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10,497 Watched Volleyball in Nebraska's Reopened Arena
It is the most people who have watched a volleyball match in the Bob Devaney Sports Center, whose floor now carries John Cook's name.
The Bob Devaney Sports Center reopened on Thursday night with a new sound system, premium seating, a student section moved behind one bench, and a court carrying John Cook's name.
No. 1 Nebraska swept New Mexico 3-0 (25-12, 25-13, 25-15) in front of 10,497 people, which huskers.com records as the most who have ever watched a volleyball match in the building.
It was Nebraska's first home match of the season. The team had been away since the opening weekend and came back to Lincoln 4-0, having played in Las Vegas, in Dallas and at Wrigley Field in between.
Virginia Adriano, the Nebraska outside hitter, to Jacob Padilla of Hail Varsity.
Obviously, everything is new, so we still have to get used to all the energy. The atmosphere was super cool — the lights, the smoke at the beginning, and the fans. Obviously, we have more fans now, so it's even better than last year and the years before. The away games were intense, and it was a long time, but it was still super cool. Everything we got to do — Wrigley, Dallas, Vegas — and now we're very happy to be home and relax a little bit, but still be on the games and everything.
New Mexico Managed 21 Kills to Nebraska's 43
Nebraska took 90 swings, converted 43 into kills against 11 errors and hit .356. Manaia Ogbechie had nine of the kills on .538 hitting and five blocks, and Teraya Sigler matched her nine on .412.
New Mexico took 87 swings, got 21 kills out of them against 17 errors and hit .046. Nebraska blocked seven balls to New Mexico's one and served six aces to one.
New Mexico finished the night four kills clear of its own errors, across three sets, which is what a hitting percentage of .046 looks like when somebody writes it out in longhand.
Padilla records two pancake saves from Olivia Mauch as drawing the loudest noise of the night, one of them surviving a New Mexico challenge. Mauch dug 11 balls in all.
The Court Carries the Previous Coach's Name
The floor inside the Devaney Center is now John Cook Arena, after the coach the building was full for long before it was renovated. Dani Busboom Kelly is the head coach who works on it, and Nebraska is 5-0.
Nebraska had not lost a regular-season match at home since 2023, a run huskers.com put at 47 going into Thursday.
It runs to 48 now. It took the renovation, the renaming and a sold-out reopening to get the crowd up to the level the streak itself has been at for three years, which is the honest measure of what Thursday night was.
