A Day Unlike Any Other

Kearney, Neb. – The eyes of the sporting world will be on Memorial Stadium this Wednesday (Aug. 30) for "Volleyball Day in Nebraska."

The undercard features Nebraska Kearney taking on longtime rival Wayne State in a best-of-three exhibition match. The Lopers and Wildcats, both ranked the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVA) preseason Top 25 poll, square off at 4:30 p.m. The main card features the Nebraska Cornhuskers vs. the Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks at 7 p.m., followed by a Scotty McCreery concert about 15 minutes after the 'Huskers and Mavericks.

A crowd of over 90,000 is expected with the largest-ever crowd to watch a women's sporting event being 91,648, set in March 2022 at a UEFA Women's Champions League match in Barcelona, Spain. Both matches will be carried by Nebraska Public Media, streamed by NPM and The MIAA Network and carried via KRVN Radio and KLPR Radio. Finally, live stats will be available.

UNK volleyball holds the record for the largest crowd in D2 history, coming in the 2005 National Championship match at the Health & Sports Center (5,025). The largest crowd any Loper team has played in front of is in the 10,000 range, coming either in football or a men's basketball road game.

The Lopers and Wildcats haven't met on the court since late in the 2015 season when UNK swept WSC in Rice Auditorium. The Blue & Gold lead the all-time series, 69-9.

Both squads are again expected to contend for league titles and spots in the NCAA Tournament. UNK and Wayne compete in the Central Regional, home to eight of the nation's top 17 teams. Finally, both squads have quick turnarounds as the Lopers head to Salt Lake City for the Westminster Invitational and the 'Cats go to California for the Concordia Irvine Tournament. Official Division II play begins on Aug. 31 with UNK and Wayne playing Sept. 1-2.

Print Friendly Version