Nebraska

[1bunnies]

It's official. SDSU will travel south and play the University of Nebraska in the 1st round of the NCAA Tourney. Go Jacks.

[Jack4Life]

Re: Nebraska

Do we know date and time?

[1bunnies]

Re: Nebraska

I have not heard the time or date, only that Nebraska likes to play on Fri./Sat. nights in the first rounds. The other two teams in Lincon will be Wichita State and western Kentucky. My guess is that we will play the late game the first day.

[JimmyJack]

Re: Nebraska

Watched the selection show on ESPNU. All I can say is wow, those top-seeded teams are unbelievably athletic.

[thebluehatman]

Re: Nebraska

Friday night Jacks fans. Let's scoop up tickets now.

[1bunnies]

Re: Nebraska

Nebraska's website says that both the 1st and 2nd rounds in Lincoln are sold out. They said more tickets might be available later depending on the other competing schools and how many of their alloted tickets are returned.

[JackFan96]

Re: Nebraska

So this is what's it's like to be a 16 seed in the national tourney, eh? Anybody know where we go shopping for glass slippers?

[JimmieTuba]

Re: Nebraska

I hope they are one of the games on ESPNU. Going to set the DVR to record with my fingers crossed.

[jackmd]

Re: Nebraska

Does the athletic dept have any tickets available for fans/alumni? I could probably make a run down to Lincoln on Friday night if I can get a ticket. I plan to be in Brookings Saturday night for the BB game.

[Rabbitlivinginverm]

Re: Nebraska

Does the athletic dept have any tickets available for fans/alumni? I could probably make a run down to Lincoln on Friday night if I can get a ticket. I plan to be in Brookings Saturday night for the BB game.

Just talked to the ticket office. It's not looking good for getting tickets. Team members family will get first pick and then the left over (if there is any) will be sold through gojacks.com. More information should come later today. We'll see.

[NorCalJack]

Re: Nebraska

Here is Terry's article about the NCAA tourney and SDSU's first round match-up.

In the first NCAA Division I team championship appearance in school history in any sport, the South Dakota State University volleyball team will play defending national champion Nebraska at 7 p.m. Friday in Lincoln before the 105th consecutive sellout crowd at the Coliseum.

Welcome to the big time, Jacks.

"It's an opportunity for us to play in an environment like that and gain experience," SDSU coach Andrew Palileo said after the pairings were announced live on ESPNU on Sunday night. "At the same time, it's good exposure for our university and good exposure for our program. A lot of great volleyball players in the state of Nebraska will get to see South Dakota State, and we're not that far away."
In proximity, that is.

The No. 2-ranked Cornhuskers (27-1) shared the Big 12 title with Texas - their 10th in 12 years - and earned the conference's automatic bid into the field of 64 by virtue of a tiebreaker. Not that they wouldn't have gotten in as an at-large anyway.
Meanwhile, SDSU is in only its fourth season of Division I and its second year of postseason eligibility as one of two programs chosen by the reclassifying school to earn that status early. The Jackrabbits (25-10) gained entry into the NCAAs by winning the Summit League tournament two weeks ago after winning the conference's regular-season title. But the Jacks may have been sent to Lincoln because of two losses against non-tournament teams Saturday in Milwaukee.

The tournament selection committee seeds the top 16 teams and tries to balance the rest of the bracket based on standing and proximity to potential host sites. There are seven teams in the tournament with a lower RPI than No. 130 SDSU, and all of them wound up with easier draws - relatively speaking. And No. 129 Albany will face No. 99 Cleveland State.

What's more, the Summit League representative - either Oral Roberts or Valparaiso each of the previous 14 years - hasn't been forced to face a team seeded higher than ninth since 2001.
"I thought if we would have won (Saturday) and made it in at 27-8 we had an opportunity to stay away from Nebraska," said Palileo, whose program reached the Division II title match in 2001. "But at the same time it's so regional that maybe (the tournament committee was) going to put us there and it was a matter of whether or not we played Nebraska in the first round."

Read the entire article here.

http://www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs...711260328/1002

On a side note, we really should click on these links that pertain to articles from Terry. I'm sure that the Argus Leader keeps track of how many hits each article gets and the more hits they get the bigger Terry's budget for covering games and more coverage SDSU will get with the Argus. If for no other reason than to support Terry's efforts in covering SDSU athletics.

Go State!!!
Go Terry!!!

[thebluehatman]

Re: Nebraska

Jacks get 150 tickets it sounds like.

[HoboD]

Re: Nebraska

Here is article from NU website regarding the Coliseum where volleyball is played. Only 4030 seats.


"Former Head Coach Terry Pettit built the Nebraska volleyball program brick by brick for 23 seasons. While the Husker helm is now manned by Head Coach John Cook, Nebraska’s tradition of excellence has continued to reach new heights with the help of one of the greatest home-court advantages in collegiate volleyball, the Nebraska Coliseum.

During the Pettit/Cook era, the Huskers have qualified for 24 consecutive NCAA Tournaments on the NU Coliseum floor. Cook credited the NU Coliseum crowd with willing the Huskers to a come-from-behind, 3-2 win over South Carolina in the 2000 NCAA second round. During his tenure, Pettit was always quick to point out that part of Nebraska’s solid foundation came from fantastic facilities, specifically its home court in the 4,030-seat Nebraska Coliseum.

“Winston Churchill said ‘in the beginning, we build buildings. In the end, we are shaped by the buildings we live in.’ I think the Coliseum shapes Nebraska volleyball,” Pettit said. “It’s an environment that creates intimacy. It’s a classic structure and in a lot of ways reflects what the Nebraska program is all about.”

The Coliseum, which sits nestled on the University campus, is a beautiful display of architecture highlighted by its powerful Roman columns gracing the front steps. But while it’s beauty is appreciated by Husker players, coaches and fans, it is one of the most-dreaded places for opponents to play in the sport of volleyball, and arguably one of the toughest places to play in college athletics.

Nebraska volleyball has had unmatched success in the confines of the cozy Coliseum, posting 12 undefeated seasons and compiling an all-time record of 419-30 (.933) under its roof. During the 1990s, Nebraska posted a record of 142-6 in the Coliseum.

While these numbers are impressive, the Big 12 and former Big Eight members managed even fewer wins. That’s because Nebraska doesn’t lose to conference opponents in the Coliseum.

Only three times in 29 years of regular-season Big Eight/Big 12 play has a conference opponent ever won on the Coliseum floor. In fact, during that time, only three conference opponents have managed to win in Lincoln. Nebraska suffered its first-ever regular-season loss to a conference foe in 1999, falling to Kansas State, 15-9, 16-14, 16-18, 7-15, 15-17, on Sept. 22, snapping a streak of 101 consecutive wins against regular-season conference opponents. Nebraska then won 44 straight Big 12 matches at home before suffering a loss to Kansas State in 2003. The Huskers have lost only two Big 12 matches at home under John Cook.

Pettit said the home-court advantage is most valuable during its long, hard-fought battles.

“The home crowd was a big advantage when we were fatigued or drained in the middle of a four- or five-game match,” Pettit said. “The players used the energy and electricity from the fans to pull them through difficult stretches. I don’t think that it’s as big an advantage against the elite teams, but it definitely makes a difference.”

Nebraska has used that success at home to propel it through the NCAA Tournament.

The Huskers have hosted an NCAA Tournament match every season since 1984 and have capitalized on each opportunity by compiling a 41-3 playoff record in the stoic building. And Nebraska fans have been rewarded by seeing all of the Huskers’ NCAA regional championships won on their home court.

Nebraska carried a 65-match Coliseum win streak into the 1999 season, but suffered a loss to No. 6 Pacific in the State Farm/NACWAA Classic semifinal. In 2002, the Huskers carried a 63-match home winning streak into its NCAA regional final match against Hawaii, but fell, 3-1.
The win streaks are a direct result of Nebraska’s frenzied crowds that routinely jam the building’s bleachers. The Huskers finished second nationally in attendance in 2005 with a Coliseum average attendance of 4,124, a total that is 102 percent of the Coliseum's capacity.

“To appreciate the athleticism and the speed of the game, you have to be down close and the Coliseum provides that intimate setting," Cook said about the atmosphere of the Coliseum

Fans have been known to line up as much as four to five hours in advance to see their Husker volleyball team in action. During the 2000 season, fans set an NCAA regular-season attendance mark of 12,504 for a match against Colorado in the Bob Devaney Sports Center. Nebraska has averaged more than 3,000 fans for 12 of the past 14 seasons.

The Coliseum’s roots go back to the 1920s when it was the home for the Husker basketball team. NU’s cagers played on its hardwood floors from 1926 to 1977, when the construction on the Bob Devaney Sports Center was completed.

Since then, the volleyball team has been its lone tenant. In 1991, the Huskers had a one-year hiatus from the Coliseum while the building was being renovated and tailored for volleyball. The renovation provided a more comfortable atmosphere for players, coaches and fans. Among the additions were a new sound system, scoreboard, overhead lights and a new floor. Offices for coaches and administrators, as well as a conference/media room, were constructed for a better working environment. In 1997, the Husker locker room and ready room underwent a complete facelift. Then, before the 2001 season, HuskerVision replay screens and Daktronics statistics boards were added at both ends of the court.

The most recent additions to the Coliseum were completed in 2003, when the floor was resurfaced and murals of the four Husker retired jerseys were placed in the rafters, and in 2004, when a ring of honor celebrating all of Nebraska's All-Americans and national award winners were added along the court.

In 2005, Nebraska became one of the first college volleyball programs to add premium endline seats, with more than 60 seats added to give Husker fans an up close view of courtside action at the NU Coliseum."

[JACKGUYII]

Re: Nebraska

This kind of facility made me think about the Barn. Could it be made into an intimate facility like the Coliseum or is it cost prohibitive. I know there is a lot of sentimental feelings about the Barn, but wonder if it doesn't get renovated should it be torn down? Probably a discussion for another thread.

[HoboD]

Re: Nebraska

Ive been in the NU Coliseum and it is remanicent of the Barn.