Five Years Later, the Memories of the Spring 2021 Season Feel Like a Blur

The postponed NCAA Tournament forced a change of plans and a season unlike any other.

Nebraska huddles before taking on Minnesota at a near-empty Devaney Center during the spring 2021 season. The Huskers played matches in an empty Devaney Center in a season that was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. | Nebraska Athletics

A delayed season. Matches in empty gyms. The endless COVID tests. An NCAA Tournament in a bubble.

These strange events that converged to make up the 2021 spring season wrapped up five years ago this month. 

For many who went through the season, it seems like it was part of another era. While the whole world adjusted to a new reality during the COVID pandemic, Nebraska went 16-3 and reached the regional finals in April before losing to Texas, which was the only match the Huskers played with more than friends and family in the stands.

“It honestly feels like it was forever ago,” said Nicklin (Hames) Hickman, who was a junior setter for the Huskers. “For a lot of us, it was just like such a blur of a season, because it was so weird. I can’t even believe sometimes when I think back on it that we had one of our collegiate seasons like that.”

Although the season ended more than five years ago, it was never certain that volleyball would be played during the 2020-21 academic year. After all sports came to a screeching halt in March 2020, it wasn’t clear whether a path existed for playing sports again. 

In August 2020, in response to the pandemic, the NCAA canceled the championship scheduled for December. Eventually, volleyball returned as five leagues — the American, ACC, Big 12, SEC and Sun Belt — played abbreviated fall schedules. The rest remained on the sidelines, and two conferences (the Ivy League and the Big West) canceled their season. 

Amidst the uncertainty, the Huskers were still practicing and working out as much as they could, trying to stay sharp for whatever season might unfold. Due to health restrictions, the players could only work out in small groups, almost exclusively outdoors. 

Madi Kubik Banks goes up for an attack against Maryland during the spring 2021 season. The Huskers had to adjust to a different atmosphere and routine during the postponed season. | Nebraska Athletic

Madi Kubik Banks, then a sophomore outside hitter, said nothing felt normal as NU coach John Cook had to scrap the usual routine of practice and rhythms of the season. 

“It was hard for him,” Banks said. “When he’s uncomfortable because we’re out of our routine, we could feel that as players. It was definitely an adjustment.”

Eventually, a season was announced with Big Ten teams playing only other league members over 11 weeks from mid-January to early April. Teams would play two matches each weekend against the same opponent at the same site. Later, the NCAA announced that the tournament would be hosted at the CHI Health Convention Center and Arena in Omaha. It would involve only 48 teams and be played over 11 days instead of the usual three weekends. 

Soon, the players fell into a routine during the season, but it was more restrictive than previously, as they couldn’t socialize as freely and had to undergo constant COVID testing. Hickman said it became part of their routine. Go test at 7 a.m., then get a lifting session in before practice. Home and away, they would start each morning with a COVID test and hope that it would read negative. 

“It was the worst,” Hickman said. “I cringe thinking about it.”

Despite the additional stress, because their social circles were smaller, the team spent more time together and bonded. After practice, they would go home and hang out. They played spike ball, board games and watched movies together. 

Callie Schwazenbach, then a junior middle blocker, said they got close as they dealt with the uncertain world around them, which prevented many of them from traveling home to see their families. 

“That was our bubble, whether we liked it or not,” she said. “In a way, it helped us grow, because we obviously are learning more about each other, spending more time with each other, but gosh, that bubble could also be a bit stressful at times because you’re just stuck and you can’t really find space for yourself. Especially when you’re in the tournament setting, and we’re all in our own bubble, usually we go out and do things away.”

Only a few family members and friends were allowed into the Devaney Center for matches during the spring season. The Huskers went 16-3 and reached the Regional Finals before losing to Texas. | Nebraska Athletics

Assistant coach Jaylen Reyes said the coaching staff also grew closer during that period. Tyler Hildebrand had returned to Nebraska the year before, but since his wife was traveling between Lincoln and California for work, she often had to quarantine upon returning, so he would stay at Reyes’ apartment for several days. 

Hildebrand was still working with the United States Olympic Beach Volleyball program, and Reyes learned a lot from the Zoom calls Hildebrand hosted with other beach players and coaches in the mornings and evenings.

“We would always end up talking volleyball, talking life, talking honestly, talking about golf a lot,” Reyes said. “I just get to learn a lot from somebody that I’ve always looked up to, but now I got to work with him, and live with him. That time brought him closer, and now he’s like the older brother I never had.”

The strangest part of the season was the empty arena for home matches. While normally packed with more than 8,000 fans, the Devaney Center stands were nearly empty, with only several dozen family members and significant others scattered around the B-level seats. 

“The environment of Devaney is incredible, and that was so not like it,” Banks said. “It took a little bit of time for us to adjust to how do we exist in this space here when it feels so completely different than everything we’ve known?”

Said Schwazenbach: “Going from having a full house all the time at home games to no one essentially, is different. You relied a lot on your own team energy, which is good, but when you’re used to having 8,000 plus fans at your games, it takes a little bit more within to get through those tough games and tough times.”

Madi Kubik Banks hits a shot against the Minnesota block as Nicklin (Hames) Hickman watches. The regular season consisted of two matches against 11 Big Ten teams. | Nebraska Athletics

Because the arena was so quiet, the fans in there could have an outsized impact on the match. The players could hear every cheer and comment made from the stands. Several boyfriends of the volleyball players, who were on the football team, even helped with a few challenge calls from their seats in the B Section. 

After several matches, Hickman said she spoke with her now-husband and told him they needed to tone down some of their comments. Reyes, however, said he liked the feedback they provided during the match. He said he still occasionally looks up to those seats during matches to get feedback on in/out calls and whether to challenge them. 

The season wasn’t without its hiccups. Matches against Northwestern, Wisconsin and Penn State were canceled for health and safety reasons. While Reyes would have liked to face off against the Badgers that season, who finished the year 16-1, he didn’t mind not playing in an empty UW Field House. 

“We were looking forward to playing, obviously, just because of the league standings,” he said. “The only reason I’m stoked that we didn’t do that is every one of my experiences in the Field House up there has always been in front of a ton of fans and around the crowd. That would have been such a weird experience.”

Weather also impacted the season, as a snowstorm postponed their return to Nebraska and forced the Huskers to spend a couple of extra days in New Jersey. 

Also, volunteer assistant Kelly Hunter left the team in February to go to Dallas to participate in the first season of Athletes Unlimited. She quarantined in a hotel for several days before returning to the court while she continued to follow the Huskers. 

The Huskers split weekend matches with Minnesota and Ohio State and qualified as the No. 5 seed for the NCAA tournament, which would start in the CHI Convention Center. Hickman said the environment reminded her of her club days with several courts spread out in the giant space. The conditions were not ideal: some of their changing areas were tents, workout equipment was lacking, and multiple matches were happening at the same time.

Signage outside the NCAA Women's Volleyball Tournament indicates teams are playing for the 2020 championships even though matches were played in April of 2021. Starting in the regional finals, fans were allowed in to watch at a reduced capacity seating. | Steven Branscombe-Imagn Images

While the stress of testing positive for COVID loomed over the players the entire season, it was heightened for the tournament because a positive test meant the end of the season. Rice’s tournament ended before playing a match, as their opponent, North Carolina A&T, earned a forfeit to advance to the next round. 

“As Division I athletes, you love to be in control of everything that’s happening,” Hickman said. “With that, there’s no control over it. One day, you can be exposed, and then you pop positive, and it’s a false positive that still affects everything, and you can’t control it.”

Hickman got to have a brief moment of excitement as she waited for the Huskers’ first match against Texas State. Her sister, Kayleigh Hames, was playing for Pepperdine against Baylor, with the winner potentially facing NU in the regional semifinals. The Waves forced a fifth set, but couldn’t hold off Baylor. While she didn't get to face off against her sister, she still enjoyed being in the same place as her sister and seeing her across the convention center.

NU swept Texas State and Baylor to set up a match against Texas at the CHI Health Center Arena for the Regional Finals. For the first time, a limited crowd of 4,154 fans got to watch the match. The Huskers’ season came to a sudden end as they fell in four sets. In the days that followed, several players ended up getting sick as their bodies were worn down after a long season of high stress and dealing with so many unknowns constantly. 

A few days later, the tournament wrapped up with Kentucky winning its first national championship with a four-set victory over Texas in a half-filled arena. 

“Omaha did a really good job, but I’ll be honest, I would never want to, ever have to do that again,” Reyes said. “Just because it was just such a weird time, and not a lot of fans, and it just wasn’t what our tournament is now.”

Kentucky coach Craig Skinner celebrates a point against the Texas Longhorns in the third set of the national championship match at CHI Health Center Arena. Skinner, a former Nebraska assistant coach, and the Wildcats won their first title in the April 2021. | Steven Branscombe-Imagn Images

The season was also odd for several incoming Huskers. Incoming freshmen Lexi Rodriguez, Ally Batenhorst and Kennedi Orr all enrolled early to get a jump on their college careers. While they could practice and travel with the team, they were not permitted to play in matches. 

Early in the year, the NCAA ruled that the 2020-21 year would not count towards the four seasons of eligibility. Lexi Sun and Lauren Stivrins returned in the fall for one final season. However, not everyone took advantage of the waiver. Seniors Jazz Sweet and Hayley Densberger wrapped up their careers after the spring season and moved on.

“I wish she could have had a better send off and not just winning, but just playing in front of fans and having a real senior night,” Reyes said about Sweet. 

After a few months off, Nebraska returned for practice and a normal regular season in the fall of 2021. The effects of COVID lingered as the season opener against Tulsa was canceled, and later, Rutgers had to forfeit its match against the Huskers. NU struggled early on and lost three straight non-conference matches, including a home sweep to Louisville and Dani Busboom Kelly. 

The Huskers finished second in the league at 15-4 and earned the No. 10 overall seed in the tournament. NU got its revenge against the Longhorns by earning a regional final win in Gregory Gym. The Huskers beat Pittsburgh before falling to Wisconsin for the national title in five sets.

For some, they were happy to move on from the strange year. The world evolved, and more normalcy returned as they continued their lives and volleyball careers. 

Now, five years later, the only spring season in NCAA history remains almost a dream for those involved and a relic of a different time.  

“2021 was insane,” Banks said. “I don’t really think about Spring 21 so much. Although that technically was my sophomore season, I don’t count it. I went freshman, junior, senior.”