Friday Flakes: Nebraska Volleyball and Little Girls

A couple months ago I was watching The Hobbit with my kids. They are young so I made sure to skip certain parts of the movie.

If you have not seen the movie, here is a quick summary of the premise. A wizard, 13 dwarfs and a hobbit are on an adventure to retake a mountain.

Super exciting. I know.

About an hour into the movie the group arrives at Rivendell which is where some of the Elves live.

I’m getting to the point. Don’t worry.

This when we are introduced to Galadriel. Why is this notable? It is because Galadriel is a female.

My daughter screams at the television and points. “It’s a girl!” She is really excited. Unfortunately, Galadriel is not on the screen for very long and my daughter is worried. “Where did the girl go?” She asks. I told her that the group left her back at the castle, and now my daughter is not impressed.

Since that point we have made more of an effort to find shows and books with girls or women in them. In fact, on her Christmas list we wrote “books with girls in them.”

At our house we watch a fair amount of sports. Whenever football, baseball and basketball is on she says, “you are watching your shows!” She will watch for a little bit before moving on and playing somewhere else in the house.

Last night I was excited to watch Nebraska volleyball for this very reason. I told her “Look, here are girls playing volleyball for Nebraska!”

She pointed at the television and screamed “GIRLS!” She was excited.

Boys in Nebraska will always have Nebraska Football. I remember playing football in the backyard and one of us was Ahman Green and the other was Scott Frost.

Thankfully girls in Nebraska will have Nebraska Volleyball. I imagine there are girls throughout the state who were hitting a volleyball over a net this past fall thinking they were Kenzie Maloney or Mikaela Foecke.

As Nebraska Volleyball competes in yet another National Championship game on Saturday, I am thankful for a team that excels at such a high level. My daughter on Saturday again will be excited to see the “girls” on television. She might not yet understand exactly what they are doing but some day she will.

Maybe she might want to be one of them someday.

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I’ll just leave this here.

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Husker Sports

Huskers Rally, Advance to Championship - WOWT
For the second year in a row, the Nebraska volleyball team won a five-set thriller in the NCAA Semifinals, this time rallying from an 0-2 hole for a dramatic come-from-behind victory over Illinois Thursday Night at the Target Center. With the win, the Huskers advanced to Saturday's NCAA Final, where Nebraska will take on Stanford in an attempt to win back-to-back national titles.

Husker love: Record-setting Nebraska volleyball fans cheer on a 'state treasure' - StarTribune.com
It all started with a sign. There was nothing fancy about it — just a board with the word “volleyball,’’ and an arrow — but the location couldn’t be beat.

Nebraska rallies from 0-2 to beat Illinois, will play Stanford for NCAA title | Volleyballmag.com
For the fourth year in a row, the NCAA title will go to either Nebraska or Stanford.

Mikaela Foecke’s off-balance kill late Thursday night capped the Huskers’ comeback after being down 0-2 to Big Ten rival Illinois. Foecke’s 19th kill of the match in the Target Center gave Nebraska a 22-25, 16-25, 25-23, 25-20, 15-11 victory in the second NCAA Division I Women’s Championship national semifinal.

Steven M. Sipple: Nebraska rookie setter Hames shows zero nerves even in most dire moments | Column | journalstar.com
She started for her high school team when she was in the eighth grade.

So, yeah, Nebraska freshman setter Nicklin Hames perhaps was destined to play volleyball at extraordinarily high levels.

Huskers punch ticket to volleyball final in five-set thriller - Mike Schaefer 24/7
Nebraska volleyball gets the opportunity to defend its 2017 national title after a thrilling five set win over Illinois. The Huskers, who fell behind 2-0, took the NCAA semifinals match 22-25, 16-25, 25-23, 25-20, 15-11.

The Huskers move on to face No. 1 Stanford in the championship match on Saturday.

Nebraska Football: Huskers making strong push for Ty Robinson
Usually, the term “full-court press” is one used in basketball. However, in the case of the Nebraska Cornhuskers on the recruiting trail Thursday, it can be applicable here. The entire Nebraska Football coaching staff flew out to Arizona to visit with a highly-touted prospect the program holds in high regard.

Recruiting Ticker: Huskers use mass visit to show DE Robinson, 'You're our guy' | Recruiting | journalstar.com
Higley High in Gilbert, Arizona, has been a center of college football recruiting activity in recent weeks.

Coach Eddy Zubey's quarterback is committed to Cal, so the Bears' coaches have been regulars. USC brought five coaches to see four-star defensive end Ty Robinson last week. Legendary Alabama coach Nick Saban stopped in. Oregon's been there, too. Those three schools, along with Nebraska, constitute Robinson's finalists.

Non-Husker Sports

Adam Ottavino would strike out Babe Ruth | MLB.com
Almost immediately, the internet rallied to the Babe's defense. This is Babe Ruth we're talking about -- the Sultan of Swat! The Colossus of Clout! No matter how good Ottavino was this season -- or how wicked his slider is -- there's no way that he could hang with the most iconic hitter of all-time, right? ... Right?

What the College Football Playoff would look like with eight teams – The Athletic
As support builds for an expanded College Football Playoff, here’s how it would have worked in the past five seasons.

LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers frustrated by calls for Houston Rockets
The Los Angeles Lakers found themselves so frustrated by the officiating in the second half of Thursday's 126-111 loss to the Houston Rockets that several players, LeBron James and Lonzo Ball among them, purposely held their hands behind their backs on a series of defensive possessions to make a point to the referees.

Oscar De La Hoya challenges Dana White to boxing match
Dana White and Oscar De La Hoya have been sparring in public.

Now De La Hoya wants to settle their beef like two guys in the fight game often do. In the ring.

“STICK TO SPORTS!” Nah.

How to Configure Your iPhone to Work for You, Not Against You
The iPhone could be an incredible tool, but most people use their phone as a life-shortening distraction device. However, if you take the time to follow the steps in this article you will be more…

This article is huge and has a ton of content. One of the best things I found this year. Check it out if you have an iPhone.

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