The 2024 NCAA volleyball season is underway. In Dallas, it’s looking to be a challenging matchup for SMU as it hosts Nebraska in a battle against one of the nation’s top teams.
The Huskers’ story is one that needs little explanation: nearly undefeated in 2023, powered behind three starting true freshman, but came up just short in the national championship. They’re back for more, posing as the team to beat this time around as they try for their first national title since 2017.
The Mustangs are ready for the challenge as they enter their first season in the ACC. Last year, they won the American Athletic Conference, complete with not just an NCAA tournament bid but a win. They faced Nebraska early in the season, too, showing that a matchup with the best creates the best.
No doubt this season will be tougher as SMU enters a new era, but competing against the Huskers will provide the challenge they need to succeed.
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Here’s how to watch the matchup from Dallas with TV information and start time.
How to watch Nebraska vs. SMU volleyball today
TV channel: ACC Network
Live stream: Fubo
The Huskers and Mustangs match will be broadcast on the ACC Network. Cord-cutters can live stream the game on Fubo, which offers a free trial for new users.
Nebraska vs. SMU volleyball start time
Date: Tuesday, Sept. 3
Time: 8 p.m. ET
Nebraska vs. SMU will serve it up on Tuesday, Sept. 3 at 8 p.m. ET from Dallas.
Nebraska volleyball schedule 2024
Below is a complete schedule of the Huskers’ non-conference season.
Date
Game
Time (ET)
TV/Live stream
Tues., Aug. 27
vs. Kentucky
7 p.m.
ESPN2, Fubo
Fri., Aug. 30
vs. Texas A&M Corpus Christi
8 p.m.
–
Sat., Aug. 31
vs. TCU
8:30 p.m.
BTN+
Tues., Sept. 3
at SMU
8 p.m.
ACCN, Fubo
Thurs., Sept. 5
vs. The Citadel
7 p.m.
–
Sat., Sept. 7
vs. Montana State
3 p.m.
–
Tues., Sept. 10
vs. Creighton
8 p.m.
BTN, Fubo
Fri., Sept. 13
vs. Arizona State
8 p.m.
BTN, Fubo
Sat., Sept. 14
vs. Wichita State
3 p.m.
–
Wed., Sept. 18
vs. Stanford
8 p.m.
BTN, Fubo
Sun., Sept. 22
at Louisville
12:30 p.m.
ABC, Fubo
SMU volleyball schedule 2024
Below is a complete schedule of the Mustangs’ non-conference season.
BOULDER — Steven Montez threw up a prayer and turned a Sea of Red into church mice.
“I just remember it being dead quiet in the stadium,” Montez, the ex-CU Buffs quarterbacking great, told me over the phone Tuesday. “That was the thing that stuck out to me the most.”
He remembers Laviska Shenault, the Travis Hunter before Travis Hunter, shifting into fifth gear on a “go” route the last time they played in Lincoln, six Septembers ago, converting a right-shoulder fade into a game-winning TD and a 33-28 Buffs victory.
He remembers Jay MacIntyre getting clobbered on third down to give Montez a second chance at paydirt. He remembers the sweetest silence ever. He remembers talking trash to Nebraska linebacker Dedrick Young II, a pal of teammate and CU lineman Brett Tonz, while sprinting downfield to celebrate.
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“What did you say?” I asked.
A pause.
“I don’t know if it’s appropriate for print,” Montez laughed.
“Did Dedrick say anything back?”
“He didn’t say a word to me,” Montez replied. “I could just tell he was absolutely livid.”
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Funny thing? Montez considers Young a friend now. Well, except maybe this week. The Color That Shall Not Be Named Week.
“I’d rather be dead,” Montez quipped, “than red.”
The best grudges never die, do they? Since 1964, CU’s played in Lincoln 24 times. They won five of those games. Over the last 60 years, only two Buffs QBs have ever beaten the Big Red twice: Darian Hagan (’89 and ’90) and Montez (’18 and ’19). Shedeur Sanders, whose 1-0 Buffs visit the Huskers on Saturday night, is on the cusp of becoming the third.
“We knew it was going to be loud,” Montez recalled of CU’s last visit to Lincoln. “But then you get there, and especially the last drive of the game, I couldn’t hear when I clapped my hands to get the snap. I just felt my hands touch. I don’t know how (the center) heard me.
“I couldn’t hear any of the offensive line communication. It’s as if the crowd noise is pouring over your body.”
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Montez’s pro tip for Sanders: When it comes to Big Red Country, it’s what you do, not what you say. Because as long as the latter is happening between the hash marks, nobody’s going to hear it anyway.
“The secret, first and foremost, I think, (has) got to be dealing with that crowd noise,” Montez said. “I’ve played in a lot of different places — I’ve played at (Oregon’s) Autzen Stadium. I’ve played the Big House (in Michigan). Lincoln is, by far, the loudest environment I’ve played in over my career. So I think if you can deal with the crowd noise, I think you can really have a chance.”
And with what he saw of Shedeur and the Buffs against North Dakota State this past Thursday night, he thinks CU really, really, really has a chance.
“The way Travis (Hunter) is playing, the way Shedeur is playing, the way Jimmy Horn Jr. is playing,” Montez continued, “if they’re able to get those guys the ball, they’re going to be tough to stop.
“Even comparing myself and Shedeur, his level of efficiency has surpassed what I put on tape (at CU). He’s playing some of the best ball that I’ve ever seen from a CU quarterback in shoot, I don’t know how long — at least since I started watching the Buffs. The way (Sanders) played last year, with the protection he got, it was honestly pretty mind-blowing to see him play that well (while) getting hit that many times, getting sacked that many times.”
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And that’s coming from Montez, who was a darn tough cookie himself. The El Paso, Texas, native threw for 63 scores as a Buff from 2016-2019, and his 9,710 career yards rank No. 2 an CU’s all-time career passing charts behind only Sefo Liufau (9,763).
Quarterback Steven Montez #12 of the Colorado Buffaloes looks over the line in the game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Memorial Stadium on Sept. 8, 2018 in Lincoln, Nebraska. (Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images)
At 6-foot-5, 230 pounds, Montez, who turned 27 in January, was blessed with a prototype NFL QB body, a strong arm and an easy, quick release. But the pro game can be a fickle mistress, and after stints with Washington and Detroit in the NFL and the Seattle Sea Dragons of the old XFL, Montez signed with the CFL’s Edmonton Elks this past January and was added to the Elks’ “retired” list this past May.
This fall, Montez is the QB coach at San Marin High School in Novato, Calif., having dabbled on the coaching side at this time a year ago.
“It bought me a lot of peace and a lot of fulfillment working with these kids, so I really just wanted to do it again,” Montez said. “I had so much fun coaching these kids — I had a blast last year.”
Plenty of tread left on those tires, though.
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“I mean, if the situation is right, I feel like I would definitely love to come back and play again,” Montez said. “I still feel young, still feel in my prime.”
He still loves proving doubters wrong. Still loves being the underdog.
And speaking of, the Huskers are seven-point favorites heading into Saturday night. They were three-point favorites six years ago. Ya never know.
“I thought the initial vibe coming into that (2018) game was, they thought we were going to to show up and they were going to just roll us or something,” Montez recalled. “It felt like all the fans were really confident they were going to beat us that day. And it didn’t end up shaking out like that.”
Heck, yeah, he misses it. We’re all going to miss it.
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“Nebraska’s not going to renew that contract, are they?” Montez asked me.
“Not anytime soon,” I said.
Another pause.
“After going 0-3 (in the first three games),” Montez chuckled, “I wouldn’t want to play us, either.”
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Kyle Bonagura, ESPN Staff WriterSep 3, 2024, 03:26 PM ET
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Joined ESPN in 2014.
Attended Washington State University.
Colorado coach Deion Sanders threw cold water on the idea that the Buffaloes’ game this week against Nebraska would again be “personal.” Instead, he praised Nebraska coach Matt Rhule ahead of the rivalry game.
“I have a ton of respect for Matt Rhule,” Sanders said. “He’s in — I call it our class of coaches. We all took on a tremendous test last year along with [Arizona State] Coach [Kenny] Dillingham and several others. So, I feel like we’re a fraternity. So, I root for that class of head coaches that came in that year.”
It’s a different approach than Sanders took ahead of the Nebraska game last year, when he proclaimed, “This is personal. That’s the message of the week: This is personal.”
Colorado won last year’s game in Boulder 36-14 after which quarterback Shedeur Sanders said he took issue with Rhule and several Nebraska players standing on the Buffaloes’ logo at midfield before the game.
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Shedeur Sanders also said after the game he felt Rhule had been disrespectful with comments he made in the offseason about not wanting to be followed around by cameras, a perceived swipe at Sanders and Colorado.
“The coach said a lot of things about my pops, about the program, but now that he want to act nice — I don’t respect that because you’re hating on another man, you shouldn’t do that,” Shedeur Sanders said. “It was just, all respect was gone for them and their program. I like playing against their DC, I like playing against them, but the respect level, it ain’t there cause you disrespected us first.”
After both teams finished with losing records last season, the animosity has appeared to die down.
“[Rhule] was a professional, did a phenomenal job,” Coach Sanders said. “Maybe not the job that he aspired to do, but he has a ton of experience and I love what he’s accomplished in his college coaching career.”
Colorado won its season opener against North Dakota State last week 31-26. Nebraska started with a 40-7 win against UTEP.
The Nebraska Cornhuskers are set to host a pair of elite recruits this weekend for their marquee matchup against the Deion Sanders-led Colorado Buffaloes.
Alamo Heights (Texas) five-star playmaker Michael Terry III, the nation’s No. 1 athlete, has been scheduled for a return trip to Lincoln for some time, and confirmed Tuesday that he is still set to make the trip.
The 6-foot-3, 220-pound recruit brings a rare skillset to the table, especially for his size.
Terry is a dynamic open-field threat who can star at both wide receiver and running back.
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Here’s what 247Sports had to say about him, in part, as a prospect:
“Fascinating prospect with a ton of positional versatility. Productive at running back and receiver and could even grow in to a hybrid tight end at the next level. …Just a rare prospect who could literally play and excel at 4-5 different positions at the next level. At 6-3, he’s tall for a running back but runs with good pad level, has some shake and then the speed to run away from a defense. Some players are more quick than fast, Terry is probably more fast than quick but still shows good short area burst and once he gets rolling, you won’t catch him from behind. As a pass catcher, looks comfortable catching the ball over a defender and making plays down the field in the passing game. Can continue to improve his polish as a route runner and being more natural with his hands, and once he does, his game will take off to another level.”
But, according to On3, another big name has been added to the visitor list.
Blue Valley (Kansas) four-star edge-rusher Dawson Merritt, an Alabama, commit, is also slated to make a return trip to Nebraska.
The 6-foot-3, 215-pound ‘backer took three official visits – Alabama, Nebraska and Oklahoma – but committed to the Crimson Tide in late June.
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The son of a former NFL’er, Merritt wrecked havoc as a junior, compiling 83 tackles, 17 tackles-for-loss, seven sacks, three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.
Here’s what 247Sports had to say about him, in part, as a prospect:
“Long, athletic linebacker prospect who can play a variety of roles within a defense. Used in high school as a stand-up outside edge rusher and shows quickness off the snap, fluidity, bend and closing speed. Also showed he could drop into space and be an asset in coverage. Plays with good discipline and control. Has good change of direction and can stay with ball carriers looking to put a move on him. Has to fill in and get stronger but has the frame to do so. 3-4 outside linebacker is a possibility as well as SAM backer in other schemes.”
With all eyes on the Nebraska-Colorado clash, will the Cornhuskers be able to turn that attention into some major recruiting momentum with a flip or key commitment?