Nebraska Cornhuskers women's volleyball

Pat Sullivan became Nebraska's first head coach when the program was founded shortly after the passing of Title IX in 1972.[7] Sullivan compiled an 83–21 record over two seasons, including an AIAW regional final appearance in 1975 and NU's first Big Eight championship in 1976.[8]

Terry Pettit was hired as Nebraska's second head coach in 1977. Pettit, an Indiana native, was an English teacher and volleyball coach at Louisburg College in North Carolina when a fellow coach found out about Nebraska's open job and directed Pettit to apply.[9] From 1977 to 1999, he led the Cornhuskers to a record of 694–148, winning 21 conference championships and the 1995 national championship.[10]

In his 23 years as head coach, Pettit built the program into a national power. Under his guidance, Nebraska appeared in 19 consecutive NCAA tournaments, including six national semifinals, two national runner-up finishes, and NU's first national title. Pettit's teams won a conference championship in all but two seasons during his tenure. His list of honors includes induction into the AVCA Hall of Fame in 2009, USA Volleyball All-Time Great Coach Award, and several national and regional coach of the year awards from various publications.[11][12] Under Pettit, Nebraska became one of the first schools to offer scholarships to female athletes. In 1978, Terri Kanouse and Shandi Pettine were the first players to receive full scholarships for volleyball, and just three years later, the university allowed Pettit to offer up to 12 scholarships.[13] Pettit coached 36 AVCA All-Americans at Nebraska, the highest number of any school in that time span.[10]

Pettit's only national championship as a head coach came in 1995. After dropping an early-season match to Stanford, NU swept 22 consecutive opponents and won 31 straight matches. Nebraska defeated Texas 3–1 to win the title, and AVCA National Player of the Year Allison Weston was among three Huskers named first-team All-Americans. Before the 1999 season, Pettit hired former assistant John Cook as associate head coach. Following Nebraska's loss in the national semifinals, Pettit retired and Cook became head coach. In 2020, Pettit was inducted into the Nebraska Athletics Hall of Fame.[14]

The 2000 NCAA champion Nebraska volleyball team is honored at the White House

Cook succeeded the retiring Pettit before the 2000 season, after a seven-year stint as head coach at Wisconsin. In 20 years at Nebraska, Cook has guided the Huskers to four national championships, five other national semifinal appearances, and an NCAA tournament berth in each season. Cook was named National Coach of the Year in 2000 and 2005, Central Region Coach of the Year four times, and conference coach of the year six times. He was awarded the USA Volleyball All-Time Great Coach Award in 2008, and was inducted into the AVCA Hall of Fame in 2017. Under Cook, Greichaly Cepero, Christina Houghtelling, and Sarah Pavan won AVCA National Player of the Year, and Pavan won the Honda-Broderick Cup in 2007 as the Collegiate Female Athlete of the Year.

In his first year as NU's head coach, Cook guided the Huskers to their second national championship. After starting the season outside the national top 10, Nebraska went 20–0 in Big 12 play and defeated Cook's former team, Wisconsin, in a five-set national title match to cap a 34–0 season and become the second undefeated team in NCAA volleyball history.[15] Sophomore setter Greichaly Cepero was named National Player of the Year and won the Honda Sports Award.[5] Nebraska finished the 2001 and 2002 seasons 20–0 in conference play, but lost late in the tournament to Stanford and Hawaii, ending both seasons 31–2. Nebraska's 77-game Big 12 winning streak ended with a loss at Kansas State in 2003, and the Cornhuskers failed to make it out of a regional.

Nebraska at Texas at Gregory Gymnasium on Oct. 20, 2004

Nebraska earned the number one overall seed in the 2004 NCAA tournament, which began an NCAA-record 88 consecutive weeks the Cornhuskers were ranked atop the AVCA weekly poll. The Huskers fell in the regional final to two-time defending champion USC, but freshman Sarah Pavan was named AVCA National Freshman of the Year. Pavan would eventually become one of the most decorated players in collegiate volleyball history, including four First-Team All-American honors and the 2006 National Player of the Year award. Nebraska was again the top seed in the 2005 tournament, and swept through the first five rounds, but was upset by Washington in the national title match.[16]

Nebraska's streak at the top of the rankings continued through 2006, losing only once during the regular season. The Cornhuskers were the top seed in the NCAA Tournament for the third consecutive year, and behind a five-set win over Minnesota in the regional final, returned to the national title game.[17] Nebraska dropped the first set to Stanford, but won the next three to take home the school's third championship in front of an NCAA volleyball-record crowd of 17,209.[18] Nebraska swept 24 of 33 opponents and lost just 14 sets all season, becoming the first team to win the championship while "hosting" the finals since UCLA in 1991.[5] Pavan won numerous awards after the season, and sophomore Jordan Larson was also named a first-team All American.[19][20]

The 2006 NCAA champion Nebraska volleyball team is honored at the White House

Nebraska's season opener in 2007 marked the program's 1,000th game, a sweep of Tennessee in the AVCA Showcase.[21] The Cornhuskers' 88-week streak at number one came to an end in October, but the program won its fourth straight Big 12 title. After surviving an upset bid by unseeded Michigan State in the NCAA Tournament, Nebraska fell to California in the regional final.[22] Pavan joined Texas softball pitcher Cat Osterman as the only repeat Big 12 Female Athlete of the Year, and Nebraska placed a then-record five players on All-America teams.[23] Nebraska won its fifth consecutive Big 12 title in 2008,[24] and advanced through the first three rounds of the NCAA Tournament to face Washington.[25] After losing the first two sets, Nebraska came back to tie the match, and used a nine-point run to win set five.[26] Nebraska met undefeated Penn State in the national semifinal and again fell behind 2–0. The Huskers rallied to deal the Nittany Lions their first two set losses of the season, snapping their NCAA-record 111 consecutive set wins, but lost the match in set five.[27]

Nebraska's NCAA-record 90-game home winning streak came to an end at the beginning of the 2009 season.[28] In the NCAA Tournament, Texas became the first team to beat NU three times in one season, and ended the Huskers' five-year streak atop the Big 12.[29] In 2010, the University of Nebraska announced it would be ending its 15-year relationship with the Big 12 and joining the Big Ten. The Cornhuskers won the Big 12 in 2010, departing the conference with an all-time record of 278–22.

Move to the Big Ten

The University of Nebraska joined the Big Ten Conference in 2011. This meant that, for the first time, NU would play longtime rival Penn State on an annual basis, along with other nationally relevant programs, including Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Illinois. The Huskers won the Big Ten in their first year of competition, but lost in the second round of the NCAA Tournament to Kansas State, marking the first time Nebraska failed to make a regional semifinal since 1993.[30] Nebraska did not win another Big Ten title until 2016, and failed to make the national semifinals in six straight seasons, the longest such stretch for the program in over 30 years.

Nebraska's national semifinal drought ended in 2015, when the Cornhuskers swept former Big 12 rival Texas to win the program's fourth national championship in front of an NCAA-record crowd in Omaha. Freshman Mikaela Foecke's 19 title-game kills helped her become the third freshman ever named the NCAA Tournament's Most Outstanding Player. The Cornhuskers spent much of the following season ranked number one in the country, and won the program's first conference title since 2011.[31] In the 2016 Tournament, Nebraska fought off two match points to defeat Penn State in the regional semifinals,[32] but eventually fell to Texas in the national semifinals.[33]

Nebraska's 2017 season opened with consecutive losses to Florida and Oregon, but the Cornhuskers finished the regular season with just two more losses, and shared the Big Ten title with Penn State. NU defeated the top-seeded Nittany Lions in five sets to advance to the national title match, and then beat Florida 3–1 to win the school's fifth national title. The championship match took place in Kansas City in front of an NCAA-record crowd of 18,516.[34] Outside hitter Mikaela Foecke was again named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player, making her one of four players to win the honor more than once. NU made a program-record fourth straight trip to the national semifinals in 2018, but fell to Stanford in a five-set national title match.

NU compiled an all-time record of 511–36 at the 4,030-seat Nebraska Coliseum, losing just three home matches in 33 seasons of conference play. In 1991, the Cornhuskers played home games at the Bob Devaney Sports Center while the Coliseum was being renovated specifically to host volleyball matches. NU has hosted at least one NCAA Tournament match every year since 1984, including a 52–4 postseason record at the Coliseum. Nebraska established an NCAA record with their 88th consecutive home win in 2009,[35] a streak that ended at 90 when UCLA defeated NU in front of an NCAA regular season-record crowd of 13,870.[36] In 2008, the AVCA's Kathy DeBoer described the Coliseum as "the epicenter of volleyball fandom".[37]

The Coliseum was one of few collegiate arenas designed specifically for volleyball. It is noted for its classical architecture and intimate atmosphere. At the Coliseum, the Huskers began an NCAA record for most consecutive sellouts in a women's sport, a streak that continues at the Devaney Center.[38] The Coliseum was the subject of a CBS Sports documentary in 2011.[39]

Nebraska's volleyball program moved to the Bob Devaney Sports Center in 2013, which was made available when Pinnacle Bank Arena was built for NU's basketball teams. The Devaney Center's capacity was decreased from 13,596 to 7,907, with luxury suites on the south side of the court.[40] Despite the increase in capacity, the Huskers' sellout streak continues, currently at 268, the longest in any NCAA women's sport.[41] Nebraska has led the country in attendance every year since moving to the Devaney Center, with an average of 8,206 per match.[42] The move to the Devaney Center has made Nebraska's volleyball program profitable each year, a rarity in women's college athletics.[43] With no financial support from tax dollars, tuition, or student fees, the team is entirely self-sufficient.[44]

• Allison Weston – 1995
• Greichaly Cepero – 2000
• Christina Houghtelling – 2005
• Sarah Pavan – 2006

Nebraska has had 46 players account for 92 overall and 47 first-team AVCA All-American selections.[5][45]

Team[46]

• Assists in a five-set match: 116 vs. Texas (Nov. 5, 1988)
• Total blocks per set: 4.18 (2001)
• Winning percentage: 1.000 (2000, shared with four other teams)
• Consecutive winning seasons: 38 (1975–2019, shared with three other teams)
• Consecutive non-losing seasons: 38 (1975–2019, shared with five other teams)

Individual

• Assists in a five-set match: Lori Endicott, 109 vs. Texas (Nov. 5, 1988)
• Hitting percentage in a three-set match: Tracy Stalls, 1.000 (13 kills) vs. Texas Tech (Nov. 24, 2007);[47] Megan Korver, 1.000 (10 kills) vs. Iowa State (Sept. 25, 1998)
• Blocks in a season: Melissa Elmer, 250 (2005)
• Blocks per set in a season: Melissa Elmer, 2.17 (2005)