Nebraska Opens the Renovated John Cook Arena with a Party in Front of a Record Crowd

It’s hard to have a much better home opener than Nebraska had Thursday evening. 

Bergen Reilly served a 10-0 run to start the match against New Mexico, and the good vibes didn’t stop until Gabby DiVita recorded her first career kill on match point. 

The top-ranked Huskers hosted a party in the newly remodeled John Cook Arena and set a new attendance record of 10,497 as they earned a 25-12, 25-13, 25-15 sweep over New Mexico.

This was the first match in which Reilly was the first Husker to attempt a serve. Previously, either Teraya Sigler or Olivia Mauch had gone to the end line first. Reilly rewarded the move as she frustrated the Lobo serve reception and also recorded an ace. 

“We started in that rotation to get her serving first to see how it went,” NU coach Dani Busboom Kelly said. “I guess it went pretty well.”

Sigler said the big lead to start the match was “fire.” When told who went on the service run, she responded, “Of course she did.” 

The scoring streak was Reilly’s second such run of 10 points this season as she broke open the first set against Texas from the service line. Reilly finished the match with 22 assists, seven digs, a block and an ace. She helped the Huskers hit .355 during her two sets on the court. 

Sigler said she wasn’t surprised her senior setter helped the Huskers get off to a good start because she’s good at every skill on the court, and they see it every day in practice. The sophomore outside hitter said Reilly is an amazing defender, server, blocker, attacker and leader, on top of her running the offense. 

“Bergen’s just a phenomenal all-around player. There’s not a skill that Bergen isn’t good at. I think that’s what sets her apart of most setters,” Sigler said. “Bergen’s just the GOAT.” 

Behind Reilly and sophomore Campbell Flynn, who tallied 10 assists in the third set, the Huskers (5-0)  hit .356 for the match with a balanced attack. 

Sigler and sophomore middle blocker Manaia Ogbechie led the team with nine kills — the second time this season no one has reached double-digit kills. Harper Murray added nine kills while Virginia Adriano and Andi Jackson finished with seven kills each. 

Flynn, Skyler Pierce and DiVita all recorded one kill while just playing the third set. Mauch led the defense with 11 digs while Choboy added five digs and two aces. Ogbechie was in on five of the the Huskers' seven blocks. 

The energy was high the entire match as the Huskers limited New Mexico (2-4) to a .046 hitting percentage. NU outblocked the Lobos 7-1 and recorded six aces while just giving up one. 

Busboom Kelly said she liked how the Huskers didn’t let up even when they were fully in control of the match. They kept the pressure on New Mexico and didn’t allow them to score more than three points in a row. 

“The easiest time to kill an alligator is right after they eat, because they’re satisfied,” Busboom Kelly said. “We just have to continue to be hungry all the time, no matter who we’re playing, where, and what time of the season it is, or what time of day.”

Sigler said one way they are keeping their level of play high is by celebrating each teammate’s accomplishments and the hard work they put in. 

The celebration continued until DiVita terminated an out-of-system assist from defensive specialist Keri Leimbach for the final point. Three-time All-American Harper Murray ran straight to DiVita — who played at the same club as her in Michigan — embraced her, and they jumped around in joy.

Sigler said she was happy to see DiVita swing hard on the play after her pass wasn’t perfect. She said the freshman outside hitter can be hard on herself, but she puts the work in during practice. 

“I’m so beyond proud of her for just taking a big rip, and look where it got her,” Sigler said. “I love Gabby.”

The Huskers opened their renovated home arena with a few new twists on the game day experience. NU started the match using the bench on the east side of the arena for the first time in Devaney Center history. The student section was all gathered in one section behind them as well. 

“Everything is new, so we still have to get used to all the energy,” Adriano said. “The atmosphere was super cool. The lights, the smoke at the beginning, and the fans. Obviously, we have more fans now, so it’s even better than last year and the years before.”

Nebraska hosted a crowd of more than 10,000 on its home court for the first time since 2010, when the Devaney Center was still primarily a basketball arena. Overall, this match was the eighth time Nebraska has played in front of more than 10,000 fans at the Devaney Center, with the record set at 13,870 against UCLA in 2009. 

When they moved to the arena full-time in 2013, the capacity was around 8,000. The previous record for the volleyball-renovated arena was set against Wisconsin in 2023 with 9,198 fans.

Busboom Kelly said she couldn’t tell if the energy was different than previous games, but she expects it to rise to another level when the Huskers play No. 20 Baylor on Friday night. 

“It obviously looked great, felt great, everything was awesome about being back here,” she said.