‘Volleyball Day’ in US sets women’s sports attendance world record at 92,003
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Nebraska Cornhuskers's Lexi Rodriguez and Merritt Beason run out of the tunnel before the match against the Omaha Mavericks at Memorial Stadium.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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LOS ANGELES – The biggest crowd ever to watch a women’s sporting event jammed the University of Nebraska’s Memorial Stadium on Wednesday, as 92,003 turned out for the Huskers’ victory over Omaha in their volleyball clash.
The announced attendance figure surpassed the previous world-record crowd of 91,648, set in Barcelona’s Nou Camp on April 22, 2022 at a Women’s Champions League football match between Barcelona and Wolfsburg.
Wednesday’s feat was also the largest crowd in the 100-year history of the Memorial Stadium in Lincoln – usually the home of Nebraska’s American football team.
The outdoor stadium has a listed capacity of 85,458, but attendances have exceeded 90,000 in the past.
Nebraska Athletic Department officials had history on their minds when they announced the unique “Volleyball Day” event in February.
Husker volleyball coach John Cook and Nebraska state governor Jim Pillen sported cowboy hats as they stood alongside university athletic director Trev Alberts and outlined the plan.
“We’re going to do this once,” Alberts said. “And I want to hope that the number is large enough that nobody dares even try to attack our all-time record.”
The event, in which the Huskers swept Omaha 25-14, 25-14, 25-13, easily set a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) women’s volleyball attendance record, beating the previous mark of 18,755 set at the 2021 national championship match between Wisconsin and Nebraska in Columbus, Ohio.
It also topped the previous record for a women’s event in the United States – the 90,185 who attended the Women’s World Cup final between the US and China at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, on July 10, 1999.
"I've probably cried five times today. It's been a very emotional day," Cook, who has led Nebraska to four NCAA championships, told a news conference.
"We took a chance by playing in Memorial Stadium and to go for the record and break it. I don't think anybody could have envisioned that when this whole thing started. It feels like a great accomplishment."
Nebraska announced the attendance figure after the second set, drawing a raucous response from the crowd.
One fan waved a handmade sign bearing the message “Beat the Record”.
The university also said the team have sold out 306 consecutive regular-season matches, although Wednesday's event will not count towards that streak since it was not held at their home arena.
Nebraska, a member of the Big Ten Conference, have led the US in attendance every season since 2013, and been involved in eight of the top nine crowds in NCAA volleyball history. AFP, REUTERS
