VB Preview: Ameritas Players Challenge

AMERITAS PLAYERS CHALLENGE
Sept. 18-20, 2026 
John Cook Arena at the Bob Devaney Sports Center | Lincoln, Neb.

Friday, Sept. 18 – No. 1 Nebraska vs. No. 25 North Carolina
First Serve: 7 p.m.
TV/Streaming: BTN/FoxSports
Radio: Huskers.com, Huskers App, Huskers Radio Network

Saturday, Sept. 19 – FGCU vs. No. 25 North Carolina
First Serve: 12 p.m.
TV/Streaming: None
Radio: None

Sunday, Sept. 20 – No. 1 Nebraska vs. FGCU
First Serve: 12 p.m.
TV/Streaming: B1G+
Radio: Huskers.com, Huskers App, Huskers Radio Network

Follow the Match
• Friday’s match against No. 25 North Carolina can be seen on BTN, with Larry Punteney and Allie Sczech on the call.
•Sunday’s match vs. FGCU will not be televised and will be streamed on B1G+.
• Huskers Radio Network with John Baylor and Lauren (Cook) West will broadcast all the action on their volleyball affiliate stations, on Huskers.com and on the Huskers App. 

Nebraska vs. North Carolina
• Nebraska and North Carolina have split their two all-time meetings. 
•The Huskers and Tar Heels last met in 1996, where UNC picked up a five-set victory over the Big Red.

Nebraska vs. FGCU
• Sunday’s matchup is the first all-time meeting between Nebraska and FGCU.

Huskers at No. 1 in Latest AVCA Poll
• The Nebraska volleyball team was ranked No. 1 in the latest AVCA Coaches Poll released on Sept. 14. 
• The Huskers collected 1,560 points in the poll and came in ahead of No. 2 Pitt (1,527), No. 3 Louisville (1,419), No. 4 Kentucky (1,370) and No. 5 SMU (1,206). Nebraska got 48 first-place votes, followed by Pitt with the remaining 15. 
• It marks Nebraska’s 127th week all-time at No. 1 in the AVCA Coaches Poll, the most of any program in the nation.

Largest Indoor Home Crowd For the Big Red
• Nebraska set a program record for the largest indoor home attendance after a crowd of 15,405 fans saw the Huskers’ sweep against No. 20 Creighton at Pinnacle Bank Arena on Wednesday night. 
• Wednesday’s attendance breaks the previous record of 13,870 set against UCLA at the Bob Devaney Sports Center in 2009. 
• Wednesday’s match was the eighth home match in program history with a crowd of atleast 11,000 fans. 

Ogbechie Named Big Ten Player of the Week
• Sophomore middle blocker Manaia Ogbechie was named Big Ten Player of the Week on Monday.
• It is Ogbechie’s first career Big Ten Player of the Week selection and the first Nebraska player to earn Big Ten Player of the Week since Andi Jackson on Nov. 10, 2025.
• Ogbechie led the top-ranked Huskers to a 3-0 week against New Mexico, No. 20 Baylor and Georgia Tech last weekend. On the week, the sophomore middle blocker was the only player in the country to hit above .540 with at least 53 swings.
• Across the three matches, Ogbechie totaled 33 kills on a blistering pace of .547 hitting and added 12 blocks.

Block Party for the Big Red
• Through eight matches, Nebraska is third in the Big Ten and 14th nationally with an average of 2.80 blocks per set.
• Two Huskers have 15 or more blocks this season - Manaia Ogbechie leads the team with 27 while Andi Jackson has 25. Overall, seven players have double-digit blocks this season for Nebraska. 
• Ogbechie is averaging 1.35 blocks per set, which ranks fourth in the Big Ten. She had a season-high seven blocks against No. 2 Texas on Aug. 30.
• Jackson finished with a season-high six blocks against Creighton on Wednesday, her third match with five-plus blocks this season.
• As a team, Nebraska has four matches with 10 or more blocks and finished with nine in Wednesday’s three-set win over the Bluejays.

NU’s Two-Way Dominance
• After leading the country in hitting percentage and opposing hitting percentage last season, Nebraska became the first team to finish first nationally in both categories since at least 2014, the NCAA’s first season tracking opposing hitting percentages.
• The Husker offense hit at a school-record pace of .351 and hit over .400 in nine matches last season, which is a school record in the rally-scoring era.
• The NU defense has led the nation in opponent hitting percentage three times in the last four seasons (2022, 2023 and 2025) after limiting opponents to a pace of .129 in 2025.
• Through eight matches in 2026, Nebraska leads the country with an opposing hitting percentage of .085 after holding Creighton to a season-low -.033 on Wednesday.
• As of Thursday, Nebraska is the only team in the country to hold opponents under .100 hitting. The next closest team is Lehigh, who is limiting opponents to a clip of .106. 
• The Huskers are hitting .312 as a team this season, which ranks ninth nationally and third in the Big Ten. Nebraska is one of 12 teams nationally hitting .300 or better.
• Nebraska is hitting .312 and holding opponents to .085, good for a margin of +.227. That mark leads the country, as the Big Red is one of two teams in the country with a margin of +.200 or better (Michigan State, +.218).

NU’s Race to the Red Zone
• Nebraska is 120-0 in sets under head coach Dani Busboom Kelly when reaching the red zone (20 points) first.
• The Huskers are 24-0 when reaching the red zone first in 2026 after posting a 96-0 mark last season. 

Big Red on the Run
• Nebraska has recorded 21 runs of five-plus unanswered points through eight matches this season, highlighted by a season-long streak of 10 in the first sets against No. 2 Texas and New Mexico.
• The Huskers have scored five consecutive points on 12 occasions, six straight points five times, a seven-point streak, a nine-point streak and a pair of 10-point streaks.

Home Sweet Home
• Nebraska has won 50 regular-season home matches in a row at the Devaney Center, going back to the start of the 2023 campaign. 
•The Huskers had a 63-match home win streak snapped in the Regional Final against No. 6 Texas A&M. It is tied for the fifth-longest streak in NCAA history. 
• The Huskers’ recent home court win streak was their longest since moving into the Devaney Center in 2013, and it’s the tied for the second-longest home court win streak in program history. 
• Nebraska’s longest all-time home win streak was 90 matches from 2004-09. Nebraska also won 63 straight at home from 1999-2002. 
• Penn State holds the all-time record of 94 from 2006-10. 
• The Huskers went 22-0 at home in 2024, a school record for home wins in a season.