The Nebraska volleyball team is on a roll! With a winning streak of 11 matches, the side looks indomitable this season. And especially when they play at the Bob Devaney Sports Center, the Huskers appear stronger than ever! Notably, their last match in Lincoln was on September 29, where they crushed USC 3-0, in a one-sided sweep. Well, the home court charm continued this time around too, when they recently faced Iowa, where a very special fan showed up to cheer for them!

October 6 was no regular match day. It was when 80-year-old Susan Stevens attended her first Husker Volleyball game and ticked off a ‘to-do’ from her bucket list. Among 9000 in attendance, Susan’s story enthusiasm was a cut above as she appeared with the holdout card sign that said, ’80! & FIRST HUSKER VBALL GAME’ Over the decades, the diehard has watched many volleyball games from Colorado, Pierce, etc., but never from the Bob Devaney Center.

But how did she land this opportunity? Well, after the Nebraska Volleyball’s last win, she commented with a congratulatory message on the team’s Facebook and wrote, “Awesome job Huskers. I always watch you but have never seen you play live although it is a bucket list for me.” What happened next was something she did not think in her wildest dreams.

Rocky Almonds, an educator from Nebraska saw her comment and helped her find tickets. Luckily, a former student of his from Lincoln helped connect Susan with 2 tickets. Her reaction was, “Oh geez, I cannot believe he saw that!” Well, days later she was sitting in the full capacity center, she was making predictions, “Well, I would like it to be a sweep.” And well, sweep it was as the Nebraska Huskers defeated Iowa 3-0.

Well, Susan showed up with her old classmate to watch the game. And she truly went all out! First with a placard and then, with her custom Nebraska Volleyball t-shirt that read, “GO BIG RED” By the end, she seemed to have had such a blast that her reaction after the game wrapped up was, “I could go all the time!”

Interestingly, the Huskers aren’t leaving Lincoln for quite some time, for they have the next two matches lined up there. October 11, Nebraska plays Purdue, followed by another home game against Rutgers the very next day. Thus, exciting volleyball action is indeed in the offing. This gives them a potential chance to turn around their previous upset. Especially as they are set to play at home for a while.

Lincoln court charm works for Nebraska Volleyball against the Hawkeyes

Speaking of October 6, it was another one of the Huskers’ typical 3-0 sweep game. Notably, since September 13, except for the opening match of the Big Ten Conference against UCLA, the Huskers have had all 3-0 finishes. Moreover, 5 out of those 7 wins came in at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. And Sunday was no exception.

Sitting in second place, Nebraska’s volleyball squad had a fiery start against their rivals, the Hawkeyes. In the absence of Andi Jackson, Leyla Blackwell truly went above and beyond with her performance. With 9 kills, a solo block, and another block assist, she emerged as the star player. Another name that was right at the top was Rebekah Allick, with an equivalent of nine kills.

The Huskers dominated the game 25-17, 25-11, and 25-13, to finally record their 40th win against the Iowa Hawkeyes. Match after match, they keep trashing the Iowa women’s plans to win a single match against them. Not to say that the Hawkeyes did not fight back, as Michelle Urquhart and Gracie Gibson did put up a great fight. In the first set, the Hawkeyes tied the Huskers at 10, but could not hold onto that momentum in the rest of the game. But, until the next match, hit us up with predictions! Comment your thoughts below!