The Nebraska women’s volleyball team had become a fan favorite this season. After dominating their opponents for the major part of the tournament, the Huskers marched into the Final Four with relative ease. With it, dreams of toppling their opposition and marching proudly into the finals made the rounds. As the Huskers took on Penn State in an all-important clash, fans gathered around to witness the Nebraska girls celebrate. 

Sadly, fate had some contrasting ideas. In what turned out to be an absolute thriller, Nebraska fell short just by a whisker as Penn State took the victory 3-2. The nail-biting matchup ended with the scores reading, (25-23, 25-18, 23-25, 26-28, 13-15). Creating new records, the game became the most-watched National semifinal with a whopping 1.2 million views. Thus, with so much glitz going around, losing out on a final berth after such a hype is surely not sitting well with the Huskers. 

Heartbroken after the tough loss, a dejected Bergen Reilly was found in the Huskers locker room. When asked about the game, she had an interesting tale to share. The Huskers’ star was not in a mental state to analyze their loss. Thus, she could not pinpoint one particular aspect where the Huskers lacked. But one thing she knew was that Penn State was indomitable on the night. They played out of their skins to book a ticket into the finals. 

Making a heartbreaking confession, Reilly stated, “I mean, you have to give so much credit to Penn State. They really flipped a switch, and they turned it on. And I don’t know. I wouldn’t say anything about us. I think it was all just they played a really great last three sets, and we couldn’t really stop them.” She then made a reflection on how they have brought in a change in their fans’ lives. 

Unknowingly, then winning or losing automatically impacts the moods of their fans. While a victory cheers them up, a loss like the one against Penn State makes them dejected. Thus, Reilly felt honored to be able to make an impact on the community as a whole. Meanwhile, despite the hard loss, head coach John Cook only had good things to say.

John Cook gives his flowers to the Nebraska girls

John Cook has no hard feelings for the class of seniors. They put everything on the line and tried to get their team over the line. Unfortunately, despite the heartbreaking loss, the Huskers’ HC is all praises for his champion girls. Speaking on the loss after the match, Cook stated that the senior class was amazing. He said, “I told them in the locker room that the senior class has done some amazing things. They’ve been in three Final Fours. They’ve played for two national championships, and they pretty much have inspired a generation of volleyball, young players, volleyball players, a generation of fans that have really come to love volleyball and follow this team.”

Cook further said that the current set of players was at the highest level of any team he has coached so far. Surely, Cook has all the reasons to be proud. His team became part of the viewership history as this was witnessed live by 21,726 spectators at the KFC Yum! Center. Add to that Huskers’ star prospect, Lexi Rodriguez becoming the holder of the most career digs at this level with 1897 digs. Thus, bidding a hard farewell, it now remains to be seen how the team carries the legacy forward.