5 takeaways from ‘No Place Like Nebraska’ documentary on Husker volleyball

The documentary on the Nebraska volleyball team’s 2023 season premiered Sunday evening, giving an up-close look at the Big Red’s run to the national title and some of the struggles that came with it.

“No Place Like Nebraska” touched on “Volleyball Day in Nebraska,” the team’s effort to remain undefeated and some of the personal struggles that players deal with while representing the Huskers, both during the season and after they lost to Texas in the national championship match.

Here are five things we learned from the documentary, which premiered on ESPN at 4 p.m. For those who missed it, it is available to stream on ESPN+.

John Cook’s evolution

Part of what has kept Cook and the Huskers among the elite for so long is his understanding and willingness to change.

In his over 30 years as a head coach, including the past 24 seasons at Nebraska, Cook has gone from a hard-nosed approach to much more player-friendly.

Lindsay Peterson, a former Husker volleyball star herself who has been the program’s director of operations since 2006, described Cook as she first knew him as “a tough-as-nails coach.”

Cook, himself, said, “I didn’t care what (the players) thought. I didn’t think I had to have a relationship with them.”

However, as the years went on, Cook realized things were changing and understood that he had to build relationships with the players, something Peterson called “monumental” for the program.

Cook was shown in the documentary going to church for a quick morning prayer, and he talked about the importance of reflection and quiet time to him.

Altogether, those changes have not only helped him as a coach but also in recruiting, including by landing outside hitter and 2023 co-captain Merritt Beason as a transfer last season.

Beason shared how important that relationship aspect and the family-like feel in the program was in her choosing Nebraska.

Harper Murray’s personal struggles

A good chunk of the documentary focused on the young outside hitter, who was the top-rated recruit in the country out of high school and was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 2023.

Part of it focused on her family and the loss of her father, former Michigan football standout Vada Murray, when she was just 6, but it also highlighted the mental toll she dealt with after the loss in the title game.

In the press conference after losing the national championship match, Murray was asked if she felt like 2023 was the season for other schools to “get” Nebraska because of their rising talent, to which she responded, “Yeah, I think we’re gonna win three national championships in the next three years.”

As a fan, that’s what you want to hear from your players. Yet, it led to a tidal wave of criticism for the freshman to deal with.

“Making that comment just opened up a whole new world of hate I never thought I was gonna get,” Murray said.

She showed social media messages calling her a stain on the sport or even telling her to end her life, a staggering level of hate for a young athlete to deal with on top of losing the biggest match of their career.

“When you see things like that, you start to believe it and you lose yourself in it, and I never thought that I would be at such a low point,” Murray said.

It started a downward spiral that has since included charges for driving under the influence and shoplifting, for which she’s been ordered to do community service and enter a diversion program.

Even this spring, Cook noted that Murray trained the hardest she ever has but wasn’t happy and seemed off, which concerned the coach. Since her legal incidents, Cook and Murray’s teammates have strongly supported her, but her mental health is clearly something she’s still working to manage. Overall, her candor showed the dark side of playing for such a high-profile program and what student-athletes deal with in the social media age.

The pressure of being undefeated

Nebraska won its first 27 matches of the 2023 season before getting swept by Wisconsin on Nov. 24.

“When you are undefeated, whether people want to admit it or not, you’re playing your next game thinking about, ‘I can’t lose this, we’re not gonna be undefeated anymore,’” Murray shared.

“The pressure was insane. It’s not just, ‘Oh, what’s at stake,’ but who we were and what it means to come play for Nebraska,” fellow freshman and middle blocker Rebekah Allick said.

Allick noted she also saw many disparaging comments on social media and regrets looking at many of those.

Nebraska had to rebound quickly, finishing its regular-season the next day after that Wisconsin loss and beating Minnesota 3-1 before starting the NCAA Tournament on Dec. 1.

Whether that loss lifted a little weight off the team or not, the Huskers obviously turned the page quickly, something Beason said was a focus.

Husker leaders

On the court, the Huskers had several standouts, but the documentary offered a little glimpse into the off-court leadership that a team without any seniors still had.

Beason and fellow co-captain Lexi Rodriguez were featured throughout the show and displayed that they’re not only star players but also leaders.

Beason, who Rodriguez described as the “mama bear of the team,” was seen offering encouragement to teammates several times, discussing the need to re-focus after the loss to Wisconsin and recognizing the support of Nebraska’s fanbase.

Rodriguez also was seen offering support to teammates multiple times, using her eye contact and subtle touches or pats on the back to help at times and embracing and encouraging Allick after their loss to Texas.

Both often spoke on difficult subjects, too, including right after the championship loss and on the pressure that comes with playing at Nebraska, where Rodriguez said, “At the end of the day, it’s a privilege.”

The two juniors shouldered a lot on the court and undoubtedly did a lot more behind the scenes, too, but it’s clear the Huskers have two phenomenal captains leading their squad.

Nebraska’s love of volleyball

No, this isn’t new to any Nebraskans or former Huskers, but the documentary highlighted how much the state truly loves the sport.

From the record-breaking “Volleyball Day in Nebraska” to the team’s spring match in Kearney, the fans’ love of Husker volleyball and the program’s attempts to reciprocate that feeling were scattered throughout the 60 minutes.

“I know we say it all the time but there is truly no place like Nebraska. As someone who has been somewhere else, this truly doesn’t happen in any other school in the country so that’s to you, Husker Nation,” Beason said at that spring match.

Cook noted there’s a price that comes with that level of attention and care, but added, “I’d rather have that than some place where nobody cares.”