The Nebraska Cornhuskers volleyball team came into Sunday's match against defending national champion Texas on top of the world. The Huskers were considered a juggernaut. They were considered the best team in the country by a wide margin. And they just dominated the Pitt Panthers in the final four to get to Sunday's tilt.
Then everything came crashing down. The Nebraska Cornhuskers came out looking shaky. As the match went on they looked shook. They didn't possess the confidence they played with all season. They looked overwhelmed by the moment. Texas, on the other hand, looked like a team that had been there and done that. They looked like the defending national champ they were.
When you have a Nebraska volleyball team that was as young as this iteration of John Cooks' squad did, it should surprise people that they didn't really understand how to bounce back from adversity. They never really saw adversity in 2023. The title game is a heck of a time to experience it. But there's a bright side.
We saw it in the 1993 Nebraska football team. They dropped a heartbreaker to Florida State that year. Instead of letting it derail the program, they used the pain of the loss to gain some resolve, to get determination. And to set the ultimate goal.
"Refuse to lose." Also, "unfinished business." The Nebraska volleyball team started talking that way after their loss to the Longhorns.
The Nebraska Cornhuskers volleyball team can build from this
In the post game press conference, Harper Murray made it clear what was on her mind. She and her teammates were upset, they were disappointed, but they were ready to show just how good they are, too.
Murray was asked about her thought process for next year and made it clear she was confident the Huskers would be back. And better than ever. "Yeah I think we're going to win three national championships in the next three years so ..."
‘Refuse To Lose’ part 2@HuskerVB #Huskers pic.twitter.com/vFb9MoAsFD
— Dana Czerwinski (@danacz) December 17, 2023
In case you missed Bekka Allick's comment at the very end of that clip. Suffice it to say she didn't disagree.
The 2023 Nebraska Cornhuskers volleyball season might be over, but the way it ended could mean that 2024 is going to be quite the sight to behold.