The Huskers have done it again! The Nebraska volleyball squad topped the Big Ten standings with Penn State at the end of the regular season, and head coach John Cook couldn’t be happier for his team’s latest success. However, the final match of the conference against the Maryland Terrapins was something unique and the HC still remembers how the atmosphere at the Xfinity Center last Saturday wasn’t something he and his girls are used to.

On November 30, the Huskers trounced their final regular season opponents 3-1 and secured yet another Big Ten milestone. But it wasn’t a smooth sail at all for the Nebraska posse. Instead, the visitors lost the first set 27-25 before finding their groove. But Cook believes there was a reason for such a wobbly display from Lexi Rodriguez & Co.

The Huskers stars recently held a press conference to share details about the team selection process for the upcoming NCAA Championship. During the presser, Cook also talked about the team’s match from last Saturday and how it was a great venue to play at. Grinning, he admitted that it was loud at Maryland and that Nebraska fans were aplenty to cheer for the team. But the whole package might have been a bit too much for his athletes, who aren’t used to how things used to be in the old days, Cook opines.

“It’s unreal how they designed it. There are great seats in there. But, you know, they got the boards, the sound system, all that stuff going. And what was tough was this weekend was the first time we played on wood the whole season,” John Cook can be heard saying in the December 1 YouTube upload by the official Nebraska Huskers account. He also admitted that coming to play in such a different court after the loss against #1 Penn State just a day before was the reason that the Nebraska gals might have had their “shaky” start last weekend.

Cook further said, “…you’re playing on a basketball court, so it’s just…it was really weird. This huge gym, you got these lines and got three-point lines and everything going on. So it took us a while to get comfortable.” However, Cook had some tips for the athletes so that they could go on to win their final match of the season before heading to the NCAA tournament.

Educating the Nebraska girls on how the old-school volleyball players had to adjust and make do with whatever they had, John got them into the mentality to overcome the challenges. But he probably wasn’t the only one who helped the Huskers rise above the setbacks.

John Cook now sets his gaze on the task at hand

The Husker fans, keeping up with tradition, flocked to the Xfinity Center on Saturday to cheer for Merritt Beason and the others. So much so that Cook suspects there was a 50-50 distribution of fans at the arena. The volleyball craze in Nebraska also helped Maryland set a new attendance record of 13,071. The official Big Ten X account also marked the occasion, evidently elated by the fact that even the final game of the season was incredibly anticipated and prompted the fans to hit the stadium to watch the student-athletes in action.

Now, with the NCAA Championship upcoming, John Cook has other things to worry about. Five of the Huskers seniors will be leaving the Lincoln campus after their final run this season. John, justifiably, believes winning the national title in their final year would be the best parting gift the program can give the stars, and in return, the seniors would seal their place as Huskers legends at the school.

“You know, it’s hard to put into words what this senior group means, and what they’ve done. If you look at their legacy, what they’ve done, I mean, they’ve literally done everything but win a national championship, and you know, we still got an opportunity to do that,” Coach Cook said after winning against the Badgers for the second time in November. What do you think? Will Nebraska volleyball be able to make up for their second-place finish last season this time around? Share your predictions below!