If each of the seeded teams in the NCAA volleyball tournament win in the first and second round, one section of the bracket for the regional week will be the bracket of champions.
And that’s the group Nebraska would have to emerge from to make a return trip to the NCAA Final Four.
Also in that bracket is Texas, Kentucky and Washington, meaning three of the champions from the Power 5 conferences are each in the same region.
Of course, few people ever think the bracket made by the NCAA selection committee is perfect. And Nebraska would probably be just as mad if it were placed in the same region as Wisconsin after finishing second to the Badgers in the Big Ten standings.
Nebraska coach John Cook says it’s probably tough for the champions of those conferences to see they are in the same bracket as two other conference champions, and also Nebraska.
“I don’t know if (the selection committee’s) job is to do us favors,†said Cook on Tuesday during the Nebraska volleyball radio show. “Their job is to put together an equitable, fair tournament. And I’m a little confused in our bracket they have the Pac-12 champion, the SEC champion, the second-place finisher in the Big Ten and the Big 12 champion all in one bracket. So I’m sure that their little formulas, and stuff, thought that was the best place to put all of those people.â€
Nebraska is the 10th seed, which is ahead of its RPI ranking (12th).
Cook says he’ll work to keep the Huskers focused on winning two matches this weekend, remembering in 2011 when unranked Kansas State beat No. 2 Nebraska in the second around at the NU Coliseum.
“I can still remember those (K-State) coaches celebrating over there. That was a tough night,†Cook said.
While Nebraska may have to play last season’s NCAA champion (Kentucky) and runner-up (Texas) to get to the Final Four, Cook feels good about the Huskers to start the tournament.
In its last match of the regular season, Nebraska got its highest-ranked win of the season (No. 6 Purdue).
“We have a great group,†Cook said. “I’m very thankful how hard they’ve worked this year. They come in every day and get after it. They have fun. We go really hard in practice. And we’re a couple points away from winning the Big Ten.â€
Trick plays: A caller asked about volleyball’s version of trick plays, wondering if that may help the Huskers get an edge against a team like Wisconsin. The Badgers beat Nebraska in four sets last week to win the Big Ten title, giving the Badgers a seventh consecutive win against the Huskers over five seasons.
“One thing we tried to do against Wisconsin was serve short to make their middles pass the ball,†Cook said. “We had two golden opportunities to win (sets) and we put both of them in the net. So that’s kind of a gimmicky thing there because they were expecting a really hard serve. We were bombing serves. So that was one thing we did. … We’ve run trick plays, we run combination plays, we try to move our hitters around.â€
Cook said you have to give a lot of credit to a senior-led Wisconsin team.
“Dane Rettke made huge plays when she needed to, and she’s got a great setter in (Sydney Hilley), Cook said. “They made some amazing plays. We studied it on video and I’m not sure how to stop what they did a couple of times, especially when it mattered most. Their team was on a mission.â€
Next training trip: Cook expects Nebraska will go on its next foreign tip in May of 2023, if foreign travel is allowed at that time. The Huskers usually travel to Japan and China. Nebraska last traveled abroad in 2019.
Photos: NU volleyball takes on Penn State in final home match