Nebraska Volleyball coach John Cook on upcoming Red-White Scrimmage, E60 documentary and Murray

ABCA Invitational Hannah you're in the house I am I'm here like Jes really big time why uh why did you accept an invitation to play in that ABCA event next week you know we used to do it back in when Jordan played we played in a couple um I I just I think it's U we Nebraska needs to be in there to help promote this thing I'm sure we'll get a lot of fans there and um this great exposure we're trying new things what they do in the Olympics with the no lines people which I've been fighting for for years um uh you know the replay system timeouts are going to be faster all those things so we're we're trying to go where the the game needs to go which is everything's going faster there the the challenge system is better and the timeouts are shorter and less and and I I don't know if they'll do less but they'll be shorter and uh what else are we doing um there'll be an 8C serve clock so that'll be noon so anyway it's just we're going to where the game is internationally and where it was in the olyp where it is in the Olympics of how they are running it so so I want to be a part of that and have have Nebraska help promote that and be a part of that and it's also in Louisville the final four is going to be so they got some waivers to do different things just for this match yeah so he got got a waiver for four teams they're working to get next year more teams in it um and they're working to and you can only go two every four two out of every four years so they they limit it so like Louisville or Texas or Wisconsin Nebraska can't go every year you can go two out of four years so it'll move it around but I like I think what they want to do is expand it and have it different parts of the country it's also the best thing is it's a great opportunity for uh to us to Showcase volleyball before football starts so I think that's a key and one thing Tom chatel is already all over in his article he wrote about in December there's going to be four college football playoff games a weekend the final four is going so we're going to be there's going to be a lot of competition and a lot of focus on football that take away from volleyball so this is our chance to start things early and there's not really much going on Tuesday night so will you be in this next year I don't know yet we they haven't decided you say got the wa was ABCA got got the waiv So Jamie Gordon the ABCA president got the waiver from the in aely to do this because football has zero week right and we used to have this and it was taken away and I can't remember if it was a cost why they took it away or I don't remember why we used to it used to be a whole week earlier now it's Tuesday before the first Friday so used to be the whole weekend earlier we last time I remember it was 08 we hosted at naha and that was also the side of the final four so again it helps promote the final four also but I think the final four is sold out that plan handled the quick turnaround from the Saturday red white they right into competing on Toth yeah it'll be it's going to be a quick turnar around so that's um but normally we played three matches in that first weekend in the old days now we're trying to get away from that but we had already set our schedule and then this came up Pinnacle Bank Arena so just thought it was a great opportunity are you going to play a match at Pinnacle Bank Arena next year pretty sure it's probably going to happen why now after kind of resisting that for several years it's a great question it's not something I'm dreaming about every day uh uh I just think they there's a lot of pressure for us to go in there they're we're talking about doing you know a tournament early that would be in there it wouldn't be a tournament more just a couple matches so um PBA is open and uh so we we'll see but I if I had to bet money right now I would say yes but you probably wouldn't do a big 10 match there correct no no Dean's our home Schedule so we have scheduled I mean this is this year you also have a number of teams that are coming here not playing you U what was that negotiation like and was that just kind of make sure everyone's getting three matches yeah um so you know the whole thing is when you bring in four teams and you play three matches somebody gets the bad end of the deal because they got to play back to back almost you know I remember a couple years ago Uno came here they went five they went f the first match went five games they played and went five games then they had like literally an hour and had to play another five gamer so it's just not fair to the athletes to do that so what we're doing now is we only want to play two matches one each day but you also if you have three teams how do you do that so you got to get a fourth team so we pay for those teams to come in and they're looking at who else they can play for their RPI and so on so it's a win-win for them they get to come here and play at Nebraska they get good what they think are good RPI matches for them and they get they get paid so that's kind of how we have to do it now it help team they have good relationship with thend Long Beach yeah it's I mean Long Beach was here last year they wanted to come back so and I think they've got a recruit from um Norris so so for them it's good and um obviously Megan's been here before and wanted to come back so but but they're they're also going to get to play play two good really good matches and uh and some teams want to play us some teams don't want to play us so so I don't know that's kind of how how we have to do things now just going to the team itself now you know all the success last year are you trying to separate last year from this year or you know you trying to Parlay that momentum into something even bigger like what's your message to the girls in regards to if we're worried about what we did last year we're counting on that you know that we had a great great year we got all the way to the finals then we're going to we're going to get sucker punched this year you know we we cannot we don't even look at last year talk about it it's about Reinventing this team and Reinventing this season is going to be a New Journey with new challenges and that's what our focus is you set a lot a format for the scrimmage we're going to play I'd like to play four games that's about it that I know we got some other stuff going on too with ceremonies and lifter of the year and I don't know there might be something oh there's going to be like a 100 alumni here I think so we're celebrating a lot Saturday night but we we need to have you know we want to play four games in front of 8,000 and prepare for Tuesday Taylor shared a little bit of sharing her why with the team just what was the message about doing that and just how important is that for your players to really connect ahead of the Season well everybody shares what their why is Taylor did an amazing job with it she said she took her she took an hour and a half preparing it and it was it was really really good um it was very moving and she put a lot of thought into it and but we want them to get them to think about why why they're playing Nebraska volleyball and so uh you guys should ask yourself the same thing why why are you working for 1011 why you want a news guy you know which your why so but we like we'd like them to tap into deep down you know what their why is because I think that helps them get through tough times what's your why I haven't done mine yet this year but uh I got a lot of wise but um I have to think about that one before I shareed that publicly you you could have several good outside hitters this year two three four good outside hitters what are you what are you doing so that they they all feel like they had a fair chance to be the starter they're all rotating so they're all rotating we have not set a lineup yet I don't know if we will we're probably going to look at a couple different lineups Saturday night that's what we've been doing how have you seen Taylor specifically grow just within the Taylor last couple of weeks well first of all I think she's just trying to get comfortable and you know even as talented as she is it's still this is a whole different environment than what she's been used to and it's a change and we're working with her on trying to get her better so there's always a learning progression there so some days she's really been good and some days she's like a freshman um but um you know she's she's fun to coach the girls love her and um she's trying to help this team be great and similarly with Lea well just in her confidence and the way she's Lea grown the last couple weeks yeah Le Lea's uh she's she's a really cool and um she's not afraid to speak up she and that's where you see that confidence from she is not afraid to talk in front of the team or speak up if you know things need to be said and she's works really really hard and I've seen her make some really big jumps here in the last week and a half again she trying to get comfortable what we're doing you know and how we train it's it's different where they were before I might the dep you have a DS impact the way you use rotations and Subs this season that's what I'm trying to figure out it's it's an interesting problem because we have some Elite back row people we got Elite you know attackers so but you also got to get a rhythm into your team and so it's uh yeah it's going to be a good developmental story see how it goes but I'm yeah we haven't decided but we spent a lot of energy on it talking about it right now how does the T labero situation play into that for us it doesn't so um I don't know you know I think the reason that rule is popular is for the division three schools division two schools that have 25 kids on their team because they got to you know have big rosters for you know attendance and recruiting and so that way oh you I want you to be libero I want him to be libero we'll trade you guys off that's why I think the rule pass I'm I'm going to be shocked if I see any big 10 teams doing it I think it's hard enough to find one great libero much less two and I I want our libero in there you know the whole time as much as possible but we'll see it'll be interesting to see for the history project who's who's the one who's pairing them up and giving them assignments of who they need to talk to for uh Lindsay did it all she contacted Lindsay Lindsay Peterson she contacted the alumni she's on a group chain with all them so she said hey you know liberos you guys are talking to these guys Setter you're talking to these guys so she's coordinated all that set it up who have been your best outside hitters in sering P depends on the day it's depends on the day so they're all they're all pretty even but some days some people stand out some days some people are don't do very well so but yeah there's you know the the our best pastors are are for little people those guys have been passing really high numbers back your best servers that's been all over the place but uh Lexi's been our so far Lexi's been our best server over over the last two and a half weeks Lexi and Li are two statistically our two best many of us have already watched the ESPN E60 that Sunday and and talked with the awesome directors um but what do you hope that Husker fans get out of this watching this on Sunday well I hope they're hydrated because they're probably going to cry um I was crying the seconds um I think it's a big tribute to a women's sport in the fact that it's at Nebraska I think is really really impactful for the state that ESPN CC would do this documentary and it's very powerful I think it's going to give them a great inside look into division one college a Athletics the challenge these guys have and you know we talk about them being Stars here and or Rock rock stars I mean I've heard that term used and and like I said in that documentary there there's a price for all that and these guys some of them have to pay it some of them pay it more than others and and I think they do a great job of pointing that out the pressures and the expectations and you know we're going to we're going to travel with police now every I mean we've been mandated we got to travel with police and I'm like are you kidding me but you saw what happened with Caitlyn Clark and what's going on and you'll you saw in that documentary The some of the stuff that negative stuff that happens now in this day and age and um so the the rules of the game have changed and and the the pressures of expectations of a volleyball team have changed I think football's dealt with it in the past but uh I think it's going to give them a great insight to how we operate and the challenges we have and the highs and the lows and you know it's not all perfect every day and everybody's not always happy every day but so I think it's a fascinating documentary and and I think it's very educational I think the Nebraska fans are going to love it mandated by who the Jeff police Big 10 or Nebraska uh our Administration Troy did you have a favorite moment from the document or just the whole thing yeah when I dropped the f bomb they they beeped it I think it was an F bomb they beeped it but that's what I think it was one of the things you Harper said that was during the Spring you the joy was out of Harbor had she had a different approach this fall have you seen a different side her fall practices yeah she's she's done much better but they're still ups and downs with her you know and she's she's navigating through that the biggest thing I've seen in Harper is she's she's really matured she's much more our conversations and how she handled things she's much more mature now where last year she was a squirly freshman you know and I just think she's been humbled and and she's mature she's done a lot of work she's trying it's it's not perfect every day and she like all of them they're struggling I mean I've seen I've seen Lexi and Meritt I mean I've seen them both break down in the last two weeks I mean there's this ain't easy what we're doing and in word you know it's and push him and uh so they are all going through that and and Harper is too Harper just may have a little more she has to deal with and getting through her first press conference you know that was a that was a big deal for her to get through that uh was it perfect no but you know uh you know she didn't answer Brent's question because she was going to lose it and she didn't want to lose it in front of you guys so her and Meritt had a you know they were they had a plan she didn't feel comfort able Meritt was going to help her and that's that's why Merritt's a great Captain so but you know you got to think about walking her shoes you know what she's gone through and you know and like you guys see in the documentary you know we got to believe in these kids because there's so much doubt and negativity out there so if I'm not believing in them and my staff's not believing in them who is so uh times have changed a lot and uh as we say the great ones arejust all right thank you okay