LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska's fight song begins, “There is no place like Nebraska.” When it comes to volleyball, those words never rang more true than Wednesday night.

The Cornhuskers laid claim to the world record for largest attendance at a women's sporting event with 92,003 filling Memorial Stadium for their volleyball match against Omaha.

The university took aim at the record last spring when it announced it would hold a daylong celebration of a sport that enjoys immense popularity in this state of fewer than 2 million.

The event began with an exhibition between in-state Division II powers Nebraska-Kearney and Wayne State and was followed by the Huskers' three-set sweep of Omaha in a regular-season match. Country artist Scotty McCreery performed afterward.

The previous attendance record was 91,648, set during a Champions League soccer match when Barcelona defeated Real Madrid 5-2 at the Camp Nou Stadium in 2022.

Memorial Stadium's official capacity is just over 85,000 for football, but that number was higher for this event because there were seats and standing room on the field.

Fans in red and white started their tailgate parties outside the stadium hours before first serve of an exhibition Wayne State won in three sets. The stadium was one-quarter full at the start of that match and gradually filled to capacity as players for Omaha and Nebraska were warming up.

There was a flyover during the national anthem and, minutes before first serve, coach John Cook led his Huskers into the stadium to the Tunnel Walk, the longtime tradition of the football team. Synchronized chants of “Go Big Red!” were heard all around.

Conditions were near perfect: 83 degrees, clear skies and a south wind listed at 4-mph at court level with gusts.

Though 91,648 was widely acknowledged as the women’s sports attendance record, at least one match at the unofficial 1971 Women’s World Cup in Mexico City reportedly drew 110,000 people.

The American record attendance for a women’s sporting event had been 90,185 for the 1999 World Cup soccer final between the United States and China at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California — the game where Brandi Chastain ripped off her shirt after scoring the decisive penalty shot for the U.S. win.

The NCAA does not track attendance across all sports, but associate director of media coordination and statistics Jeff Williams said a crowd of 90,000-plus was easily among the largest for a non-football game. A 2010 outdoor hockey game between Michigan and Michigan State at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor drew more than 113,000 fans.

A message seeking comment from officials of Guinness World Records was not immediately returned.

Nebraska has sold out 306 consecutive regular-season matches (Wednesday's event won't count toward the streak because it is not being held on the team's Devaney Center court). The Huskers have led the nation in attendance every season since 2013, and eight of the top nine crowds in NCAA volleyball history are matches that have involved Nebraska.

Nebraska has won five national championships in volleyball, and its program is one of the few in Division I women's sports that turns a profit — $1 million last year, according to athletic department CFO Doug Ewald.

“This is a statement on Title IX, and having two daughters of my own, what Title IX has done for women's sports is huge,” fan Troy Pfannenstiel of Omaha said before the matches.

Chancellor Rodney Bennett canceled classes for the day. Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti was on hand, as was Gov. Jim Pillen. So were Husker volleyball players who were part of iconic coach Terry Pettit's teams over four decades. High school teams from across a state stretching 430 miles border to border were excused from classes to attend.

There are 75 women from the state of Nebraska who are on Division I volleyball rosters this season. At 44 players per million in population, the state trails only Hawaii (67 per million) in Division I players produced per capita, according to volleyball statistician and historian Rich Kern of RichKern.com.

Volleyball has surpassed basketball as the No. 1 girls high school team sport in the United States. It’s long been No. 1 in Nebraska.

About 7,000 girls play high school volleyball in the state. Volleyball has been played in varying forms in Nebraska since the early 1900s. For many years, girls volleyball matches were warmup acts for boys basketball games. Volleyball became a sanctioned sport in 1972 and took off in the late 1970s when Pettit invited many of the state’s high school coaches to work at his camps in Lincoln.

Pettit also conducted so-called “satellite” clinics in small towns across the state. In a place where boys grow up dreaming of becoming Cornhusker football players, many girls are equally passionate about some day playing volleyball for a Nebraska team that annually ranks among the nation’s elite.

Ella Beck, 10, came with a group from tiny Pierce to see her first college volleyball match and root for her favorite player, setter Lexi Rodriguez.

Neveah Kehr, 10, came with her mom, Nicki, from Bismarck, North Dakota, to be part of the event. Nicki graduated from Nebraska, and she brought up her daughter watching the Huskers on television.

Neveah wore the No. 5 jersey of middle blocker Bekka Allick at a pep rally before the matches and, with more than 1,000 fans cheering, was invited to walk to where the players stood and was introduced to the woman she called her idol.

Neveah teared up, and Bekka gave her a hug.

HUSKERS SWEEP OMAHA IN FRONT OF RECORD CROWD

By: NU Athletic Communications

Lincoln - The Nebraska volleyball team delighted a crowd of more than 92,000 by never trailing during a 3-0 sweep of Omaha on Wednesday night in an outdoor match at Memorial Stadium.

While Nebraska (4-0) was dominant in its fourth straight sweep to start the season, it was Husker Nation who stole the show on Volleyball Day in Nebraska. The announced crowd of 92,003 surpassed the previous world record crowd for a women’s sporting event of 91,648 fans for a 2022 soccer match between Barcelona and Wolfsburg. Nebraska also drew the largest crowd in the 100-year history of Memorial Stadium for Wednesday’s match.

In a day of celebration for Nebraska’s affinity for the sport, the Huskers’ dominant performance was yet another reason why There is No Place Like Nebraska when it comes to volleyball.

Nebraska won all three sets by double digits in its 25-14, 25-14, 25-13 sweep. The Huskers hit .263 for the match while holding Omaha (0-3) to a -.080 attack percentage. Nebraska’s defense limited the Mavericks to only 18 kills on 88 attacks. The Huskers recorded seven blocks while forcing Omaha into 25 attack errors.

Seven Huskers had multiple kills on the historic night. Andi Jackson led the way with eight kills on 12 swings, while Harper Murray put down six kills on 15 swings. Lindsay Krause added five kills on 13 swings. Bergen Reilly had 19 assists, seven digs and three kills while Merritt Beason had eight digs, four blocks and a pair of aces to go along with three kills. Lexi Rodriguez added 15 digs and three service aces.

Set One: Nebraska used a 6-0 run to break an early tie and grab a 10-4 lead. Murray and Krause contributed to the lead by combining for six kills on seven swings. The teams traded sideouts until a Murray ace forced Omaha to call its second timeout with the Huskers on top 15-8. Nebraska then went on a 6-1 spurt to take a 23-10 lead en route to a 25-14 win. Nebraska hit .286 in the opening set while limiting Omaha to a .034 mark. Nebraska’s freshmen combined for seven of the Huskers’ 11 kills in set one – on only 15 swings – while Krause added the other four kills on just seven swings. NU also had three service aces and Rodriguez recorded five digs.

Set Two: Set two was similar to set one, as it was tied early until Nebraska won six straight rallies to take a 10-4 lead and force an Omaha timeout. The Huskers won four of the six rallies after the timeout before the Mavericks called another timeout at 14-6. Nebraska’s lead quickly grew to double digits, and the Huskers closed out a 25-14 on Jackson’s fourth kill of the set and seventh of the match (on 10 swings). NU hit .229 in the second set but the Husker defense limited Omaha to a -.048 attack percentage, as the Mavericks had only six kills on 42 swings with eight errors, including three Nebraska blocks.

Set Three: Nebraska led 5-2 early in set three before Omaha quickly cut the lead to one. But the Huskers answered with a 5-0 run to take a 12-6 lead, as the Mavericks called a timeout. UNO pulled to within four at 15-11 before Nebraska won nine of the final 11 rallies to close out the match with a 25-13 win on a Maggie Mendelson kill.  

Up Next: Nebraska plays its first road match of the season on Sunday, when the Huskers travel to Manhattan, Kansas, to take on the Kansas State Wildcats. First serve is set for 4 p.m. and the match will be streamed on ESPN+ with radio coverage provided by the Huskers Radio Network.