Husker volleyball is a program worth emulating

Success doesn’t just happen.

Sure, hard work is a big factor, but it takes even more than that to find success.

To achieve excellence, a person must subscribe to a three-tiered philosophy — purpose, hard work and high expectations.

That’s the philosophy University of Nebraska Cornhuskers volleyball broadcaster John Baylor described to Hartington-Newcastle Booster Club members at their Friday night seasonkickoff celebration.

Baylor shared his thoughts on the Huskers in a 20-minute talk for athletes, coaches, fans and parents.

The belief in this three-tiered philosophy, Baylor said, is what made the Nebraska Cornhuskers volleyball team one of the best in the country and has kept the Huskers at this elite level for more than 45 years, now.

Baylor said two people embody this philosophy the best — head coach John Cook and Husker All-American- turned-Olympic gold medalist Jordan Larson.

Cook is always trying to figure out how to best get his team to win and how to get his athletes to reach that next level.

After all, coaching is much more than recruiting talent and then running those talented players through grueling practice sessions in order to prepare them for an even more grueling Big Ten season, Baylor said.

‘’It’s really a daily grind behind the scenes,’’ Baylor said. ‘’In-between practices, he (Coach Cook) is always reading or strategizing to find a way to get his team one more advantage, one more way to win. He’s up at 5 a.m., working hard every day.”

Larson is the same way. On road trips, Larson would watch replays of the 2005 championship match on her laptop, Baylor said. The Huskers were swept in three sets by Washington for the NCAA national title that year.

‘’It was easily her worst match ever as a Husker,’’ Baylor said. ‘’But she kept watching it to remind herself of the feeling she never wanted to experience again.’’

That type of motivation helped propel Larson and her Husker teammates to the 2006 national title.

While Larson, who will be an assistant coach on this year’s Husker team, has become one of the most famous U.S. volleyball players of all time, she is not the only famous former Husker.

Two other former Huskers won Olympic gold alongside her. In all, only 12 U.S. volleyball players have ever won Olympic gold medals.

It’s pretty impressive that three of them are former Huskers — Larson, Justine Wong-Orantes and Kelsey (Robinson) Cook. Baylor said a fourth former Husker, Mikaela (Foecke) Richter, could have earned gold as well, had she chosen to play.

These players’ success on the world’s biggest stage is the perfect example that “average is not acceptable in the Nebraska volleyball program,” Baylor said.

Average indeed. Nebraska volleyball has been more successful than any other school in the country since the sport was first sanctioned by the NCAA in 1975.

In that time span, the Huskers have won more games than any other school in the country and more national championships — five — than all but two teams in the country.

When Coach Terry Pettit took over the program in 1977, he immediately installed a winning philosophy by emphasizing purpose, hard work and high expectations.

After compiling a career record of 594-148-12, Pettit turned the program over to his former assistant coach, John Cook.

Cook not only refined and improved upon Pettit’s philosophy, he did so right from the start, putting together a perfect 34-0 record en route to the 2000 national title. He has since compiled a 656-98 record with the Huskers.

Since Baylor was tasked with synthesizing 29 years of broadcasting into a 20-minute talk, there were quite a few stories the quick-witted Lincoln native didn’t have time to tell Friday night.

I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know the “Voice of Nebraska Volleyball” over the past couple of years. It didn’t take me long to figure something out about him. He has that same drive, sense of purpose and strong work ethic as the team he works with every fall.

His passion, broadcasting women’s volleyball, is only a part-time gig. His real job is helping prepare high school students for the ACT test, with his On To College program. He’s been able to help thousands of kids improve their scores and gain scholarships through the program.

That’s quite an accomplishment. An accomplishment that could have only happened for someone with drive, ambition and hard work.

Is anyone seeing a pattern here?