Learning 101: Sharing the Omaha Volleyball Experience

Three Huskers Earn AVCA All-America Honors

Coach, Libero: Sand Volleyball Inspires Huskers

Randy York’s N-Sider

Official Blog of the Huskers

This N-Sider column is dedicated to a young Nebraska volleyball team that has won its first four rounds of the NCAA Tournament these past two weekends convincingly. Despite their youth, the Huskers are ultra-competitive, skilled, spirited, intense, enthusiastic, unselfish, poised and confident.

The Huskers have everything in the world going their way, especially when you compare their 50-mile drive from Lincoln to play Kansas in Thursday night’s second NCAA Championship semifinal. Big Ten Champion Minnesota battles perennial power Texas in Thursday night’s first match to determine the initial qualifier for Saturday night’s National Championship match at Omaha’s CenturyLink Center.

This I know: Even if Ohio State wins the 2016 national championship as the NCAA Final Four host in Columbus, Ohio, or Kansas wins the 2017 national title as the Final Four host in Kansas City’s Sprint Center, the noise level for either such projection will not remotely compare to what Nebraska will experience Thursday night.

How do I know? Thanks to colleague Shamus McKnight, I was able to speak simultaneously Tuesday to three Husker volleyball stars who played on the 2008 Nebraska team that scratched, clawed and fought the greatest college volleyball team of all time in the same building the Huskers will play this week.

N-Sider’s Learning 101 Offers a Great History Lesson for Huskers’ Young Team

Please consider today’s conversation a history lesson for a young team that can learn about Nebraska going toe-to-toe against an unbeaten Penn State team that not only had not lost a match, but did not even lose a set the entire season until the Nittany Lions played Nebraska in Omaha’s 2008 Final Four.  

Since Penn State was defending its 2007 national title, the Nittany Lions went into their ‘08 match against Nebraska with 63 straight wins. All six of their starters, including their libero, were either first-team or second-team All-Americans who went on to finish their back-to-back titles with a 36-0 record. The sellout crowd of 17,430 seven years ago in Omaha is still the largest crowd in the history of college volleyball.

Penn State won the first two sets before Nebraska stormed back to win two of its own, then claimed a 10-8 lead in the decisive fifth set. If you want to hear a crowd roar, that might have been the greatest one you’ll ever hear when Penn State called timeout to regroup. Unfortunately, Penn State went on to win, 15-11. Talk about blood, sweat and tears. The drama of that moment cannot be duplicated.

Master Psychologist Cook Eager for Huskers to Learn True Grit of 2008 Team

John Cook is a master psychologist, but we’re here to help him this week with a simple primer about volleyball, crowds and Omaha’s propensity for atmospheric pressure. What can be cooler, more revealing or more effective than an N-Sider exclusive?

Today, I asked three 2008 native Nebraska starters – Amanda Gates, Jordan Larson and Rachel Schwartz – to share their insight and wisdom from playing in front of that all-time record crowd. Our goal is to give three 2015 native Nebraska volleyball starters (junior outside hitter Kady Rolfzen, junior middle blocker Amber Roflzen and sophomore setter Kelly Hunter) the N-Side scoop on what to expect and why it’s important to control your own goose bumps before you begin the most important part of a national championship journey.

The Rolfzen twins and Hunter are lucky. All three are Papillion, Neb., natives and they are always introduced at home as the first three Husker starters. Gates – a first-team All-American who played on teams that won all 72 games at home – is a Columbus, Neb., native. Larson, twice a first-team All-American who started all eight matches in the 2012 Olympic Games and recently was named the 2015 USA Female Indoor Player of the Year – is a Hooper, Neb., native. Schwartz, a Lincoln, Neb., native, was a walk-on libero who became a fan favorite and an important part of Nebraska’s heart and soul.

Amanda Gates Remembers Omaha Feeling Like It Was Nebraska's Home Court

Let’s begin our conversation with our three chosen instructors in Learning 101, analyzing volleyball atmosphere that proved to be unlike anything the Huskers had experienced when they played in all their glory at the NU Coliseum. Here we go:

Amanda (pictured above): "I remember that there was just a sea of red and white, and really feeling like it was our home court. We had that home-court advantage. It was cool because our families were all in the front row, seeing them supporting us and cheering for us. But really, I would say my focus was with the people on the court and then looking up every once in a while, just to say, 'Wow, these people care about us too, and they're here for us.’"

Jordan: "Oh goodness. Gates always has the words. I just remember not being able to really hear myself think. It was insane. It was such a cool atmosphere to be a part of. Like Amanda said, our families were right in the first row and we definitely felt the love and it helped us."

Rachel: "This is what I remember. This is a specific point, but it's kind of the feeling that you have throughout. When you go out onto the court, the ground vibrates. There's vibrations that you feel and it kind of gives you butterflies in your stomach. The butterflies are very intense at that point. You can feel the ground and you can feel the presence of people on the court. But then, when you're actually on the court, at least this is how it felt to me, it felt like we were in a movie. You watch a sports movie, and it becomes silent. It's like you can't hear anything. You're looking around and you know everything's happening, but it's all in slow motion.

"In 2008, when we were playing Penn State, that's how it felt. It felt like everything was happening so fast. There's this moment with your teammates where it's so slow, and you're looking at them, and everything's into emotion, and you're just peeking and you're looking out at all the people and you're just taking it all in. Then, the whistle blows, and it is like 'oh yeah.' There's that idea that there's slow motion, and there's vibrations from the court. It just kind of grabs ahold of you."

USA Olympic Starter Jordan Larson: Omaha No. 1 Place She’s Played Volleyball

I ask Larson where Omaha ranks among the places she's played.

Jordan: "It definitely or at least probably is the No. 1 place that I've played and had the opportunity to play in front of so many people. No fans anywhere have topped that experience. Nebraska fans are the best. They love volleyball and everything about the sport."

I ask Rachel if she has any advice for Nebraska players getting ready to experience the same kind of sold-out crowd of 17,000-plus in Omaha.

Rachel: "I think, first off, obviously take it all in. Enjoy that moment and enjoy what's happening. It's something that, for the rest of your life, nothing is ever going to match that moment. But then I would also say that, make sure that they realize it is still about their team and the people that are standing next to them on the court and on the bench. It's their game. It's their team. That's what they need to hang onto, because in an atmosphere like that, it's really easy to kind of feel this pressure to say 'Oh, we have to win, everyone's here, it's in Omaha, oh we have to do this, we have to do that,' and it's very easy to do that. You have to fight that and understand that it's one point at a time, one moment at a time. Embrace that; love each other more than the win."

Jordan: "Embrace opportunity. Not a lot of these come along. They’ve worked really hard to get to this point. They shouldn't be intimidated. Just go out there and be themselves. They deserve to be there and they've worked really hard to get to that point. Play for each other."

The NU Coliseum was the homecourt for the 2008 Nebraska Final Four volleyball team, pictured above.

When a Team is on a Journey, It's about Love and Cherishing the Moment

Amanda: "It's about the journey and just remembering how you got there. It's the most exciting piece of it. Just cherishing that moment, because, like Rachel said, they don't come very often. They do last a lifetime. It takes me back to 2008. We were down two sets. It was very similar to the Washington match (in the qualifying NCAA Regional in Seattle). I remember going into the locker room and just being like 'we did not fight this hard to come and do this and we're so capable of doing so much.' A piece of our season that we talked about was our love for each other and what we were doing, and that, I think, really pushed us through more than who was on the other side or how many people were on the court. It was about the group and the whole team, and I think the fact that we loved each other, and I knew that we were going to bend but we weren’t going to break, and even though we lost, we put so much into it, we felt like we won. I think that's what I want for this team – feeling the love from Husker Nation. If they can feel that, no matter what the outcome, it would be very nice if Nebraska could win another national title."

Amanda lives in Omaha and works at the University of Nebraska Foundation. “I've been there since I was an intern,” she told me. “I’m a mom of an almost two-year old and have one on the way in about 60 days. I'm hoping to be in the stands this weekend, but we’ll see."

Jordan continues to play in Istanbul, Turkey, for Eczacıbaşı. “This is my second year with the team,” she said. “We’re halfway through the season, and I’m actually home for a few days. I head back with the national team and start training with them on the 26th of December to prepare for the January qualifier. I'll be there this weekend signing autographs, and then I'll be at the AVCA banquet and attend a couple other things. For me, I prefer to watch Nebraska play at home in the comfort of my own home. I like to watch the game more intensely, and I'll see some things strategy-wise. I just feel like you get a little more detail on TV."

Huskers’ Kayla Banwarth, Kelsey Robinson on Same USA Team as Larson  

I ask Jordan about the January event that will bring three Huskers – Kayla Banwarth (pictured above) Kelsey Robinson and Jordan back to Lincoln to play for the USA Volleyball Team at Pinnacle Bank Arena. The Women's Olympic Qualifier is set for Jan. 7-9, 2016, at PBA.

"It's exciting for us,” Larson said. “Obviously, we don't get to play in Nebraska very often, and this is going to be a qualifier for the Olympics, so we need to win all three matches and get our ticket punched to Rio. I'm really confident in that team. We’ve been working really, really well. We just came up short at World Cup by one place. We have a great group of girls and I'm excited to get back and start training. We play seven days and nights in Lincoln. It'll be a good time to play in our home state wearing red, white and blue."

Rachel lives in Lincoln. “During the day I stay at home because we have two little girls. One is 15 months and one almost 4,” she said. “In the evenings, I coach for a club volleyball program in Lincoln, called Nebraska One, and Tonia Tauke actually runs that (Tauke played for Nebraska from 1996-99). I’ll be in Omaha Thursday night. I'm lucky because Tonia and I are doing the coaches conference as well. She's taking us to the AVCA coaching conference to learn about all the new stuff and was kind enough to buy us tickets to the match."

Schwartz, Teammates Follow the Huskers From Lincoln and Omaha to Turkey

Rachel (pictured above) said she watches Nebraska play “every chance” that she gets.

Amanda is also a devout follower. “I watch them and even stream stuff on my phone,” she said. “I watched them on Friday and Saturday. My little one loves watching them, too. She moves her eyes up and down like a volleyball so we watch volleyball a lot in our house…we absolutely love watching the Huskers!"

Jordan has an inspirationally unique way to follow her alma mater. "It's hard when I'm half the world away, so I haven't been able to watch them as much, but I stayed up and listened to John Baylor and Diane Mendenhall at the regional final,” she told me. “I was in Turkey. They do a great job on the radio. John Baylor has the best analogies. I crack up every time he uses some crazy analogy but it fits perfectly. He just does such a great job and Diane is so awesome."

Olympic Starter Enjoys Watching Huskers on TV and Listening on the Radio

I can’t help but ask an Olympic starter if she enjoys watching the Huskers on TV and listening to the radio at the same time. "Yeah, we'll see what happens. I'm just excited to be around the atmosphere again,” she said. “I feel like I've been kind of detached from here, just being overseas. I love all the hype, I loved reading the newspaper this morning, a whole page about volleyball. I just love hearing about it and I'm just so stoked for them to be in the Final Four. I'm just really, really happy for them."

According to Rachel, “Nebraska’s young, but I like their tenacity and their moxie,” she said. “I love that they fight. Watching them, there's been a sense that, like our 2008 team, they're just not going to give up. They're not going to fall. They're going to stand on their two feet until the last point is done. I love that about this team."

Huskers on a Mission: Determination Goes Well Beyond Destination Omaha

Amanda says the Huskers are on a mission. “You can tell that they're very determined and the mission was 'Destination Omaha' but now it's not done yet,” she pointed out. “I think that was probably the big thing on Saturday. They were on a mission and nobody was going to stop them, so that was pretty cool to see, and to know that we were once in that same pressure of 'we have to make it back to Omaha because that's what we want to do but it's going to be tough' and just remembering that feeling and that pressure. It just doesn't happen overnight. It builds up for a very long time, so getting that first accomplishment is pretty good. They should be proud of that, and now the fun happens."

Like Amanda, Jordan (above) senses Nebraska is on a mission. “On NCAA.com, they stream the highlight videos, so you can see it in their eyes,” Jordan said. “I feel like Kelly Hunter does a nice job of leading the team. She has a lot of fire and she's putting her hitters in great situations. I think they've done a great job finding a way this year. It hasn't always been smooth, but they've found a way and I think that's what's most important…never give up and stay on that mission every play. That's what made us so successful in 2008. Each of us has our own personalities, and we worked well together, just like we listened and learned from each other today."

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