Many college volleyball teams play their home matches in large basketball arenas, usually with large curtains covering the top of the open seating to create a more intimate atmosphere.
That doesn’t happen when Clayton and Nebraska play volleyball at the 17,000-seat CHI Health Center Omaha. On Wednesday, fans will be seated at the top of the arena as the curtain rises to showcase the number one women’s sport in the state.
For Nebraska super senior Nicklin Haymes, it will be her third on-court experience in the Nebraska-Clayton game in Omaha. In her first match in 2018 she had 14,022 fans and in last year’s match she had 11,279 fans.
“It’s kind of crazy to look out and see the fans at the top. It’s just packed,” James said. I remember that.”
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With more than 14,000 tickets sold for Wednesday’s 5 p.m. game, it should set an NCAA record for attendance at a regular season game. The 2018 Clayton-Nebraska game is the current record.
The games are back-to-back in Omaha as the NCAA Final Four are in Omaha in December. This is of some benefit to the arena staff, but for the most part it will allow both teams to gain experience playing in the arena in hopes of returning to the national semi-finals three months after him. Clayton will move from his 2,500-seat Sokol arena to accommodate a larger crowd.
High school players know that coming to Nebraska will give them the unique experience of having Lincoln play in front of nearly 8,000 fans at nearly every home match.
But a game with Clayton could come as a surprise to a non-state native player like Haymes.
“I remember being shocked as a freshman,” said Hames. “I was like, ‘Are all these people here for volleyball? It’s crazy.'”
This season, the game also serves as Nebraska’s first test against a ranked team after the Huskers started the season without dropping a set while winning all five games.
Nebraska is No. 2 and Clayton is No. 17.
“I think we live for the big moment of playing under the lights,” said Haymes. “We really enjoy it.”
What the series is still missing is a Blue Jays win, with Nebraska winning all 20 games in the series.
However, Clayton led the Huskers to the fifth set in 2018. Nebraska had a team that would later reach the national championship game.
There have been years when Clayton and Nebraska didn’t play each other, but the series is now well established.
“This is a great example for all the young kids playing. All the high school teams playing to see how important volleyball is here,” said Nebraska coach John Cook.
Clayton coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth has heard of several high school teams planning to take time off practice to attend the game.
“It’s going to be a great showcase of how many fans we have in Nebraska and how many talented volleyball players we have,” Bernthal Booth said sadly. “It’s a really special night.”
*Malcolm alumnus Jaela Zimmerman is on Creighton’s team but has yet to play as she is recovering from offseason knee surgery.
* Papillion native Clayton outside hitter Nora Sith hit her 500th career kill last week. He is the only two player in the history of the program to reach 500 kills faster than Sis.
