John Cook’s Nebraska volleyball team just keeps on flexing! After waiting 20 long years, Coach Cook finally got his shot at revenge for that 2004 loss to Florida A&M, and boy, did they make it count. The third-ranked Huskers came out swinging in the NCAA Tournament, sweeping the Rattlers 25-3, 25-9, 25-17 in front of a packed crowd of 8,702 at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. Nebraska (30-2) was on fire, setting a school record for the fewest points allowed in a set (3) and a match (29) in rally-scoring history.

The Rattlers, struggling to keep up, couldn’t even hit the 20-point mark, finishing with just 17 points. So yeah, Florida A&M ended up being the lowest-scoring team ever against Nebraska. Harper Murray was on fire with a team-high 12 kills, hitting .440, while Olivia Mauch served up four of the Huskers’ six aces! After the match, Coach John Cook, Harper Murray, and Mauch had a chat in the press conference, where they spilled the beans on how Cook’s brutally honest three-word feedback to Olivia was the spark that fueled the Huskers’ blowout win.

In a recent YouTube video shared by Nebraska Huskers, Harper playfully asked, “Coach, maybe, do you remember why her serve got better? Do you remember what he said to her in practice?” Olivia laughed and replied, “Yeah. After the Minnesota game in practice, he was like, how many points did you score in the game? And he said a big fat zero. So I’m like, I’m never doing that again.”

Harper added, “It was just bad, because we thought you were going to compliment her.” Olivia agreed, “Yeah. And it was zero.” And Coach John Cook? He simply said, “Worked.” That’s been John Cook, the centerpiece of Nebraska Volleyball. “If he gets into something, he wants to be the best,” Lindsay Peterson, a former Nebraska player under Cook and the Huskers’ longtime director of operations’ one-liner tells everything about Cook. But amid that endless pursuit for the top, wisdom has not left the veteran coach.

“I saw the old school coaches getting out. They had to get out because they couldn’t adjust to this generation. I had enough wisdom to figure out that I had to make an adjustment. The stuff I used to do, you’d get fired for it now. Everything changed, and I had to change with it,” Cook had said to Athletic a few months back.

Cook shed his hard shell somewhat and embraced his players’ music and their youthful spirits. “I got out of my comfort zone,” he said. “I can either tell them, ‘This is stupid. We’re not doing it,’ Or I can go along for the ride. I’ve just gone along for the ride.” Another part of his transformation, according to Cook, is his renewed investment in his relationships with players. This allows Cook to manage his roster with care that has served the Huskers as well as the coach well.

So, wondering what went down in that epic match against Minnesota? Well, the No. 2 Nebraska volleyball squad came out on top, beating the No. 16 Golden Gophers, 3-1 (25-12, 22-25, 25-22, 25-19), in front of 8,703 hyped fans at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.

John Cook’s Huskers (25-1, 15-0 B1G) snagged their 22nd win in a row of that time and 39th straight home win—something they haven’t done since that legendary 2004-09 streak (88 matches!). Olivia Mauch put up seven digs, and Harper Murray balled out with 13 kills and a career-high 19 digs. But even though Olivia didn’t have her best game, there was still one player who totally shined in that match against Minnesota.

Another Husker shines against Minnesota!

John Cook’s Huskers always know how to prove themselves, and even though Olivia wasn’t having her best day,

Bergen Reilly truly shocked everyone watching. On November 14, Nebraska Volleyball shared a thrilling clip on X that showcased Bergen’s jaw-dropping block, and the reactions were nothing short of electric. Emily Ehman, a former Northwestern volleyball player and current sports broadcaster, perfectly summed it up, saying, “That was just NASTY.”

Fans went wild in the comments, with one excited fan exclaiming, “ROOFED!” The moment was impossible to ignore, and Nebraska Volleyball’s X account had to share the love, giving a shoutout to Bergen’s “such a veteran play.” Bergen didn’t just stop at that incredible block—she went on to rack up a career-high six kills, 20 digs, and four stellar blocks. It was a performance that had everyone buzzing. With such a complete and electrifying effort, Bergen showed exactly why she’s a force to be reckoned with on the court. And that epic block?

Yeah, it didn’t go unnoticed. On November 18, Lincoln Arneal, the Nebraska volleyball reporter for Huskers Illustrated, dropped some major news on X that had fans absolutely buzzing. Bergen Reilly is at it again, earning her fourth Big Ten Setter of the Week award of the season. Arneal’s post said it all: “Bergen Reilly wins another Big Ten Setter of the Week Award, her fourth of the season. She averaged 10.71 assists and 3.86 digs per set in victories over No. 16 Minnesota and Indiana last week. She set a career-high 20 digs and 6 kills against the Gophers.”