Nebraska Volleyball wins second national title in three years

Nebraska volleyball has become a powerhouse after they took home their fifth national title on Saturday night, knocking off the Florida Gators in just four sets.

The 2017 season was supposed to be a rebuilding year for the Nebraska Cornhuskers, as they graduated three All-Americans last year and had a lot of young players on their roster this year. Instead, they’re National Champions for the second time in just three years.

What a season, man. After a rough start that saw the Huskers go 0-2 (with one of those losses coming against Florida), the Cornhuskers would go on to lose just two more games the entire season. This team was fun to watch and I honestly didn’t think there’d be a more fun team than that 2015 squad, but this one took the crown easily.

The “Why Not Us” and “With Each Other For Each Other” themes to the season fit perfectly. This was supposed to be a non-threatening team in 2017, but with championship caliber players, the Huskers knew they could compete with the big dogs. During their matches, they were always having fun and never seem panicked in the least bit.

Nebraska proved that they should have been higher than a five-seed in the tournament, and we knew that all along. The hosts of the volleyball selection show had even said on the broadcast not to be surprised if the Huskers made a run, purely out of feeling gipped.

Husker Nation showed up big time and that very well could have been the difference for Nebraska. They’ve now won their two championships in Omaha and in Kansas City.

Looking back, the Huskers were one point away from being eliminated in the Final Four on Thursday night, but never were in any kind of danger on Saturday. Nebraska would only need four sets to beat Florida, a team that was vying for its first ever national title. The Huskers practically steamrolled Florida in the first two sets and then dominated the fourth one with a 9-1 start.

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When you consider who Nebraska beat this last week to hoist their second trophy in three years, it makes them look even more like a potential dynasty on the rise. They knocked off Penn State, the number one seed, on Thursday and second seeded Florida on Saturday. The Cornhuskers weren’t supposed to win either of those games, but they did.

Mikaela Foecke turned in a gem of a performance at the Sprint Center with 20 kills on the night. I remember watching her two years ago as a freshman and saying, “This Foecke kid is going to be good” and hey, what do you know? I was right!

Foecke and senior Kelly Hunter were named MVP, which was well-deserved for both. Hunter will graduate, which is a big loss. She’s arguably one of the best players in Nebraska volleyball history and it’s going to be nearly impossible to find a replacement capable of doing what Hunter can do.

Along with Hunter, the Huskers will graduate starters Annika Albrecht and Briana Holman, but will return some key players. I already mentioned Foecke, but junior libero Kenzie Maloney (who had two kills in the title game… Yes, as a libero), sophomore Lauren Stivrins, and freshman Jazz Sweet will lead the charge for Nebraska next year.

Two National Championships in three years is impressive and it’s become very clear that this year’s team was one of the most memorable we’ll ever get to watch. Getting to watch them win a national title in person at the Sprint Center is something I’ll never forget.

Let’s go for three in four years next year, ladies! GO BIG RED!

STATS COURTESY OF BRENT C. WAGNER OF THE LINCOLN JOURNAL STAR