Nebraska volleyball is set to make their 17th appearance in the NCAA Tournament National Semifinals this week. But how has NU fared in the previous 16 entries?
Big Red is 15-11 overall, with a 10-6 record in the semifinal match. Nebraska is 5-5 in the championship match.
Below are every one of the Final Fours featuring the Huskers.
1986
After beating Pitt, Penn State, and Illinois at the Coliseum, Nebraska met Stanford for just the second time ever. The Huskers took the match 3-1 to become the first non-California or Hawaii university to make the NCAA national championship match. That history ended as Pacific earned its second consecutive national title with a sweep of Big Red.
Huskers Karen Dahlgren and Tisha Delaney made the All-Tournament team.
1989
After going undefeated in the Big Eight, Nebraska dropped just one set in wins over Illinois State, Minnesota, and Illinois to again win the Mideast Regional. The Huskers kept that momentum rolling with a national semifinal sweep of UCLA before running into Long Beach State and AVCA co-National Player of the Year Tara Cross. The Beach swept Nebraska for their first national title.
Huskers Val Novak and Eileen Shannon made the All-Tournament team.
1990
Another undefeated Big Eight slate was followed up by tournament wins over Miami (Ohio), Pitt, and Penn State placing the Huskers into the Final Four in back-to-back seasons. Another dominant Pacific team awaited NU, and put the Huskers away in four sets.
1995
Nebraska made just two regional finals from 1991-94, losing both, but in 1995 the Huskers entered the NCAA Tournament with a 27-1 record. The lone loss on the year came in the second match of the season to Stanford in a 1 vs 2 matchup.
NU handled George Mason, Penn State, and UCLA to win the Central Regional. In the Final Four, Nebraska got by Michigan State in five sets before topping Texas in four for the program's first national title.
Huskers Allison Weston, Katie Crnich, Christy Johnson, and Billie Winsett made the All-Tournament team.
1996
The defending national champions took three losses in the regular-season but rolled through Arkansas and Louisville before topping Penn State in five sets to reach their third Final Four on the 1990s.
Waiting in the national semifinals was Stanford, including future Olympic gold medalist and then National Freshman of the Year Kerri Walsh. Walsh would earn Most Outstanding Player and help send the Huskers home in four sets.
Husker Lisa Reitsma made the All-Tournament team.
1998
Featuring an NCAA Tournament field of 64 teams for the first time, Nebraska cruised to the postseason with a 28-1 record. NU dropped just a set in wins over Morgan State and Utah before needing five sets to beat each of Pepperdine and Wisconsin in the regional round.
Two undefeated teams remained in the Final Four, with one being a Penn State team that topped Nebraska in four. The Nittany Lions would fall in five to Long Beach State, who became the first undefeated champion.
2000
Under new leadership with head coach John Cook and having not won a Final Four match since 1995, the Huskers posted an undefeated regular-season before dropping just two sets in the tournament to make the national semifinals.
NU beat Hawai'i in four sets before coming back from down 2-1 to beat Wisconsin in five for the program's second national title.
Huskers Greichaly Cepero (Most Outstanding Player), Amber Holmquist, and Laura Pilakowski made the All-Tournament team. Cepero also earned AVCA National Player of the Year honors.
2001
The winning streak ended at 37 games with an early season loss to Long Beach State, but Nebraska handled business to the tune of the No. 2 overall seed in the tournament. The Huskers swept Oral Roberts before four set wins over Kansas State and Colorado State and a five-setter over Florida.
Facing John Dunning, previously at Pacific when the teams met in 1986 and now at Stanford, Nebraska was swept by the Cardinal, dropping the first two sets by two points each.
2005
Facing another five year drought of no Final Four wins after a national championship, Nebraska rode a 28-1 record into the tournament. There, the Big Red swept Alabama A&M, Duke, UCLA, and Florida.
The sweeps continued as NU swept unseeded Santa Clara in the national semifinal before getting swept by Washington in the title match.
Husker Sarah Pavan made the All-Tournament team.
2006
With the Final Four set to take place at the Qwest Center in Omaha, Nebraska dropped just one match en route to the top overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. NU beat American, Northern Iowa, San Diego, and Minnesota to advance to the national semifinals.
The only team not from the Pac-10 in the Final Four, Nebraska put together a pair of identical matches, dropping the first set then winning in four over both UCLA and Stanford for the program's third national title.
Huskers Sarah Pavan (Most Outstanding Player) Jordan Larson, Rachel Holloway, and Tracy Stalls made the All-Tournament team. Pavan was also the AVCA National Player of the Year.
2008
After being upset in the regional finals the year before, Nebraska took a 27-2 record into the NCAA Tournament. NU beat Liberty, UAB, Michigan, and Washington to make a return trip to Omaha's Qwest Center.
But the magic ended there, as Penn State won the first two sets, Nebraska the next two, and the Nittany Lions edged it out 15-11 in the fifth. Those were the only two sets Penn State lost the entire season, including the championship match against Stanford.
Husker Jordan Larson made the All-Tournament team.
2015
On the back of the longest Final Four drought in program history, Nebraska earned the No. 4 overall seed with a 26-4 record from the regular-season. NU dropped a set to Harvard, swept Wichita State and BYU, and topped Washington in four to return to the national semifinals.
Back in Omaha at the CenturyLink Center, Nebraska had to face a pair of old Big 12 foes. The Huskers beat Kansas in four sets and swept Texas for the program's fourth national title.
Huskers Mikaela Foecke (Most Outstanding Player), Amber Rolfzen, Justine Wong-Orantes, and Kelly Hunter made the All-Tournament team. Foecke was just the third freshman to earn the honor.
2016
With only a pair of losses on the regular-season, Nebraska earned the overall No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Huskers swept New Hampshire and TCU, used a reverse sweep to to Penn State in five, then swept Washington.
In Columbus, Ohio, NU was swept by Texas.
2017
Nebraska began the 2017 campaign 0-2 and added a loss to Northern Iowa in mid-September, but then dropped just one more match the rest of the way. The No. 5 overall seed, NU swept Stony Brook, Washington State, and Colorado before topping Kentucky in four sets.
Having swept Penn State earlier in the year, Nebraska needed five sets to beat the Nittany Lions in the national semifinal. In the championship match, Big Red reeled off wins in sets one and two before setting for a four set winner and the program's fifth national title.
Mikaela Foecke (Co-Most Outstanding Player), Kelly Hunter – Nebraska (Co-Most Outstanding Player), and Kenzie Maloney made the All-Tournament team. Foecke became the fourth player in NCAA history to twice be named the NCAA Championship Most Outstanding Player and the first to earn the honor in non-consecutive years.
2018
With two titles in three years, Nebraska had a rocky season—by recent standards—with six regular-season losses. Still, the No. 7 overall seed swept Hofstra, Missouri, Kentucky, and Oregon on its way to a fourth consecutive Final Four.
A reverse sweep of Illinois put NU in the final, where this time the five sets went the other way as Stanford got the victory.
Huskers Mikaela Foecke and Lauren Stivrins made the All-Tournament team.
2021
After missing the Final Four in Omaha in the spring, 21-7 made the NCAA Tournament as the No. 10 overall seed. Following sweeps of Campbell, Florida State, and Illinois, NU took on No. 2 Texas in Austin and came out victorious in four sets.
Nebraska upended Pitt in four sets before falling to Wisconsin in five in the national championship match.
Huskers Nicklin Hames and Madi Kubik made the All-Tournament team.
2023
No. 1 Nebraska faces Pitt Thursday. The victor will play the winner of Texas and Wisconsin Sunday.
