With 92,003 fans, the current world record of attendance at a women’s sporting event was topped at an in-state volleyball match between the Nebraska Huskers and the Omaha Mavericks at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Volleyball fans got to witness the Huskers beating Omaha 3 – 0 in, what the teams called “a day-long celebration” of the sport. The record-breaking event on Wednesday, August 30, was only the fourth regular game of the season.
The Nebraska Huskers elevated by a cheering crowd of thousands dressed in red, won the match in a sweep: 25 – 14, 25 – 14, 25 – 13.
The hosting team was looking to break the current record with a high attendance, making it a Volleyball Day in Nebraska. Initially, the university set out to sell out three sections of the massive stadium, but when tickets started to sell fast in the first few days, they opened more fan zones to accommodate a larger crowd.
Info provided by the club shows that the game was also the highest attended event held in the stadium, which normally functions as the home stadium for the University of Nebraska’s American football team.
Nebraska coach John Cook said: “It feels like a great accomplishment for this sport called volleyball played by women. It’s a state treasure. We proved it.”
Volleyball enjoys immense popularity in Nebraska, being one of the favourite sports played by girls in the state’s high schools. The National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) president Charlie Baker said: “I don’t think people realise how explosive the growth in this sport is.”
Trev Alberts, the university’s athletics director, said: “Nebraska has the best fan base in the world, the best volleyball fans in the world.”
The Huskers have sold every game during their entire season making it a NCAA record with 306 consecutive regular season matches. The team usually plays at their own Bob Devaney Sports Centre court.
Before the match on August 30, the highest attendance at a NCAA Volleyball match was recorded in December 2021 with 18,755 fans in the ranks. The game was played between Nebraska and Wisconsin inthe NCAA final.
The previous world record was held by a UEFA champions league semifinal between German football club Wolfsburg and Spain’s club Barcelona. 91, 648 spectators watched the game in Camp Nou, Barcelona in April last year.
An unofficial World Record acknowledged as the highest attendance at a women’s sporting event was set at the unofficial Women’s World Cup in 1971 in Mexico City which reportedly counted 110,000 spectators.
Feature image credit: Pexels.com
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