Fans Invited to Vote for Greatest Matches

Lincoln -- During its 28 years of storied tradition, the Nebraska volleyball team has certainly participated in some great matches, and Husker fans have been there every step of the way. The Nebraska faithful have played a part in the dramatic come-from-behind victories, the the NCAA national championship showdowns, and those special matches when the NU Coliseum crowd almost seemed to will the Huskers to victory. Because the fans have played such a special part in Nebraska volleyball history, we would like to invite you to vote for your all-time favorite Husker match. The top five will be revealed on the Nebraska Volleyball Show with John Cook Sunday, Oct. 26, at 10 p.m. on NETV2.

The choices and a little bit about each match are listed below. You can find the poll on the volleyball page of Huskers.com in the left-hand margin. Thanks for participating!

Greatest Nebraska Volleyball Matches (Listed in order of most recent)

Nebraska def. Florida, 30-18, 30-24, 28-30, 25-30, 15-13
NCAA Regional Final, 12/8/01, NU Coliseum
The 2001 Nebraska volleyball team was perhaps the program's most talented squad ever, with five players who had been named AVCA All-Americans at some point during their careers, including Nancy Metcalf, Jenny Kropp, Greichaly Cepero, Amber Holmquist and Laura Pilakowski. All season, Nebraska anticipated a second straight trip to the NCAA semifinals, but the road to San Diego was more difficult than expected.

After the Huskers won a tough four-game match over Colorado State in the NCAA regional semifinals, only No. 7 Florida stood in the way of a final four appearance. Nebraska easily won games one and two, then dropped three and four to the Gators. NU, which had not played in a five-game match all season, built an 8-6 lead in game five behind two kills and two service aces from Metcalf. But the Huskers found themselves down 12-10 moments later, as Aury Cruz, Kris Bova and Nicole McCray all posted kills for Florida.

Metcalf responded with back-to-back kills to tie it at 12. After a Florida service error, Metcalf pounded another kill to bring Nebraska within a point of the win. Cruz held NU off with a kill, but Metcalf answered on the next rally with her 25th kill of the match for the 15-13 NU victory. Metcalf tied the school record for service aces in a single match with seven, as the Huskers secured their eighth trip to the NCAA semifinals.

Nebraska def. Wisconsin, 15-9, 9-15, 7-15, 15-2, 15-9
NCAA Championship Final, 12/16/00, Richmond, Va.
The 2000 NCAA national title match featured Nebraska first-year head coach John Cook and his collection of young All-Americans against Wisconsin, the program he spent seven seasons building before arriving in Lincoln. Just two years earlier, Cook had guided the Badgers to the 1998 NCAA Regional Final at the Coliseum, where they lost in five games and missed their first chance to play for a national title.

In Richmond, Nebraska fell behind two games to one against Wisconsin, but bounced back and breezed to a 15-2 win in the fourth game, forcing a rally-scoring fifth game for the national title. Leading 14-9 with senior Kim Behrends at the service line, Laura Pilakowski slammed her 23rd kill of the game to secure the championship. Pilakowski was joined on the NCAA All-Tournament team by classmates Amber Holmquist and Greicahly Cepero, the AVCA National Player of the Year. Cepero added 52 assists, eight digs, eight kills and seven blocks in the title match, while Holmquist recorded 16 kills on a .387 hitting efficiency with five blocks to help Nebraska cap a perfect 34-0 season with its second national title.

Nebraska def. South Carolina, 15-11, 9-15, 13-15, 15-12, 15-13
NCAA Second Round, 12/2/00, NU Coliseum
Unranked South Carolina provided undefeated Nebraska with a wakeup call in the second round of the 2000 NCAA Tournament. With the match 1-1, South Carolina stunned the Huskers in game three, taking an 11-1 lead en route to winning the third game. But Nebraska found a way to win the critical fourth game, 15-12. NU trailed 12-8 in the fourth when when Anna Schrad stepped to the service line for a 6-0 run that included three key kills from Jenny Kropp and a thunderous shot by Kim Behrends that gave the Huskers a 14-12 lead. The crowd of 4,002 went wild, and Nebraska won game four on a USC serving error.

The Huskers led by as many as six in the rally-scoring fifth game before South Carolina cut the advantage to 14-13 with a kill from middle blocker Berna Dwyer. However, the Huskers wrapped up the match on the ensuing possession when the Gamecocks committed an attack error.

Behrends finished with a career-high 18 kills, and Laura Pilakowski totaled 15 in her first significant action since undergoing an appendectomy Nov. 21. NU would go on to win the 2000 national championship with a 34-0 record.

Nebraska def. Wisconsin, 12-15, 18-16, 9-15, 15-10, 15-10
NCAA Regional Final, 12/12/98, NU Coliseum
The third-ranked Husker volleyball team overcame a two-games-to-one deficit and a powerful Wisconsin Badger team to advance to the NCAA Final Four for the third time in four years. The match was an emotional one for NU Coach Terry Pettit, who faced his former assistant and good friend John Cook, the Huskers' future head coach.

Wisconsin won game one, but the Huskers withstood 14 game points in game two and rallied from a 14-9 hole to an 18-16 victory. The Badgers took game three, and NU won game four to force a rally-scoring fifth game. Nebraska recovered from a 9-7 deficit to tie game five at 10, and the Huskers scored the final five points. The 13th point came off an ace serve by Nikki Henk and the 14th came when Marisa Mackey hit into the block of Megan Korver and Nancy (Metcalf) Meendering. On the next rally, Meendering slammed a kill for the 15-10 win.

The Huskers overcame a .187 hitting percentage in the match, NU's second-lowest percentage of the season, and a 98-84 kill deficit. Meendering was named the NCAA regional MVP after tallying 25 kills and broke a 12-year-old Coliseum record for attacks with 78. The match was Cook's final contest as the UW head coach.

Nebraska def. Penn State, 15-12, 8-15, 15-13, 9-15, 20-18
NCAA Regional Final, 12/14/96, NU Coliseum
Nebraska's thrilling come-from-behind victory over Penn State in the East Regional final propelled the Huskers to their second straight NCAA semifinal berth. The Nittany Lions out-blocked Nebraska 21-10 and hit .259 to NU's .196, but the Huskers prevailed with timely hitting and a late offensive burst by sophomore middle blocker Megan Korver.

NU claimed the first and third games, while Penn State won the second and fourth games. In the rally-scoring fifth game, Penn State twice jumped out to six-point leads, at 10-4 and 11-5, before a furious Husker rally sparked a dramatic finish. NU scored the next four points, including an ace serve by sophomore setter Fiona Nepo, but Lauren Cacciamani and Carrie Schonveld combined on a block to make it 14-12, Penn State.

Nebraska responded with three straight points, including two kills by Lisa Reitsma. The Nittany Lions tied it at 15 with a kill by Terry Zemaitis. The teams exchanged points twice, and with the score tied 17-17, Angie Kammer pounded a kill to give PSU a one-point lead.Korver then produced perhaps the three most important kills of her Husker career. She tied the score at 18 then drilled another kill to make it 19-18, Nebraska. Her season-high 18th kill of the match secured the 20-18 win and a trip to Cleveland.

Nebraska def. Texas, 11-15, 15-2, 15-7, 16-14
NCAA Championship Final, 12/16/95, Amherst, Mass.
After three previous trips to the NCAA Championships, the Huskers finally captured their first national title by hammering Texas 3-1 in the title match. NU's talented senior class was at it's best against the Longhorns. 1995 AVCA Co-Player of the Year Allison Weston posted 18 kills and 22 digs, and setter Christy Johnson had 87 assists. Outisde hitter Billie Winsett pounded 25 kills, tying Kate Crnich for the match high.

Crnich's 25 kills were a career best, and she hit .500 for the match.

Texas jumped to an early 12-4 lead in game one, but the Huskers rallied to make it close before losing 10-15. Although they lost the first game, the Huskers gained momentum, playing solidly at the end of the game. NU cruised to wins in games two and three, thumping the Longhorns, 15-2 and 15-7. In game four, Nebraska built a 9-5 lead with the help of three kills by Lisa Reitsma. Texas chipped away at NU's advantage and tied the score at 11, as Demetria Sance let loose for four kills. After two more ties, the Huskers took a 15-14 lead when Reitsma and Weston blocked Angie Breitenfield. The Huskers twice served for game point before winning, 16-14, when Weston and Johnson blocked Sance. Nebraska finished the season with a 32-1 record, closing the season with a 31-match winning streak.

Nebraska def. Michigan State, 10-15, 15-8, 15-8, 9-15, 15-8
NCAA Championship Semifinal, 12/14/95, Amherst, Mass.
If the top-ranked Huskers were to have any chance of winning the program's first national title, they had to get by perhaps the hottest team in the country in Michigan State. The Spartans upset second-ranked and undefeated Hawaii in the Mountain Region final to advance to Amherst with a 34-2 record.

Nebraska countered a 10-15 loss in game one by winning the second and third games, 15-8 and 15-8. Michigan State responded, winning the fourth game, 15-9. In the fifth and decisive game with the score deadlocked at 7-7, NU scored four-straight points, forging to an 11-7 lead. Middle blocker Jen McFadden was in on three points in the run, recording a kill and two block assists. The Spartans added one more point, but the Huskers prevailed, 15-8 when Weston drilled her 30th kills of the match. Her 30 kills still rank as the fifth-best ever by an NU player in a postseason match.

Nebraska def. Texas, 12-15, 11-15, 15-5, 15-13, 15-9
Regular season, 11/6/88, NU Coliseum
This regular season showdown featured two of the nations' top teams (fifth-ranked Nebraska and sixth-ranked Texas) and two future coaching legends in NU's Terry Pettit and Texas' Mick Haley. Texas shocked the Huskers on their own floor the night before, stealing a 3-0 win and ending NU's 31- match winning streak.

In the second meeting, Nebraska again fell behind two games to one but scored the final 10 points in game three, winning 15-5 on a kill by freshman Janet Kruse. Nebraska trailed 13-8 in game four, but regained control on a kill by Linda Barsness. Nebraska scored seven straight points in a run that included two more kills by Barsness, winning the fourth game, 15-8. The Huskers maintained their momentum and were never behind in game five. Since the match, Nebraska has never rallied from an 0-2 deficit to win.

Texas would go on to win the 1988 NCAA national championship.