Nebraska Volleyball Coach John Cook Post-Match Quotes

On the emotions and power of today: 

“I’ve probably cried five times today and I’m not kidding. Several times I’ve had to bite my lip to hold it together. It’s been a very emotional day. I lost it when I saw the alumni. I lost it when I hugged Briana Holman. I haven’t seen her since she left here. She’s been playing in Israel. It means so much to me. I lost it during the pep rally when Kennedi Orr wrote me a note. I was too emotional to read the whole thing so I read the last line and it said ‘Coach, today we are going to make the impossible possible.’ After this beautiful note she wrote to all her teammates.”

 

On how you feel about the record: 

“There is a lot of satisfaction to know that it’s not me. It’s a celebration of Nebraska volleyball at all levels. We took a chance playing a game in Memorial Stadium and to go for the record and break it. Not only did we make a statement on how important volleyball is here, we want that record to be known around the world now. I don’t think anyone could have envisioned all this when this started. It feels like a great accomplishment for this sport called ‘volleyball’ played by the women in Nebraska. It’s a state treasure and we just proved it.” 

 

On the experience and impact of the day: 

“I think the biggest thing is that women's sports are a big deal here. They got to experience what the means and get to experience on the same level as all the greatest football teams that have ever played here. We got to experience it and maybe in some ways even more based on ways the crowd interacted and students on the field. The students on the field, I think thats what set this thing off. You're surrounded by all these people on the field and people in the stands and that changes it.”