The Nebraska volleyball women’s squad was on a mission to bring home glory and fans everywhere were buzzing with high hopes, dreaming of the team conquering the Final Four and marching into the NCAA finals. But, oh, fate had a different script written. Just a day ago, the Huskers clashed with their fierce rivals, Penn State, in a battle that could only be described as volleyball poetry. It was a heart-stopping, edge-of-your-seat thriller, and in the end, the No. 3 Huskers fell to No. 2 Penn State in a 3-2 nail-biter (25-23, 25-18, 23-25, 26-28, 13-15).

The showdown unfolded before a record-breaking crowd of 21,726 at the iconic KFC Yum! Center—the largest ever to witness an indoor NCAA volleyball match. But hold up, that wasn’t the only record this historic game set! Nope, this wasn’t just about the crowd in the arena; another epic moment was being written in volleyball history as Nebraska Volleyball faced a tough loss.

Nebraska Volleyball shatters record off the court!

Abby Barmore, Nebraska’s go-to insider and staff writer for Husker Online and On3Sports, had some juicy tea to spill on December 20. She hopped on X to share a jaw-dropping update about the Nebraska volleyball-Penn State volleyball clash. Abby reposted ESPN’s mic-drop-worthy announcement: “Thursday night’s 2024 @NCAAVolleyball National Semifinals were the MOST-WATCHED ON RECORD! 1.1M avg. viewers, up 4% year-over-year. @PennStateVBALL vs @HuskerVB became the most-viewed #NCAAWVB National Semifinal EVER. Growth among P18-34 (up 51%) & Women (up 14%).” And Abby added her own spark to the post, writing: “Nebraska vs. Penn State was the most-watched National Semifinal ever with 1.2 million views and peaking at 1.4 million. The Final Four viewership increased four percent from 2023.”

But hang on, it doesn’t stop there! The other semifinal showdown between Louisville and Pitt wasn’t about to be left in the dust. That match pulled in an impressive 1 million viewers on ESPN and even hit a peak of 1.4 million. Volleyball fever is real and these Final Four matchups? They’ve officially become iconic moments, not just on the court but in living rooms across the nation. Louisville volleyball brought the house down on Thursday night, clinching their spot in the NCAA National Championship for just the second time ever!

Facing their ACC rival and No. 1 seed Pittsburgh, they battled it out in an electrifying four-set showdown at the KFC Yum! Center. With scores of 21-25, 25-23, 29-27, and 25-17, UofL turned the tides and punched their ticket to the finals, leaving the crowd buzzing with excitement. But hold on—let’s swing back to Nebraska volleyball for a moment. Setting records? Oh, that’s just another day at the office for the Huskers, and this isn’t their first rodeo in making history and leaving a legacy.

Huskers and their records!

Earlier this year, Nebraska Volleyball took on Louisville in a match that not only wowed fans but shattered records. Averaging a jaw-dropping 684,000 viewers, it became the most-watched regular-season volleyball game on any ESPN platform. Oh, and that’s not all—it also snagged the second-highest viewership spot across all platforms. Sports Illustrated even dropped an article on September 24, calling the 2023-25 NCAA volleyball season a fan favorite.

The cherry on top? Viewership peaked at 808,000, with nearly half the audience being women—a testament to just how much women’s collegiate volleyball is adored across the USA. And yes, Nebraska took the win in style, sweeping Louisville 25-16, 25-17, and 25-20. Classic Huskers, right? But wait, there’s more! On October 19, 2024, the Nebraska vs. Ohio State game served up more history—it became the first-ever collegiate volleyball match to air on NBC. This wasn’t just any game; NBC rolled out the red carpet and made it their ‘marquee match,’ marking their big debut in the sport.

And NBC wasn’t the only one catching volleyball fever this season. A whopping 83 Big Ten Conference matches (the most in history) lit up TV screens everywhere. Of those, 68 aired on the Big Ten Network, with additional broadcasts on FOX, FS1, and Peacock. The Big Ten? Unstoppable, in dominating the volleyball court. All this airtime wasn’t just a fluke—it’s the Big Ten’s legacy of success in the sport, and Nebraska? They just kept doing what they do best—setting records, turning heads, and owning the volleyball spotlight.