Nebraska vs. Louisville volleyball sets TV ratings record for ABC, ESPN

Nebraska and Louisville made history over the weekend. They played the first-ever regular-season women’s volleyball match on ABC – and it resulted in a big return for ESPN.

The matchup drew 684,000 viewers, which became the most-watched volleyball game on any ESPN platform. The audience peaked at 808,000, according to ESPN, and 49% of viewers were women.

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Nebraska entered the match ranked No. 5 in the AVCA poll, but didn’t leave room for doubt en route to a 3-0 sweep over No. 4-ranked Louisville. The game also set the table for a WNBA playoff game on ABC as Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever took on the Connecticut Sun.

Sunday's @NCAAVolleyball matchup made history on ABC

🏐 Avg. 684,000 viewers
🏐 Most-watched regular season volleyball match EVER on ESPN platforms
🏐 Peaked with 808,000 viewers#NCAAWVB pic.twitter.com/LfF0x2lPv2

— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) September 24, 2024

Sunday’s match was the first volleyball broadcast for ABC since a record-setting national championship last year. Nebraska and Texas squared off in front of 1.7 million people, which became the most-watched women’s volleyball match in history. While the Huskers’ win against Louisville didn’t quite reach that level, it’s still among the most-watched volleyball games ever.

Last season, Wisconsin and Minnesota set the regular season record with 1.66 million viewers on FOX for their October match. That topped the previous mark by more than 1 million – set when the Badgers squared off against Nebraska a week prior on Big Ten Network.

Nebraska cruises past Louisville on big stage

Harper Murray and Merritt Beason led the charge for Nebraska as the Cornhuskers picked up their 10th victory of the season. They have now won 12 straight sets following a thrilling 3-2 victory over Creighton on Sept. 10.

Murray had a team-high 11 kills for Nebraska on Sunday while Beason had nine kills and a .364 kill percentage in the effort. Lexi Rodriguez also added eight digs, and the duo of Olivia Mauch and Bergen Reilly had six apiece.

Nebraska took the first set 25-16 before again dominating the second set, 25-17. While the third set was a bit closer, the Cornhuskers still managed to complete the sweep with a 25-20 set win. It marked the second straight Top-5 sweep for John Cook’s group following a 3-0 victory over Stanford on Sept. 18.

“Our block and defense was really good,” Cook said, via Husker Online’s Abby Barmore. “Our serve really put pressure on them. They struggled early passing, and when you’re running 6-2 and trying to run all these double quicks and everything, and you don’t pass, there goes your offense. It becomes very predictable. We did a really great job staying with our game plan and putting pressure on them.”

The effort helped Nebraska surge up the AVCA Coaches Poll on Tuesday. The Cornhuskers jumped from No. 5 to No. 2, sitting only behind Pitt for the top spot. It was quite a way to close out the non-conference schedule with UCLA looming Friday night in Lincoln.