Nebraska Cornhuskers News: Officially a volleyball state, more

Viewership numbers don’t lie. Nebraska Cornhuskers fans need to start embracing that volleyball is the where it’s at for the university.

If there was any doubt as to just how popular volleyball is with the Nebraska Cornhuskers fans, the latest television viewership numbers on Saturday offered up definitive proof. More people watched John Cook’s squad take down top-ranked Wisconsin then watched Matt Rhule’s team move one win closer to a bowl game.

According to Sports Media Watch, it wasn’t really close either. That organization tallied 612,000 people watching the Nebraska Cornhuskers win a five-set masterpiece against the Badgers. 560,000 people watched the Nebraska football team’s win over the Wildcats.

This isn’t a situation where the network played a part, either. Both games were on the Big Ten Network. And the Huskers’ volleyball viewership was a record for BTN. Just how big was the viewership for the game? BTN is averaging a little over 140,000 viewers per volleyball match. So you know, almost six times higher than average.

Other Nebraska Cornhuskers news

• As good as the Nebraska Cornhuskers volleyball team is right now, they could still get better. Head coach John Cook said on Tuesday that Lindsay Krause is expected to return to the team at some point this season. She’s started walking on a treadmill and doing pool work this week.
• It’s becoming a little old hat to talk about Nebraska volleyball players winning weekly awards. But it’s also still fun. This week, Merritt Beason got two honors in one, as she is not only the Big Ten Player of the Week but the AVCA National Player of the Week. The junior opposite averaged 4.25 kills per set and 1.75 digs per set in Nebraska’s wins over Northwestern and Wisconsin.
• Bergen Reilly got honored again this week as well. She got her third setter of the week award following the Huskers’ wins over Northwestern and Wisconsin. She’s only a freshman.

• Shifting over to Nebraska Cornhuskers football, Matt Rhule’s boys found out when they’ll be playing Michigan State. The November 4 tilt will be an 11am game.