Receiving Votes: Lincoln Southeast (3-1), RV; Omaha Central (2-3), NR

Receiving Votes: Gretna (2-3), RV; Blair (2-3), 9

Class C-1&nbsp;(Record), Previous Ranking

Receiving Votes: Auburn (4-1), RV; Roncalli Catholic (3-2), RV

Class C-2&nbsp;(Record), Previous Ranking

10. Grand Island Central Catholic (4-1), 10

Eight Man-1&nbsp;(Record), Previous Ranking

Receiving Votes: Lourdes Central Catholic (4-1), NR

Eight Man-2&nbsp;(Record), Previous Ranking

Receiving Votes: Ainsworth (2-3), RV; Axtell (1-4), NR;

Receiving Votes: Leyton (3-1), NR; Paxton (3-1), NR

Story by Hurrdat Sports<h2>Class A&nbsp;(Record), Previous Ranking</h2>1. Millard South (4-1), 12. Omaha Westside (5-0), 23. Elkhorn South (5-0), 34. Papillion-La Vista (5-0), 55. Millard North (3-2), 66. Kearney (4-1), 47. Omaha North (3-2), 88. Bellevue West (3-2), 99. Creighton Prep (3-2), 710. Millard West (1-4), RVReceiving Votes: Lincoln Southeast (3-1), RV; Omaha Central (2-3), NR<h2>Class B&nbsp;(Record), Previous Ranking</h2>1. Bennington (5-0), 12. Skutt Catholic (5-0), 23. Seward (5-0), 34. Elkhorn North (5-0), 45. Scottsbluff (4-1), 56. Waverly (3-2), 67. Norris (3-2), 78. McCook (4-1), 109. Lincoln Pius X (2-3), 810. York (4-1), RVReceiving Votes: Gretna (2-3), RV; Blair (2-3), 9<h2>Class C-1&nbsp;(Record), Previous Ranking</h2>1. Wahoo (5-0), 12. Sidney (5-0), 23. Ashland-Greenwood (4-1), 34. Columbus Lakeview (5-0), 45. Boys Town (5-0), 66. Chadron (5-0), 87. Central City (4-1), 78. Cozad (4-1), 59. Fort Calhoun (4-1), 910. Scotus Central Catholic (4-1), 10Receiving Votes: Auburn (4-1), RV; Roncalli Catholic (3-2), RV<h2>Class C-2&nbsp;(Record), Previous Ranking</h2>1. Norfolk Catholic (5-0), 12. Battle Creek (5-0), 23. Bishop Neumann (4-1), 34. Oakland-Craig (4-1), 45. Boone Central (3-2), 56. Hartington Cedar Catholic (4-1), 67. Malcolm (4-1), 78. Kearney Catholic (5-0), 89. Raymond Central (5-0), 910. Grand Island Central Catholic (4-1), 10Receiving Votes: None<h2>Eight Man-1&nbsp;(Record), Previous Ranking</h2>1. Stanton (5-0), 12. Sandy Creek (5-0), 23. Summerland (4-1), 34. Arapahoe (5-0), 45. Crofton (4-1), 56. North Platte St. Patrick’s (5-0), 77. Shelby Rising City (4-1), 88. Dundy County Stratton (4-1), 69. Plainview (3-2), 910. Johnson-Brock (4-1), NRReceiving Votes: Lourdes Central Catholic (4-1), NR<h2>Eight Man-2&nbsp;(Record), Previous Ranking</h2>1. Sandhills/Thedford (5-0), 12. Central Valley (4-1), 23. Archangels Catholic (5-0), 34. Bruning-Davenport/Schickley (5-0), 45. Howells-Dodge (5-0), 56. Overton (5-0), 77. Riverside (3-2), 68. Loomis (5-0), 89. Weeping Water (5-0), RV10. Hitchcock County (4-1), 10Receiving Votes: Ainsworth (2-3), RV; Axtell (1-4), NR;<h2>Six Man&nbsp;(Record), Previous Ranking</h2>1. Sumner-Eddyville-Miller (4-0), 12. Hay Springs (4-0), 23. Pawnee City (4-0), 34. Arthur County (4-0), 45. Stuart (3-1), 56. Red Cloud (4-0), 67. Garden County (4-0), 78. Hampton (3-1), 99. Sliver Lake (3-1), RV10. Wallace (3-1), NRReceiving Votes: Leyton (3-1), NR; Paxton (3-1), NR

Nebraska High School Football Coaches Poll 9.30.24

Receiving Votes:&nbsp;York (12-5), RV.

Receiving Votes:&nbsp;Chase County (11-4), NR; Laurel-Concord-Coleridge (14-2), RV; Wahoo (9-5), NR.&nbsp;

Receiving Votes:&nbsp;Alma (14-5), 8; Burwell (9-8), NR; Cedar Catholic (9-11), NR; High Plains (13-5), RV.&nbsp;

Receiving votes:&nbsp;Garden County (12-3), RV

Story by Hurrdat SportsClass A (Record), Previous<ol>
 <li>Omaha Westside (16-2), 2&nbsp;</li><li>Papillon-LaVista South (20-3), 1&nbsp;</li><li>Lincoln Southwest (12-4), 6&nbsp;</li><li>Millard West (17-7), 4</li><li>Elkhorn South (13-5), 3</li><li>Millard North (11-9), 5</li><li>Grand Island (13-6), 8&nbsp;</li><li>Fremont (16-3), 7</li><li>Lincoln North Star (10-7), 9</li><li>Omaha Marian (12-10), 10</li>
 </ol>Receiving Votes:&nbsp;none.Class B (Record), Previous<ol>
 <li>Skutt Catholic (15-4), 1</li><li>Norris (22-1), 2</li><li>Elkhorn North (16-5), 3</li><li>Gretna East (17-4), 4</li><li>Waverly (14-5), 5</li><li>Bennington (13-6), 7&nbsp;</li><li>Seward (13-3), 8</li><li>Gretna (14-10), 6</li><li>Northwest (11-7), 9</li><li>Lincoln Pius X (6-16), 10</li>
 </ol>Receiving Votes:&nbsp;York (12-5), RV.Class C-1 (Record), Previous<ol>
 <li>Minden (22-0), 1</li><li>Columbus Scotus (14-2), 4&nbsp;</li><li>Clarkson/Leigh (17-2), 2&nbsp;</li><li>Pierce (10-3), 5</li><li>Columbus Lakeview (6-4), 10</li><li>David City (9-5), RV</li><li>Kearney Catholic (9-2), 3</li><li>Battle Creek (9-4), 7&nbsp;</li><li>Holdrege (7-1), RV</li><li>Milford (10-5), NR</li>
 </ol>Receiving Votes:&nbsp;Chase County (11-4), NR; Laurel-Concord-Coleridge (14-2), RV; Wahoo (9-5), NR.&nbsp;Class C-2 (Record), Previous<ol>
 <li>Lincoln Lutheran (16-1), 1</li><li>Yutan (18-0), 2</li><li>Freeman (16-1), 6&nbsp;</li><li>Oakland-Craig (18-4), 3&nbsp;</li><li>Thayer Central (10-0), 4&nbsp;</li><li>Humphrey/Lindsay Academy (17-2), 7</li><li>Norfolk Catholic (12-2), 9</li><li>Hastings St. Cecilia (14-4), 5</li><li>Crofton (12-4), 8</li><li>Bishop Neumann (14-6), NR</li>
 </ol>Receiving Votes:&nbsp;none.Class D-1 (Record), Previous<ol>
 <li>Southwest (17-0), 1</li><li>Superior (16-3), 2</li><li>Bruning-Davenport/Shickley (10-3), 4&nbsp;</li><li>Brady, (13-4), 3</li><li>Kenesaw (14-4), 9&nbsp;</li><li>Howells-Dodge (10-5), 7&nbsp;</li><li>Ansley-Litchfield (14-6), 6</li><li>Diller-Odell (8-7), 5&nbsp;</li><li>Tri-County (12-6), 10</li><li>Exeter-Milligan/Friend (6-3), RV</li>
 </ol>Receiving Votes:&nbsp;Alma (14-5), 8; Burwell (9-8), NR; Cedar Catholic (9-11), NR; High Plains (13-5), RV.&nbsp;Class D-2 (Record), Previous<ol>
 <li>Overton (16-2), 1</li><li>Shelton (11-2), 3&nbsp;</li><li>Leyton (19-0), 5</li><li>Central Valley (12-4), 4&nbsp;</li><li>Sumner-Eddyville-Miller (15-3), 2</li><li>Amherst (14-5), 6</li><li>Meridian (9-4), 7</li><li>Stuart (15-3), 10</li><li>Loomis (12-5), 9</li><li>Wynot (7-3), 8</li>
 </ol>Receiving votes:&nbsp;Garden County (12-3), RV

Nebraska High School Volleyball Coaches Poll 9.30.24

Story by NU Athletic Communications&nbsp;

On Coach Greg Schiano “There’s lots of coaches who are regarded as the best coaches in college football. Not many could do what he’s done. Speaking as a guy who won at Temple, you go win at Rutgers, not many people have won there. He won at a high level and he came back and he’s winning on a high level. He’s a great football coach zero point blank. He’s a great builder. He’s elevated that entire university. I have the utmost respect for him. When he speaks, I listen. I just have a lot of respect for him.”&nbsp;

On Gunnar Gottula “I think Gunnar (Gottula) played well. There’s some things he wants to continue to work his anchor on. He’s getting more speed and power on him. He continues to work on it. That’s the really important thing this week. There’s no better coached defensive front you’ll see than the Rutgers D-Line. I think our guys know that from playing them two years ago. What I like about Rutgers is that there’s not a lot of transfers. There’s a lot of homegrown talent. A lot of tough northeast kids that play really hard. Gunnar (Gottula) will have to do better. That’s credit to our guys on our scout team. We have a lot of guys that have played a lot of football on our scout team that give them a really good look.”&nbsp;

On Javin Wright “Javin (Wright) went in as a nickel and dime role. When this first happened we never thought he’d be able to play at this point. Dr. (Tabatha) Matthias and our team doctor and the work he’s done with our specialists. We were hoping for maybe USC. The hard part about my job is that I only get called in when it’s the heartbreaking conversations. I’m not the position coach, I’m not there for the day-to-day good ones. I was there for that one with Javin (Wright) and his father, just like I was with Rahmir (Johnson) last year when his season was over. Those things are heartbreaking, so just to see the joy on Javin’s face to play was a moment that will stay with me for a while. How he played doesn’t necessarily even matter to be quite honest, but I think he played well. He’ll play more this week. He hasn’t been able to do a thing. It wasn’t like he was coming back from an ankle, he was dealing with blood clots so he hasn’t done a thing. He said, ‘I’m a ninth-year senior’ or whatever he is, so he has a lot of reps in the bank.”&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

On Tommi Hill’s status and other injuries “Tommi (Hill) went out like the NFL, about two hours before the game and worked out and just didn’t feel like he could quite go on it. He ran today and it felt good. I would anticipate Tommi (Hill) getting a chance to play this week. That will probably be another gametime decision. The plantar fasciitis is all pain threshold so it’s not like you can tough it out. I’ve seen guys miss a long time with it. He’s doing everything he can to play, so we’ll see.”&nbsp;&nbsp;

On Micah Mazzccua “I wouldn’t start him. He was a back up before this happened. When he came out of the Colorado game, Tossy was put ahead of him. I love Micah (Mazzccua). I’m working with him to make him the best that he can be. You guys talk a lot about him, but he’s a backup player for us. Micah (Mazzccua) was suspended last week, so he was reinstituted this week. That was the middle of the week that it happened, so that wasn’t something I was anticipating to be quite honest.”&nbsp;

On Stefon Thompson “Stefon Thompson has a sprained foot, but he ran quite well today. We’re anticipating him to practice tomorrow.”

On the officiating in the Purdue game “You send in questions you have. They’ll send you back whether they agree or disagree. There’s a weekly tape that they send you that has points of emphasis from the week before. It’s from the whole league, so you can hear what’s being said to the officials. If it’s something that rises to a higher level, you might get on the phone with someone. I got a penalty because I injected myself in the game so I made a call to figure out what I did right or wrong. You just send your plays in and get them back and they tell you what they agree or disagree. As much as anything, you’re trying to figure out as the rules change, can we do this can we not do this. What used to be a great play is now a penalty sometimes.”&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

On Alex Bullock “Alex (Bullock) was one of those guys we talked about in the team meeting. We ran that play earlier in the game. They run with motion so if you send a guy in jet motion, they chase them. Last week Oregon State had a lot of success with handing the ball off. For the past two years, that’s kind of one of the things you do against Purdue is you hand off jet sweeps. They made the decision, we actually practiced it, to rock and roll the safeties, which is a little more complex, but it’s better in terms of sweep speed. On the first one, Alex is going to go block the man-to-man guy, but the man-to-man guy doesn’t come. He sees a safety, he tries to veer off, he goes to block them and then misses them, so it’s a 4 yard gain. They get a 15 yard penalty for throwing his legs or whatever. I yelled at Alex on the sideline, he was about ready to fight me. They ran it again, Alex sees it and makes the block. Jacory runs for a touchdown. Alex turns around and does this passionate movement. I don’t know if he was telling me to get lost or if he was just fired up. It’s those kinds of things we’re really trying to build off of. Preparing through the event, seeing how people are playing you, what do we need to do differently this game based upon what they’re doing. We’re in warm-ups and number 4 goes from playing middle linebacker to edge player and figuring out how we’re going to play this. Now no longer is 31 the deep safety, now he’s down low, 32 is a deep safety. That’s the hard thing about playing a team that’s struggling. They’ve lost two games, so they’re probably going to make some fundamental changes. Alex is more and more and more becoming the guy who the coaches or Dylan (Raiola) will be like ‘can I have Alex on this play.’ He’s the guy that figures out how to get the job done, especially on special teams. He was excellent on special teams. The issue with special teams is that field goals were so front and center that it was a heck of a day for Brian Buschini. Five touchbacks in hurricane type conditions. Amazing tackle that lit the team up. He was able to field both those snaps that were really bad snaps, get them down, and then made both tackles on those plays. The first one should’ve been down at the 2, and one at the 10 and one at the 4.&nbsp; Buschini was magnificent. Bullock was an unsung hero, a guy that no one is noticing.”&nbsp;

On turnovers overall “Yes. I thought that if we could just not turn the ball over, we would have a chance. Games will be close, we’ll have a chance to win the game at the end. I didn’t probably prepare for us being as explosive as we are. Even in the first half, I showed our guys – forgive me, the numbers might be off – 32 plays for 210 yards in the first half, 27 plays for 208 yards in the second half. It wasn’t like we weren’t explosive. What you’re seeing, I think, is you’re seeing other people slow the game down, run the ball, try to bleed our defense, try to keep us off the field. You could see a quarterback going out there and saying ‘I’m going to be extra aggressive because I’m not getting a lot of plays.’ We played 57 plays on offense. What I like about Dylan (Raiola) is he’s checking the ball down, he’s getting completions, he’s moving the ball. I think the turnover margin, we’ve won it in every game except one where we tied it. Even in the game we lost, we won the turnover margin. I’d still love to see us get way more. We have five sacks, but no sacks with fumbles. That’s not good enough. I say that because the guys in our meeting – Ty Robinson – comes and barrels through and sacks the quarterback, he’s the first one to say ‘I should’ve knocked the ball out there.’ There are a lot of places we have to improve.”

On creating explosive plays and what the offense has done better than he thought they would “I think we’ve had the ability to get the ball to a bunch of different people. You can’t sit there and key in on ‘hey, they really like to favor (Isaiah) Neyor, hey they really like to favor this guy.’ If you throw in the pass interferences, I think we had seven 20+ yard plays, I think that would’ve been 10, 11, 12. We’re able to go out and throw general tempo dropbacks, and we’re holding up in protections. Emmett (Johnson) and Rahmir (Johnson) were excellent at blitzes. I think that’s allowed us to do some catch and run type things. There’s some things I’d like to see more of. We weren’t great in the red zone. The first half, we were 0-for-2 in the red zone and we were 2-for-2 in the second half, which is why the game changed. Third down was disappointing. You look at it, it was 4th and 1 and we false started. It was 3rd and 1 and we false started. I told our guys, it’s time for grown man football. ‘I thought I heard him call it’ – enough of that. If we can stay on the field a little bit more, maybe get a few more turnovers with the defense, we’ll really see some explosive things happen. You face some teams like Rutgers, who don’t give up explosive plays. They make you earn it. Coach (Greg) Schiano doesn’t give up explosive plays. They’re going to play quarters, they’re going to make you earn it. They will pressure you. We’re built like we want you to pressure us, we get the ball out of our hand. They sit there and play three or four quarters with rugged, rugged players and they’ll try to knock you back into the quarterback’s lap. It’s a whole different animal that we’re facing this week with the way they play.”

On if Rutgers’ game versus Washington is a template “I think they are in the top two or three. They convert third downs 51 percent. They have 33 minutes in time possession. They are top 10 in red zone defense. Washington had a ton of yards, but they were one for five for touchdowns in the red zone. Even the touchdown we scored, we had to go on fourth and inches to get it in. So, for us we are throwing the ball around decently. Can we get the tough yards? Can we get the fourth and one? Can we get the third and one without everything having to be a speed sweep? Can we line up and knock them back and go and get that yard. We need to look at the things that we are not doing well. So it’s hard tough yards that I am anxious to see.”&nbsp;&nbsp;

On Rutgers blocking kicks and how they will address it “Last week wasn’t the field goal protection team. It was the snapper. If you’re kicking the ball at one five. To me, it’s the snapper. We practice so much on special teams, on field goals, on punts, all those things. If there’s a problem, we will fix it. But if you have to start changing things now, then we are panicked. We know what to do. I mean that sincerely, we know what to do and we have the guys who can do it. They have to go do it. That’s the phase we are in. You have to hear me talk about winning football, championship football. You can’t be a different guy and practice than you are in the games. We’re making those kicks in practice everyday. I expect us to make them in the games. So, they are going to come after us. They should come after us. One thing we are doing is, after the first punt, if you go back to the last couple of games, the punters are getting the ball against us at 1.1, 1.2 in the balls are going 30 to 45 yards and going out of bounds. Our punt rush team hasn’t made the big play that everyone goes wow with. But the field is being tilted in our favor. We are getting the ball at the 35 yard line. They are getting the ball at the five. If anything, I am coachable. I watch Coach (Kirk) Ferentz and these guys. I am like, ‘Okay, how are the winning in these elements?’ The elements haven’t shown up yet but they are going to come after us. We have good players. They have to play well and that’s really been my message to the team is you can’t all of the sudden change who you are. If you’re going to be fast be fast. If you’re going to be tough be tough and it will be against a really good Rutgers team.”&nbsp;

On Ceyair Wright “He’s really smart. At the end of the day if you’re smart and you try, you have a chance. Some guys play football because they are talented. Some guys play because they are football players. I don’t know if that makes sense. Some people lift weights because they are lifters. Some people run because they are runners. Ceyair (Wright) is a football guy. He is a football player. He shows up and you’re not pulling teeth. We have some guys who are really talented and you’re trying to get to be a football player and they want to be everything else. Ceyair’s a football guy. He’s played a ton of football at a high level at USC. The moment is not too big for him. He likes to compete. He had to learn our way of doing things. Our way of practice. He’s a really good person. So when you do correct him on something like ‘hey, here’s what we expect.’ He does it. I think John Butler has done a really good job. (Rashaan) Melvin and Adam DiMichele and Tariq (Thompson) help him. They do a good job of getting him to represent. If you go back to that game we had Mario Buford in there playing. We rotated more guys. Jeremiah Charles got real reps, so we wanted to get more people in the games and be fresh in the fourth quarter.”&nbsp;

On Dylan Raiola going to a silent cadence and if this is rare “The thing we’ve done with Dylan is we’ve said everything in life happens for a reason. I had a chance to work with a guy named Ben McAdoo at the end of my Carolina time. It didn’t work out for us, but Ben had been with (Mike) McCarthy and all those guys in the Green Bay. The way they train you in Green Bay, they start the year off, here’s our four or five man beaters. Here’s our zero bit beaters. Here’s our cadences. When you have a guy like Aaron Rodgers you train them that way and pretty soon he has all the answers to the test. So what we do with Dylan from day one is however we want Dylan to play as a junior, we are trying to coach him that way now. Same thing with Danny Kaelin. Here’s your cadences. Here’s your checks. Here’s your audibles. Before the half, they brought 0 in and he checked the route to Rahmir (Johnson) and just missed him. We’re living with those things. I could have just won them but if we have coached them up and they’ve put the system in that’s really high level stuff because he can. He works at reps. I’m in my office earlier today, and he (Dylan) steps into my office and talks about things they do and asks ‘Can I do this? Can I do that?’ I think he’s rare. I think the confidence the coaching staff has given him to go do it and I think his preparation is way, way over here.”&nbsp;

On veteran receivers “They are growing too. They are in territory they haven’t been in before. They haven’t been 4-1 right? I don’t know how many road games they’ve won. They haven’t done those things. So, it’s this humble confidence to stand your ground. Be confident in the things you know you’re confident about, but also be humble and say ‘Hey, what do we need to improve on?’ Can you come in this week and can you have the same edge to you as you had last week about what we need to get better at. At the same time being confident. Knowing that they are good players. They have worked hard. A lot of those guys, they are all growing. I don’t think it’s age as much as it is ‘hey, what does this take?’ What does this require? You watch Purdue and they gave up, I don’t know how many yards they gave up to Notre Dame, but it was a bad day. They gave up 300 and some yards rushing to Oregon State. We don’t really have a running quarterback and their defensive head coach is not going to give up 200, 300 yards rushing three games in a row. He’s just not going to do it. They played man and left their guys on an island out there, so we went and threw those balls. I think our guys are learning that ‘Hey, just because we’re winning a few games, now people are going to be different against us.’ I’ve got to recognize what’s happening in the game. This is a cover two game. Them seeing the preparation. The things that we are working on showing up. Like, Barrett Liebentritt had the same play in practice, and it looked very good. We showed it to the whole team. He got in the game and he absolutely took out two guys. Practice matters. The guy that he hit in practice was Marques Buford, who is a two ACLs, bad shoulder, bad hit, bad neck, but he plays in every play, but he’s out there in his blackshirt competing. So I think, those older guys, being coachable. They still have a lot of say in things. Even some of the discipline issues that I’m dealing with guys on the team. I take those things like the leadership council like ‘hey, how do you guys think we should handle this?’ I haven’t done that in a long time but I am taking it to them because it matters. I don’t want to talk about the guys that aren’t doing things right. I have so many guys who are doing things right. I am just blessed to have guys like Tommi Hill battling to play and to get back out there.”&nbsp;&nbsp;

On Emmett Johnson and if he needs to rethink how he runs the running back group “I said last week that we’d like to get him more involved. Maybe a little bit earlier, we should’ve. I still think there’s a rhythm to it. Tackling Dante (Dowdell) is really hard. On the first touchdown drive, that’s a 2nd and 1 or 2nd and 2 and Dante bounces the ball outside and there’s two defenders there and he sets his pads and he runs right through them. If we ask Rahmir (Johnson) and Emmett to do all those things early in the game, they’re not going to be explosive late in the game. Having the big backs, you just have to understand that they’re setting the tone for the run game. What I loved about what Emmett did was that Emmett caught the ball out of the backfield, he picked up blitzes, the first guy never tackled him. We have our little keys to the game and one of the things for this week was get the ball to the perimeter and be untackleable. Don’t let them tackle you. Even an outside zone, when he cuts back, he gets nine yards because the first guy is never really tackling Emmett. I’m watching Gabe (Ervin Jr.) practice last week. Gabe came off of a major injury, he’s getting his swagger back. (Kwinten) Ives can go in and play. I like what Emmett did. Emmett deserves to keep playing. He was one of the ones we singled out out there, just because he did so many things. Maybe it wasn’t one huge play, he certainly built me up after my penalty, which I appreciate. I’m very grateful for that.”

On Rutgers’ Running Back Kyle Monangai&nbsp;&nbsp;“He’s like the Matrix. Nothing ever hits him. He’s running and he has such elite body balance and contact balance. He sees it coming, so no one ever gets a true shot on him. It’s always a glancing blow. I think he’s really, really, really a great player. Their offensive line coach, Pat (Flaherty), he was like my mentor when I was at New York. One thing I know about Flahts is that they’re going to set their pads and come off the ball. They’re going to be well-coached, they’re going to be physical. You watch their guys, when there’s a pile, their guys are running into the pile and trying to knock it forward. That’s the kind of offense people play against us – ‘we’re going to get 3, 4, 5 yards to stay on the field and try to wear you down.’ That’s a heck of a challenge for us, and he brings in the element – they had him backed up against Washington and three guys hit him and he can run for 60. When he gets tired, they can bring in Sam Brown and he’s 227 pounds and an excellent back. They’ve got two of the best backs we’ll see.”

On how the defense is handling that style of play “I think we wouldn’t have been pleased with it in games three and four. Last game, I thought we were better at it. The way we play, with the amount of movement and pressure and all that, a play is going to hit now and then because we’re moving. I thought, to hold them to 52 yards rushing, they came in and were averaging a lot more than that. We prepared for the outside zones. We knocked the outside zones out pretty quickly, and then it became some of the downhill stuff. I think it was that first drive of the third quarter, the guys on the headset said they were going with the Illinois plan. Our guys on defense understand, Illinois hasn’t shown this but they’re going to against us. Rutgers is a difficult run game for us because of the way they run the football. They’re going to run duo, they run zone, they run the quarterback a great deal. The quarterback might be coming out to throw RPOs, but he’s an athletic player. We played against him at Minnesota. There’s a lot of really difficult challenges this week. It’ll be quite a test for our defense.”

On John Bullock “I like the fact that he is a fifth or sixth-year player, and he just keeps getting better. He’s the Will linebacker in Tampa 2 when he picked off versus three by one. They ran that same play twice before, and he almost went and got it, then he finally just went and got it. While he is a fifth-year player, he’s only played linebacker about 14 games. Last year we had Luke (Reimer) and Nick (Henrich) out there a bunch, and they rotated a bunch. He’s still a young player in terms of his development as a linebacker, but he gets better, and better, and better. He’s always working on something. He’s working on getting off blocks, or striking, or blitz patterns, or playing man. If all of our team was like John in terms of the constant search for improvement and deliberate practice, we’d have a hard time losing. He’s always trying to get better. Hopefully we get Stefon Thompson this week, we got Javin Wright back in the mix, and Vincent Shavers is really stepping up. John doesn’t have to play as many snaps so his snaps, he can make impact plays like he did. He’s really affecting the ball, he got his hand on the ball three times against Colorado, one against UNI, last week he took the ball away when he ripped it out. This week he picks the ball off. When we’re talking about turnover margin, we’re saying ‘the defense is taking the ball away’ really he’s taking the ball away. Even the play that Tommi (Hill) picked off, they wanted to throw the ball to the number two option, he rolled in the window, so Shedeur (Sanders) had to go outside to number one and he picked that ball off. John has just done a lot of nuanced things.”&nbsp;

On Ndamukong Suh being inducted into the Nebraska Hall of Fame “I don’t even want to think about when I crossed paths with him in the NFL, he’s just so dominant. He was a Heisman candidate as a defensive player, he’s the most dominant defensive player at least in my recent college history. What I love about Ndamukong is as dominant as he’s been on the field, then he shows philanthropy giving back to the university which you don’t always see. The weight room is named after him because of him and his family’s generous gift. When you play against him in the NFL, he’s just vicious and an amazing competitor. He was in Tampa Bay, he was hard to block. Yet you look at the impact he’s having on young people in terms of saving, in terms of investments, coming back, helping guys with NIL in terms of how to manage their money. His purpose in life is way more than just football. I’m excited to have him back, I think it’ll be great for our players. Hopefully he can come visit with our guys, it’s really a great powerful message for our guys when your players see that the best days of their lives aren’t their recruiting rankings, or not how they were drafted. Each thing should be better than the next. Life after football should be the ultimate. Ndomukong comes in with a beautiful wife and great kids doing amazing things, he’s a tremendous role model.”

On his thoughts on what’s going on in North Carolina&nbsp;“I’ve had two stints of living in North Carolina, obviously I was in Charlotte with Carolina. I have a lot of great friends there and people we love. Our concern, our heart has been there. When Julie and I first left, we lived out in Western North Carolina. Just out past Asheville in Cullowhee, where Western Carolina University is. All those wonderful people in those small towns up through Tennessee and down through Georgia, my heart is certainly with them. As someone who has been part of a few of those kind of disasters, you see the absolute worst, and then sometimes you have a chance to see the absolute best. People picking up and leaving their lives to run and help. It’s sad, it’s unfortunate, and I met so many wonderful people during both my stints in North Carolina. My daughters still go to camp in Western North Carolina. All these people that we care about, we’ve been on the phone, we’ve been concerned. We’ve talked to a few people, some people we haven’t had a chance to talk to yet. We’ve been a little heavy-hearted over all that. Our hope is that the best part of man will step up at these times.”

Nebraska Head Coach Matt Rhule pre-Rutgers press conference

Story by Supernovas Communications

OMAHA, Neb.&nbsp;– The&nbsp;Omaha Supernovas,&nbsp;Nebraska’s professional volleyball team and first Pro Volleyball Champions, will have four players and one coach competing in the 2024 Athletes Unlimited Pro Volleyball season. AU returns for its fourth year which is set to go from October 3 to November 4 at the Arizona Athletic Grounds in Mesa, Arizona.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Supernovas&nbsp;Brooke Nuneviller, Natalia Valentín-Anderson, Kelsie Payne and Kayla Caffey&nbsp;will compete with Omaha assistant coach&nbsp;Thomas Robson&nbsp;acting as one of four facilitators for the league. &nbsp;

AU features a unique range of scoring innovations with individual athletes earning points based on both team wins and individual performance, with the leaderboard changing constantly. In addition, teams change each week with the top four athletes in the standings serving as captains and drafting their teams. At the end of the five-week season, the player with the most points is crowned as the league’s individual champion.&nbsp;

Nuneviller and Valentín-Anderson were selected as two of the four captains for the first week of competition. Plus, former Supernovas hitter and 2024 PVF Server of the Year&nbsp;Bethania de la Cruz&nbsp;is another captain. &nbsp;

There are several connections amongst the four teams drafted by the captains. Nuneviller will team up with Payne as well as former Supernovas&nbsp;Sydney Hilley&nbsp;and&nbsp;Lindsey Vander Weide. Valentín-Anderson drafted former teammate&nbsp;Allison Mayfield, who signed with the Vegas Thrill over the offseason. Caffey will play with de la Cruz as well as former Omaha outside hitter&nbsp;Paige Briggs-Romine&nbsp;and middle blocker&nbsp;Tori Dixon.&nbsp;

Action begins on Thursday, October 3 with Team Valentín-Anderson facing off against Team (Morgan) Hentz at 7 p.m. CDT while Team Nuneviller takes on Team De La Cruz at 9:30 p.m. CDT. Both matches can be found on Bally Sports and Volleyball World. Each week consists of a round robin format between all four teams. &nbsp;

To find a full schedule and complete rosters, visit this&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://db9xbvgbb.cc.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001bNR2KyFHcnGrtEvV1FduG8kHDJ7j2MlHxMlZiaai-5n34qNbHccT59HhUWi88dTcvQzJYJGjfzU3Awcttz0nwBuA8MaLaHSBdAlkNWSlw_aIwWrkbpCLKKrw1fcojGV1wyv69YhV5BTcp6VzzljQrgrIMOB000HrkMbsL3ugN8c=&amp;c=GrRhhPmSRw5N3k9OuMzOuddFloHJ2C-snAhC3tZtAv8mO4GU1GwgbQ==&amp;ch=znq5AJFWRiDTmtYFXSC7eA4leYHkFQ0BHHCX2vyoiOESgvAwt-JsnQ==">link</a>. &nbsp;

With another star-loaded roster and more opportunities to see the Supernovas, fans can buy the world’s hottest ticket in professional volleyball.

Buy your season ticket today by clicking this&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://db9xbvgbb.cc.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001bNR2KyFHcnGrtEvV1FduG8kHDJ7j2MlHxMlZiaai-5n34qNbHccT59zTSJli3-5UiL_J58nEqrYd6KPqErBKhiPhccvvnxM-7enbICWy0hBOPY0x0ct_Eko8wRxSh5mUifFGN85URXQuq2yZIv1eKWCW3kVSN8HCQhIxKk2XhCoGkiXaEagwAPL8rYNOOijy&amp;c=GrRhhPmSRw5N3k9OuMzOuddFloHJ2C-snAhC3tZtAv8mO4GU1GwgbQ==&amp;ch=znq5AJFWRiDTmtYFXSC7eA4leYHkFQ0BHHCX2vyoiOESgvAwt-JsnQ==">link</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;

For any questions regarding the season ticket purchase process, please visit the&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://db9xbvgbb.cc.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001bNR2KyFHcnGrtEvV1FduG8kHDJ7j2MlHxMlZiaai-5n34qNbHccT51_mhfIxF7zdDbFZo9e5uFO59gQjDo3LjzjbFa-b2fZnJt6fs8NjdWN9d8jj1n5icvPca81XyAo6fm_nzT3wylLbYlXj9DZd6NA4H1Im_TXELYsDquL79YM=&amp;c=GrRhhPmSRw5N3k9OuMzOuddFloHJ2C-snAhC3tZtAv8mO4GU1GwgbQ==&amp;ch=znq5AJFWRiDTmtYFXSC7eA4leYHkFQ0BHHCX2vyoiOESgvAwt-JsnQ==">Supernovas Ticket FAQ page</a>&nbsp;or by calling 402-502-5268.&nbsp;

To receive Supernovas updates, news and ticket information, download the official Supernovas App by clicking this&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://db9xbvgbb.cc.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001bNR2KyFHcnGrtEvV1FduG8kHDJ7j2MlHxMlZiaai-5n34qNbHccT55W56UAEBokhvTxNkMqmny-_vkRe2KdK4oGbs1ik3EQNWbFI8S9raHrlTGaGgHWOHOQFeIVBzCS8KHdvBY59pMY5y0WJC2JwzAkLBPJlM1TPIkyYHLkD-FDkXJRbqkRILw==&amp;c=GrRhhPmSRw5N3k9OuMzOuddFloHJ2C-snAhC3tZtAv8mO4GU1GwgbQ==&amp;ch=znq5AJFWRiDTmtYFXSC7eA4leYHkFQ0BHHCX2vyoiOESgvAwt-JsnQ==">link</a>.&nbsp;

To celebrate being the inaugural PVF champions, fans will be able to see the Supernovas and championship trophy as part of the official Championship Trophy Tour. Please click this&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://db9xbvgbb.cc.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001bNR2KyFHcnGrtEvV1FduG8kHDJ7j2MlHxMlZiaai-5n34qNbHccT58JhukwUnTAaQJeJohSoEN6XFmPVHcvYQf1PVQllcE73efZBcFHDc-mlotUMzbTGS026y-PwmdU96IkPhoOniJuiGZkQIaxo5pnZPuL0wUq6eYxhGSHWsnQyNX9cGRrEbcTyRa2TnHh2&amp;c=GrRhhPmSRw5N3k9OuMzOuddFloHJ2C-snAhC3tZtAv8mO4GU1GwgbQ==&amp;ch=znq5AJFWRiDTmtYFXSC7eA4leYHkFQ0BHHCX2vyoiOESgvAwt-JsnQ==">link</a>&nbsp;to see where the Supernovas are this summer and fall!&nbsp;

Story by Supernovas CommunicationsOMAHA, Neb.&nbsp;– The&nbsp;Omaha Supernovas,&nbsp;Nebraska’s professional volleyball team and first Pro Volleyball Champions, will have four players and one coach competing in the 2024 Athletes Unlimited Pro Volleyball season. AU returns for its fourth year which is set to go from October 3 to November 4 at the Arizona Athletic Grounds in Mesa, Arizona.&nbsp;&nbsp;Supernovas&nbsp;Brooke Nuneviller, Natalia Valentín-Anderson, Kelsie Payne and Kayla Caffey&nbsp;will compete with Omaha assistant coach&nbsp;Thomas Robson&nbsp;acting as one of four facilitators for the league. &nbsp;AU features a unique range of scoring innovations with individual athletes earning points based on both team wins and individual performance, with the leaderboard changing constantly. In addition, teams change each week with the top four athletes in the standings serving as captains and drafting their teams. At the end of the five-week season, the player with the most points is crowned as the league’s individual champion.&nbsp;Nuneviller and Valentín-Anderson were selected as two of the four captains for the first week of competition. Plus, former Supernovas hitter and 2024 PVF Server of the Year&nbsp;Bethania de la Cruz&nbsp;is another captain. &nbsp;There are several connections amongst the four teams drafted by the captains. Nuneviller will team up with Payne as well as former Supernovas&nbsp;Sydney Hilley&nbsp;and&nbsp;Lindsey Vander Weide. Valentín-Anderson drafted former teammate&nbsp;Allison Mayfield, who signed with the Vegas Thrill over the offseason. Caffey will play with de la Cruz as well as former Omaha outside hitter&nbsp;Paige Briggs-Romine&nbsp;and middle blocker&nbsp;Tori Dixon.&nbsp;Action begins on Thursday, October 3 with Team Valentín-Anderson facing off against Team (Morgan) Hentz at 7 p.m. CDT while Team Nuneviller takes on Team De La Cruz at 9:30 p.m. CDT. Both matches can be found on Bally Sports and Volleyball World. Each week consists of a round robin format between all four teams. &nbsp;To find a full schedule and complete rosters, visit this&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://db9xbvgbb.cc.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001bNR2KyFHcnGrtEvV1FduG8kHDJ7j2MlHxMlZiaai-5n34qNbHccT59HhUWi88dTcvQzJYJGjfzU3Awcttz0nwBuA8MaLaHSBdAlkNWSlw_aIwWrkbpCLKKrw1fcojGV1wyv69YhV5BTcp6VzzljQrgrIMOB000HrkMbsL3ugN8c=&amp;c=GrRhhPmSRw5N3k9OuMzOuddFloHJ2C-snAhC3tZtAv8mO4GU1GwgbQ==&amp;ch=znq5AJFWRiDTmtYFXSC7eA4leYHkFQ0BHHCX2vyoiOESgvAwt-JsnQ==">link</a>. &nbsp;With another star-loaded roster and more opportunities to see the Supernovas, fans can buy the world’s hottest ticket in professional volleyball.Buy your season ticket today by clicking this&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://db9xbvgbb.cc.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001bNR2KyFHcnGrtEvV1FduG8kHDJ7j2MlHxMlZiaai-5n34qNbHccT59zTSJli3-5UiL_J58nEqrYd6KPqErBKhiPhccvvnxM-7enbICWy0hBOPY0x0ct_Eko8wRxSh5mUifFGN85URXQuq2yZIv1eKWCW3kVSN8HCQhIxKk2XhCoGkiXaEagwAPL8rYNOOijy&amp;c=GrRhhPmSRw5N3k9OuMzOuddFloHJ2C-snAhC3tZtAv8mO4GU1GwgbQ==&amp;ch=znq5AJFWRiDTmtYFXSC7eA4leYHkFQ0BHHCX2vyoiOESgvAwt-JsnQ==">link</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;For any questions regarding the season ticket purchase process, please visit the&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://db9xbvgbb.cc.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001bNR2KyFHcnGrtEvV1FduG8kHDJ7j2MlHxMlZiaai-5n34qNbHccT51_mhfIxF7zdDbFZo9e5uFO59gQjDo3LjzjbFa-b2fZnJt6fs8NjdWN9d8jj1n5icvPca81XyAo6fm_nzT3wylLbYlXj9DZd6NA4H1Im_TXELYsDquL79YM=&amp;c=GrRhhPmSRw5N3k9OuMzOuddFloHJ2C-snAhC3tZtAv8mO4GU1GwgbQ==&amp;ch=znq5AJFWRiDTmtYFXSC7eA4leYHkFQ0BHHCX2vyoiOESgvAwt-JsnQ==">Supernovas Ticket FAQ page</a>&nbsp;or by calling 402-502-5268.&nbsp;To receive Supernovas updates, news and ticket information, download the official Supernovas App by clicking this&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://db9xbvgbb.cc.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001bNR2KyFHcnGrtEvV1FduG8kHDJ7j2MlHxMlZiaai-5n34qNbHccT55W56UAEBokhvTxNkMqmny-_vkRe2KdK4oGbs1ik3EQNWbFI8S9raHrlTGaGgHWOHOQFeIVBzCS8KHdvBY59pMY5y0WJC2JwzAkLBPJlM1TPIkyYHLkD-FDkXJRbqkRILw==&amp;c=GrRhhPmSRw5N3k9OuMzOuddFloHJ2C-snAhC3tZtAv8mO4GU1GwgbQ==&amp;ch=znq5AJFWRiDTmtYFXSC7eA4leYHkFQ0BHHCX2vyoiOESgvAwt-JsnQ==">link</a>.&nbsp;To celebrate being the inaugural PVF champions, fans will be able to see the Supernovas and championship trophy as part of the official Championship Trophy Tour. Please click this&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://db9xbvgbb.cc.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001bNR2KyFHcnGrtEvV1FduG8kHDJ7j2MlHxMlZiaai-5n34qNbHccT58JhukwUnTAaQJeJohSoEN6XFmPVHcvYQf1PVQllcE73efZBcFHDc-mlotUMzbTGS026y-PwmdU96IkPhoOniJuiGZkQIaxo5pnZPuL0wUq6eYxhGSHWsnQyNX9cGRrEbcTyRa2TnHh2&amp;c=GrRhhPmSRw5N3k9OuMzOuddFloHJ2C-snAhC3tZtAv8mO4GU1GwgbQ==&amp;ch=znq5AJFWRiDTmtYFXSC7eA4leYHkFQ0BHHCX2vyoiOESgvAwt-JsnQ==">link</a>&nbsp;to see where the Supernovas are this summer and fall!&nbsp;

Supernovas set to compete in 2024 Athletes Unlimited Pro Volleyball Season  

Story by NU Athletic Communications

Hamish Murray scorched the University Ridge Golf Course in Verona, Wisconsin for a collegiate career-best 66 (-6) to fly 45 spots up the leaderboard on Monday at the Badger Invitational.

Murray, a senior from Sydney, Australia, recorded seven birdies along with 10 pars against just one bogey to move from a tie for 62nd after Sunday's opening round to a tie for 17th. Murray played the back nine on Monday at 31 with four consecutive birdies on No. 10, 11, 12 and 13 before adding a birdie on No. 16.

Murray and teammate Rudy Sautron closed the day in a tie for 17th at 143 (-1) through 36 holes in the 90-player field on the 7,286-yard layout at University Ridge. Sautron, a sophomore from Reunion Island, France, produced a 71 (-1) on Monday that included his third eagle of the young season on the par-5 ninth hole.

Redshirt sophomore Evan McDermott continued his solid play with a one-under-par 71 of his own, as he moved to the final round in 25th at even-par 144.&nbsp;

True freshman Brodie Cunningham rounded out Nebraska's team score in the five-count-four format with an even-par 72. Cunningham opened the tournament with a 73 on Sunday, including an eagle on the par-5 second hole. Cunningham is tied for 29th at 145 (+1) heading to the final round.

Nebraska closed the day with a 280 (-8) team score to climb three spots in the standings to seventh in the 16-team field. The Huskers are 14 strokes behind the hosts from Wisconsin (561), but just five strokes from fourth place heading to the final round.

Long Beach State and Northern Illinois are tied for second at 563 (-13), while Illinois State sits in fourth at 571 (-5).

The Badger Invitational concludes with Tuesday's final round beginning at 9 a.m. (CT).

Badger InvitationalSeptember 29-October 1, 2024University Ridge GC (Par 72, 7,286 Yards)Verona, WisconsinTeam Standings (Two Rounds)1. Wisconsin - 281-280=561 (-15)T2. Northern Illinois - 283-280-563 (-13)T2. Long Beach State - 286-277=563 (-13)4. Illinois State - 282-289=571 (-5)5. Washington State - 288-284=572 (-4)6. Southern Miss - 289-285=574 (-2)7. Nebraska - 295-280=575 (-1)8. Memphis - 290-287=577 (+1)9. Minnesota - 292-288=580 (+4)10. South Dakota State - 294-296=590 (+14)11. Ball State - 304-288=592 (+16)T12. Western Kentucky - 306-287=593 (+17)T12. Southern Illinois - 295-298=593 (+17)14. Winthrop - 304-290=594 (+18)15. VCU - 303-295=598 (+22)16. Green Bay - 305-303=608 (+32)Individual Standings (Two Rounds)1. William Harned, Wisconsin - 66-68=134 (-10)T2. Sam Renner, Washington State - 69-67=136 (-8)T2. Felix Krammer, Northern Illinois - 64-72=136 (-8)T4. Alejandro De Castro, Long Beach State - 76-63=139 (-5)T4. TJ Barger, Illinois State - 69-70=139 (-5)T4. Patrick Raupp, Northern Illinois - 72-67=139 (-5)T4. Clay Seeber, Long Beach State - 69-70=139 (-5)*T8. Pattanan Bruminhent, Northern Illinois - 69-71=140 (-4)T8. Yixiang Wang, Memphis - 72-68=140 (-4)10. Jason Schwartz, Wisconsin - 70-71-141 (-3)Nebraska IndividualsT17. Hamish Murray - 77-66=143 (-1)T17. Rudy Sautron - 72-71=143 (-1)T25. Evan McDermott - 73-71=144 (E)T29. Brodie Cunningham - 73-72=145 (+1)T60. Quinn Yost - 78-73=151 (+7)

Story by NU Athletic CommunicationsHamish Murray scorched the University Ridge Golf Course in Verona, Wisconsin for a collegiate career-best 66 (-6) to fly 45 spots up the leaderboard on Monday at the Badger Invitational.Murray, a senior from Sydney, Australia, recorded seven birdies along with 10 pars against just one bogey to move from a tie for 62nd after Sunday's opening round to a tie for 17th. Murray played the back nine on Monday at 31 with four consecutive birdies on No. 10, 11, 12 and 13 before adding a birdie on No. 16.Murray and teammate Rudy Sautron closed the day in a tie for 17th at 143 (-1) through 36 holes in the 90-player field on the 7,286-yard layout at University Ridge. Sautron, a sophomore from Reunion Island, France, produced a 71 (-1) on Monday that included his third eagle of the young season on the par-5 ninth hole.Redshirt sophomore Evan McDermott continued his solid play with a one-under-par 71 of his own, as he moved to the final round in 25th at even-par 144.&nbsp;True freshman Brodie Cunningham rounded out Nebraska's team score in the five-count-four format with an even-par 72. Cunningham opened the tournament with a 73 on Sunday, including an eagle on the par-5 second hole. Cunningham is tied for 29th at 145 (+1) heading to the final round.Nebraska closed the day with a 280 (-8) team score to climb three spots in the standings to seventh in the 16-team field. The Huskers are 14 strokes behind the hosts from Wisconsin (561), but just five strokes from fourth place heading to the final round.Long Beach State and Northern Illinois are tied for second at 563 (-13), while Illinois State sits in fourth at 571 (-5).The Badger Invitational concludes with Tuesday's final round beginning at 9 a.m. (CT).Badger InvitationalSeptember 29-October 1, 2024University Ridge GC (Par 72, 7,286 Yards)Verona, WisconsinTeam Standings (Two Rounds)1. Wisconsin - 281-280=561 (-15)T2. Northern Illinois - 283-280-563 (-13)T2. Long Beach State - 286-277=563 (-13)4. Illinois State - 282-289=571 (-5)5. Washington State - 288-284=572 (-4)6. Southern Miss - 289-285=574 (-2)7. Nebraska - 295-280=575 (-1)8. Memphis - 290-287=577 (+1)9. Minnesota - 292-288=580 (+4)10. South Dakota State - 294-296=590 (+14)11. Ball State - 304-288=592 (+16)T12. Western Kentucky - 306-287=593 (+17)T12. Southern Illinois - 295-298=593 (+17)14. Winthrop - 304-290=594 (+18)15. VCU - 303-295=598 (+22)16. Green Bay - 305-303=608 (+32)Individual Standings (Two Rounds)1. William Harned, Wisconsin - 66-68=134 (-10)T2. Sam Renner, Washington State - 69-67=136 (-8)T2. Felix Krammer, Northern Illinois - 64-72=136 (-8)T4. Alejandro De Castro, Long Beach State - 76-63=139 (-5)T4. TJ Barger, Illinois State - 69-70=139 (-5)T4. Patrick Raupp, Northern Illinois - 72-67=139 (-5)T4. Clay Seeber, Long Beach State - 69-70=139 (-5)*T8. Pattanan Bruminhent, Northern Illinois - 69-71=140 (-4)T8. Yixiang Wang, Memphis - 72-68=140 (-4)10. Jason Schwartz, Wisconsin - 70-71-141 (-3)Nebraska IndividualsT17. Hamish Murray - 77-66=143 (-1)T17. Rudy Sautron - 72-71=143 (-1)T25. Evan McDermott - 73-71=144 (E)T29. Brodie Cunningham - 73-72=145 (+1)T60. Quinn Yost - 78-73=151 (+7)

Murray fires career-best 66 in Wisconsin

Nebraska's Lauren Thiele put together rounds of 73 and 75 to close the first 36 holes tied atop the leaderboard at the Big O Classic in Omaha on Monday.

Thiele, a redshirt sophomore from Wahoo, Neb., shares the tournament lead with Omaha's Katie Ruge at 148 (+5) heading into Tuesday's final round on the par-72, 6,019-yard layout at the Oak Hills Country Club.

Thiele was joined in the top 10 by Husker teammates Danica Lundgren and Symran Shah. Lundgren, a freshman from Austin, Texas, matched Thiele with an opening-round 73, before adding a second-round 78. Lundgren is in sixth place at 151 (+7) through 36 holes.

Shah, a redshirt sophomore from Carrolltown, Texas, sits just one shot back of Lundgren in a tie for seventh at 152 (+8) after rounds of 73 and 79.&nbsp;

All three Huskers are playing as individuals in a 50-player field at the Big O Classic. They will challenge for the individual title on Tuesday beginning at 9 a.m. (CT). Live scoring is available from GolfStat.

Big O ClassicSeptember 30-October 1, 2024Omaha, NebraskaOak Hills Country Club (Par 72, 6,019 Yards)

Individual Standings (Two Rounds)T1. Katie Ruge, Omaha - 75-73=148 (+4)T1. Lauren Thiele, Nebraska - 73-75=148 (+4)3. Paula Sanchez, Lindenwood - 76-73=149 (+5)T4. Emily Karmazin, Omaha - 75-75=150 (+6)T4. Sydney Taake, Omaha - 74-76=150 (+6)6. Danica Lundgren, Nebraska - 73-78=151 (+7)T7. Olivia Holyoke-Church, Iowa Western CC - 76-76=152 (+8)T7. Symran Shah, Nebraska - 73-79=152 (+8)9. Isabelle Thrall, Drury - 78-75=153 (+9)10. Morgan Becker, Creighton - 79-75=154 (+10)&nbsp;

Story by NU Athletic CommunicationsNebraska's Lauren Thiele put together rounds of 73 and 75 to close the first 36 holes tied atop the leaderboard at the Big O Classic in Omaha on Monday.Thiele, a redshirt sophomore from Wahoo, Neb., shares the tournament lead with Omaha's Katie Ruge at 148 (+5) heading into Tuesday's final round on the par-72, 6,019-yard layout at the Oak Hills Country Club.Thiele was joined in the top 10 by Husker teammates Danica Lundgren and Symran Shah. Lundgren, a freshman from Austin, Texas, matched Thiele with an opening-round 73, before adding a second-round 78. Lundgren is in sixth place at 151 (+7) through 36 holes.Shah, a redshirt sophomore from Carrolltown, Texas, sits just one shot back of Lundgren in a tie for seventh at 152 (+8) after rounds of 73 and 79.&nbsp;All three Huskers are playing as individuals in a 50-player field at the Big O Classic. They will challenge for the individual title on Tuesday beginning at 9 a.m. (CT). Live scoring is available from GolfStat.Big O ClassicSeptember 30-October 1, 2024Omaha, NebraskaOak Hills Country Club (Par 72, 6,019 Yards)Individual Standings (Two Rounds)T1. Katie Ruge, Omaha - 75-73=148 (+4)T1. Lauren Thiele, Nebraska - 73-75=148 (+4)3. Paula Sanchez, Lindenwood - 76-73=149 (+5)T4. Emily Karmazin, Omaha - 75-75=150 (+6)T4. Sydney Taake, Omaha - 74-76=150 (+6)6. Danica Lundgren, Nebraska - 73-78=151 (+7)T7. Olivia Holyoke-Church, Iowa Western CC - 76-76=152 (+8)T7. Symran Shah, Nebraska - 73-79=152 (+8)9. Isabelle Thrall, Drury - 78-75=153 (+9)10. Morgan Becker, Creighton - 79-75=154 (+10)&nbsp;

 Thiele tied for lead in Omaha

Story by NPCC Athletic Communications

Lincoln, Neb. – North Platte Community College volleyball used 42 kills to power past Southeast Community College on Monday.

"I think our blocking was finally where we want it to be," said head coach Alexa McCall. "If we find a way to clean up the errors, we will be a force to be reckoned with down the final stretch of the season."

Knights improve to 8-16 overall and 2-1 in Region IX play, while Southeast drops to 4-15 and 0-3 in region matches.

Jaelyn Dicke recorded her third straight game with at least 10 kills while tallying 19 digs in the match. Nya Lual and Kathryn Folkers each tallied eight kills, as the dominant front row combined for six of the Knights 13 blocks against the Bobcats.

Aubrey Grant notched 35 set assists, while fellow sophomore EmiLee Walnofer recorded 24 digs in four sets.

North Platte hits the road for the two-day Pinnacle Bank Classic in Columbus on Friday. Knights open the tournament with Allen County Community College at 3 p.m. inside the Raider Field House.

Story by NPCC Athletic CommunicationsLincoln, Neb. – North Platte Community College volleyball used 42 kills to power past Southeast Community College on Monday."I think our blocking was finally where we want it to be," said head coach Alexa McCall. "If we find a way to clean up the errors, we will be a force to be reckoned with down the final stretch of the season."Knights improve to 8-16 overall and 2-1 in Region IX play, while Southeast drops to 4-15 and 0-3 in region matches.Jaelyn Dicke recorded her third straight game with at least 10 kills while tallying 19 digs in the match. Nya Lual and Kathryn Folkers each tallied eight kills, as the dominant front row combined for six of the Knights 13 blocks against the Bobcats.Aubrey Grant notched 35 set assists, while fellow sophomore EmiLee Walnofer recorded 24 digs in four sets.North Platte hits the road for the two-day Pinnacle Bank Classic in Columbus on Friday. Knights open the tournament with Allen County Community College at 3 p.m. inside the Raider Field House.

Knights make it three straight with win over Bobcats

KEARNEY – Peyton Neff is an unquestioned leader for the University of Nebraska at Kearney volleyball team.

One of the most experienced players on this year’s roster, the North Platte native has learned to embrace her role as a team captain.

“Being a setter, I feel like that leadership aspect is important, no matter what age you are,” Neff said. “That’s something that Maddie helped me recognize early on.”

Maddie Squiers is an assistant coach for the third-ranked Lopers, someone who’s built a trusting relationship with Neff over the past three years and played a key part in her development.

“Whenever coach (Rick) Squiers really wants something out of Peyton, he kind of goes through me,” Squiers said of her father, who’s led the UNK volleyball program since 1999. “He gives me a lot of feedback to give to Peyton. And Peyton feels comfortable coming to me with questions.”

A three-time all-conference performer and two-time all-state selection, Neff was a do-it-all player for North Platte, finishing her high school career with more than 2,200 assists, 700 digs, 400 kills and 100 aces.

The 2018 North Platte Telegraph Player of the Year committed to UNK in fall 2020, following in the footsteps of multiple family members. Her mother, Pam (Sis) Jorgensen, played basketball for the Lopers and her father, P.D., was on the baseball team. Neff’s aunt, Tam (Sis) Kuenle, was an all-conference volleyball player for Kearney State College who still ranks in the top 10 in program history in solo blocks, total blocks and sets played.

That family connection is really cool – “There’s a picture of my mom in the Health and Sports Center with her crazy hairdo from back in the day,” Neff said with a laugh – but it’s not the main reason why she chose UNK.

“I liked that it was close to home and it was such a successful program,” she explained. “I knew that I was coming to a program that wanted to win.”

However, that success comes with increased pressure.

Neff admits she was “very scared” when she arrived on campus as a freshman. Fortunately, there was someone here to calm those nerves.

Squiers played club volleyball with Neff’s older sister, Alex, before starting her college career at Bellevue University, where she was a two-time NAIA All-American.

She transferred to UNK in 2018 and redshirted that year, then joined the starting rotation in 2019, when the Lopers put together one of the best seasons in program history. They went 38-1 and reached the NCAA Division II national championship match for just the second time.

When the COVID-19 pandemic canceled the 2020 season, Squiers received another year of eligibility, allowing her to come back as a sixth-year senior in 2021.

“That whole year was just really unique,” she said. “We still joke about it. The freshmen who came in during my sixth year, they were in seventh grade when I was a senior in high school. So it was a really interesting dynamic having teammates who were so much younger than me.”

The odd situation ended up being a major benefit for Neff, who learned from the veteran setter during her redshirt year.

“It was really valuable to have somebody ahead of me who was super experienced, knew volleyball so well and was so dedicated to the program,” Neff said.

“Even playing on the other side during practice, it was frustrating, but also fun to get to play against her,” she added with a smile.

The Lopers went 26-7 that season and qualified for the Division II national tournament for the 22nd straight year. Squiers led the team with 1,338 assists and a program-record 53 aces while playing in all 115 sets. She was named a Division II All-American and All-MIAA First Team selection for the second time.

“I knew my last year that Peyton was going to be the setter after me, so I really felt like I had the mindset of taking her under my wing, teaching her and giving her feedback,” said Squiers, who continues to provide this mentorship as an assistant coach.

When Squiers transitioned from the court to the bench, that wasn’t the only change she wanted to see.

She encouraged Neff to develop her own identity and do things her way.

“You have to have your own style, your own leadership style, your own way of running things,” Squiers said. “And it’s been really cool to see that evolve. She’s grown so much from her freshman year to where she is now.”

The Lopers are 69-12 since Neff became the starting setter in 2022, including a perfect 12-0 record to start this season. She’s played in all but three sets during that time, earning All-MIAA First Team honors in both 2022 and 2023. Neff was also selected as a Division II All-American and First Team All-Region performer last year.

She’s been equally successful in the classroom, receiving the MIAA Excellence Award for a perfect 4.0 GPA the past three years. Neff graduated summa cum laude in May with a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.unk.edu/academics/psychology/index.php">bachelor’s degree in psychology</a>&nbsp;and she’s currently enrolled in the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.unk.edu/academics/csp/school_psychology.php">school psychology graduate program</a>.

The MIAA Setter of the Week twice this season, she ranks ninth in program history with 3,114 career assists – one spot ahead of Squiers. But that’s not a stat either of them cares about.

Like any good leader, they’re both focused team goals: a conference championship and 25th consecutive trip to the national tournament.

“Looking back at the last few years, we’ve made it to the conference championship but didn’t win, so I would really like to make it to the championship again and win this year,” Neff said. “There were so many championships before I got here, so it’d be cool to be able to win one.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/9/1727710193889.jpeg" alt="Peyton Neff has played in all but three sets for UNK volleyball over the past three years. She was selected as a Division II All-American in 2023. (UNK Communications)" />
 <figcaption>Peyton Neff has played in all but three sets for UNK volleyball over the past three years. She was selected as a Division II All-American in 2023. (UNK Communications)</figcaption>
 </figure>By TYLER ELLYSONUNK CommunicationsKEARNEY – Peyton Neff is an unquestioned leader for the University of Nebraska at Kearney volleyball team.One of the most experienced players on this year’s roster, the North Platte native has learned to embrace her role as a team captain.“Being a setter, I feel like that leadership aspect is important, no matter what age you are,” Neff said. “That’s something that Maddie helped me recognize early on.”Maddie Squiers is an assistant coach for the third-ranked Lopers, someone who’s built a trusting relationship with Neff over the past three years and played a key part in her development.“Whenever coach (Rick) Squiers really wants something out of Peyton, he kind of goes through me,” Squiers said of her father, who’s led the UNK volleyball program since 1999. “He gives me a lot of feedback to give to Peyton. And Peyton feels comfortable coming to me with questions.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/9/1727710009173.jpeg" alt="Peyton Neff is pictured with her mother, Pam (Sis) Jorgensen, and father, P.D. Neff. Pam and P.D. were both Loper student-athletes. (UNK Communications)" />
 <figcaption>Peyton Neff is pictured with her mother, Pam (Sis) Jorgensen, and father, P.D. Neff. Pam and P.D. were both Loper student-athletes. (UNK Communications)</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>LOPER CONNECTIONS</h2>A three-time all-conference performer and two-time all-state selection, Neff was a do-it-all player for North Platte, finishing her high school career with more than 2,200 assists, 700 digs, 400 kills and 100 aces.The 2018 North Platte Telegraph Player of the Year committed to UNK in fall 2020, following in the footsteps of multiple family members. Her mother, Pam (Sis) Jorgensen, played basketball for the Lopers and her father, P.D., was on the baseball team. Neff’s aunt, Tam (Sis) Kuenle, was an all-conference volleyball player for Kearney State College who still ranks in the top 10 in program history in solo blocks, total blocks and sets played.That family connection is really cool – “There’s a picture of my mom in the Health and Sports Center with her crazy hairdo from back in the day,” Neff said with a laugh – but it’s not the main reason why she chose UNK.“I liked that it was close to home and it was such a successful program,” she explained. “I knew that I was coming to a program that wanted to win.”However, that success comes with increased pressure.Neff admits she was “very scared” when she arrived on campus as a freshman. Fortunately, there was someone here to calm those nerves.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/9/1727710055121.jpeg" alt="UNK setter Peyton Neff, left, and assistant coach Maddie Squiers chat before a recent match at the Health and Sports Center. Neff has been learning from Squiers since they were teammates in 2021 (UNK Communications)" />
 <figcaption>UNK setter Peyton Neff, left, and assistant coach Maddie Squiers chat before a recent match at the Health and Sports Center. Neff has been learning from Squiers since they were teammates in 2021 (UNK Communications)</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>VALUABLE ROLE MODEL</h2>Squiers played club volleyball with Neff’s older sister, Alex, before starting her college career at Bellevue University, where she was a two-time NAIA All-American.She transferred to UNK in 2018 and redshirted that year, then joined the starting rotation in 2019, when the Lopers put together one of the best seasons in program history. They went 38-1 and reached the NCAA Division II national championship match for just the second time.When the COVID-19 pandemic canceled the 2020 season, Squiers received another year of eligibility, allowing her to come back as a sixth-year senior in 2021.“That whole year was just really unique,” she said. “We still joke about it. The freshmen who came in during my sixth year, they were in seventh grade when I was a senior in high school. So it was a really interesting dynamic having teammates who were so much younger than me.”The odd situation ended up being a major benefit for Neff, who learned from the veteran setter during her redshirt year.“It was really valuable to have somebody ahead of me who was super experienced, knew volleyball so well and was so dedicated to the program,” Neff said.“Even playing on the other side during practice, it was frustrating, but also fun to get to play against her,” she added with a smile.The Lopers went 26-7 that season and qualified for the Division II national tournament for the 22nd straight year. Squiers led the team with 1,338 assists and a program-record 53 aces while playing in all 115 sets. She was named a Division II All-American and All-MIAA First Team selection for the second time.“I knew my last year that Peyton was going to be the setter after me, so I really felt like I had the mindset of taking her under my wing, teaching her and giving her feedback,” said Squiers, who continues to provide this mentorship as an assistant coach.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/9/1727710101151.jpeg" alt="The Lopers are 69-12 since Peyton Neff (1) became the starting setter in 2022, including a perfect 12-0 record to start this season. (UNK Communications)" />
 <figcaption>The Lopers are 69-12 since Peyton Neff (1) became the starting setter in 2022, including a perfect 12-0 record to start this season. (UNK Communications)</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>FIND YOUR STYLE</h2>When Squiers transitioned from the court to the bench, that wasn’t the only change she wanted to see.She encouraged Neff to develop her own identity and do things her way.“You have to have your own style, your own leadership style, your own way of running things,” Squiers said. “And it’s been really cool to see that evolve. She’s grown so much from her freshman year to where she is now.”The Lopers are 69-12 since Neff became the starting setter in 2022, including a perfect 12-0 record to start this season. She’s played in all but three sets during that time, earning All-MIAA First Team honors in both 2022 and 2023. Neff was also selected as a Division II All-American and First Team All-Region performer last year.She’s been equally successful in the classroom, receiving the MIAA Excellence Award for a perfect 4.0 GPA the past three years. Neff graduated summa cum laude in May with a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.unk.edu/academics/psychology/index.php">bachelor’s degree in psychology</a>&nbsp;and she’s currently enrolled in the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.unk.edu/academics/csp/school_psychology.php">school psychology graduate program</a>.The MIAA Setter of the Week twice this season, she ranks ninth in program history with 3,114 career assists – one spot ahead of Squiers. But that’s not a stat either of them cares about.Like any good leader, they’re both focused team goals: a conference championship and 25th consecutive trip to the national tournament.“Looking back at the last few years, we’ve made it to the conference championship but didn’t win, so I would really like to make it to the championship again and win this year,” Neff said. “There were so many championships before I got here, so it’d be cool to be able to win one.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/9/1727710146933.jpeg" alt="Peyton Neff (UNK Communications)" />
 <figcaption>Peyton Neff (UNK Communications)</figcaption>
 </figure>

Set Up for Success: North Platte native Peyton Neff takes on leadership role for UNK volleyball

Lincoln North Star 20 vs Omaha Westview 0

Lincoln Southwest 41 vs South Sioux City 6

Lourdes Central Catholic 84 vs Omaha Christian Academy 22

Papillion-LaVista 22 @ Creighton Preparatory School 3

Archangels Catholic 50 @ Nebraska Christian 12

@ Bloomfield: Bloomfield vs. Wausa-Osmond

Elkhorn Valley 46 @ Laurel-Concord-Coleridge 32

Falls City Sacred Heart 36 vs Humboldt-Table Rock-Steinauer 20

North Platte St. Patrick's 50 vs Hi-Line 14

Raymond Central 32 vs Lincoln Lutheran 21

Sumner-Eddyville-Miller 56 vs Medicine Valley 31

Tekamah-Herman 24 @ North Bend Central 14

<h2>Thursday, September 26, 2024</h2>Aquinas Catholic 20 vs Arlington 12Boys Town 52 @ Omaha Gross Catholic 7Garden County 65 @ South Platte 14Lincoln North Star 20 vs Omaha Westview 0Lincoln Southwest 41 vs South Sioux City 6Lourdes Central Catholic 84 vs Omaha Christian Academy 22Millard North 63 vs Omaha Bryan 6Mullen 22 @ Hyannis 16Overton 65 @ Maywood-Hayes Center 27Papillion-LaVista 22 @ Creighton Preparatory School 3Perkins County 34 @ Sutherland 20Stanton 62 @ Lutheran High Northeast 8<h2>Friday, September 27, 2024</h2>Ainsworth 70 @ St. Mary's 68Ansley-Litchfield 46 vs Shelton 40Arapahoe 26 vs Dundy County Stratton 20Archangels Catholic 50 @ Nebraska Christian 12Arthur County 81 vs Minatare 13Ashland-Greenwood 48 vs Louisville 7Auburn 68 vs Wilber-Clatonia 0Axtell 52 vs Kenesaw 32Bancroft-Rosalie 74 @ Randolph 38Battle Creek 45 vs Oakland-Craig 38Bellevue East 47 vs Omaha Northwest 12Bellevue West 62 vs Omaha Buena Vista 0Bishop Neumann 74 vs Palmyra 0@ Bloomfield: Bloomfield vs. Wausa-OsmondBoone Central 42 @ Cross County 6Cedar Catholic 49 @ West Point-Beemer 14Centennial 38 @ Heartland 0Central City 39 @ Adams Central 22Central Valley 64 @ Burwell 6Chadron 34 @ Ogallala 14Chase County 49 vs Alliance 0Columbus 38 vs North Platte 21Columbus Lakeview 49 vs Schuyler 7Cozad 42 @ Broken Bow 7Creek Valley 40 @ Banner County 13Creighton 68 @ Elgin Public/Pope John 20Crofton 34 @ Hartington-Newcastle 14David City 56 vs Twin River 6Diller-Odell 47 @ Lewiston 12Dorchester 58 vs Harvard 12EMF 34 @ Sutton 30Elkhorn North 21 vs Blair 7Elkhorn South 70 @ Omaha South 0Elkhorn Valley 46 @ Laurel-Concord-Coleridge 32Elm Creek 63 vs Franklin 14Falls City 22 @ Nebraska City 14Falls City Sacred Heart 36 vs Humboldt-Table Rock-Steinauer 20Fremont 43 @ Omaha Burke 12Gretna East 41 vs Plattsmouth 6Hampton 59 vs Heartland Lutheran 8Hastings 49 @ Beatrice 7Howells-Dodge 46 @ Fullerton 8Humphrey-Lindsay 26 vs NG/SE 12Johnson County Central 32 vs Freeman 27Johnson-Brock 56 vs Elmwood-Murdock 20Kearney 27 vs Lincoln East 12Kearney Catholic 31 vs Amherst 7Leyton 47 vs Potter-Dix 32Lincoln Christian 31 vs Milford 0Loomis 36 @ Cambridge 16McCool Junction 50 vs Mead 30Millard South 56 @ Lincoln Southeast 12Minden 20 vs Holdrege 13Nebraska Lutheran 56 @ Giltner 42Neligh-Oakdale 62 vs North Central 20Niobrara/Verdigre 24 vs Boyd County 22Norfolk Catholic 43 vs Ponca 16Norris 24 @ Lincoln Pius X 14North Platte St. Patrick's 50 vs Hi-Line 14ONeill 41 @ Wayne 21Omaha North 47 vs Lincoln Northeast 3Omaha Westside 48 @ Omaha Central 14Ord 49 @ St. Paul 13Papillion-LaVista South 47 vs Norfolk 0Pawnee City 60 @ Parkview Christian 16Paxton 35 vs Wauneta-Palisade 27Pender 60 @ Homer 36Pleasanton 35 vs Arcadia-Loup City 6Ravenna 64 @ Sandhills Valley 18Raymond Central 32 vs Lincoln Lutheran 21Red Cloud 53 vs Meridian 20Riverside 44 vs Osceola 0Sandhills/Thedford 61 @ Maxwell 14Sandy Creek 43 vs Thayer Central 8Scottsbluff 56 @ Lexington 7Scotus Central Catholic 14 @ Pierce 7Seward 41 vs Lincoln Northwest 6Shelby-Rising City 42 @ East Butler 12Sidney 21 @ Gothenburg 10Silver Lake 42 @ Sterling 6South Loup 25 @ West Holt 24Summerland 60 @ Plainview 42Sumner-Eddyville-Miller 56 vs Medicine Valley 31Superior 41 vs Fillmore Central 21Syracuse 55 @ Fairbury 14Tekamah-Herman 24 @ North Bend Central 14Tri County 54 @ Southern 26Twin Loup 47 vs Palmer 38Valentine 36 @ Hershey 16Wahoo 50 @ Douglas County West 0Wallace 67 vs Southwest 45Waverly 1 @ Lincoln Standing Bear 0Weeping Water 58 @ Cedar Bluffs 6Wilcox-Hildreth 70 vs Blue Hill 22Winside 56 vs Walthill 22Wisner-Pilger 36 @ TCNE (Tri County Northeast) 22Wood River 37 @ Hastings St. Cecilia 20Wynot 54 vs Lyons-Decatur Northeast 8York 31 vs Crete 0Yutan 7 @ Archbishop Bergan 6

Prep Football Scores from Thursday & Friday

Football - NPHS Bulldogs @ Columbus

University of Nebraska Board of Regents

The University of Nebraska Board of Regents will meet on Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, at the University of Nebraska at Kearney. The meeting begins at 9 a.m. in Room 120 of the Regional Engagement Center, located just south of U.S. Highway 30 on the UNK campus.

The meeting is open to the public and will also be live-streamed at&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="http://www.nebraska.edu/">www.nebraska.edu</a>.

A detailed agenda for the Board meeting is available&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://nebraska.edu/regents/agendas-minutes">here</a>.

The Board will consider allowing alcohol sales and consumption at all University of Nebraska athletic events. If approved, university leaders would be able to move forward with selling alcohol at athletic events once they have a plan in place to do so, without coming back to the Board for case-by-case approvals.

Contingent on Board approval next week, Husker Athletics intends to move forward with plans to offer alcohol at athletic events for the 2025-26 season, including football and volleyball games beginning next fall.

“The University of Nebraska has put a great deal of thought and care into how we approach alcohol at our athletic events. I’m very pleased that we have shown we can do this safely, responsibly and in a way that makes sense for our fans, our student-athletes and the institution as a whole,” said President Jeffrey P. Gold, M.D. “This is the next step as we consider how best to meet our fans’ expectations, carefully monitor safety and at the same time bring Nebraska in line with our peers in today’s changing college athletics landscape.”

Dr. Gold added that the university will use a portion of the revenues generated from alcohol sales to increase its investment in alcohol safety programs.

Athletic Director Troy Dannen said: “We are committed to providing a first-class game-day experience and amenities in all our athletic venues. Alcohol sales have been successfully and safely implemented at Pinnacle Bank Arena and Haymarket Park in recent years. Our success in those venues with alcohol sales, combined with our recent and planned infrastructure upgrades, has informed us we are prepared to provide the same opportunity at Memorial Stadium, the Bob Devaney Sports Center, and our other facilities, beginning with the 2025-26 athletic season.”

In 2022, the Board amended its policy regarding alcohol on university property to allow alcohol at designated athletic events, with the caveat that the administration would come back to the Board for approval for each individual event or venue.

Since that time, the Board has approved alcohol sales at Pinnacle Bank Arena for Husker men’s and women’s basketball, as well as Haymarket Park for Husker baseball and softball. In addition, regents approved alcohol sales at the 2022 Big Ten Wrestling Championships at Pinnacle Bank Arena, and at Volleyball Day in Memorial Stadium in 2023. No major alcohol-related incidents have occurred at any of these events. Alcohol has also long been sold safely at Maverick hockey games.

Nebraska is the only Big Ten institution that is not currently approved to sell alcohol at football games.

Other items for the Board’s consideration include:

·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Creation of a bachelor’s degree in applied leadership studies at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. (Addendum XI-A-3)

·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Allowing the president to finalize a contract to replace two grass practice fields for Husker Football located north of the Osborne Legacy Complex. The project will result in improved safety for student-athletes and overall maintenance of the practice fields. (Addendum XI-B-2)

·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A budget increase for the outdoor track replacement project at Husker Athletics which would allow for phase II of work to proceed. The second phase includes a press box, stadium seating, restrooms, concessions and IT infrastructure work. (Addendum XI-B-3)

Dr. Gold will also offer remarks, expanding on the opportunities he discussed when he was installed as NU’s ninth president earlier this month and updating the Board on current priorities.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/9/1726986035396.jpeg" alt="Nebraska running back Dante Dowdell (23) runs through defenders while Illinois defender Gabe Jacas (17) attempts to pull him down/ Photo courtesy of Nebraska Football on X" />
 <figcaption>Nebraska running back Dante Dowdell (23) runs through defenders while Illinois defender Gabe Jacas (17) attempts to pull him down/ Photo courtesy of Nebraska Football on X</figcaption>
 </figure>University of Nebraska Board of RegentsThe University of Nebraska Board of Regents will meet on Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, at the University of Nebraska at Kearney. The meeting begins at 9 a.m. in Room 120 of the Regional Engagement Center, located just south of U.S. Highway 30 on the UNK campus.The meeting is open to the public and will also be live-streamed at&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="http://www.nebraska.edu/">www.nebraska.edu</a>.A detailed agenda for the Board meeting is available&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://nebraska.edu/regents/agendas-minutes">here</a>.The Board will consider allowing alcohol sales and consumption at all University of Nebraska athletic events. If approved, university leaders would be able to move forward with selling alcohol at athletic events once they have a plan in place to do so, without coming back to the Board for case-by-case approvals.Contingent on Board approval next week, Husker Athletics intends to move forward with plans to offer alcohol at athletic events for the 2025-26 season, including football and volleyball games beginning next fall.“The University of Nebraska has put a great deal of thought and care into how we approach alcohol at our athletic events. I’m very pleased that we have shown we can do this safely, responsibly and in a way that makes sense for our fans, our student-athletes and the institution as a whole,” said President Jeffrey P. Gold, M.D. “This is the next step as we consider how best to meet our fans’ expectations, carefully monitor safety and at the same time bring Nebraska in line with our peers in today’s changing college athletics landscape.”Dr. Gold added that the university will use a portion of the revenues generated from alcohol sales to increase its investment in alcohol safety programs.Athletic Director Troy Dannen said: “We are committed to providing a first-class game-day experience and amenities in all our athletic venues. Alcohol sales have been successfully and safely implemented at Pinnacle Bank Arena and Haymarket Park in recent years. Our success in those venues with alcohol sales, combined with our recent and planned infrastructure upgrades, has informed us we are prepared to provide the same opportunity at Memorial Stadium, the Bob Devaney Sports Center, and our other facilities, beginning with the 2025-26 athletic season.”In 2022, the Board amended its policy regarding alcohol on university property to allow alcohol at designated athletic events, with the caveat that the administration would come back to the Board for approval for each individual event or venue.Since that time, the Board has approved alcohol sales at Pinnacle Bank Arena for Husker men’s and women’s basketball, as well as Haymarket Park for Husker baseball and softball. In addition, regents approved alcohol sales at the 2022 Big Ten Wrestling Championships at Pinnacle Bank Arena, and at Volleyball Day in Memorial Stadium in 2023. No major alcohol-related incidents have occurred at any of these events. Alcohol has also long been sold safely at Maverick hockey games.Nebraska is the only Big Ten institution that is not currently approved to sell alcohol at football games.Other items for the Board’s consideration include:·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Creation of a bachelor’s degree in applied leadership studies at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. (Addendum XI-A-3)·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Allowing the president to finalize a contract to replace two grass practice fields for Husker Football located north of the Osborne Legacy Complex. The project will result in improved safety for student-athletes and overall maintenance of the practice fields. (Addendum XI-B-2)·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A budget increase for the outdoor track replacement project at Husker Athletics which would allow for phase II of work to proceed. The second phase includes a press box, stadium seating, restrooms, concessions and IT infrastructure work. (Addendum XI-B-3)Dr. Gold will also offer remarks, expanding on the opportunities he discussed when he was installed as NU’s ninth president earlier this month and updating the Board on current priorities.

University of Nebraska Board of Regents to vote on alcohol sales and consumption at football/volleyball for 2025-2026 year

 Volleyball - Hastings @ NPHS Bulldogs

Earlier this morning, it was confirmed to the North Platte Post in a statement sent by the school that Head Coach of the North Platte Bulldogs Softball team Leah O'Donnell-Greeno was no longer coaching the team.&nbsp;

"Due to unforeseen circumstances in our staff, Laura Johnson will be the Interim Head Coach for the North Platte Softball Team." The statement read.

Coach O'Donnell-Greeno helped lead the Bulldogs to a 15-19 record last season before ultimately falling one game shy of a State Tournament bid by losing to Papillion La-Vista in the Championship match of the A-3 District Tournament.

New interim Coach Laura Johnson took over the reins last night against McCook in which the Bulldogs fell 8-0 on Senior Night.&nbsp;

Story by North Platte PostEarlier this morning, it was confirmed to the North Platte Post in a statement sent by the school that Head Coach of the North Platte Bulldogs Softball team Leah O'Donnell-Greeno was no longer coaching the team.&nbsp;"Due to unforeseen circumstances in our staff, Laura Johnson will be the Interim Head Coach for the North Platte Softball Team." The statement read.Coach O'Donnell-Greeno helped lead the Bulldogs to a 15-19 record last season before ultimately falling one game shy of a State Tournament bid by losing to Papillion La-Vista in the Championship match of the A-3 District Tournament.New interim Coach Laura Johnson took over the reins last night against McCook in which the Bulldogs fell 8-0 on Senior Night.&nbsp;

North Platte High Softball Coach Leah O'Donnell-Greeno no longer on the staff

2024-2025 Girls Golf District Assignments

Lincoln - Hamish Murray closed a strong tournament with a 72 to tie for seventh individually and lead the Nebraska men's golf team to a fifth-place finish at the Git-R-Done Invitational at Firethorn Golf Club on Tuesday.

Murray, a senior from Sydney, Australia, added his final-round 72 (+1) on Tuesday to rounds of 70 (-1) and 67 (-4) Monday to close with a 54-hole total of 209 (-4) on the par-71, 7,003-yard championship layout at Firethorn.

Fellow Husker Evan McDermott just missed a top-10 finish, tying for 11th with three solid rounds of his own, including a team-best 70 (-1) on Tuesday. The redshirt sophomore from Spring Lake, Mich., ended the tournament with a career-best 54-hole total of 211 (-2).

With Murray and McDermott leading the way, Nebraska produced its second straight top-five team finish to open the 2024-25 season. The Huskers closed their home tournament at 859 (+7) after a final-round 293 (+9). NU finished just one shot back of fourth-place Xavier (858) and two shots behind third-place Louisiana (857).

Sam Houston State fired its way to the team title with a three-round total of 830 (-22), led by individual champion Hugo Trommetter's 202 (-11).&nbsp;

South Alabama took runner-up honors at 838 (-14) behind the strong play of individual runner-up Filip Svendsen (204) and teammate Joshua Hill, who took third at 205.

In addition to the strong tournaments for Murray and McDermott, freshman Brodie Cunningham performed well in his collegiate debut, tying for 13th at 212 (-1) to lead Nebraska's "B" lineup of individuals. The youngster from Glasgow, Scotland capped his tournament with an even-par 71 Tuesday after rounds of 70 and 71 Monday.

Junior Quinn Yost produced Nebraska's No. 4 individual finish, taking 28th at 216 (+3), while graduate Reed Malleck and true freshman James Ackerman tied for 31st at 218 (+5). Ackerman and Yost both helped the Husker "B" lineup with rounds of 73 on Tuesday.

Nebraska will be back in action this weekend at the Badger Invitational. The Huskers open the three-day event on Sunday, Sept. 29 at 9 a.m. (CT). Live scoring will be available at Huskers.com from Scoreboard.clippd.com.

Git-R-Done InvitationalSeptember 23-24, 2024Lincoln, NebraskaFirethorn Golf Club (Par 71, 7,003 Yards )Final Team Results 1. Sam Houston State - 279-272-279=830 (-22) 2. South Alabama - 281-280-277=838 (-14) 3. Louisiana - 275-294-288=857 (+5) 4. Xavier - 288-284-286=858 (+6) 5. Nebraska - 286-280-293=859 (+7) 6. South Dakota State - 293-283-284=860 (+8) 7. Minnesota - 295-284-283=862 (+10) 8. Kansas City - 288-290-286=864 (+12) 9. Nebraska (B) - 288-286-292=866 (+14) 10. Wichita State - 293-283-291=867 (+15) 11. Omaha - 295-284-303=882 (+30) 12. Creighton - 294-300-298=892 (+40) Final Individual Results 1. Hugo Trommetter, Sam Houston State - 68-65-69=202 (-11 )2. Filip Svendsen, South Alabama - 70-68-66=204 (-9) 3. Joshua Hill, South Alabama - 68-71-66=205 (-8) 4. AJ Wilhelm, Xavier - 69-72-66=207 (-6) T5. Bret Gray, Sam Houston State - 67-66-75=208 (-5) T5. Eli Ortego, Louisiana - 64-74-70=208 (-5) T7. Hamish Murray, Nebraska - 70-67-72=209 (-4) T7. Hugo Thyr, South Alabama - 69-70-70=209 (-4) T9. Bennett Swavely, Minnesota - 69-70-71=210 (-3) T9. Carson Bellish, Xavier - 70-69-71=210 (-3) Nebraska Lineup (A) T7. Hamish Murray - 70-67-72=209 (-4) T11. Evan McDermott - 74-67-70=211 (-2) T31. Reed Malleck - 71-71-76=218 (+5) 38. Rudy Sautron - 71-75-75=221 (+8) T60. Davis Johnson - 74-76-81=231 (+18) Nebraska Lineup (B) *T13. Brodie Cunningham - 70-71-71=212 (-1) *28. Quinn Yost - 69-74-73=216 (+3) *T31. James Ackerman - 75-70-73=218 (+5) *T35. Grant Jabenis - 74-71-75=220 (+6) *T57. Jackson Benge - 75-75-79=229 (+16)

Nebraska Individual*T48. Rhett Hughes - 80-72-73=225 (+12)*competing as an individual outside Nebraska's top lineup

Story by NU Athletic CommunicationsLincoln - Hamish Murray closed a strong tournament with a 72 to tie for seventh individually and lead the Nebraska men's golf team to a fifth-place finish at the Git-R-Done Invitational at Firethorn Golf Club on Tuesday.Murray, a senior from Sydney, Australia, added his final-round 72 (+1) on Tuesday to rounds of 70 (-1) and 67 (-4) Monday to close with a 54-hole total of 209 (-4) on the par-71, 7,003-yard championship layout at Firethorn.Fellow Husker Evan McDermott just missed a top-10 finish, tying for 11th with three solid rounds of his own, including a team-best 70 (-1) on Tuesday. The redshirt sophomore from Spring Lake, Mich., ended the tournament with a career-best 54-hole total of 211 (-2).With Murray and McDermott leading the way, Nebraska produced its second straight top-five team finish to open the 2024-25 season. The Huskers closed their home tournament at 859 (+7) after a final-round 293 (+9). NU finished just one shot back of fourth-place Xavier (858) and two shots behind third-place Louisiana (857).Sam Houston State fired its way to the team title with a three-round total of 830 (-22), led by individual champion Hugo Trommetter's 202 (-11).&nbsp;South Alabama took runner-up honors at 838 (-14) behind the strong play of individual runner-up Filip Svendsen (204) and teammate Joshua Hill, who took third at 205.In addition to the strong tournaments for Murray and McDermott, freshman Brodie Cunningham performed well in his collegiate debut, tying for 13th at 212 (-1) to lead Nebraska's "B" lineup of individuals. The youngster from Glasgow, Scotland capped his tournament with an even-par 71 Tuesday after rounds of 70 and 71 Monday.Junior Quinn Yost produced Nebraska's No. 4 individual finish, taking 28th at 216 (+3), while graduate Reed Malleck and true freshman James Ackerman tied for 31st at 218 (+5). Ackerman and Yost both helped the Husker "B" lineup with rounds of 73 on Tuesday.Nebraska will be back in action this weekend at the Badger Invitational. The Huskers open the three-day event on Sunday, Sept. 29 at 9 a.m. (CT). Live scoring will be available at Huskers.com from Scoreboard.clippd.com.Git-R-Done InvitationalSeptember 23-24, 2024Lincoln, NebraskaFirethorn Golf Club (Par 71, 7,003 Yards )Final Team Results 1. Sam Houston State - 279-272-279=830 (-22) 2. South Alabama - 281-280-277=838 (-14) 3. Louisiana - 275-294-288=857 (+5) 4. Xavier - 288-284-286=858 (+6) 5. Nebraska - 286-280-293=859 (+7) 6. South Dakota State - 293-283-284=860 (+8) 7. Minnesota - 295-284-283=862 (+10) 8. Kansas City - 288-290-286=864 (+12) 9. Nebraska (B) - 288-286-292=866 (+14) 10. Wichita State - 293-283-291=867 (+15) 11. Omaha - 295-284-303=882 (+30) 12. Creighton - 294-300-298=892 (+40) Final Individual Results 1. Hugo Trommetter, Sam Houston State - 68-65-69=202 (-11 )2. Filip Svendsen, South Alabama - 70-68-66=204 (-9) 3. Joshua Hill, South Alabama - 68-71-66=205 (-8) 4. AJ Wilhelm, Xavier - 69-72-66=207 (-6) T5. Bret Gray, Sam Houston State - 67-66-75=208 (-5) T5. Eli Ortego, Louisiana - 64-74-70=208 (-5) T7. Hamish Murray, Nebraska - 70-67-72=209 (-4) T7. Hugo Thyr, South Alabama - 69-70-70=209 (-4) T9. Bennett Swavely, Minnesota - 69-70-71=210 (-3) T9. Carson Bellish, Xavier - 70-69-71=210 (-3) Nebraska Lineup (A) T7. Hamish Murray - 70-67-72=209 (-4) T11. Evan McDermott - 74-67-70=211 (-2) T31. Reed Malleck - 71-71-76=218 (+5) 38. Rudy Sautron - 71-75-75=221 (+8) T60. Davis Johnson - 74-76-81=231 (+18) Nebraska Lineup (B) *T13. Brodie Cunningham - 70-71-71=212 (-1) *28. Quinn Yost - 69-74-73=216 (+3) *T31. James Ackerman - 75-70-73=218 (+5) *T35. Grant Jabenis - 74-71-75=220 (+6) *T57. Jackson Benge - 75-75-79=229 (+16)Nebraska Individual*T48. Rhett Hughes - 80-72-73=225 (+12)*competing as an individual outside Nebraska's top lineup

Murray takes Top 10 finish at Git-R-Done Invitational

McCook, Neb. – North Platte Community College volleyball fell to rival McCook Community College in straight sets at the Peter and Dolores Graff Events Center on Tuesday night.

Jaelyn Dicke&nbsp;led the way with nine kills on 41 swigs and 10 digs, while&nbsp;Kylie Rose&nbsp;tallied eight digs and three aces in the match.

North Platte matched the Indians early by knotting the game up three times in the opening moments of the first set. A Romina Martinez kill ignited the McCook offense as the deficit grew to ten. North Platte fired back behind three aces from Rose to pull back within five, but McCook extinguished the rally to take a one set advantage.

McCook surged out to a 10-4 lead in the second set, which led to a North Platte timeout. A brief 2-0 spurt halted the momentum, but McCook responded to stretch their lead to nine midway through the set. North Platte slowly erased the margin, before an attacking error narrowed the deficit to three. McCook held the Knights at bay as they took the 25-19 set win.

The third set featured 12 ties as the Knights were determined to take a set from the Indians. McCook would build a three-point lead, but North Platte evened the match at 22-22 on an attacking error. The margin remained tight until a kill by Caylin Barnett and a block by Ella Verts closed out the match.

Knights (5-16) will return to the road as they travel to Norfolk for the Northeast Community College triangular. First serve is set for 4 p.m. against North Iowa Area Community College.

Story by NPCC Athletic CommunicationsMcCook, Neb. – North Platte Community College volleyball fell to rival McCook Community College in straight sets at the Peter and Dolores Graff Events Center on Tuesday night.Jaelyn Dicke&nbsp;led the way with nine kills on 41 swigs and 10 digs, while&nbsp;Kylie Rose&nbsp;tallied eight digs and three aces in the match.North Platte matched the Indians early by knotting the game up three times in the opening moments of the first set. A Romina Martinez kill ignited the McCook offense as the deficit grew to ten. North Platte fired back behind three aces from Rose to pull back within five, but McCook extinguished the rally to take a one set advantage.McCook surged out to a 10-4 lead in the second set, which led to a North Platte timeout. A brief 2-0 spurt halted the momentum, but McCook responded to stretch their lead to nine midway through the set. North Platte slowly erased the margin, before an attacking error narrowed the deficit to three. McCook held the Knights at bay as they took the 25-19 set win.The third set featured 12 ties as the Knights were determined to take a set from the Indians. McCook would build a three-point lead, but North Platte evened the match at 22-22 on an attacking error. The margin remained tight until a kill by Caylin Barnett and a block by Ella Verts closed out the match.Knights (5-16) will return to the road as they travel to Norfolk for the Northeast Community College triangular. First serve is set for 4 p.m. against North Iowa Area Community College.

McCook tops Knights in straight sets

Anselmo-Merna def. South Loup (Callaway/Arnold), 27-25, 25-21 (2-0)

Cambridge def. Southern Valley, 25-23, 25-13, 18-25, 22-25, 15-10 (3-2)

Chase County def. Sidney, 25-23, 25-17, 26-24 (3-0)

Elm Creek def. Anselmo-Merna, 25-20, 25-16 (2-0)

Elm Creek def. South Loup (Callaway/Arnold), 25-10, 25-15 (2-0)

Garden County def. Bayard, 25-11, 25-12 (2-0)

Hershey def. Kimball, 25-8, 25-13, 25-20 (3-0)

Hi-Line def. Arthur County, 25-18, 19-25, 25-14 (2-1)

Holdrege def. Ogallala, 25-21, 25-14 (2-0)

Leyton def. Garden County, 23-25, 25-20, 25-19 (2-1)

Maywood-Hayes Center def. Hi-Line, 25-12, 25-19 (2-0)

Maywood-Hayes Center def. South Platte, 25-12, 25-14 (2-0)

Potter-Dix def. Wallace, 18-25, 25-21, 25-20 (2-1)

Wauneta-Palisade def. Paxton, 25-14, 25-17 (2-0)

Wauneta-Palisade def. Potter-Dix, 25-6, 25-21 (2-0)

Area Sports results from 9-24

PAPILLION, NEB.&nbsp;– Sept. 24, 2024 – Alliance Sports, owner of the Omaha Storm Chasers, announced today they have entered into an agreement to sell the team to Diamond Baseball Holdings (DBH), a company that owns and operates select Minor League Baseball (MiLB) teams affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB). The Storm Chasers will remain in Omaha, and the team’s front office staff, led by President&nbsp;Martie Cordaro, will also remain in place and continue to operate the club under DBH. The club will continue playing at Werner Park as the Triple-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals.

The Storm Chasers proudly own the longest-standing affiliation of all 30 Triple-A teams and the third oldest in all of MiLB; their relationship with the Royals began in 1969 and has remained steady for 55 years. Alliance Sports co-founders&nbsp;Gary Green&nbsp;and&nbsp;Larry Botel, who purchased the club in 2012, are entrusting DBH to further strengthen its connection with Sarpy County. DBH is committed to enhancing both the fan and player experience at Werner Park, home to the seven-time league champions since 2011.

“Larry and I are incredibly proud of the Storm Chasers' impact on the Omaha community over the past 12 years," Green said. "As we shift our focus full time to Union Omaha and look to grow Omaha's sports landscape, we are confident the Storm Chasers are in great hands with DBH. They have a strong reputation for honoring each club's unique identity while making a positive impact on the local community.”

Omaha Storm ChasersPAPILLION, NEB.&nbsp;– Sept. 24, 2024 – Alliance Sports, owner of the Omaha Storm Chasers, announced today they have entered into an agreement to sell the team to Diamond Baseball Holdings (DBH), a company that owns and operates select Minor League Baseball (MiLB) teams affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB). The Storm Chasers will remain in Omaha, and the team’s front office staff, led by President&nbsp;Martie Cordaro, will also remain in place and continue to operate the club under DBH. The club will continue playing at Werner Park as the Triple-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals.The Storm Chasers proudly own the longest-standing affiliation of all 30 Triple-A teams and the third oldest in all of MiLB; their relationship with the Royals began in 1969 and has remained steady for 55 years. Alliance Sports co-founders&nbsp;Gary Green&nbsp;and&nbsp;Larry Botel, who purchased the club in 2012, are entrusting DBH to further strengthen its connection with Sarpy County. DBH is committed to enhancing both the fan and player experience at Werner Park, home to the seven-time league champions since 2011.“Larry and I are incredibly proud of the Storm Chasers' impact on the Omaha community over the past 12 years," Green said. "As we shift our focus full time to Union Omaha and look to grow Omaha's sports landscape, we are confident the Storm Chasers are in great hands with DBH. They have a strong reputation for honoring each club's unique identity while making a positive impact on the local community.”“The Omaha Storm Chasers are significantly better for having had Gary and Larry leading the way with an unwavering commitment to the community and fan experience for the past 12 years,” Cordaro said. “As the torch is passed to DBH, I’m thrilled about the future of the Storm Chasers. DBH knows how special this club is to Sarpy County and the Omaha metro community, and our staff and I look forward to working with them to raise the bar at Werner Park even further.”“Diamond Baseball Holdings has a long track record of using its business expertise and innovative approach to help its clubs maximize their positive impact on the community, and we’re thrilled that the Storm Chasers are joining their lineup and remaining in Sarpy County,” said&nbsp;Angi Burmeister, chair of the Sarpy County Board of Commissioners. “I’m confident that DBH will take our club to new heights in this next chapter of pro baseball in Nebraska and will remain a staple in Sarpy County.”The Storm Chasers, who earned the best record in the first half of the International League season this year to clinch home-field advantage in the league playoffs, represent the first Royals-affiliated club on DBH’s roster.“On behalf of the Royals, we’d like to extend our gratitude to Gary and Larry for their dedication to the Storm Chasers staff, players and fans,” said&nbsp;JJ Picollo, Executive VP of Baseball Operations &amp; General Manager for the Kansas City Royals. “We’re excited to have a new partner in DBH, whose extensive experience will be invaluable in allowing the Storm Chasers to thrive in Sarpy County and Omaha for many years to come.”With a growing portfolio of affiliated clubs across the country, DBH works to support local passions and priorities with national reach and scale, integrating cutting-edge digital technologies into club operations as well as providing new value-generating opportunities.<a href="https://popup.taboola.com/en/?template=colorbox&amp;utm_source=mlb-milbcom&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=reco-reel:Mid%20Article%20Reco%20Reel:" target="_blank">by Taboola</a><a href="https://popup.taboola.com/en/?template=colorbox&amp;utm_source=mlb-milbcom&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=reco-reel:Mid%20Article%20Reco%20Reel:" target="_blank">Sponsored Links</a>You May Like<a target="_blank" href="https://www.fool.com/mms/mark/ta-cc-bt-tab/?utm_site=theascent&amp;utm_campaign=ta-cc-co-tab-apr-searchkeywordrt-5-na-na&amp;utm_medium=cpc&amp;utm_source=tab&amp;publisher=mlb-milbcom&amp;utm_content=4001749306&amp;tbclid=GiCdezbvjhEHpN98jXpj239-FN0hAJaAaUWRyThGBuMA7iDzn0Yol6nAwILA2Mh8MOe6Vw&amp;advertisingcampaignid=41767627&amp;tblci=GiCdezbvjhEHpN98jXpj239-FN0hAJaAaUWRyThGBuMA7iDzn0Yol6nAwILA2Mh8MOe6Vw#tblciGiCdezbvjhEHpN98jXpj239-FN0hAJaAaUWRyThGBuMA7iDzn0Yol6nAwILA2Mh8MOe6Vw">The Motley FoolLearn More4 Cards Now Charging 0% Interest Until Nearly 2026</a><a target="_blank" href="https://www.milb.com/news/bubba-chandler-strikes-out-10-for-indianapolis-indians?utm_source=taboola&amp;utm_medium=exchange&amp;tblci=GiCdezbvjhEHpN98jXpj239-FN0hAJaAaUWRyThGBuMA7iDnrlgo6KnMwtSZ6JnoATDnulc#tblciGiCdezbvjhEHpN98jXpj239-FN0hAJaAaUWRyThGBuMA7iDnrlgo6KnMwtSZ6JnoATDnulc">MiLB.comChandler uses QB mentality in most dominant Indy start yet</a><a target="_blank" href="https://www.milb.com/news/single-a-all-stars-and-award-winners-2024?utm_source=taboola&amp;utm_medium=exchange&amp;tblci=GiCdezbvjhEHpN98jXpj239-FN0hAJaAaUWRyThGBuMA7iDnrlgo6YbM78mjl8xfMOe6Vw#tblciGiCdezbvjhEHpN98jXpj239-FN0hAJaAaUWRyThGBuMA7iDnrlgo6YbM78mjl8xfMOe6Vw">MiLB.comCheck out the 2024 Single-A All-Stars and award winners</a><a target="_blank" href="https://www.milb.com/news/2024-milb-awards-show-on-mlb-network?utm_source=taboola&amp;utm_medium=exchange&amp;tblci=GiCdezbvjhEHpN98jXpj239-FN0hAJaAaUWRyThGBuMA7iDnrlgoxr-GuaO-hcdnMOe6Vw#tblciGiCdezbvjhEHpN98jXpj239-FN0hAJaAaUWRyThGBuMA7iDnrlgoxr-GuaO-hcdnMOe6Vw">MiLB.comThe MiLB Awards Show is back in 2024!</a>“The Storm Chasers have spent decades as an indispensable pillar of the community and exemplary affiliate partner while showcasing the best attributes of Minor League Baseball,” said&nbsp;Pat Battle&nbsp;and&nbsp;Peter Freund, Executive Chairman and CEO of DBH, respectively. “We’re grateful to Gary Green, Larry Botel, Sarpy County and the Kansas City Royals for their trust as we aim to build on the legacy of this storied franchise. We look forward to working hand in hand with Sarpy County to elevate the already terrific experience for fans and players at Werner Park.”Subject to obtaining the consent of the league and satisfying other standard closing conditions, the transaction is expected to be completed promptly.ABOUT THE OMAHA STORM CHASERSThe Omaha Storm Chasers are the Triple-A Affiliate of the Kansas City Royals and play at Werner Park in Papillion, Nebraska. Omaha has served as Kansas City’s Triple-A affiliate since 1969, the third-longest active affiliation in Minor League Baseball and the club has sent over 330 players to play for various Major League teams since its inception. For more information, including tickets, promotions, stats, news and more, visit omahastormchasers.com, and follow the team on X @omastormchasers, on Instagram @omahastormchasers, and “like” the team on Facebook at facebook.com/omahastormchasers.ABOUT DIAMOND BASEBALL HOLDINGSDiamond Baseball Holdings (DBH) was formed in 2021 to support, promote and enhance Minor League Baseball Clubs affiliated with Major League Baseball through professional management, best practices, innovation and investment.ABOUT ALLIANCE SPORTSAlliance Sports was founded in 2008 by Gary Green and Larry Botel. Since inception, Alliance has acquired and managed three MLB affiliated minor league baseball teams (the Storm Chasers, the Richmond Flying Squirrels and the Montgomery Biscuits), a USL League One soccer team (Union Omaha) and Baseball America Magazine.