Two-time All-American Christy Johnson led the Huskers to their first NCAA title
in 1995.
17 times since 1984, most recently in 2012, when Lauren Cook,
Gina Mancuso and Hannah Werth captured All-America honors.
After the 1999 season, Pettit turned the program over to
his long-time friend and former NU assistant coach, John Cook.
Cook arrived at Nebraska with impressive credentials after
building the Wisconsin volleyball program into a national
power, and he wasted no time making his mark at NU. In what
was supposed to be a transition year, Cook led the Huskers to a
perfect 34-0 record and the 2000 NCAA title.
The following season, Cook again guided the Huskers to
the NCAA semifinals, where they lost to eventual national
champion Stanford. After two regional finals and a regional
semifinal, the Huskers returned to the national title match in
2005 and won the school’s third NCAA title in 2006, defeating
Stanford, 3-1, in front of a then-NCAA record crowd of 17,209
at the Qwest Center.
In 15 years, Cook has guided Nebraska to a 436-58 record,
a pair of national titles, five NCAA semifinal appearances, nine
Big 12 championships and one Big Ten title. During the Big 12
era, Cook’s teams were an amazing 207-13.
The tradition that Cook continues to build began in 1978,
when Kanouse and Shandi Pettine were the first Nebraska
volleyball players to be recruited with full scholarships. By
1981, Pettit could award 12 scholarships.
“We had a full complement,” he said. “And that put us
ahead of some schools.”
Those first Nebraska teams included primarily in-state
athletes. But Kanouse was from Indiana and Pettine was from
Colorado, evidence not only of Pettit’s interest in expanding the
Huskers’ recruiting base, but also of the respect his program
was earning beyond the state’s borders.
Fiona Nepo, a three-time All-American setter from 1996 to
1998, came from Honolulu, Hawaii.
Karen Dahlgren, an All-American in 1985 and 1986, and
Lynae Loseke, whose career was cut short by a knee injury,
walked on, ano