The success of Nebraska’s volleyball program is one of the greatest stories in sports, and John Mabry is telling it in the new book, “Nebraska Volleyball: The Origin Story.”
“Nebraska Volleyball: The Origin Story,” is forthcoming from the University of Nebraska Press. Mabry, who was the sports editor of the Lincoln Journal Star from 1997 to 2007, and special guest, Kate Crnich Riggins, a member of the 1995 championship team, will sign copies of the book 2-4 p.m. Sept. 16 at the UNL Bookstore in Nebraska Union.
“Nebraska Volleyball” is the first book to recount how volleyball took hold at Nebraska, through Pat Sullivan, the team’s first coach; through such early figures as Cathy Noth, a decorated player and later an assistant coach into the 1990s; through Terry Pettit, who coached the team for twenty-three seasons and led it to its first National Championship in 1995; and through John Cook, who took over as head coach in 2000. Mabry highlights the small Nebraska towns that have sent some of the best players to the program and helped build statewide support for the team. Public television helped, too, with its power to broadcast games early on and thus build a following across the state.
