'Another epic moment': Nebraska volleyball match on ABC showcases fearless scheduling

Part of the legacy of the current group of college volleyball coaches is that theyre not afraid to play other top 15 programs during the nonconference season, and the winner with that is the fans.

Those coaches are Nebraskas John Cook, Texas Jerritt Elliott, Wisconsins Kelly Sheffield, Louisvilles Dani Busboom Kelly, Creightons Kirsten Bernthal Booth, Stanfords Kevin Hambly and more.

On Wednesday, four of the top-5 teams in the country were in matches vs.

each other No.

1 Pittsburgh vs.

No.

3 Penn State; No.

2 Stanford vs.

No.

5 Nebraska.

A tournament in Lawrence, Kansas, this weekend had three top-10 teams No.

6 Purdue, No.

9 Creighton and No.

10 Kansas.

The almost-any-team, any-place scheduling helps lead to what we get on Sunday when No.

4 Louisville and No.

5 Nebraska play at 11:30 a.m.

in Louisville, Kentucky.

ABC wanted it on TV, and it will be the first regular-season college match on that network.

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On Wednesday, there were four straight hours of volleyball matches on TV on ESPN, Big Ten Network and ACC Network.

Even on a college football day, Kentucky at Stanford on Saturday night was on ESPN2.

But come December during the first two weeks of the NCAA Tournament the TV lineup isnt good.

In college volleyball, a nonconference loss isnt as crushing as it is in college football, and volleyball coaches use nonconference matches to prepare them for the conference season and NCAA Tournament.

And the reality for a team like Nebraska is if you lose one or two in the nonconference season, if you still win the Big Ten title there is a decent chance youll still earn one of the highly beneficial top-four overall seeds for the NCAA Tournament.

This season, Nebraskas nonconference schedule ended up being historically good with five matches against ranked teams then-No.

2 Stanford, No.

4 Louisville, No.

9 Creighton, then-No.

9 Kentucky and No.

14 Arizona State.

Thats the most ranked teams Nebraska has played in the nonconference season since 2005, when Nebraska also played five ranked teams (Hawaii, Stanford, Ohio State, Minnesota and Penn State).

Going forward volleyball fans need to cross their fingers and hope marquee matchups remain a part of volleyballs DNA.

Travel budgets in the nonconference season may be cut because of more cross-country travel during conference play (Nebraska goes to Oregon and Washington this year; Stanford is now in the ACC).

In the future, there may be fewer matchups of the top teams.

Its going to depend on each school when they have to come up with $23 million (for revenue sharing with athletes), Cook said.

Something is going to give because all of these programs dont have $23 million just sitting around.

Ive already had talks with (AD Troy Dannen) and were talking about strategies and what were going to need to do and how we can try and save money.

Fewer teams may be making expensive trips like Nebraska did last year to play Stanford.

We may be told; some schools may be told, youre not leaving more than a 300-mile radius.

You got to bus, Cook said.

I guarantee there are going to be teams in the Big Ten (told) you can bus.

Nonconference scheduling is a challenge for coaches.

First, you have to find teams that will play you, and then see if you can find an open week for both teams.

For us, were just trying to get teams to come here and play home matches, Cook said.

And theyll come here if you pay them, or theyll come here if you return.

K-State came here, and we went there to return that.

SMU came here, and we went to SMU.

So well do a couple of those.

Nebraska will be better positioned than some teams due to location, resources and coaches wanting to get their players a great experience in front of a large crowd.

Maybe Stanford will come to Lincoln for a showcase event if it gets two matches for one trip.

Kansas, Kansas State and Iowa State are close.

There are so many good teams now, Cook said.

Sundays match may not seem that different for Nebraska fans who are used to watching the Huskers on TV on Big Ten Network and Nebraska Public Media.

But millions of more people will have the opportunity to watch and may keep watching knowing that Nebraska is a big brand in the sport.

ESPN2 is available in about 70 million homes, while on ABC it is 120 million homes.

This is another epic moment, Cook said.

We always say there is no place like Nebraska, and we are in a lot of these epic moments which is pretty cool for our program, and the respect that we get.

Its another significant moment for womens sports.

Nebraska All-American right-side hitter Merritt Beason says a match on ABC is a huge opportunity for the program.

Were continuing to see steppingstones happen in womens sports and womens athletics so its really exciting that were able to be a part of something else, Beason said.

I know our team doesnt take that lightly and were very grateful to be in the situations that were in.

Louisville (8-1) already has wins this season against four top-20 teams Wisconsin, Creighton, Kentucky and Tennessee.

The loss was against Penn State.

The Cardinals run a two-setter rotation that includes Elle Glock, a junior from Wahoo.

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

On Twitter @LJSSportsWagner.

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