Husker Volleyball, Football, and Basketball Oh My!

Nebraska Volleyball Makes another Final Four

I’m not going to sit here and pretend I’m some volleyball expert.  At least that’s what I tell myself when I watch Nebraska’s volleyball team make short work of the Washington Huskies in their run up to the NCAA Final Four.  What I will tell you is that when you watch this year’s squad, I’m left in amazement sometimes at their efficiency and their will to win.  

It’s no secret that Head Coach John Cook has a machine going right now in Lincoln.  I think most national and local pundits would tell you that of all the athletic programs at Nebraska right now, women’s volleyball is the most powerful gem in an otherwise average ring at the moment.  And while football drives the bus, and basketball has the shiniest seat, volleyball occupies all the important seats and draws more attention than anything else in the Star City right now.

How did we get so lucky?  Well there are a number of reasons that Nebraska has risen to this position, most of them too numerous to count.  Terry Pettit of course started this juggernaut and it could be argued that John Cook has been the best hire in the athletic department since Bob Devaney anointed Tom Osborne the head of all things football.

The thing that is amazing this season is how seamlessly Nebraska brought back a core from last year’s surprise National Championship run and integrated two transfers from other programs and may have made the team even better.  Coach Cook has hit his apex in my opinion, and we need to enjoy it.  Nebraska loses a lot of players from this team, including the best sister tandem in the land in Amber and Kadie Rolfzen.  I know Coach Cook generally just reloads, but something tells me this team and this type of team may never come around again.  Imagine, getting Texas in the Final Four….again.  And then imagine if they get past the Longhorns getting an opportunity to avenge their last loss against Minnesota in the final.  These scenarios could play out this week, all too fitting in my opinion.

I think Nebraska can and will win this tournament, I think they had their trying moment facing match point against Penn State and coming back to win the entire game down two sets.  I think this team is too focused and too good to let down in Columbus this weekend.  Of course, as I said before, I’m certainly no volleyball expert.  Either way, GBR!

Carriker Chronicles

Quick Notes:

Tommy Armstrong played with a torn hamstring. We all knew that Tommy Armstrong was less than 100% when Nebraska played Iowa a couple weeks ago.  Now we find out that Tommy has a torn hamstring and that the only reason he played was probably because Ryker Fife couldn’t take snaps with his broken wrist.  No matter what you think of Tommy, the fact that he played basically on one leg has to go down as one of the gutsier performances in recent memory.  Regardless, it shows how bare the cupboard is, when our only option is a quarterback that shouldn’t even be playing in a game.  If there is anything that needs to be rectified in Lincoln it is the quarterback situation.  You can’t be in that type of quandary at that position.  It just can’t happen at a place with as many resources as Nebraska.

Recruiting needs a jolt. If you follow recruiting at all, (and if you don’t, don’t start, it’s a thankless marriage with too many ups and downs) Nebraska has had a bit of bad luck missing out on a lot of targets the last couple of months.  A recent decommitment the day before the “dead period” was certainly not the momentum builder the coaches probably were looking for.  Never fear though, as with most classes, Nebraska will end up with a handful of great players in this class regardless of what has transpired this last couple of months.  I won’t get into the nuts and bolts of it, but Nebraska is sitting very well with a lot of highly rated recruits.  

I often feel like Nebraska is on its way to really breaking this recruiting thing open, but it hasn’t come without some bumps in the road.  I would tell you that the recent addition of Donte’ Williams to the staff replacing assistant coach Bruce Read was done all in the name of recruiting.  Head Coach Mike Riley understands the importance of it.  That’s why if you follow recruiting and are getting restless, I say be patient, there is a lot left on the table.  If you don’t follow recruiting, I say kudos to you!  I wish I had never started.

Cornhusker Memes Tees

Basketball Season has been up and Down.  I haven’t touched much on Husker basketball lately, but I’m going to touch a little on the men’s team.  Coach Tim Miles has a schedule that is rated number 1 in how difficult it is.  That can have a good and bad result.  The bad is, the record that Nebraska has is probably nowhere near where we all wanted it to be.  The good is, this team is really young and gained a great experience.  Outside of Tai Webster, there isn’t one player that couldn’t use a good dose of playing against some of the best teams in the country.  They have had that now.  Regardless, no matter who Nebraska plays in their own conference, they should have the confidence that they can play with anyone.

Nebraska’s chances at the NCAA tournament probably vanished when Andrew White left the team this last summer, but their chances of getting in the NIT still remain and Nebraska may be a difficult place to play this winter for any team in the conference.  You never know how a season will pan out, but I think this year could be a fun year for some growth, even if there are some growing pains.

As always, GBR!!