Inside Look: Thrills, Agony Pave the Road to Omaha

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Randy York N-Sider

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Nebraska Volleyball Coach John Cook struck an immediate chord with me in Monday’s weekly press conference on the sixth floor of Memorial Stadium. Standing in front of the media, Cook tried his best to describe the roller-coaster emotion of beating No. 1-ranked Penn State in five sets in State College on Friday night, then losing to power-packed Ohio State in five sets in Columbus on Saturday night.

You would think that Nebraska’s first true road win against a No. 1-ranked volleyball team in school history would be the ultimate thrill, but Cook, his staff and his players could not celebrate for even a single minute, and we’ll explain why later in this column.

“For this group, it was very impressive and a big win,” Cook said. “But it’s tainted by the fact we lost the next night. That’s the old Wide World of Sports – ‘The Thrill of Victory and the Agony of Defeat’. That’s what this weekend was about, but we came out of it with a split. That’s one way to look at it. Hopefully, this is going to give us some momentum going into the week.”

I have no doubt about that when fourth-ranked Nebraska hosts Michigan State Wednesday at 7 p.m. and Michigan Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. As always, those matches are already sold out, but Husker fans without tickets can tune into the Michigan State game on BTN and BTN2G0 and the Michigan game on NET/BTN Plus.

Cook’s Sports Metaphor Resonates for Longtime Husker Fans

While that soaks in, I share what raced through my mind when Cook talked about the Wide World of Sports, the Saturday show that hooked me like trout hook serious fishermen. Check out this 31-second video and you’ll understand why Cook’s metaphor resonated.

Listening to Cook describe the thrill of beating the Nittany Lions one night and the agony of losing to the Buckeyes the next night, I envisioned a snow skier racing so fast, he exploded right through the finish line. It was my favorite clip in the weekly launch of Wide World of Sports. I could hear Jim McKay’s voice reincarnated from that program that aired when I was a sixth-grader in 1961 until it finally pulled down the curtains in 1998.

In 2007, Time Magazine put Wide World of Sports on its list of the 100 best television programs of all time. I mention that because I believe that Coach Cook thinks the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat will define this young, talented team’s two-month journey on the Road to Omaha, the home of the 2015 NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship on Dec. 17 and 19 at CenturyLink Center.

Nebraska almost certainly will be one of the 16 NCAA Tournament campus sites that will compress the field to four regional hosts in Austin, Des Moines, Lexington and San Diego before crowning the 2015 National Champion in Omaha.

Doing Everything Possible to Beat Emotional, Physical Fatigue

A bold thinker, strategic planner and outspoken leader, Cook does not mince words when it comes to why Nebraska covets to win another national title in its home state. “We played tired Saturday night, but you have to find ways to work through that,” he said. “We’re going to have to do it in a regional (in Texas, Iowa, Kentucky or California) to get to Omaha.”

So why not beat the drums now, embrace the challenge and learn the best way to fight through the emotional and physical fatigue that advancing to Omaha will require?

One thing is certain. Most Husker volleyball fans, even the most loyal who follow the Huskers at home and on the road, cannot relate to the logistical challenge Nebraska faced immediately after the Huskers upset Penn State and before they pushed Ohio State to the brink.

Since Cook and his staff are immersed in planning the rest of the season to help Husker players conquer the gauntlet of nationally prominent Big Ten opponents, I ask Nate Pohlen to share with me the high hurdles of the logistics required to transition from one of Nebraska’s greatest-ever road wins over a No. 1-ranked team that has won four of the last six national championships to a game the next night against one of the nation’s toughest, most talented teams in Ohio State.

Ohio State Interest Peaks; Buckeyes Host 2016 NCAA Tournament

It’s an interesting equation, especially since the ultra-talented Buckeyes have set their sights on Omaha every bit as much as Nebraska and Penn State. Why? First because they are just as talented and second because the 2016 NCAA Division I Volleyball Tournament will be held in Columbus, Ohio. No one has ever said or claimed that the Big Ten lacks for championship depth. Whoever can emerge from the grind of Big Ten travel can be and will be a national threat.

Listen to Pohlen, our assistant communications director who travels with the Husker volleyball team. He paints a compelling picture of what it’s like to go from the thrill of victory to the agony of defeat. The words you are about to read are Nate’s:

“The Huskers were down 0-2 to No. 1 Penn State on their home court, a team with a 33-match win streak. But somehow the Huskers kept their belief, fought back, forced a game five. It looked like the Huskers would carry that momentum through for the incredible comeback win, and then Penn State went up 5-1 in the fifth set. The Huskers had their backs against the wall once again. But Cook believes in consistency. In a timeout, the same message went through to the players: ‘Trust your training, trust each other.’ A kill by Cecilia Hall, then one by Amber Rolfzen…Penn State attacking error…a Kadie Rolfzen kill. You can almost hear John Baylor telling Husker fans watching on TV that the Huskers were tied with the Nittany Lions. The rest is history. Nebraska went on to win 15-11, closing the set on a 14-6 run.”

Whirlwind Schedule Defines Why Fatigue is a Worthy Enemy

“It’s what happens next – after the TV cameras stop rolling and the Husker Sports Network broadcast goes off the air – that’s difficult to comprehend until you experience it. The team quickly showers, changes into their warmups and meets with family and friends on the court before heading to the bus. Within 45 minutes of the match ending, the Huskers are all on the bus, enjoying a pre-ordered lukewarm postgame meal that has been waiting for more than an hour. The bus rolls down dark, isolated roads to a tiny airport outside State College. Constant reminders are passed along from the coaches and trainers to drink plenty of water, because No. 13 Ohio State awaits. The Buckeyes wrapped up their 3-1 win over Iowa nearly an hour before the Huskers’ match ended. By the time the Huskers are getting to the airport in State College around 11 p.m., the Buckeyes are already back at their homes resting.

“Every Big Ten volleyball team travels by charter flights in conference play. Fortunately, that puts the Huskers on the ground in Columbus, Ohio, by midnight. The team hops onto another bus that’s waiting by the plane. They load their bags and head off down more dark roads to the downtown hotel in Columbus on a cold and misty night. When all is said and done, the Huskers – still amped from the big win – are in their hotel rooms by 12:30 a.m., falling asleep to thoughts of how the Buckeyes beat them at the Devaney Center last year and were only two points away from the Elite Eight.

“The Saturday routine is similar to Friday’s – breakfast in the morning that comes too soon, followed by practice, a pre-match meal, film and then off to the match. The Huskers play well to win set one, then drop the second and third sets and find themselves battling from behind again. After a dominant fourth set, the Huskers know they can pull off the win, because they’ve done this before, just 24 hours earlier and in September against Oregon. Ohio State goes up 5-1 in game five, de ja vu. The Huskers scratch and claw their way back to within 11-9, but one too many errors down the stretch allow the Buckeyes to escape with the win. The difference between the thrill of victory and agony of defeat can be a couple rallies, as it was at both Penn State and Ohio State... a few plays, a few points.”

Grueling Experience a Valuable One; Husker Fans Still the Best

“The toughest road trip in the Big Ten compares to a regional semifinal and final – except with two hours of traveling at night. This kind of test can only make you tougher come NCAA Tournament time. The experience is not always a fun one, but it is certainly a valuable one.”

Nate is innate. He works for the coaches and student-athletes. He lines up players for Nebraska’s savvy media who follow volleyball like the major sport it is in this state.

Shortly after huddling up with Nate, Lonna Kliment, Director of Licensing and Branding for Nebraska Athletics, runs into me in the hallway. “We’re proud to say for another year that Nebraska is sold out for the season,” she told me. “But we need to remind fans looking for the chance to see the No. 4 team in the country that they should always check for Standing Room Only tickets that are available at the box office on game days.”

Knowing I’m writing an inside look at Nebraska’s proud and historic program for the N-Sider, Lonna wants to thank Husker fans belatedly for their great support two weekends ago. “We were able to pull in a record crowd against Iowa even after a football game that started at 11 a.m.,” she pointed out. “It made for a long day but our fans are always there to support our girls. We have such a loyal fan base, and we simply can’t thank them enough for their support. There’s no other fan base like ours!”

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