The Nebraska volleyball program sees college football and its alternate uniforms, and may have matched them with something even more unique.
The Huskers now have an alternate volleyball court.
Many college football teams wear an alternate uniform once a year for something special for the players and fans and for recruits to see.
The athletic department on Thursday revealed in a video that they’ll have a new court with a different design for the matches this week at the Devaney Sports Center. Nebraska’s first match on the new court is Friday at noon against High Point.
— Husker Volleyball (@Huskervball)
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There is a chance the new court could also be used next week when the second-ranked Huskers host a monster nonconference match against No. 1 Stanford.
The new court is black on the edges and has a faux wood finish inside the volleyball lines.
For home matches Nebraska has a Taraflex playing surface that gets placed on the arena floor, and now Nebraska has two Taraflex courts, one that is red and one black. The red court will continue to be used for matches. The court is a softer surface and is easier on the players’ bodies than wood.
This is the second year that the current red court is being used, but Nebraska has been playing on the Taraflex court going back to its time at the NU Coliseum. Now many college programs are using them, including most of the Big Ten Conference schools.
Before last season, fans got to vote online for a few designs for a new court, and fans really liked a few of the designs, including one that had black. A red court was ordered, but the athletic department staff began to consider the possibility of having a second Taraflex court to use for something special.
That court was eventually ordered and the setup began Wednesday. The Huskers practiced on the new court for the first time on Thursday afternoon.
A video also indicated that the black court is a nod to the Nebraska’s “blackshorts†defense. Nebraska has been one of the best defensive teams in the country in recent years.
“That’s what we base our whole program on is serve, block and defense,†said Nebraska coach John Cook.
One goal for Cook is for the Nebraska volleyball program to be a national leader in many ways. The volleyball program holds an NCAA women’s record with 255 consecutive regular-season sellouts.
Nebraska led the nation in attendance in 2018 for the sixth straight year since moving into the Devaney Sports Center in 2013, averaging 8,205 fans per match. The Nebraska volleyball program is one of just a few college women's teams in the country that turn a profit.