Kenneth Ferriera/AP
The University of Nebraska women’s volleyball team solidified its place in sports history Wednesday night when it drew a crowd of more than 92,000 people for a pair of matches.
The final tally — which came out to 92,003 — set a new world record for attendance at a women’s sporting event.
92,003 in attendance.@HuskerVB breaks the world record for the largest crowd ever at a women’s sporting event 👏 @espnW | #ThatsaW pic.twitter.com/ChyhUCvaAZ
— ESPN (@espn) August 31, 2023
Nothing like a @Huskers tunnel walk. 😍@HuskerVB x @HuskerFootball
📺: @BigTenNetwork pic.twitter.com/y8HnYSGBiK
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) August 30, 2023
For many on the internet, the sight of nearly 100,000 people going to watch a college volleyball game was a surprise. As noted by ESPN, the historic event was inspired by a rivalry.
Over the last few decades, Nebraska’s volleyball team has established itself as a national powerhouse. The team has won five national championships since 1975 and boasts a regular-season sellout streak of 306 games. The Cornhuskers even held the record for largest attendance at a regular season volleyball match.
That changed when the University of Wisconsin Badgers moved a 2021 match to the Kohl Center to play in front of 16,833, setting a new record for the sport. Nebraska quickly to work planning an event to reclaim the record.
When it was determined that Pinnacle Bank Arena — the basketball arena — wouldn’t be big enough, athletic director Trev Alberts suggested Memorial Stadium — the home of the football team. Volleyball coach John Cook was skeptical of the idea, fearing the team wouldn’t be able fill a venue many times larger than their regular 8,500-seat venue.
Within three days, the program sold 82,000 tickets.
“We took a chance by playing in Memorial Stadium, and to go for the record and break it,” Cook said in an Associated Press report. “I don’t think anybody could have envisioned that when this whole thing started.
“It feels like a great accomplishment for this sport called volleyball played by women. It’s a state treasure. We proved it.”
Promoted as Volleyball Day — a day-long celebration of the sport — the event began with an exhibition match between Division II schools Nebraska-Kearney and Wayne State. The Cornhuskers then faced Omaha in a regular-season match; and the night concluded with a performance by country music star Scotty McCreery.
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