On August 30, the Nebraska Memorial Football Stadium held over 91,000 fans who were restlessly waiting for the volleyball game to begin. The women of Nebraska took the victory on National Volleyball Day. Nebraska’s women’s indoor volleyball team now holds the world record for the most attendance in women’s sports history.
This team has been one of the most dedicated teams in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) history holding 5 national championships. “Being a Nebraska girl, I always had the Nebraska Volleyball team to look up to,” said Kelly Hunter, Nebraska’s indoor volleyball assistant coach in an interview.
As D1 colleges predominantly focus on football and basketball, it’s great to see another team take the stage. The women of Nebraska serve as an example of the growth in women’s sports and how they too can dominate college sports. “Being on the coaching staff now, I still feel a sense of appreciation and feel so proud to be a part of something much bigger than myself,” said Hunter. Founded in 1975, this program has won 5 titles and is hoping for another successful season in 2024.“Our goal for our athletes this year is to play free and fearless no matter who is on the other side of the net,” said Hunter.
The overall culture created by volleyball, especially with Nebraska’s indoor volleyball team determines why they are so successful. They inspire girls from all over the country to play with no fear and to just love the sport of volleyball. A Huntington Beach High School (HBHS) junior, Olivia Foye, a Princeton volleyball commit, said, “The trial and error process is how teams learn and grow as individuals.”
Switching to the beach courts, the sport that has gained popularity in college sports is beach volleyball. Beach volleyball has become the fastest-growing sport in NCAA history, and it was first recognized as a D1 sport in 2010 this continued in 2015 when DII beach volleyball was officially added. The University of Southern California (USC) and the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), women’s beach volleyball teams have been the queens of the beach for quite a while now. Once again, they went head to head playing each other in 2023, where USC won the last championship in Gulf Shores.
However, there are far fewer scholarship opportunities for beach volleyball players. “Most conference realignments are attributed to big sports such as football, thus completely disregarding other sports, specifically volleyball,” said Foye. Beach volleyball has taken a huge step at the collegiate level. Since 2015 the California Beach Volleyball Association (CBVA) has provided tournaments for girls who want to have a college athlete experience. There is now more access to elite college camps and overnight stays. Throughout the years, indoor volleyball and beach volleyball have given girls across the country more scholarship opportunities each year.
