Amidst the bleak times, Cook always delivers
It has been a miserable existence as a Huskers fan this fall. To find these tough of times in Husker football, you’ve got to hearken back to the Bill Jennings years. Listen kids, anytime you’re comparing to Bill Jennings, it is bad news.
Nebraska basketball is undefeated - the women, I mean - but all that promise and recruiting prowess demonstrated by Hoiberg and company on the men’s side? Pfffffft.
But when the fall led into a lean winter, you could always turn to Nebraska volleyball.
The absolute model of consistent winning, even those Huskers showed some chinks in the armor. When they stepped on the floor with some of the best teams on the schedule, the results were lackluster, if not a bit embarrassing.
Spoiled much? Why yes, we are, but those are the expectations that program has created and embraced. When the NCAA Tournament field was announced a few weeks back, it was pretty much a given that Nebraska, despite the defending National Champions in the path, would reach the round of eight. After all, the Huskers have made the final eight 18 times in 21 previous seasons under John Cook. That’s UConn women’s basketball level stuff. It’s nuts.
But then they’d arrive at a massive road block in the form of Big Red’s biggest nemesis, the Burnt Orange of Texas. You know, the bully that has turned back Nebraska’s dreams in, well, almost everything for the better part of 25 years.
A loss to the Longhorns was a formality, but I simply hoped it wouldn’t be a bloodbath.
To add to the disheartening nature of the season, the lineup was a mess. A multi-time All-American was benched for an underperforming freshman, then wasn’t, then was again. One volleyball fan in my house questioned the intelligence of such a move. What an idiot that guy turned out to be.
The match finally arrived at bed time. Nebraska sputtered for about two minutes, then immediately started kicking butt. What is this? Is this Husker joy? Can’t be. That is not allowed. Something bad is going to happen.
Sure enough, the Huskers coughed up a huge lead in the second and gagged the match away. Wait. I’m checking the tape. That…didn’t happen? The Longhorns made the critical mistake and lost? Hmmm.
Oh but Nebraska did gag away the lead and lost the third and gave up one of those “reverse sweep” things, a term I had never heard in my life only to have it repeated on my television 4 bazillion times over three days. Side note: I watch too much volleyball. Hold on. My eyes are again telling me that didn’t happen. A tough officiating call went against the other guy? Nebraska benefitted? Now this is foolishness. The Huskers closed it out? Big Red did indeed.
I couldn’t believe it. I just sat there, watching some random high school basketball game that ESPN jumped to in lieu of any postgame coverage or recap.
Husker joy. It had been a while. And it seems as always that John Cook is about the only one that can deliver it. It was such a momentous win that many of my Husker volleyball fanfriends feel like the National Championship is already won. Don’t pour the after-dinner sherry just yet. Yes, Pittsburgh is new to this “being good at volleyball” thing, but they are, indeed, really good. Win that one and either Louisville, who embarrassed Nebraska in the Devaney Center three months ago, or Wisconsin, who has beaten Nebraska seven-straight times, awaits. That’s still a mountain to climb. But the Huskers have a chance and are still playing, thanks to incredible play from a freshman libero, some wicked serving from a defensive specialist whose first name I can’t pronounce, masterful performances from a couple freshmen who now can’t find a moment too big for them and our old standbys who have been here and done that.
There’s not been much joy in Huskerville, but the master delivered a healthy dose of it Saturday night. Grab onto it with both hands and don’t let go, then let’s see what they’ve got for an encore this weekend.
