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Big Ten Releases Volleyball Schedule


knapplc

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Here we go.

 

Big Ten Releases Volleyball Schedule

 

Nebraska opens the season at Indiana on Jan. 22 and 23. The Huskers then return home to take on Northwestern (Jan. 29-30) and Maryland (Feb. 5-6) before traveling to New Jersey to face Rutgers on Feb. 12 and Feb. 13. The next week, the Huskers host Minnesota on Feb. 19 and Feb. 21 before heading to Wisconsin to take on the Badgers on Feb. 26 and Feb. 27. 
 
The Huskers open the month of March with an away series against Illinois (March 5-6). On March 13-14, NU hosts Ohio State. The following week, Nebraska will play Iowa in a two-game series where each team gets a home match. The match on March 17 will be in Iowa City while the match on March 20 will be in Lincoln. Nebraska finishes the month in Ann Arbor when it competes against Michigan on March 26 and 27. The Huskers finish the regular-season at home against Penn State on April 1 and 2.
 
"We are so excited to finally know the who, where and when of our schedule for spring of 2021," Head Coach John Cook said. "The Big Ten and coaches worked hard to come up with a fair and competitive schedule for everyone. Playing the same team back to back will really bring out the best in teams and coaches. Husker Nation will be fired up to watch Big Ten volleyball. 

 

"There is no room for error or playing into the season. This schedule is like riding a horse in the Kentucky Derby. Get out of the gate and hang on for a wild ride."
 
2020-21 Nebraska Volleyball Schedule
Week 1: Nebraska at Indiana (Friday, Jan. 22)
Week 1: Nebraska at Indiana (Saturday, Jan. 23)
 
Week 2: Nebraska vs. Northwestern (Friday, Jan. 29)
Week 2: Nebraska vs. Northwestern (Saturday, Jan. 30)
 
Week 3: Nebraska vs. Maryland (Friday, Feb. 5)
Week 3: Nebraska vs. Maryland (Saturday, Feb. 6)
 
Week 4: Nebraska at Rutgers (Friday, Feb. 12)
Week 4: Nebraska at Rutgers (Saturday, Feb. 13)
 
Week 5: Nebraska vs. Minnesota (Friday, Feb. 19)
Week 5: Nebraska vs. Minnesota (Sunday, Feb. 21)
 
Week 6: Nebraska at Wisconsin (Friday, Feb. 26)
Week 6: Nebraska at Wisconsin (Saturday, Feb. 27)
 
Week 7: Nebraska at Illinois (Friday, March 5)
Week 7: Nebraska at Illinois (Saturday, March 6)
 
Week 8: Nebraska vs. Ohio State (Saturday, March 13)
Week 8: Nebraska vs. Ohio State (Sunday, March 14)
 
Week 9: Nebraska at Iowa (Wednesday, March 17)
Week 9: Nebraska vs. Iowa (Saturday, March 20)
 
Week 10: Nebraska at Michigan (Friday, March 26)
Week 10: Nebraska at Michigan (Saturday, March 27)
 
Week 11: Nebraska vs. Penn State (Thursday, April 1)
Week 11: Nebraska vs. Penn State (Friday, April 2)
 
NCAA Tournament 
First & Second Rounds: Thursday, April 8 - Saturday, April 10
 
NCAA Regionals: Thursday, April 15 -  Saturday, April 17
 
NCAA Semifinals: Thursday, April 22
 
NCAA Final: Saturday, April 24

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The schedule is out, and the anxiety is relieved to a certain extent. It also is a marker that the volleyball season is one step closer to reality, although it doesn’t take an eidetic memory to recall that the B1G cancelled football within days or releasing its schedule. Hopefully those in power have learned something from the disastrous response to the football season.

It appears that Nebraska, again, got a slightly favorable draw in the scheduling process. Nebraska had a schedule disadvantage in 2017 and 2018, but was redeemed somewhat in 2019 by only playing Penn State and Minnesota once. If you limit the discussion to the Big Four (Nebraska, Minnesota, Penn State, and Wisconsin), this season the Huskers are the ones to host 4 of the 6 matches (Minnesota and Penn State) being played amongst the four teams. Minnesota & Wisconsin are an even split at 3 home, 3 away since their home and home ‘rivalry’ match is against each other, and Penn State only hosts Wisconsin while playing the Gophers and the Big Red on the road.

Additionally, the Huskers avoid Purdue which appears to be clearly the next best unit after the Big Four and the only team to beat the Huskers last season that didn’t play in the National Title game. They also don’t face Michigan State which I had in a group just below Purdue and a contender for a tournament berth, but based on AVCA rankings that just came out, I may have to reassess. In contrast, the other Big Four contenders miss the following opponents on their schedule:

 

Wisconsin: Ohio State, Maryland
Minnesota: Indiana, Rutgers
Penn State: Northwestern, Iowa

 

Nebraska starts out by playing some middle to lower tier teams in the conference (Indiana, Northwestern, Maryland, Rutgers) which should allow team skills and chemistry to develop and mature prior to the showdowns with Minnesota and Wisconsin in back-to-back weekends.

 

This is all said with the understanding that, at least initially, home court this season doesn’t have the value it would normally. Still overall, the scheduling benefit, however slight, is with the Huskers.

 

Looking forward to the matches and the high level of play that typifies the B1G. I may even invest in B1G plus subscription to garner more contests to watch (I still enjoy listening to the John Baylor play-by-play call and commentary on the Husker website).

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  • 3 weeks later...

Undertow, at first I was hesitant of buying B1G+, but after seeing I could buy just the volleyball, I think it was well worth it. Watching the rest of the B1G without having to go thru the commercials is a plus. 

 

Do miss the fans being in the stands and hoping its only this season. I do believe that the rest of the teams should at least follow Indiana's concept and allow 2 family members of each player so there is some type of cheering going on. 

 

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