The Raiders will be visiting No. 1-ranked Nebraska, the premier program in the country, at 8 p.m. Friday before 8,000-plus fans at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.
The Cornhuskers have won five national titles, finished runner-up six times, made 18 national semifinal trips and have a streak of 43 straight tourney appearances.
The following weekend, Travers pulled off another coup by getting Pittsburgh at home in the Tru by Hilton Beavercreek Invitational along with Ohio State and Ohio University.
Pitt has reached the last four Final Fours. The games will be played in the Nutter Center.
“The popularity of volleyball has really been on the rise,” Green said, referring to national network TV appearances the first two weeks of the season (including Nebraska beating Kentucky in five sets Sunday on ABC).
“There’s been a trend nationally, and, along with that, we’re seeing record crowds at venues. We’ve been working behind the scenes since I’ve been here to put ourselves in a position to be part of that.”
Once the Nebraska game was locked in, Green tried to be creative in how he informed the players.
Credit: Joseph R. Craven
Credit: Joseph R. Craven
He looked for a way for coach John Cook, who has won four national tiles (two at Wisconsin), to make a video announcement to the Raiders. But he retired in the offseason.
Instead, during breaks at a spring practice, Green unveiled each weekend’s games and saved Nebraska for last.
“There was a little bit of surprise at first, and then there’s excitement . And then there’s the reality of, ‘OK, we’ve got to get to work to be ready for this,’” he said.
Wright State wouldn’t have gotten on Nebraska’s schedule — or landed Pitt — if it weren’t a program on the rise.
After 14 straight losing seasons from 2004-17, the Raiders are 152-52 in the last seven years and have won four of the last five Horizon League regular-season titles and reached the NCAA tourney four of the last six years.
They beat No. 20 Miami Fla., 3-1, in the Sports Imports Classic in Columbus last year. They pushed No. 2 Louisville on the Cardinals’ home court in a 2023 NCAA first-round game, losing 3-1.
They also have another win over a ranked foe, beating No. 12 Michigan State at a neutral site in 2002.
They’re the preseason conference favorites, getting six of 10 coaches’ votes.
“We have a lot of talent. I’m really pleased with what we have from a skill and talent standpoint,” Green said.
Junior Lauren Yacobucci, the ’24 HL setter of the year, is back along with Reilly Zegunis, a first-team all-league hitter, and Mya Ayro, who led the team with 3.39 kills per set.
Sophomore Katie Sowko, a new starter, had 43 kills in the season-opening Western Kentucky tourney last weekend, helping the Raiders go 2-1 by rallying from deficits of 2-0 and 1-0 against Drake and Chicago Loyola.
“That speaks a lot about our resilience — but also that we have a lot of weapons and people who can play the game at a pretty high level,” Green said.
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