‘Kansas City was going to become Nebraska South’: Huskers’ Final Four absence is impactful

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — The Nebraska volleyball team’s Final Four dream came to an end on Sunday with a loss to Texas A&M.

“Unfortunately, all of a sudden, the air got sucked out of the room after the final point,” said HuskerMax reporter Lincoln Arneal.

Now, Kansas City will no longer see the sea of Nebraska red fill the arena.

“Kansas City was going to become Nebraska South, there was gonna be an invasion of fans wearing red, and they were going to take over the city,” Arneal said. “The fans travel well for Nebraska matches, and that was going to happen in Kansas City.”

Some fans were lucky enough to grab Final Four tickets with high hopes of the Huskers making it to Kansas City.

“My sister and I have gone to previous Final Fours in multiple different cities. We’re big on women’s sports, and we always go to support women’s sports, but obviously to support our Huskers,” said ticket holder Jennifer Smith.

The loss is also expected to have a significant economic impact on Kansas City, with local businesses missing out on the influx of Husker fans who would have filled hotels, restaurants, and shops.

Almost immediately after the loss, ticket prices dropped significantly.

Some fans, like Smith, bought their tickets long ago.

“I bought my Final Four tickets in August,” she said.

Although she won’t be able to watch the Huskers fight for a championship, she’ll still make the trip to watch some great volleyball.

And Arneal said the loss doesn’t dim the Huskers’ impact on women’s athletics.

“This team has a lot to be proud of too, I mean, not just in the state of Nebraska, everywhere the Huskers played throughout the country,” he said.”Whether it was Los Angeles, New Jersey, or Michigan, they attracted record-breaking crowds too.”

The Huskers’ Final Four run may be over, but the passion for fans and the promise of women’s volleyball continue to shine.

“The atmosphere, the fans, you just can’t ask for anything better and support what we love the most, which is women’s volleyball,” Smith said.