Nebraska Volleyball Head Coach Calls Matchup With Bruins, 'Historic'

Maren Angus-Coombs | Sep 26, 2024

Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK

When UCLA joined the Big Ten, it was a move designed specifically with football in mind but women's volleyball has joined the strongest conference in the country.

The Bruins will be ushering in conference play on Friday in Lincoln, Neb., home of the No. 2 Nebraska Cornhuskers.

UCLA is just 3-7 in Lincoln all-time and is looking for its first win in the Devaney Center since 2003. It won't be easy as the Huskers are coming off sweeps against No. 3 Stanford and No. 5 Louisville.

UCLA women's volleyball begins its new era in @B1GVolleyball when it travels to No. 2 Nebraska on Sept. 27 before returning to Westwood for its first home match of 2024, hosting Ohio State on Sept. 29 ⤵️

Game notes: https://t.co/UnfgVFC2YW pic.twitter.com/lE3jZrmRVx

— UCLA Women's Volleyball (@UCLAWomensVB) September 24, 2024

"I'm excited," Nebraska head coach John Cook told reporters on Tuesday in Lincoln. "I think it's historic. We open with UCLA and USC so that will be very interesting because it's so new.

"It's like USC football going to Michigan the other day. I don't know what the ratings were but it had to be a highly-watched football game and I just think there will be a lot of interest in it."

Ushering in this new era against Nebraska couldn't come at a better time for UCLA. The Huskers' recent match against the Cardinals aired on ABC averaging 684,000 viewers, becoming the most-watched regular season volleyball match on any ESPN platform. ESPN PR posted the results on Tuesday.

The broadcast peaked at 808,000 viewers, nearly double the amount of viewers from their season-opener against Kentucky at the KFC Yum! Center.

UCLA will play under a hot spotlight for the next several weeks as they take on several storied programs within the sport.

“The competition in the Big Ten speaks for itself. … When you are a young athlete, you picture yourself playing at Nebraska. Purdue gets packed, Wisconsin,” said associate head coach Amir Lugo-Rodriguez at Big Ten Media Days. “We’re excited to walk into those places and compete and show everyone what UCLA volleyball is all about.”

The date with Nebraska has been circled on the schedule for quite some time.

“Nebraska is a great opponent,” said middle blocker Anna Dodson, a preseason all-conference honoree. “We’re really looking forward to playing there, especially with our first Big Ten game. But truly, we take every game and treat it the same.”

Just how dominant is this conference?

Seven teams are ranked in the Top 25 and five are in the Top 10. Nebraska topped the rankings at No. 2, followed by Penn State at No. 4 (10-1), Wisconsin at No. 7 (6-3), and Purdue at No. 10 (9-2). Oregon improved to No. 11 with an 8-1 record, while Minnesota held the No. 16 spot with a 7-3 record. USC rounds it out at No. 20.

Friday's match at the Bob Devaney Sports Center is set for a 5 p.m. PST first serve and can be seen on the Big Ten Network.