John Mabry was the sports editor for the Lincoln Journal Star from 1997 to 2007. During that time he helped cover the Husker volleyball team at five NCAA Final Fours. He has written more than five hundred features for the Journal Star and its niche publications and is the author of Heart Felt: The Jenna Cooper Story. His newest book is Nebraska Volleyball: The Origin Story (Nebraska, 2023).

When Terry Pettit took on the job of head volleyball coach at Nebraska in the mid-70s, it took some time for him to feel like it was a good fit for him in Lincoln.

From Nebraska Volleyball:

Early on at Nebraska, Terry Pettit wondered about the possibility of exploring different trails.

“It all kind of happened by happenstance because I had not really considered being a full-time coach,” said Pettit, who graduated from Manchester (Indiana) College in 1968 with a B.S. in English. “I thought I’d probably come and coach for a couple of years and then move back into being a literature teacher. I even asked the athletic department if it would be OK if I taught a course in English, and understandably they didn’t want me to, because they were battling for full-time coaches. A couple of years in, I seriously considered leaving. I went and talked with Union College (in Lincoln) about teaching English there. I just wasn’t sure that this was my career path. I consider myself a slow learner. I kind of take my time and try to investigate everything about a situation, and it took me a while to really get a feel for it.”

But he knew there might be some magic to be made inside the Nebraska Coliseum.

“I became aware that if we built something, that if we created an environment, people would come.”

Today, August 30, 2023, more than 90,000 fans are expected to gather to watch volleyball at Memorial Stadium, right next door to the Coliseum. There will be two matches. Nebraska-Kearney against Wayne State, followed by Nebraska vs. Omaha.

One of the first Huskers, Kathy Drewes, said: “I’ve always considered myself a positive thinker, but if someone had told me when I was at the university that we’d be attending a sold-out volleyball match with Nebraska playing at Memorial Stadium, I’d probably have wondered if I had dreamed it.”

The Huskers used to play in the shadows of football and Memorial Stadium. Before Pettit, the team played in front of family and friends at Mabel Lee Hall. Under Coach Pat Sullivan (Pettit’s predecessor), they had to organize fundraisers to buy uniforms.

They were barely allowed in the football stadium without a ticket. Pettit later would post flyers around Memorial Stadium to get folks to consider attending a volleyball match after football games. Not today. It’s the main event today. It’s Volleyball Day in Nebraska. Women’s sports on center stage. From that environment Pettit and those Huskers created at the Coliseum to this. It is something to behold. And there is nothing else like it in sports.