April 2007, the start of an annual tradition that has seen the Cornhuskers travel to small towns across Nebraska. NU began the season three months later the favorite to repeat as champion and started 19-0 before an October loss at Texas ended NU's record streak as the number-one team in the weekly AVCA poll. At the time, Nebraska had played 103 consecutive matches and nearly three full seasons as the country's top-ranked team. UCLA ended Nebraska's record ninety-match home win streak early in 2009, and Texas ended NU's five-year run atop the Big 12, becoming the first team to beat the Cornhuskers three times in one season.

Read also: Crafting Your NCAA Profile

Transition to the Big Ten Conference

The following offseason, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln announced it was ending its fifteen-year relationship with the Big 12 to join the Big Ten the following summer. NU went 19-1 to win the Big 12 in its final season, departing with an all-time conference record of 278-22 and twelve championships. Nebraska was upset by Washington in a controversial regional final, after which Cook and Huskies head coach Jim McLaughlin engaged in a shouting match and were restrained by NCAA personnel. Cook had been vocal about NU, the No. Nebraska's 2011 move to the Big Ten Conference meant that for the first time NU would regularly face longtime rival and four-time defending national champion Penn State, as well as Cook's former employer Wisconsin, which was about to become a national power under Kelly Sheffield. NU won the Big Ten in its first year but was upset by Kansas State at the Coliseum in the second round of the NCAA tournament, Nebraska's earliest exit since 1993.

Nebraska vs. Iowa at the NU Coliseum on Nov. Tennessee transfer Kelsey Robinson was named Big Ten Player of the Year in 2013, the program's first season at a renovated Bob Devaney Sports Center after thirty-eight years at the NU Coliseum. With Robinson graduated after a single season, a young Nebraska roster went just 23-10, the program's most losses since 1981 and the sixth consecutive season without a trip to the national semifinal. After consecutive season-opening losses in 2017, Nebraska lost just twice more and shared the Big Ten title with Penn State.

Recent History and Record-Breaking Attendance

On August 30, 2023, Nebraska hosted Volleyball Day in Nebraska at Memorial Stadium, a two-match event featuring four schools from the University of Nebraska system. The official attendance for Nebraska's 3-0 victory over Omaha in the second match was 92,003, a Memorial Stadium record and one of the highest ever for a women's sporting event. It was the fourth of twenty-seven consecutive victories to open the season, including a five-set win over top-ranked Wisconsin that ended a ten-match losing streak to the Badgers. NU spent the rest of the season ranked No. Cook announced his retirement in January 2025 after 722 victories, fourteen conference championships, and four national titles in twenty-five years as head coach.

Nebraska played its first varsity volleyball season at Mabel Lee Hall before moving to the NU Coliseum in 1975. The Coliseum was constructed in 1926 adjacent to the recently completed Memorial Stadium - initially intended to be part of the stadium complex, the Coliseum was funded as a standalone project using gate receipts from 1923 football games.

NCAA Tournament Appearances Since Joining the Big Ten Conference

The Nebraska Cornhuskers volleyball team has qualified for every NCAA tournament since joining the Big Ten Conference in 2011. During that time, the Huskers have reached the final four a total of six times, with four National Championship Game appearances and two National Title game victories. The Cornhuskers have at least qualified for the Regional Final in 11 of the 13 years they've been members of the Big Ten. Nebraska enters the 2024 NCAA tournament as the No. 2 seed. The Huskers have a record of 29-2 overall and 19-1 in the Big Ten Conference.

Here's a breakdown of their NCAA tournament appearances and finishes since joining the Big Ten Conference:

2011 - Second Round

Record: 25-5
Conference Record: 17-3
Head Coach: John Cook
Final Rank: No. 12
Results
- First Round: Nebraska def. Jackson State (3-0)
- Second Round: Kansas State def Nebraska (2-3)

2012 - Regional Final

Record: 26-7
Conference Record: 15-5
Head Coach: John Cook
Final Rank: No. 7
Results
- First Round: Nebraska def Maryland- Eastern Shore (3-0)
- Second Round: Nebraska def Northern Iowa (3-0)
- Regional Semi: Nebraska def Washington (3-0)
- Regional Final: Oregon def Nebraska (1-3)

2013 - Regional Final

Record: 26-7
Conference Record: 16-4
Head Coach: John Cook
Final Rank: No. 7
Results
- First Round: Nebraska def Fairfield (3-0)
- Second Round: Nebraska def Oregon (3-0)
- Regional Semi: Nebraska def San Diego (3-0)
- Regional Final: Texas def Nebraska (0-3)

2014

Record: 23-10
Conference Record: 14-6
Head Coach: John Cook
Final Rank: No. 8
Results
- First Round: Nebraska def Hofstra 3-0
- Second Round: Nebraska def Utah 3-2
- Regional Semi: Nebraska def Washington (3-1)
- Regional Final: BYU def Nebraska (3-0)

2015 - National Champion

Record: 32-4
Conference Record: 17-3
Head Coach: John Cook
Final Rank: No. 1
Results
- First Round: Nebraska def Harvard (3-1)
- Second Round: Nebraska def Wichita State (3-0)
- Regional Semi: Nebraska def BYU (3-0)
- Regional Final: Nebraska def Washington (3-1)
- National Semi: Nebraska def Kansas (3-1)
- National Final: Nebraska def Texas (3-0)

2016 - National Semifinal

Record: 31-3
Conference Record: 18-2
Head Coach: John Cook
Final Rank: No. 4
Results
- First Round: Nebraska def New Hampshire (3-0)
- Second Round: Nebraska def TCU (3-0)
- Regional Semi: Nebraska def Penn State (3-2)
- Regional Final: Nebraska def Washington (3-0)
- National Semi: Texas def Nebraska (3-0)

2017 - National Champion

Record: 32-4
Conference Record: 19-1
Head Coach: John Cook
Final Rank: No. 1
Results
- First Round: Nebraska def Stony Brook (3-0)
- Second Round: Nebraska def Washington State (3-0)
- Regional Semi: Nebraska def Colorado (3-0)
- Regional Final: Nebraska def Kentucky (3-1)
- National Semi: Nebraska def Penn State (3-2)
- National Final: Nebraska def Florida (3-1)

2018 - National Runner Up

Record: 29-7
Conference Record: 15-5
Head Coach: John Cook
Final Rank: No. 2
Results
- First Round: Nebraska def Hofstra (3-0)
- Second Round: Nebraska def Missouri (3-0)
- Regional Semi: Nebraska def Kentucky (3-0)
- Regional Final: Nebraska def Oregon (3-0)
- National Semi: Nebraska def Illinois (3-2)
- National Final: Stanford def Nebraska (3-2)

2019 - Regional Final

Record: 28-5
Conference Record: 17-3
Head Coach: John Cook
Final Rank: No. 5
Results
- First Round: Nebraska def Ball State (3-0)
- Second Round: Nebraska def Missouri (3-1)
- Regional Semi: Nebraska def Hawaii (3-0)
- Regional Final: Wisconsin def Nebraska (3-0)

2020 - Regional Final

Record: 16-3
Conference Record: 14-2
Head Coach: John Cook
Final Rank: No. 6
Results
- First Round: BYE
- Second Round: Nebraska def Texas State (3-0)
- Regional Semi: Nebraska def Baylor (3-0)
- Regional Final: Texas def Nebraska (3-1)

2021 - National Runner Up

Record: 26-8
Conference Record: 15-4
Head Coach: John Cook
Final Rank: No. 2
Results
- First Round: Nebraska def Campbell (3-0)
- Second Round: Nebraska def Florida State (3-0)
- Regional Semi: Nebraska def Illinois (3-0)
- Regional Final: Nebraska def Texas (3-1)
- National Semi: Nebraska def Pittsburgh (3-1)
- National Final: Wisconsin def Nebraska (3-2)

2022 - Regional Semi

Record: 26-6
Conference Record: 16-4
Head Coach: John Cook
Final Rank: No. 9
Results
- First Round: Nebraska def Delaware State (3-0)
- Second Round: Nebraska def Kansas (3-1)
- Regional Semi: Oregon def Nebraska (3-2)

2023 - National Runner Up

Record: 33-2
Conference Record: 19-1
Head Coach: John Cook
Final Rank: No.

Historic Attendance Records

Nebraska and Omaha shattered the all-time record for DI women's college volleyball attendance when 92,003 fans packed Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska, home of the Cornhuskers football team, on Aug. 30, 2023. In fact, the match officially broke the world record for attendance at any women’s sporting event, surpassing the 91,648 in attendance at a 2022 UEFA Women's Champions League match between Barcelona and Wolfsburg at Camp Nou. On Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024, the national final between Penn State and Louisville at KFC Yum!

Here are the 10 DI college volleyball games with the most attendance.

92,003: Nebraska defeated Omaha on Aug.
21,860: Penn State defeated Louisville on Dec. 22, 2024 at the KFC Yum!
21,726: Louisville defeated Pitt and Penn State defeated Nebraska on Dec. 19, 2024 at the KFC Yum!
19,727: Texas defeated Nebraska on Dec.
19,598: Nebraska defeated Pitt and Texas defeated Wisconsin on Dec.
18,755: Wisconsin defeated Nebraska on Dec.
18,516: Nebraska defeated Florida on Dec. 16, 2017 at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo.
18,374: Florida defeated Stanford and Nebraska defeated Penn State on Dec. 14, 2017, at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo.
18,113: Stanford defeated Nebraska on Dec.
17,808: Stanford defeated BYU and Nebraska defeated Illinois on Dec.

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