'Super loud': How Nebraska volleyball built the Devaney Center into a national treasure

Sometimes we dont realize how good something is until its gone.

With that in mind, lets take some time to appreciate what the Nebraska volleyball team has going right now with a home match winning streak of 43 matches the longest active winning streak in NCAA Division I.

For two years and 12 days, Nebraska fans have walked out of the Devaney Sports Center without experiencing a loss.

The streak spans three seasons.

And Nebraskas success at home in the NCAA Tournament is almost ridiculous, with a school-record 24 straight wins over 10 seasons.

There will be another crowd of 8,000 there on Friday when Nebraska plays Dayton in the third round of the NCAA Tournament.

The match will begin at approximately 8 p.m.

on ESPN2.

The Huskers home win streak is its longest since moving into the Devaney Sports Center in 2013.

Theres still a lot of work to do for the Huskers all-time home winning streak of 88 from 2004 to 09.

Nebraska volleyball at the Devaney Sports Center is the envy of nearly every program in the country because the fans are always there and not just for the big matches.

And it is the envy of every athletic director in the country because all of those fans contribute to the program generating a profit, which is extremely rare for any womens college program.

We should appreciate that during the current winning streak coach John Cook celebrated with the student section on the court while wearing a red cowboy hat after Nebraska beat Wisconsin in a No.

1 vs.

No.

2 matchup in 2023.

We should appreciate that the streak has included a Nebraska basketball player (Josiah Allick) enthusiastically cheering for his sister (Rebekah Allick) playing for their hometown school.

Its really fun to remember that the home winning streak includes a match that wasnt played at the Devaney Sports Center but was instead played outdoors at the schools football stadium.

There were 92,003 fans there that night, a world record for a womens sporting event.

We should appreciate that once during the streak theres been a victory lap after the Huskers clinched a spot in the NCAA Final Four.

And it could happen again on Sunday.

We should appreciate that Nebraska isnt the only great team were watching at the arena, as four times this season Nebraska had to beat Top 10 opponents to keep the streak going.

We should appreciate that two of the loudest moments ever at the arena came during the streak.

First, when Nebraska won the fourth set 26-24 last year against Wisconsin to force a fifth set.

And then 20 minutes later when Nebraska won the match.

The Huskers had ended a streak of 10 straight losses to the Badgers, took the Big Ten lead and raised the spirits of an entire state.

It may be cliche to say the sound made your ears hurt, but that night it was true.

We should appreciate the force that comes together when a great team and a supportive crowd join forces.

Cook felt it when Nebraska played Wisconsin last month.

After the first half of the first (set) I was thinking, There is no way that were going to lose this thing with our crowd and the energy that was in there, Cook said.

For part of the streak, Nebraska was the No.

1-ranked team in the country.

Two Big Ten titles were part of the streak.

And not only has Nebraska won, it has often dominated with 40 of the 43 wins coming in a sweep or four sets.

Nebraska volleyball was a big deal before it moved to the Devaney Sports Center 11 years ago.

But doing so allowed the program to expand its brand and make it accessible to more people.

I think the biggest things is we got a whole new generation of fans in here.

We doubled our fan base from the Coliseum, Cook said.

I think thats helped build Nebraska volleyball because more people get to experience it.

I cant tell you how many times Ive heard from people after the first time they come here and the next thing is, How can I get season tickets? The move to the Devaney Center has also made volleyball matches an event for UNL students, which wasnt the case when there were just a few rows for students at the NU Coliseum.

A recruit once told Cook she didn't pick the Huskers because there wasn't a student section.

For the Nebraska-Wisconsin match in 2023, there were 900 spectators who used student tickets.

The setup for students still isnt perfect.

It would probably be better if all of the students were together in one big section like it is for volleyball matches at Penn State and Purdue so the students could create more synergy.

Still, Cook should take a walk through the standing-room-only section at the top of the arena before a match sometime and see what the student section has become.

At the top of the arena is the overflow section for the student section.

Sometimes before the match, it may look like it wont be full in the standing-room-only section that night.

What you dont see is that the students came early and sat below the wall to reserve their spots.

Then when the match is about to start, they stand up.

For the match against Wisconsin, students were standing two or three deep in some spots to watch the match.

The students are awesome, Cook said.

They camp out here early to get in, they cheer, they help me with line calls and when to pull out the (video review challenge card).

They love volleyball and theyre very passionate.

And they do it the right way.

They dont trash other players and other teams.

Theyre great.

They bring a really positive vibe to Devaney.

This year a fun addition has been a sign-making station in the concourse where young fans have made signs about their favorite players, or how far they traveled to watch the Huskers.

I dont know that I would change anything about this place.

Ive been asked, Cook said.

The only thing would be some amenities up in the top, and then getting all of the students together in one section.

But there are advantages to having them split up.

Looking ahead to next year, it would be great if all of the students could be in the same section when Nebraska will probably play at least two matches at Pinnacle Bank Arena.

The Devaney Center can come alive at times.

It did last week just before the match against Miami began in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

The Timmy Trumpet song blared over the speakers and fans stood and clapped.

The scene was electric.

In the past few years, Cook has invited some of the friends hes met from his hobby of horses and roping to matches, and hes loved hearing their reactions to attending a match.

Ive given my tickets to a lot of people and cowboys from out west and its the first time theyve come to a match, Cook said.

Theyre really not volleyball fans, but its great hearing from people the first time they get to see a match how they love the atmosphere and the excitement.

When Nebraska needs it most is sometimes when freshman Olivia Mauch feels the crowd the most.

If we lost a couple of points in a row when the other team is serving they get super loud, Mauch said.

That helps a lot because we know they have our backs.

Last week a few of sophomore setter Bergen Reillys friends from South Dakota State played in Lincoln for the NCAA Tournament.

They were excited just to get to practice at the Devaney Center the day before the match.

It just kind of reminds me of how special it is here and how good we have it, Reilly said.

During a match, Cook is focused on the court.

But when it ends, he can sit back and see that a successful program and an athletic department that puts a lot of effort into volleyball has created something really special.

When I go do radio I kind of notice everybody who is mingling down there and hanging out, Cook said.

And John Baylor and I talk about how nobody wants to leave tonight.

They like being here.

Reach the writer at 402-473-7435 or [email protected] .

On Twitter @LJSSportsWagner.

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