Tag: Nebraska Volleyball Head Coach John Cook

Nebraska volleyball opens 2024 season with Red-White Scrimmage

Nebraska finished the 2023 season at 33-2 (19-1 Big Ten) and reached the NCAA Championship match, falling to Texas.

The Nebraska volleyball team returns to the court for the 2024 season this weekend, opening up with the Red-White Scrimmage. Nebraska finished the 2023 season at 33-2 (19-1 Big Ten) and reached the NCAA Championship match, falling 3-0 to Texas.

The Huskers also won the Big Ten Championship for the first time since 2017. Head coach John Cook was also named AVCA National Coach of the Year and Big Ten Coach of the Year.

The Huskers, who had no seniors on their roster in 2023, return ten letter-winners, including every starter. With four freshmen in the lineup, the Huskers won their first 27 matches of the 2023 season and held the No. 1 ranking from Oct. 23 through the end of the regular season.

Nebraska now has two new additions via the transfer portal: Minnesota outside hitter Taylor Landfair and San Diego middle blocker Leyla Blackwell. Landfair, a 6-foot-5 outside hitter who won Big Ten Player of the Year in 2022, has two years of eligibility remaining.

Blackwell, a 6-foot-4 middle blocker, was a three-time All-WCC selection at San Diego, guiding the Toreros to the NCAA semifinals in 2022 by shattering the school record for single-season block assists (152), and she finished sixth nationally at 1.50 blocks per set.

Nebraska also brings in two freshmen: Skyler Pierce, a 6-foot-2 outside hitter from Lenexa, Kansas, and Olivia Mauch, a 5-foot-6 libero from Bennington, Nebraska.

The scrimmage is set for Saturday night at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.  The first serve is set for 6:00 p.m. CT and will be televised on Nebraska Public Media and streamed at B1G+.

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Nebraska volleyball coach named Coach of the Year

Nebraska volleyball’s head coach has been named the Coach of the Year on Thursday.

Nebraska volleyball’s head coach was named the Coach of the Year on Thursday. John Cook was named the 2023 AVCA Division I Women’s Coach of the Year.

The Huskers lead the nation in wins, and Nebraska won an outright Big Ten Conference title and was selected as the No. 1 overall seed for the NCAA Tournament.

This is the third time that Cook has won the award, having previously won in 2000 and 2005. He was also named the AVCA North Region and Big Ten Coach of the Year.

The Huskers hold a 33-1 record this season and will play for the National Championship on Sunday afternoon.

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Husker volleyball dominate Big Ten Conference honors

The Nebraska volleyball team dominated the postseason honors for the Big Ten Conference.

The Nebraska volleyball team dominated the postseason honors for the Big Ten Conference. The Huskers would see seven team members win awards, including head coach John Cook, who was named the Big Ten Volleyball Coach of the Year.

The Huskers would win four of the five individual awards. Junior libero Lexi Rodriguez won Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year for the second time. Bergen Reilly was named Setter of the Year and is the first freshman to win Setter of the Year, and Harper Murray was awarded Big Ten Freshman of the Year.

Those three players and Merritt Beason were named All-Big Ten First Team. Beason and Rodriguez were unanimous selections. It’s the first time the Huskers have had four first-team selections since it joined the Big Ten in 2011. Bekka Allick and Andi Jackson were also named second-team All-Big Ten.

Husker volleyball completes comeback over Penn State to remain undefeated

The Nebraska volleyball team hit the road for a showdown against Penn State.

The Nebraska volleyball team hit the road for a showdown against Penn State. The No. 1 Huskers took part in a fierce battle with the Nittany Lions, going to a full five sets in order to come out on top (15-25, 23-25, 25-18, 25-20, 15-13).

Nebraska fell behind in the match, dropping the first two sets. But it completed the reverse sweep in order to remain undefeated. Penn State finished with a higher attack percentage than the Huskers with .298 and also finished with a whopping 17 blocks.

Nebraska overcame these challenges by delivering 71 kills off 160 attacks, while the Nittany Lions only produced 59 kills off 141 attacks. Merritt Beason led the match in kills, earning a career-high 27. Harper Murray finished behind Beason with 15 kills off 29 attacks and led the team in dig with 14.

Bekka Allick also finished with double-digit kills, producing 11 off 21 attacks. Bergen Reilly delivered 52 set assists and 13 digs. Lexi Rodriguez also produced 13digs along with 11 set assists.

The Huskers stand at 22-0 on the season and will remain on the road to face Rutgers on Sunday. The match is set for noon and can be viewed on B1G+.

Must watch video recaps No. 1 vs. No. 2 volleyball match

The Nebraska athletic department has released a video recapping its recent match featuring the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the country.

The Nebraska athletic department has released a video recapping its recent match featuring the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the country. The Huskers jumped to the top spot after defeating previous No. 1 Wisconsin on Saturday night (25-22, 17-25, 20-25, 26-24, 15-13).

It was also the first time Nebraska defeated the No. 1 ranked team in the country since 2017. The Huskers are currently 19-0 on the season, the best start for the program since Nebraska started 20-0 in 2008.

Nebraska is the only undefeated team in the top 25. The Huskers will remain home to face Maryland on Friday night. The match is set for 7:00 p.m. and can be viewed on B1G+.

Find the recap video and a photo gallery of the victory over Wisconsin below.

Nebraska’s head volleyball coach on victory over No. 1 Wisconsin ‘we fought through a lot’

Nebraska head volleyball coach John Cook met with the media on Saturday night after his team’s victory over No. 1 Wisconsin (25-22, 17-25, 20-25, 26-24, 15-13).

Nebraska head volleyball coach John Cook met with the media on Saturday night after his team’s victory over No. 1 Wisconsin (25-22, 17-25, 20-25, 26-24, 15-13). The Huskers (19-0, 10-0 Big Ten) defeated the Badgers (18-1, 9-1 Big Ten) for the first time since 2017.

It was also the first time Nebraska defeated the No. 1 ranked team in the country since 2017. John Cook told the media how proud he was of his team following the victory.

You saw a team that really, really fought through a lot of challenges tonight. Things weren’t going our way. Wisconsin was playing really well. We were really struggling in games two and three, and that team did not quit. They kept believing. We kept telling them it was going to come down to two points at the end, and it was two points in the game four and two points in game five.

The match drew an attendance of 9,198, which is a new record crowd for the Devaney Center. Nebraska will host Maryland on Friday at 7:00 p.m. at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.

Find a photo gallery of Nebraska’s victory below.