Nebraska Volleyball: Conference-only makes 2020 season intriguing
The Big Ten made the decision for its fall sports to only play games within their conference. This makes things very interesting for Nebraska volleyball.
Typically, the first month or so of Nebraska volleyball‘s season is against non-conference opponents and is sometimes referred to as the “preseason” portion of the schedule.
The Huskers tend to play a good mix of quality non-conference opponents and weaker programs during this time. Last season saw them play top 25 teams like Creighton, San Diego, and Stanford and there have been years where they’ve played programs like Florida, Oregon, and Texas in tournaments.
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That won’t be the case this year, as the Big Ten’s ruling will limit Nebraska’s schedule to conference games only.
Nebraska fans know all too well how tough the Big Ten is when it comes to volleyball, as there are usually seven or eight teams ranked in the top 25 and usually there’s five or six teams ranked in the top ten. So while the removal of the non-conference opponents will take away a shot at some great teams, the Big Ten is no stranger to that.
What this could lead to is the season starting in late September or early October, which is normally when the conference games start being played. On the other end of the spectrum though, it’s possible that the season starts at the same time and the tournament (which hopefully will be played this year, as it’s set to be held in Omaha) could be bumped up to before Thanksgiving. That could help the sport avoid prime flu season.
Nebraska volleyball is a good program with good coaches and great leadership, so this change isn’t intimidating for the Cornhuskers. They’re used to playing tough opponents, indicated by making it to four straight Final Fours from 2015-2018 and winning two National Championships during that time. They can stack up against anyone.
The reason this change will be intriguing, however, is that instead of playing some Big Ten programs only once in the course of the season, Nebraska might have to play each of those tougher programs twice. That means they could face the likes of Minnesota, Penn State, and Wisconsin two times each and that’s no picnic of a schedule.
When it comes down to it though, this will prepare the Huskers for the tournament where it comes down to the best of the best. It’s unfortunate they won’t get to play in-state rival Creighton, which is always a fun time for Nebraskans, but at the end of the day, the Big Ten made the right decision by limiting fall sports to conference-only.