Story by UNK Athletic Communications
A week after taking a part in a world record for attendance at a women's sporting event, the now 10th-ranked Nebraska Kearney volleyball team got back the Division II regular season match attendance record Wednesday night against Peru State. A crowd of 4,003 bests the 3,888 fans that watched Alaska-Anchorage sweep visiting Central Washington last November. That tally had beaten UNK's record of 3,520, set in 1996 vs. Nebraska-Omaha. "Sitting on the bench before the match with Coach (Samantha) Hammond, I said 'The last time I looked around and saw this you were playing," said head coach Rick Squiers and referring to the 2005 NCAA Elite Eight. "It was a lot like that…the lines going out the door. I normally stay in my office until about 10 or 15 minutes before game time but three or four times, I peeked through a side door to see what was happening.” This is the 35th all-time Loper crowd of at least 2,000 with UNK and the Health & Sports Center now having the top four crowds in D2 history (regular season and postseason included; see below). "You never just never know. I was hopeful…when I saw the line and people were getting here a little bit early, I knew we had a chance," said Squiers. "Unbelievable and hats off to Loper Nation. They were competitive enough to want to be number one (again) and we are." For the first time since the 2007 NCAA Central Regional, action was played at center court instead of the usual horseshoe environment. An excited and boisterous crowd watched the Bobcats (5-5) battled the Lopers (5-0) in each set. Both teams used its bench liberally, Peru sending 16 players onto the court and UNK using 17. Per NAIA rules, this was an exhibition match for the 'Cats. "A lot of our fans were in Lincoln (last Wednesday) and they just love volleyball. We called on them and they responded," said Squiers. "This was the first opportunity (to get the record back) and we wanted to take full advantage of this being the home opener." UNK out hit PSC by a .239-.000 margin while also serving up nine aces and recording six blocks. Peru did have three stuffs, three aces and took advantage of 16 unforced Loper attack errors. The Blue & Gold needed veterans Peyton Neff (North Platte) and Lauren Taubeheim (Lincoln Pius) to enter the match in the third set with the score 18-13 in favor of Peru. UNK promptly closed on a 12-3 run with a Taubenheim ace starting the big spurt. "Five matches into the season and it already feels like we've done some amazing things but we still got most of it left," said Squiers. "Some really interesting and lasting experiences that I think our student-athletes will remember forever." Nine Lopers were between three-nine seven kills with David City right side Lauren Vandenberg and Kansas sophomore Emilee Lane tied for the lead. Next, Neff (21) and Henderson junior Rhianna Wilhelm (13) combined for 34 aces with Minden redshirt junior Jensen Rowse having team-bests in aces (three) and digs (10). Finally, Vandenberg and Dannebrog middle Sydney Davis had two blocks apiece. Peru was paced by libero Chantal Paniagua (10 digs) and Papillion freshman Shealie Wiebers (seven kills). UNK heads to Colorado Springs tomorrow and has two matches both Friday and Saturday. Attendance Numbers
- Grand Valley State (12/3/05) ... 5,025 - NCAA National Championship (Overall Division II record)
- Truman State (12/1/05) ... 4,412 – NCAA National Quarterfinal
- Cal State Los Angeles (12/2/05) ... 4,331 – NCAA National Semifinal
- Peru State (9/6/23) ... 4,033 (New Division II regular season record)
- Central Washington @ Alaska-Anchorage (11/5/22) ... 3,888 (Old Division II regular season record)
- Nebraska-Omaha (10/15/96) ... 3,520 (Division II record regular season record from 1996-2022)