Nebraska Volleyball: Huskers, Gophers, Ducks and Wildcats in Photos

It was a great day of volleyball at Maturi Pavilion on the University of Minnesota campus as Nebraska took on Kentucky and Minnesota fought Oregon for the right to continue on to the Final Four.

The crowd was pretty good for the Nebraska - Kentucky game. There were a fair amount of Nebraska fans, and the Kentucky fans I spoke with were happy to be in Minnesota, although a few said they wished they’d made the trip in June or July.

Nebraska took care of business in relatively short fashion, sweeping Kentucky in three sets. It looked like the Wildcats might win the third set, but our beloved Huskers caught them in the end with the help of a timely challenge from head coach John Cook.

Grid View

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• Dancing enthusiastically to get on the big screen. Jon Johnston
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• Crowd support, including the students, was awesome and sometimes deafening. Jon Johnston
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• Crazy blanket lady, crusader for all things Gopher. Jon Johnston
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• Minnesota thought they had set two won. It wasn’t to be. Jon Johnston
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• Apparently Minnesota has a “crazy blanket lady” who runs around the arena invoking the crowd. It works. Jon Johnston
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• The Ducks move on to take on Nebraska. Jon Johnston
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Minnesota was not so lucky.

The Gophers won the first set, but the second set had to be one of the most amazing SPORTS TEAM BALL spectacles I’ve ever seen. Oregon ended up winning 41-39, a score more fitting for a football game than a volleyball match. The score went back and forth, as did the emotions for both teams. The crowd was into it, and sometimes deafening.

Minnesota had their hopes and emotions crushed when Oregon challenged a call after the Gophers thought they’d won the set 39-37. The call was reversed to 38-all. Minnesota got a kill, but couldn’t convert the set point. Oregon got the next two kills, the set, and from there, the match.

Nebraska plays Oregon today at 5:00 pm central to decide who will make it to the Final Four at Target Center in Minneapolis next week.

Go Big Red!