As the Nebraska women’s volleyball team strolled out of the tunnel for its most unusual home match, “Sirius” by the Alan Parsons Project, the walkout song for the 1990s Chicago Bulls, blared over the stadium loudspeakers.
The musical choice was symbolic, to be sure, but it might have actually understated the aura surrounding the team and its big moment. The Cornhuskers, five-time N.C.A.A. champions, were about to surgically dispatch an overmatched opponent, the University of Nebraska Omaha, but that was a foregone conclusion. The only suspense on Wednesday was whether the match would set a record for the most-attended women’s sporting event.
After the second set concluded with Nebraska well on its way to a victory, the public address announcer declared just that: a reported attendance of 92,003 people. That broke the American record — 90,185, set at the 1999 Women’s World Cup final between the United States and China at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. — as well as the international mark, set at an April 2022 Champions League match in Barcelona, Spain, between F.C. Barcelona and Wolfsburg that was attended by 91,648 people.
“I love volleyball,” said Dylan Folda, a senior at Nebraska who attended the event, which also featured an exhibition match between two…
