'Not the Biggest Match of the Year': Creighton Volleyball Coach Undersells Match vs. No. 1 Nebraska

When the match is sold out, there apparently is no more need to up-sell Tuesday's match between No. 1 Nebraska and No. 18 Creighton in Omaha.

Playing in front of a SOLD OUT crowd tomorrow at @CHICenterOmaha!

📰:https://t.co/iHncZVtyvu #GoJays pic.twitter.com/6F1Lpkpt6r
— Creighton Volleyball (@CreightonVB) September 15, 2025

At full capacity, the CHI Health Center in Omaha is expected to hold 17,352 fans Tuesday night, which would break the record for the largest indoor crowd to watch a college volleyball match. That record currently stands at 17,037 fans when Marquette hosted Wisconsin at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee.

However, if you talk with Creighton ahead of the showdown, it's just another match.

Brian Rosen isn't letting his team get awestruck by No. 1 Nebraska's visit to Omaha Tuesday night. | Creighton Athletics

"I think we've had much bigger matches this season," Creighton volleyball coach Brian Rosen said after his team's 3-0 sweep of Northern Iowa Sunday. "I think this is one of the coolest opportunities for our team. It's one of the same things I told the team before Friday — make sure before the match on Friday to take a look around. That crowd on Friday was just amazing."

The crowd he's referring to is the fans who packed the CHI Health Center to watch Creighton take on No. 4 Louisville this past Saturday, which is a match the Bluejays lost 3-1. Despite the loss, it was another showdown with one of the best volleyball teams in the nation for a Creighton team trying to prove they belong in the discussion on an annual basis.

"I thought our crowd this weekend was great," Rosen continued. "The third day of a weekend I thought the students dwindled a little bit, but I thought they were great."

Prep work #GoJays pic.twitter.com/VPnXHEZKJZ
— Creighton Volleyball (@CreightonVB) September 16, 2025

And it's no rest for the weary, as Creighton gets ready for another nationally-ranked test as they welcome in-state rival and No. 1 Nebraska. You might remember that Creighton took Nebraska to five sets in Lincoln just a year ago, so it's safe to assume the Huskers aren't striking a lot of fear in the Bluejays despite their dominating start to the 2025 season.

Instead, Creighton will be looking to enjoy a bit of the atmosphere the match will provide before getting down to business.

"It's the same message I'm going to give them on Tuesday," Rosen said. "Make sure at some point you look around. There's going to be two teams this year that are going to get to say they played in front of 17,000 and something fans, and we're going to get to be one of those teams. What an incredible opportunity to represent Creighton and to represent the state of Nebraska in this amazing event."

Wear blue and be loud! #GoJays pic.twitter.com/tLlWKzIiG3
— Creighton Volleyball (@CreightonVB) September 15, 2025

We at HuskerMax have recently detailed Creighton's incredibly tough schedule to start the season. They've played No. 2 Penn State, No. 4 Louisville, No. 5 Texas, No. 14 Kansas, and No. 22 USC. In turn, the 18th-ranked Bluejays are 5-4 to start the year, but are still holding onto that national ranking simply because of the difficult schedule. It's also why adding the No. 1 team to that list isn't as big a deal as it would be for other teams.

"Playing the number one team in the country, yes — we're going to go in there, and I expect to win," Rosen said. "However, it's not the biggest match of the year, and we're not going to put that pressure on them because the biggest match of the year is the next one, so in that sense sure. They're the biggest match on our schedule, but right after that so is USF and so is Kansas."

Former Creighton volleyball head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth led the Bluejays to new heights in 2024, including a marquee win over Texas in the NCAA Tournament. | John Gutierrez-Imagn Images

After Nebraska's sweep of Grand Canyon University on Saturday, Husker coach Dani Busboom Kelly made a few passing comments about the upcoming Creighton match, praising the work of former coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth. Busboom Kelly credited Booth for building Creighton from nothing to a national contender and seemed somewhat bummed she wouldn't be able to coach against Booth on Tuesday.

Instead, she'll be going up against the 2024 AVCA Assistant Coach of the Year in Rosen, who isn't letting his team get star-struck by the Huskers.

"We're making sure that's the mindset," he said. "If we put way too much pressure on one opponent versus another, I don't think that's when we play our best. I want them to play loose, play with joy and give 17 or 18,000 people a show and play our style of volleyball."

4 aces and 4 digs for Nora Wurtz today. Both are career highs!#GoJays pic.twitter.com/iPlcXaOr8v
— Creighton Volleyball (@CreightonVB) September 14, 2025

As with any volleyball team in Nebraska, it's not a surprise that both rosters have their fair share of homegrown talent. One of those players for Creighton is redshirt freshman Nora Wurtz, who signed with Creighton after growing up in Valley, Neb. She, unlike her coach, was willing to admit Tuesday night will be a little bit different from anything else she's seen this season.

"Growing up, it was always so close to you with Creighton and Nebraska playing each other," Wurtz said. "It's such a great game. Being in that, I think I'm going to have to be super present and take in everything. Like Brian said, look around and be grateful while we're here and be able to represent Nebraska."

It also didn't take long for the Nebraska native to start talking about how to attack a sound Husker team that has shot out to an 8-0 start to the year.

"If we can get them out of system, it makes our blocking so much better," Wurtz said. "We're able to get set, and our defense is able to play around that. Everyone in the country is a great team if they're in system, so I just think getting them out of system is going to be huge."

Members of the Husker Volleyball team celebrate after a point during the second set vs. Pittsburgh. — The No. 1 Nebraska volleyball team will look to keep its undefeated season intact with a road test at No. 18 Creighton on Tuesday. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

After having a little bit of fun with the starting lineup over the past few matches, Nebraska and coach Dani Busboom Kelly may revert back to the form fans saw from NU against the likes of No. 3 Pitt and No. 6 Stanford to start the year. Oh, and if you're not one of the more than 17,000 fans in attendance in Omaha, the match will also be nationally televised on Fox Sports 1 at 6:30 p.m. CDT.

Nebraska Volleyball 2025 Schedule

Aug. 9 Red 3, White 1
Aug. 16 Nebraska 3, Alumni 1
Aug. 22 Nebraska 3, Pittsburgh 1
Aug. 24 Nebraska 3, Stanford 0
Aug. 29 Nebraska 3, Lipscomb 0
Aug. 31 Nebraska 3, Kentucky 2
Sept. 5 Nebraska 3, Wright State 0
Sept. 7 Nebraska 3, California 0
Sept. 12 Nebraska 3, Utah 1
Sept. 13 Nebraska 3, Grand Canyon 0
Sept. 16 at Creighton 6:30 p.m. FS1
Sept. 20 vs. Arizona BTN
Sept. 24 vs Michigan 6 p.m. BTN
Sept. 27 vs. Maryland 3 p.m. NPM
Oct. 3 at Penn State 7 p.m. FOX
Oct. 4 at Rutgers
Oct. 10 vs. Washington 8 p.m. BTN
Oct. 12 at Purdue
Oct. 17 at Michigan State
Oct. 19 at Michigan 1 p.m.
Oct. 24 vs. Northwestern NPM
Oct. 25 vs. Michigan State 7:30 p.m. BTN
Oct. 31 at Wisconsin 8 p.m. BTN
Nov. 2 vs. Oregon 1 p.m. BTN
Nov. 6 vs. Illinois 7 p.m. FS1
Nov. 8 at Minnesota 2:30 p.m. NBC
Nov. 14 at UCLA BTN
Nov. 16 at USC 2 p.m. B1G+
Nov. 20 vs. Iowa FS1
Nov. 22 at Indiana
Nov. 28 vs. Penn State 5:30 p.m. BTN
Nov. 29 vs. Ohio State BTN

Home matches are bolded. All times central.

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