Current:Home > FinanceLOOK: World record 92,003 fans watch Nebraska volleyball match at Memorial Stadium -FundWay
LOOK: World record 92,003 fans watch Nebraska volleyball match at Memorial Stadium
View
Date:2025-04-25 23:20:55
"Volleyball Day" in Lincoln, Nebraska, will go down in history.
Wednesday's matchup between the Nebraska Cornhuskers and the Omaha Mavericks drew 92,003 spectators to the Cornhuskers' Memorial Stadium, according to Nebraska, setting not only a NCAA record for women's volleyball attendance, but the national and world attendance record for any women's sporting event.
"The WORLD RECORD for a Women’s Sporting Event lives in Lincoln," the team announced on social media. "There is NO place like Nebraska."
Huskers head coach John Cook got emotional while talking about the feat. "We’ve dreamed big here tonight… (Junior setter) Kennedi Orr wrote me a note today that said, 'Coach, tonight the impossible will be possible.' We did it," Cook said.
A volleyball court was erected inside Memorial Stadium, usual home of the Cornhuskers' football team. The stadium has a listed capacity of 85,458, but can accommodate more than 90,000 spectators, as evidenced by Wednesday's in-state contest.
NEBRASKA VOLLEYBALLaims for women's attendance record with game inside football's Memorial Stadium
The previous world record
The previous biggest crowd to attend a women's sporting event in the United States is the 90,185 who packed the Rose Bowl to watch the 1999 World Cup final between the U.S. and China. The previous world record of 91,648 fans was set when Barcelona hosted Wolfsburg last April in a UEFA Women's Champions League match.
– Paul Myerberg, USA TODAY Sports
Memorial Stadium record broken
Memorial Stadium may belong to the Cornhuskers' football team, but the attendance record at the stadium belongs to the women's volleyball team. According to The Athletic, the 92,003 fans that flocked to see Wednesday's match is the most-ever at Memorial Stadium, beating the previous record (91,585) Nebraska football set in 2014 during a 41-31 win over Miami.
The Walkout
The Huskers walked out of the tunnel to The Alan Parsons Project's "Sirius," led by Cook, junior outside hitter Merritt Beason and junior defensive specialist Lexi Rodriguez. The atmosphere was electric as players high-fived fans who lined the aisle before running on the court for pregame warm-ups.
Magic Johnson: 'I'm blown away'
The broadcast showed a sea of red fans in attendance, Los Angeles Lakers legend Earvin "Magic" Johnson said on social media Wednesday. "Shoutout to all the Husker fans that showed their support for women's athletics and the Nebraska Volleyball team," Johnson wrote.
Huskers' head coach: 'I feel like we’re at a rock concert'
It's a party in Memorial Stadium, coach Cook said while fighting back tears.
Huskers win 3-0
The Huskers took the first two sets over the Mavericks, winning both 25-14. Nebraska registered 22 kills, 31 digs and three aces, including this gem from freshman Harper Murray. The Cornhuskers took the third set 25-13.
Best photos from Nebraska volleyball match at Memorial Stadium
veryGood! (839)
Related
- Costco membership growth 'robust,' even amid fee increase: What to know about earnings release
- Mayor denies discussing absentee ballots with campaign volunteer at center of ballot stuffing claims
- Small plane crash kills 3 people in northern Arizona
- Destruction at Gaza hospital increases stakes for Biden’s trip to Israel and Jordan
- Most popular books of the week: See what topped USA TODAY's bestselling books list
- Maren Morris files for divorce from Ryan Hurd after 5 years of marriage
- Illinois boy killed in alleged hate crime remembered as kind, playful as suspect appears in court
- Aces starters Chelsea Gray and Kiah Stokes out for Game 4 of WNBA Finals vs. Liberty
- Meet the volunteers risking their lives to deliver Christmas gifts to children in Haiti
- Italy’s far-right Premier Meloni defies fears of harming democracy and clashing with the EU
Ranking
- Charges tied to China weigh on GM in Q4, but profit and revenue top expectations
- Clemson's Dabo Swinney: 'Maybe we need to lose a few games and lighten up the bandwagon'
- Pentagon releases footage of hundreds of ‘highly concerning’ aircraft intercepts by Chinese planes
- Doctors abandon excited delirium diagnosis used to justify police custody deaths. It might live on, anyway.
- Juan Soto to be introduced by Mets at Citi Field after striking record $765 million, 15
- Fijian prime minister ‘more comfortable dealing with traditional friends’ like Australia than China
- 'Nightmare': Family of Hamas hostage reacts to video of her pleading for help
- A Berlin synagogue is attacked with firebombs while antisemitic incidents rise in Germany
Recommendation
US wholesale inflation accelerated in November in sign that some price pressures remain elevated
Cambodian court sentences jailed opposition politician to 3 more years in prison
War between Israel and Hamas raises fears about rising US hostility
China says US moves to limit access to advanced computer chips hurt supply chains, cause huge losses
Costco membership growth 'robust,' even amid fee increase: What to know about earnings release
Former Brooklyn resident sentenced to life in prison for aiding Islamic State group as sniper
Aces starters Chelsea Gray and Kiah Stokes out for Game 4 of WNBA Finals vs. Liberty
Ex-Oregon prison nurse convicted of sexually assaulting women in custody gets 30 years