Lydia Harlow

Sophomore Ava Whitmarsh goes through the line, giving high fives to each teammate before the game. “[The community] is really supportive. Everybody is like one big family,” Whitmarsh said.

The switch from fluorescent gym lights to bright, open sky and stadium lights is jarring. And when you add the challenges that come with playing outdoors– the wind, sun, and heat– the volleyball team faced unpredictable conditions for their first major game of the 2025 season.

On August 21, instead of their usual games on gym floors, varsity volleyball played on a portable court placed on the football field at Buell. The team played two sets against both Millard West and Millard South in this historic match-up. 

“Playing at Buell in such a big arena, it was a surreal moment,” senior Hannah Ehrenberg said. “The last time that an outdoor volleyball match took place like that in Nebraska was when the Huskers played on their football field, and so that was really cool to kind of carry that on.”

The Battle at Buell, inspired by UNL’s ‘Volleyball Day in Nebraska’ game in Memorial Stadium, and planned in collaboration with the coaches from the other two schools, attracted a larger, more enthusiastic crowd than ever before.

“The crowd was much louder and more involved in the game [at Buell]. They were cheering on specific players, and just looking into the crowd and seeing how the stands were absolutely packed was really an insane moment for me, just seeing how many people were watching us and cheering us on,” Ehrenberg said.

 Volleyball games at MN typically draw a crowd of 100 people, often with only a small student section. At Buell, however, thousands more showed up, creating a dramatic shift in environment for the athletes.

The overwhelming support for the volleyball team shattered their expectations, and they hope that support will continue as the season progresses.

“I never imagined there were going to be 4,000 people there,” varsity volleyball coach Lindsey Grant said. “You never know, it’s female athletics, and sometimes here at home games we have just parents, and sometimes we have a student section. You just never really know how people are going to adopt it, but I thought the Millard community really embraced it and helped send it to the next level.”

Logistics for setting up such an unusual event were complicated, especially with obtaining and setting up a portable court; however, with help from groups, especially the football teams from each school, the event was able to run smoothly.

“We put the entire court together, laid out the mats underneath it, and then put each individual panel together, and helped set up the net… It felt really good to support the [volleyball] team, because they always come to our football games. They support us, so it felt good to support them,” junior Austin Ruhter said.

Although coordinating this multifaceted event was difficult, the contributions from the schools, club teams, and local sponsors from around the city made the day possible.

“The club community really embraced this event. There were multiple clubs that were there and helped sponsor it. I think the volleyball community as a whole is pretty tight-knit in Nebraska, and anything volleyball-related is well promoted throughout the state,” Grant said.

As the sport of volleyball has been rapidly growing in popularity in Nebraska, the community has been coming together and providing support for one another within their own schools and throughout the city.

“[Our community] is like a family. We have our three rules: integrity, hard work, and family. We trust each other. We do team bonding, and every day we work hard at practice, giving 110% effort. We hold each other accountable and are just a close group,” junior Tresor Porter said.

They had to lean on each other a lot throughout the Battle at Buell, especially when facing outdoor elements, such as the wind and sun, that they don’t usually deal with in a typical game.

“We had to adjust a lot because the sun was in our eyes, so we couldn’t see the ball, and since the court was on turf, it didn’t have that easy, more jumpable quality, and so we weren’t able to jump as high, especially at first,” Ehrenberg said.

They couldn’t always see the ball, and so had to communicate excessively, warning each other of their blind spots.

“We would talk about who had what, but also the trust that we have in each other played a big role. We knew who would take what ball, and relied on them,” sophomore Ava Whitmarsh said.

The team quickly adapted, working together and relying on one another, growing their trust and camaraderie.

“We all kind of got adjusted and got used to it… It was hard, but I think it made us better as players to be able to adapt to out-of-system situations during the game,” Ehrenberg said.

The team is already looking ahead to future seasons, but given its logistical difficulty, it remains to be seen if this will be a recurring event.

“We’re looking into seeing if we want to do it on a regular basis or how we want to continue to grow it. We’ll see. Obviously, it’s very early. We’ve had some conversations, and this will probably not be an annual thing, but we’ll see what may or may not happen,” Grant said.

Even if it doesn’t become an annual tradition, the Battle at Buell shows the type of revamping and ingenuity that Grant is implementing in the volleyball program.

“We were making Nebraska high school history. We were the first high school team to play a game like that on a court at Buell. I think it’s awesome to have been a part of that, and I hope to have that legacy continued through the program that Grant is building,” Ehrenberg said.

Drawing a crowd of 4,000 is no small feat, and the Battle at Buell event marks an unforgettable start to what the team hopes will be a memorable season.