“I asked Jamie Gordon (AVCA CEO)… I had coffee with him this morning, and I said, ‘What do you think about all this?’ He goes, ‘This all started with a stadium match,'” John Cook told Hail Varsity. Cook was referring to the Huskers’ record-setting August 2023 match at Memorial Stadium. Two years down the line, the ripple effects of Volleyball Day continue to push stars like Harper Murray to new heights.

The 2023 Memorial Stadium match made Nebraska the symbol of college volleyball. But it wasn’t just that. The Huskers continued to set viewership records, with last year’s semifinal between Nebraska and Penn State becoming the most-watched in college volleyball history. So after Cook watched the Huskers kick off the 2025 season inside a sold-out Pinnacle Bank Arena, he felt like it was an NBA game.

However, it began with Harper Murray’s landmark deal with Adidas. Nebraska celebrated it by projecting Murray’s image on the Love Library’s south face for hours. “Yeah, it’s unbelievable. It’s awesome. I was downtown this morning, and I see that all over. I saw it on Love Library, and I just feel like Michael Jordan’s here,” John Cook told Ana Bellinghausen about NLU’s tribute to Harper Murray.

That feeling only intensified as Cook watched the 15,200+ capacity fill up with volleyball fans. “I mean, that’s what it feels like. It feels like the NBA is here,” the former Huskers head coach said after the game. The fact that Harper Murray led the Huskers with 15 kills, and Pinnacle Bank Arena is Nebraska basketball’s home turf, only made the Michael Jordan comparison more fitting.

Then again, even after his retirement, John Cook was instrumental in making the 2025 AVCA First Serve a success. Yet, even Cook couldn’t foresee this becoming such an immense success. “It’s exceeded my expectations when we talked about this originally a year ago,” the 69-year-old told Hail Varsity. With that out of the way, Nebraska’s star power wasn’t the only highlight of the night.

The Dani Busboom Era has officially begun

For the Huskers’ new head coach, Dani Busboom Kelly, months of preparation and speculation led to this monumental game. Stepping into the shoes of 4x national title winner John Cook was no easy task. On top of that, he was her mentor as a student athlete and an assistant coach. So, despite sweeping Kansas and Illinois during the two spring games, the pressure was immense.

John Cook understood what his successor was going through. So before making his way to the game, the Omaha Supernova’s GM reached out. “I sent her a text last night, and I just told her to enjoy it because I know she’s feeling pressure,” the former AVCA Coach of the Year revealed during his chat with Hail Varsity. So imagine the relief when the Huskers shut down Pitt Volleyball.

Despite a tough challenge from the No. 3 Panthers, the preseason No. 1 team lived up to the hype, with the Huskers beating Pitt 3-1. 2024 player of the year Olivia Babcock proved hard to hold back as she notched 21 kills. However, Murray’s 15 kills combined with MVP Andi Jackson’s 10 kills and 8 blocks helped Nebraska balance things. The rest of the team showed up as well.

Rebekah Allick and Taylor Landfair proved versatile in both offense and defense, with Bergen Reilly and Laney Choboy leading the defense. In fact, Reilly, who was having some setting trouble during the Red-White and Alumni Scrimmages, delivered a double-double in the win. While this was just the start, it might be safe to say that John Cook has left Nebraska in worthy hands.