Volleyball

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Episode Transcript

(00:00):
When the ball goes into the airfor the first serve tomorrow night, on
the floor of a football stadium beforeninety one thousand paying customers and a national
television audience. How could we possiblycaption the picture the picture of how women's
sports have, after two generations ofa slow, often painful climb, finally

(00:21):
reached the summit. What a journeyit has been, especially here. How
did Nebraska, a farm and ranchstate with more cows than people, with
equal proximity to the ocean and theInternational Space Station become ground zero four volleyball?
Well, history tells us it wasa mix of visions, smarts,
and opportunity. To most Americans,volleyball is a beach bum sport, from

(00:46):
Gidget and her Pals Twerking to nineteensixties Music on the Beach to pothead slacker
Jeff Spicoli at Ridgemont High. ButNebraska and volleyball have been lovers almost since
the beginning, long prior to thesixteen final fours and five national titles.
The Huskers of One Truth is thelove affair between the ladies of Nebraska,

(01:07):
and this sport goes back to theturn of the last century, clear through
the fifties and sixties, when thesport wasn't even sanctioned by either the nc
DOUBLEA or even the NSAA. Titlenine was the sport's midwife. The godfather
was legendary former coach Terry Pettit,the New Englander who arrived at the dawn
of Title nine. Almost accidentally,a co worker rescued a classified ad seeking

(01:32):
coach candidates from a garbage can.The guy dusted the coffee grounds off and
pointed it back at Pettit, saying, you ought to think about that.
Nebraska people love sports, so Pettitset about turning a pebble into a mountain.
In those early days, they survivedon faith. He and the other
spartan Title niners would set up foldingchairs in the old coliseum before the matches.

(01:56):
Sometimes had to hustle if the fraternityintramural basketball games went long. Admission
was free. They raised money foruniforms and other essentials by selling home made
concessions. Title nine only provided forscholarships and one coach. Anything else,
you're on your own. Before eachmatch, Petted and his volunteer assistance would
cook up hot dogs and popcorn athome, package it up in sandwich bags

(02:22):
and sell them to the twenty fiveor thirty or forty fans who would come
to watch. The recruiting budget wasjust big enough to get petted from Lincoln
to the Panhandle and back. Whilehe was out there scouting, he'd sell
season tickets, first a hundred ofthem, and then two hundred and fifty
five hundred, eventually over a thousand. Between sales calls, he'd recruit high

(02:43):
jumpers and make them into middle blockersbasketball players, make them into outside hitters.
Talent plus coaching plus commitment plus beliefequals championships. Suddenly, the Huskers,
led by those early Antonia's of thecourt kathynth Karen Dahlgren, Laurie Endicott,
had Nebraska in the final four,and the people came. Pettitt pried

(03:05):
twelve full ride scholarships out of coachathletic director Bob Devanny. The pep band
and cheerleaders were dispatched to the matches. They had a radio broadcast years before
anybody else, even their own mascot. Now everybody's little read. It all
culminated in the first national title inDecember of nineteen ninety five, but Pettitt
wasn't satisfied as just the Johnny appleSeed of volleyball. He was Alexander the

(03:30):
Great with a seven foot net.Now we're the hunted. He would think,
we have to get better. Sohe scoured the country for ideas,
players, marketing techniques, and staff. Found a high school and club coach
in San Diego who grew up theson of a welder on a lemon farm
seven miles from the Mexican border,John Cook. Today, the Pettit Cook

(03:53):
era has pulled even with Nebraska's originalgold standard of excellence, Devanny Osbourne.
Each duo has combined for five nationaltitles. But something far more profound has
emerged. Just as it was duringthe glory years of football, the ladies
of volleyball accomplishments transcend the mere winningof matches and titles. They raise our

(04:15):
spirits. Their wins and championships stira pride of place in Nebraskans the world
over. These days, that's amouthful. We coddle young athletes today mitigate
expectations. High expectations may unnerve youngpeople unless you live here and live them
every day.