AVCA Brings High-Level Volleyball, Energy at First Serve Showcase

The AVCA First Serve Showcase went to a new level in Lincoln.

The Huskers met with the Pittsburgh Panthers to open the 2025 season at Pinnacle Bank Arena for the first time. | Amarillo Mullen

Sitting at a picnic table in the middle of the Railyard across from Pinnacle Bank Arena, AVCA CEO Dr. Jaime Gordon was relaxing with some of his coworkers and partners. 

The area had largely cleared out following the last match of the AVCA First Serve Showcase. The event was three days jam-packed with high-level volleyball, fans, and energy to kick off the 2025 season, but it allowed Gordon and his crew to relish in the moment what they had accomplished. (Their work wasn’t quite over as the AVCA crew headed to Sioux Falls for one evening of volleyball with two more matches between ranked teams.) 

The event was ambitious: bring eight teams to play in six matches over one weekend. Last year’s event, which featured two matches at the site of the eventual national championship in Louisville, was relatively straightforward compared to the logistics undertaken for this edition. 

Overall, the event was a smashing success. Matches were broadcast on FOX, FS1 and ESPN. Almost 42,000 fans filled Pinnacle Bank Arena over the weekend. Fans in person and watching on TV got to see high-level volleyball take center stage in the sporting world. 

I was in the arena for all six matches. So while I can't speak to how the matches looked on television, here are my takeaways from the weekend:

Nebraska volleyball defensive specialist Laney Choboy dives to dig a ball against Stanford at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. | Nebraska Athletics

Best Performance of the Weekend

Nebraska’s dismantling of Stanford on Sunday. The Huskers made the sixth-ranked team look quite ordinary. NU’s offense quickly found a rhythm and went on the attack. The Huskers' defense also smothered the Cardinal and never allowed them to get too comfortable. Nebraska’s level of play made Husker fans start having thoughts of Kansas City in late December start to feel a little more real. 

Runner-up: Penn State’s sweep over Creighton. The defending national champions reloaded and looked ready to make another deep postseason run. Kennedy Martin solves a lot of questions, but the rest of the roster pulled their weight, too. Jordan Hopp and Maggie Mendelson looked solid at middle blockers. Caroline Jurevicius adapted to the left pin, and Izzy Starck and Gillian Grimes were elite. 

Nebraska Volleyball Head Coach Dani Busboom Kelly and members of the coaching staff huddle on the sideline during the AVCA First Serve vs. Pittsburgh. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

Time Out Turmoil

In an effort to speed up sets and not have the final 10 points of a set take 20 minutes, the AVCA tried out a new format for timeouts. Media timeouts would be 90 seconds, and team timeouts would be 30 seconds. 

Almost all the coaches said the lengths of the breaks didn’t impact their strategy or ability to deliver messages, but some didn’t like the limited number of timeouts they could call or the timing of media breaks. Some called for stoppages when the score reached 8 and 18, or similar scores. 

NU coach Dani Busboom Kelly said having only one timeout significantly impacted the game, as it eliminated some coaching opportunities. However, she admitted that fewer breaks create a better television product. 

Pitt coach Dan Fisher said the lack of timeouts might have hurt his team. During the second set against Nebraska, he called his only timeout down 5-1 and didn’t have any other opportunities to try to change the momentum the rest of the set, which the Panthers lost 25-11. 

“I'm not used to it. That was probably a bigger factor late in the sets than I thought it would be,” Fisher said. “It was just not being able to control the flow of the game. As a coach with two (time outs), I felt like there were times that we need to slow down again.”

Creighton coach Brian Rosen said he changed his strategy for calling timeouts, knowing they might be a couple of points away from a break. The first-year head coach said he didn’t think the players minded having fewer opportunities to hear from their coaches either. 

“They don't want to hear us talk anyway,” he said. “A lot of times, they just want to play. They know they just got aced, or they know they just made a hitting error. Then you have to call a timeout, and they're like, ‘Oh God, here we go.’ So, honestly, 30 seconds is great. They come off. They run back on. We're playing volleyball again, so I thought it was great.”

Nebraska opposite hitter Virginia Adriano prepares to fire a kill during the fourth set of the first match of the AVCA First Serve vs. Pittsburgh. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

Big-Time Atmosphere

A palpable buzz existed as people walked around the Haymarket. While hotels, restaurants, and shops were busier than usual, the Railyard was the epicenter of the action. People congregated and were treated to interviews with coaches and media personalities. In Canopy Street, organizers set up a court and welcomed games and demonstrations from professional players from Athletes Unlimited, MLV, and LOVB. They also offered sign-making and face painting. It was the little things that gave fans (especially families) more to do than go to the game. 

The production value of the in-arena experience was also top-notch. Every seat had a wristband that helped create a light show. The bands flashed red, white, and blue for the national anthem, changed colors to match the team that scored the last point, and helped produce a fun light show during intermission. These wristbands would have made a Taylor Swift Eras Tour fan proud. 

They also made good use of Pinnacle Bank Arena's new scoreboard quite effectively. Each team showed its hype video before starting lineups. Then they introduced starters one by one and allowed them to run onto the court.

Reese Animashaun goes for an attack in Vanderbilt's opening match of the season. The Commodores were playing their first match since 1980. | Vanderbilt Athletics

Best Storyline

Vanderbilt volleyball. The Commodores played their first match since 1980 after relaunching their program almost three years ago. They weren’t just happy to be there. Vandy pushed No. 14 Kansas, winning the first set before eventually falling in five sets. 

Vandy coach Anders Nelson said he was proud of the way the players and staff responded to the history-making occasion. He’s been part of national championship matches as an assistant at Kentucky, but Vanderbilt’s opener felt different because of the time he’s had to think about it. 

“That's 974 days of anticipation building for today,” Nelson said. “I thought we looked ready. We didn't look like the moment was too big for us.”

Vanderbilt will get better as the season progresses, but if its first match was any indication, they will make some noise in the SEC.

Runner-up: Debut Extravaganza. The field of eight teams featured five coaches on the sidelines for their first match at their school. They were treated to an environment worthy of a national semifinal. Three coaches — Busboom Kelly, Ulmer, and Florida’s Ryan Theis — earned their first wins after leaving strong programs in the offseason. 

In addition to the coaches, several big-time transfers and freshmen showed out in their first matches. Kennedy Martin looked dominant for Penn State after starting her career at Florida. Florida's Jordyn Byrd (Texas) and Nebraska’s Allie Sczech (Baylor) also put up big numbers for their new teams. 

Stanford head coach Kevin Hambly returns for his ninth at the Farm. | Photo Courtesy of Stanford Athletics

Pace of Play

The AVCA tweaked a few other things to help the pace of play. Teams didn’t switch sides after every set, and the length of the timeouts was adjusted. Media timeouts were 90 seconds, while regular timeouts were just 30 seconds. They also had a serve clock between points. Kansas setter Cristin Cline said she noticed there was more urgency between points. Instead of holding huddles a bit longer after points, she hustled to get ready for the next serve. 

As a result, the matches kept moving. The longest match of the weekend was the five-setter between Stanford and Florida, which lasted 2:33. Kansas and Vanderbilt also played a five-set match, which lasted just 2:18. The two matches that went four sets lasted 2:05 and 2:08, while the pair of sweeps clocked in at 1:38 and 1:24. 

Kansas coach Matt Ulmer said the five-set win felt like a sprint, but he liked the change because it helps matches fit better into a two-hour time block, which is more appealing to television networks. 

“That didn't feel very long,” he said. “For five-set matches, normally, I'm very tired by the end. I felt like, ‘Okay, we just started getting going.’”

A few other changes were made for the benefit of television as well. The up official was moved to the side of the benches to prevent them from blocking the net from the television cameras. Also, the matches didn’t need line judges because the Bolt6 system automated all line calls. The high-definition cameras also help speed up review calls. 

“We need everybody to pony up some money and get it,” Busboom Kelly said about Bolt6.

Blocking a shot from Pitt outside hitter Marina Pezelj is Nebraska middle blocker Andi Jackson during the fourth set of the AVCA First Serve. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

In-Arena Host

Having an emcee in the arena is quite common for international volleyball matches. It’s used at the Olympics, Volleyball Nations League, and World Championships. It’s started to creep into volleyball in the United States as the Final Four has used a host rather than a typical public address announcer, and it’s a common feature at LOVB matches. 

The AVCA brought an in-arena host, Bianca, to help with the atmosphere and crowd engagement. They still used a PA announcer, but she would lead the crowd in cheers, chants, and interactive fan spotlights during breaks. It was, to put it mildly, a bit much. 

This type of engagement might work at neutral-site matches, but it didn’t feel like a good fit for a match in Nebraska. First, even though it was supposed to be a neutral site, the crowds were quite partisan. Second, Husker fans know how to cheer at volleyball matches. Also, it didn’t allow the action to breathe. The music, cheering, and chanting after every point didn’t let the crowd take ownership of the energy and build for big moments. 

Credit Bianca and AVCA for making adjustments as the weekend went on. They didn’t bring the wave back after Friday and instead introduced light shows during the set break. Then, on Sunday, she let the crowd teach her the “Roof, roof, roof” chant after blocks. (Which mercifully eliminated the monster block chant.) She also allowed the fans to control the energy more. She still did her crowd work during breaks, but it wasn’t as overwhelming as Friday night. 

This is not to say all hosts are bad. They have their place and can enhance the experience. For example, another version of the job is D-Wayne, who is the emcee for Supernovas games. He’s fun, engaging, and fills the spaces between the action. He adds to the party, but doesn’t make it about himself. 

While Bianca isn’t for everyone, some people enjoyed her. The younger parts of the crowd enjoyed the cheers and generally had a blast. However, enough people voiced their displeasure on social media and via conversations that they should reexamine this part of the experience. 

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