Nebraska Volleyball
When someone says “Nebraska volleyball” the top of mind thought would be the Nebraska Cornhuskers Volleyball team. Today, Lincoln’s University of Nebraska volleyball team has established itself as one of the most influential and powerful teams in the history of collegiate volleyball. It’s interesting to note, however, that it apparently almost never happened that way.
The man who would make a name for Nebraska volleyball, Terry Pettit, actually found out about the position as head volleyball coach in Nebraska only when a friend and colleague from the school he had been working in at the time – Louisberg College – found the advertisement in a trash bin. The rest, they say, is Nebraska Volleyball history. Pettit was Nebraska’s volleyball coach from 1977 to 1999; and it was during this time the Nebraska Volleyball and the young women who played it truly blossomed.
In the face of adversity (such as the relative contempt for women’s athletics at the time), Pettit – with the support of the University of Nebraska – ensured that they would have and train the best Women’s Volleyball team in the circuit. The course of his career led his Nebraska Volleyball team to the NCAA semifinals six times, and to the championship in 1995. After Pettit left, the University of Nebraska’s Volleyball team continued his legacy of excellence, earning two more NCAA titles (2000 and 2005).
