DII women's volleyball heavyweights collide at Volleyball Day in Nebraska

Memorial Stadium, home of the Nebraska Cornhuskers college football team, will be filled to the brim on Wednesday, Aug. 30. However, it won't be with crazed Husker football fans.

Welcome to Volleyball Day in Nebraska, when swarms of Midwest women’s volleyball fans will ascend on the Huskers’ massive football venue to watch a day full of women’s volleyball and celebrate the sport. The Huskers’ women’s volleyball team has had plenty of success over the past eight seasons with two national championships and a pair of runner-up seasons — but the day isn’t all about them and their opponent, the Mavericks of Omaha. Wayne State (Neb) and Nebraska-Kearney will be part of the action, squaring off in a DII women’s volleyball top-25 exhibition as representatives of the high-quality programs in Nebraska.

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“We appreciate the opportunity to be included in such an historic event,” Lopers’ head coach Rick Squiers told krikya18.com. “At the same time, we think the UNK volleyball program is indeed a strong part of Nebraska volleyball tradition.”

The two DII programs, both of which were part of the loaded Central Region in last year’s DII women’s volleyball championship, will serve it up at 5:30 p.m. ET. More than a month ago, Nebraska announced the event was a sellout — in a college football stadium that holds more than 85,000 people. Considering the women’s college volleyball attendance record is 18,755, Squiers is quite correct in his assessment: this will be a historic event. With an additional 6,000 seats available for the matches, the expectations are to be somewhere around 91,000 people. That means UNK and Wayne State (Neb) could be part of an even larger record — the U.S. women’s sports attendance record of 90,185 people set in the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

Wildcats’ head coach Scott Kneifl reflected on the monumental event, , just about 1/20th of what his team is about to play in front of. “It’s truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Kneifl said. “Memorial Stadium at capacity is the third largest stadium in Nebraska — so I’m sure there will be some nerves. But what an exciting opportunity — more excitement and joy than anything, to be honest.”

”Our team has played in front of many large crowds, 2000-plus,” added Squiers. “UNK holds most of the NCAA II [women's volleyball] attendance records. That said, no players from any college volleyball team knows what it will be like to play a match in a stadium like this. This is a first. We are excited, nervous, and hopeful about the upcoming experience.”

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UNK’s star outside hitter, Emersen Cyza, is entering her final season and is no stranger to big matches. She played a couple of seasons at DI Wyoming and has been in the MIAA and Central Region — arguably the toughest in all DII women’s volleyball — for two seasons now. That doesn’t change the magnitude of Wednesday’s action for the two-time All-MIAA First Teamer and 2022 All-American. ”All the emotions,” said Cyza when asked about playing in Memorial Stadium. “Nervous, excited, anxious, and definitely curious to see how it will all play out.”

The Wildcats’ senior outside hitter Kelsie Cada (above), who played her high school volleyball in Wahoo, Nebraska (population 4,904 as of 2021) agreed. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I couldn’t be more grateful to experience something like this with my team,” she said. “We are going to soak it all in and just play Wildcat volleyball.”

While the consensus emotion among coaches, players, and obviously the fans, is clearly that of excitement, it’s not all that surprising. Women’s college volleyball has a massive following, especially in Nebraska. “The sport of volleyball, especially in the Midwest is a top-notch spectator sport and has grown so much over the past two decades,” said Kneifl. “I’m definitely biased, but I believe it is the most exciting sport to watch women compete, and obviously 91,000 people from Nebraska agree with me.”

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”I am not surprised by the fact that the game sold out,” added Squiers. “This event combines Husker volleyball with the game of volleyball In Nebraska, and then you mix in the competitive challenge of creating an unbreakable attendance record.”

What shouldn’t be forgotten as these teams chase history is that 91,000 fans are going to see some amazingly talented volleyball. UNK is just three years removed from a national runners-up season and has won more than 80% of its matches in program history. The Lopers enter the season ranked No. 16 in the AVCA poll, the 377th week the Lopers have been ranked in program history — which is the fourth-most in DII women’s volleyball history. UNK is also the favorite to take the MIAA as it looks for its fifth outright MIAA title. Last year, Wayne State improved from 22-8 to 30-3 and the No. 1 seed in the Central Region.  The Wildcats enter the season ranked No. 4, the highest preseason ranking in program history. However, if you’re curious as to how competitive the NSIC is, Wayne State — a 30-win team and No. 4 in the country — is projected to finish second behind nine-time national champion Concordia-St. Paul.

”Hopefully, the weather allows us to play the volleyball that we know we can,” Cyza (above) said of the match. “It's going to be hot and humid which can cause some issues. If everything goes well weather wise, it's going to be a competitive match.” ( forecasts a mostly sunny day with a high of 86F and only a 5% chance of rain.)

”UNK is a great opponent to play and exhibition against,” Kneifl added. “The match is only two out of three, played outside with several variables that neither of us has trained for. I’m sure most people will take the outcome with a grain of salt and just try to enjoy the athleticism on display."

"Wayne State is as talented as anybody in the country and a tremendous challenge," Squiers said. "If the weather allows for real volleyball, we will get an immediate measurement of our strengths and weaknesses. We also want to just soak it in and enjoy the situation."

The exhibition match, which can be , doesn't have national championship aspirations attached to it. It's a match that won't even be considered down the road in the regional rankings or filling the bracket. But at the end of the day, it's a match that no one on the court will ever forget and could possibly become an unbreakable record in all women's sports. "This is my last year and an awesome way to begin the season," Cyza concluded. "We are all honored and grateful to be playing in this legendary event."