The Nebraska Men’s Club Volleyball Team practices at the Kinetic Sports Complex on Monday, Nov. 10, 2025, in Lincoln.
The Nebraska Men’s Club Volleyball Team practices at the Kinetic Sports Complex on Monday, Nov. 10, 2025, in Lincoln.
Volleyball runs deep within the state of Nebraska. From the packed Bob Devaney to the Harper Schramm Smith dorm courts, it’s clear that the sport is popular.
The Nebraska women dominate headlines. However, something you don’t see very often is men’s volleyball. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln has a competitive men’s indoor team.
Each semester, the club welcomes new members. Tryouts are held at the beginning of the semester and are open to people with all kinds of experiences. Some players have been playing since high school, and others picked it up while in college. Their schedule consists of other D1 club teams and official college men’s teams.
One thing that sets them apart is that they are technically a club. It is significantly different from intramurals in terms of competitiveness, technicality, playstyle and power.
“It does get pretty competitive and there’s a lot of people who try out and a lot of people who don’t make it,” junior middle hitter and advertising and public relations major Cillian Oflaherty said. “I feel like there’s a misconception of not how good we are but how different levels there are.”
The Nebraska Men’s Volleyball Club prides itself on bringing people together and fostering a fun and laid-back environment.
“We like to have a lot of fun, like we kind of mess around a lot in practice, but like obviously when we need to get stuff done, we’ll get it done,” Vice President and junior electrical engineering major Max Matras said. “We have a lot of fun in practices, we have a lot of fun in tournaments.”
At tournaments, they often hang out playing cards or other games until it’s time for them to check in for the night. This fosters strong camaraderie between the team.
Matras is a junior outside hitter and has been involved with the club since his freshman year. He enjoys seeing the growth from then until now, and hopes to see it continue to grow in future years. The culture within the club is primarily focused on having fun, making new friendships, but also being serious when needed.
“It feels like a little family, everyone’s really caring for each other,” Oflaherty said.
Right now, the team is in the preseason and has been traveling to different tournaments around the Midwest. Their season got off to a rocky start, but they are hoping to get back on track, especially with upcoming tournaments.
At their past tournament, the Husker Showdown, A stacked list of teams participated, including a couple of NAIA teams. This is great competition for the club, as they are facing teams that are actively recruiting and play on a varsity schedule.
Many of the players enjoy the traveling aspect of it. They travel all over the Midwest and head off to the national tournament at the end of the school year. Last year it was held in Phoenix, and this coming year it will be held in Kansas City, Missouri. Each year, every team gets to go; it all depends on what tier you get placed in. For the past couple of years, the team has been placed in the second-best tier, which is a big deal for a fairly newer club.
Senior construction management major Conner Schreier is the president and has been playing volleyball for the past seven years. He started with the club in his freshman year. A majority of the players have played in high school and wanted to continue playing while in college.
“[The] main thing that made me want to join was just playing in high school and playing club volleyball and kind of getting that competitiveness,” Schreier said. “That’s something that I loved, I love playing competitive sports.”
For many players, the club offers the perfect balance between competitive play and flexibility, allowing them to prioritize academics and social life. Practices are held on Mondays and Wednesdays later in the evening, giving players ample time to relax, unwind and finish any business before heading to practice. It’s not a big-time commitment as if they were on an athletic scholarship, which gives them time to play the sport they love but also focus on being a student.
sports@dailynebraskan.com
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