Sports
How Nebraska volleyball star Harper Murray is leaving a troubled offseason behind her
LINCOLN, Neb. — Harper Murray is smiling and laughing every day. And she’s playing her best volleyball in two seasons at Nebraska.
This alone lifts spirits among Murray’s teammates. Her happiness matters to them. The Huskers saw Murray spiral last spring amid public struggles with her emotional health. Two legal incidents derailed her offseason after Murray was named the top freshman in the Big Ten and a third-team All-American.
But her path is about more than rejuvenation.
The college volleyball community and Nebraska’s legion of fans have taken notice this fall of Murray’s bond with Nebraska coach John Cook.
“The connection that he has with Harper is extremely special,” senior co-captain Lexi Rodriguez said. “I think anyone can see it, whether you’re on the court or not.”
Murray’s rebound is defined in part by her uncommon relationship with the 68-year coach who stood up for her like the father she lost 13 years ago. Murray, 19, brings out a soft side in Cook that few have seen. He cares for her like a daughter.
“It’s unconditional love,” said Cook, a four-time national champion coach in his 25th season at Nebraska. “That’s really what it is. In this day and age, with this generation, you’ve got to have that if you’re going to coach.”
They star together in TikTok videos. She created an account for him and controls the content, using his phone. He revels in the millions of views.
“He’s always asking what we’re going to do next?” Murray said. “He loves it.”
GO DEEPER
From cowboy to coach, Nebraska’s John Cook fuels a volleyball rise
If the Huskers want to make a request of the coach — maybe it’s an adjustment to their uniforms or a tweak in the schedule — Murray gets nominated. “You ask” teammates tell her, she said, “because he’ll say yes to you.”
Cook doesn’t say that Murray is his favorite. But the Huskers know it to be true. And it’s OK. She needs him in her life.
@coachjohncook1 it aint easy being a cowboy 🤠#nebraskavolleyball #fyp #nebraskatok ♬ original sound – coachjohncook1
No. 2 Nebraska enters the final week of the regular season at 28-1 and perfect in the Big Ten. It has won 54 of 59 sets in league matches and plays at No. 4 Penn State on Friday, followed by a Saturday visit to Maryland. The postseason bracket reveal is on Sunday.
Murray’s 3.29 kills per set and 27 service aces lead the Huskers. She’s the No. 1 attacking option on the most balanced offensive team in the nation. Her defense in the back row as a six-rotation player has progressed more than any area of her game.
But three months ago, Murray was terrified to walk onto the court in front of Nebraska’s fans for the preseason Red-White scrimmage. She wondered what people would think, Cook said. What would they say about her? Would she get booed?
Back up eight months. Last December, Texas swept top-seeded Nebraska in the national championship match. Murray did not play well, especially in receiving the Longhorns’ serves.
At the news conference that followed the loss, she was despondent. A reporter asked her about the future.
“I think we’re going to win three national championships (in) the next three years,” Murray said.
The comment blew up on social media. Murray digested the reactions and buried herself in negativity. She fell into a depression that lasted for months. On April 5, she was cited for DUI in Lincoln. Less than a month later, she got caught on security camera shoplifting $65 of jewelry at a sporting goods store.
ESPN featured the rise and fall of Murray in an hour-long documentary, “No Place Like Nebraska.” It aired in August, tracking the Huskers’ 2023 season and the months after it.
Murray lost her spot on the U.S. women’s U21 team. Family members worried that she might physically harm herself. Her mother, Sarah, feared that Cook would dismiss Harper from the team at Nebraska. Every time Cook talked to Sarah for weeks, she sought reassurance about Harper’s roster status. Public pressure existed for him to dump her.
“The thought crossed my mind,” Harper said. “But I think I knew deep down that he wasn’t going to give up on me that easily.”
Murray was the Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 2023 and her success on the court has continued helped by the support of head coach John Cook. (Courtesy of Nebraska Athletics)
Cook and Nebraska assistant coach Jaylen Reyes began to recruit Murray before she started high school in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She attended the Huskers’ Dream Team camp as an eighth-grader and fell for everything about the Nebraska program
As Murray developed into the No. 1-rated prospect in the 2023 class, her recruiting intensified. She was named the Gatorade Player of the Year and had her choice of top schools. But she valued her initial impressions of Nebraska, and Cook won over her mom, in part, by making sure she knew he would watch over Harper and let Sarah know if her daughter made any poor decisions.
It’s a message that Cook tells the parents of every player he recruits.
“It’s one thing to say that,” Harper said. “It’s another to act on it.”
When her life veered off the rails this year, Cook did not waver.
“I learned a long time ago that you do everything you can before you give up on these kids,” the coach said.
Murray’s struggles strengthened Cook’s commitment to her — not to be construed as going easy on her. In the coach, Harper said, she saw a role model. He supported her, she said, “when other people probably wouldn’t have.”
“I look up to him,” Murray said, “and just the way he approaches every day in life. It’s different than anyone I’ve ever met.”
Cook helped Murray make a checklist of items required to restore her good standing with the Huskers.
She completed extensive community service and more than 100 hours of therapy, which continues in addition to court-ordered probation. Within the team environment, Murray worked to regain trust.
Cook often hears from former athletes and observers that they admire Murray’s growth. He marvels at her resolve. Many athletes in her situation, he said, would have left this year in search of a fresh start.
She couldn’t leave. Not after all that Cook had done to help her.
“He wasn’t happy with me,” Murray said. “But at the same time, he promised my mom that he would be there for me. And that’s exactly what he did. He held me accountable. But he gave me grace.
“I have a lot of love and respect for him. I wouldn’t be the person or the player I am without him. And I know that I owe a lot to him. One of my biggest goals in life is to make him proud, especially because I put our program through a lot. I put us in the gutter at some points.”
Murray’s father, Vada, died when she was 6. He was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2008 and lived three years with the disease until age 43. Vada was a standout safety on the Michigan football team from 1987-90, playing in three Rose Bowls. He graduated to work as a police officer in Ann Arbor.
Harper holds only fragmented memories of Vada. But the absence of her father haunts her. She wears his jersey No. 27, just as her sister, Kendall, did with Michigan volleyball from 2020 to 2023.
The loss that Harper experienced has impacted Cook’s approach to their relationship.
“There’s a coach-player relationship,” Cook said, “but I also think there’s a … I don’t want to call it father-daughter, because I’m not her father. But it’s built on trust.”
Harper has seen their bond grow most in the way they communicate. The TikTok videos allow the public to catch a glimpse. But the roots of their connection run much deeper. On the court, she said, he’s tough on her. Harper asked Cook before this season as she struggled with confidence to ease up and show her more compassion.
He complied. But it was temporary.
“He can make me really mad,” she said. “But I know it’s because he wants what’s best for me.”
The moment last year that triggered Murray’s slide is coming up on its first anniversary. Cook said he’s not worried that she’ll suffer again in a similar way if the Huskers fall short in December. She’s more mature, he said. Her perspective has changed.
Murray said she’s as driven as ever to win a national championship.
“I feel like I have something to prove,” she said.
Murray wears tape on her left hand during matches. She marks the pinky finger with an “8” to honor Rodriguez, a guiding light for Harper, and the ring finger with “27,” the Murray family number. On the index finger, Harper writes “JC,” the initials of her coach.
“He’s the closest thing I have,” she said, “to a father figure.”
(Top photo: Dylan Widger / Imagn Images)
Sports
Golden Knights beat Hurricanes in double OT Game 3, one of the wildest Stanley Cup Final games of all-time
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
The Stanley Cup Final shifted to Las Vegas for Game 3 with the Vegas Golden Knights and Carolina Hurricanes knotted at 1-1 after splitting the opening two games in Raleigh.
And, as you’d expect from the Golden Knights, this one got started with some theatrics, plus a little help from the city’s latest hope at quarterback, who was getting in on the festivities.
That’s right. Who better to put on siren duty than Raiders draft pick and reigning Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza?
ZERO BS. JUST DAKICH. TAKE THE DON’T @ ME PODCAST ON THE ROAD. DOWNLOAD NOW!
There was a big surprise when the game got underway: Golden Knights defenseman Brayden McNabb — who took a slapshot straight to the face on Thursday in Game 2 — was in the Vegas lineup, albeit with a full cage.
It goes without saying, but hockey players are just built different.
The first period was physical but ultimately scoreless, with Carolina getting more offensive opportunities, leading Vegas in shots 7-2.
Vegas captain Mark Stone found the back of the net just 36 seconds into the second period; however, it was ruled offside after a Carolina challenge.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM
A few minutes later, Golden Knights forward Jack Eichel found the back of the net, but Carolina challenged this goal as well after Vegas’ Ivan Barbashev made contact with Canes goalie Frederik Andersen’s head.
It was another cut-and-dried review that kept a Golden Knights tally off the board.
The first penalty of the night was a self-inflicted one, when the Hurricanes were called for too many men, and it didn’t take long for Tomas Hertl to make them pay.
Then, just moments later — 16 seconds to be exact — Mitch Marner was credited with a goal after Carolina defenseman Sean Walker tipped his shot into the back of his own net.
But, hey, those own goals are no fun; Marner wanted to get one the old-fashioned way, which he did.
What’s that, you want more?
Well, Mitch Marner — who is having the playoffs of his life — had more for you.
That’s right, Marner potted a hat trick in just six minutes and 10 seconds. That’s an NHL record.
Although, I bet The Rocket’s first goal of his lightning-quick hatty wasn’t an own goal, but hey, they count the same.
Vegas star Mitch Marner took over in the second period of Game 3 with a natural hat trick in just six minutes and ten seconds. (Photo by David Becker/NHLI via Getty Images)
What a performance. Maybe he was just doing that so that the next time the team puts him on a rally towel it actually looks like him.
After the second intermission, Andersen was pulled in favor of Brand Bussi, who made his Stanley Cup Playoffs debut.
Carolina was in a state of disarray in the third, and after going on a power play, Sebastian Aho slashed Marner, who was headed to the net on a short-handed breakaway.
Marner was awarded a penalty shot, but Bussi didn’t give him much to shoot at, and Marner missed his attempt on the backhand.
While it may have looked bleak after a dominant second for Vegas, in the third, Carolina dropped the fastest three goals in Stanley Cup Final history to make it a game. (Photo by Josh Lavallee/NHLI via Getty Images))
Carolina’s Jordan Martinook got the Hurricanes on the board a little under halfway through the third period to make it 4-1.
Just moments later, Taylor Hall tacked on another one to cut Vegas’ lead to 4-2.
And, while they’re doing goals, how about you just throw a Jordan Staal tally in there?
Carolina scored those three goals in 39 seconds, the fastest three goals by a single team in Stanley Cup Final history, making what looked like a no-doubt Vegas win into a game once again.
Carolina killed off a delay-of-game penalty, which was crucial for staying in the game.
Then, Vegas’ Shea Theodore airmailed a puck into the stands for delay of game, giving Carolina a late power play.
Then — as if it couldn’t get wilder — Andrei Svechnikov tied the game on the power play and with the goalie pulled.
And with that, it was off to overtime for the second game in a row.
In the extra frame, both teams got their share of chances and opportunities to put a pin in this one and hit the craps tables, but the first overtime period didn’t yield a winner.
In the second overtime, we finally got a winner, and as wild as this game was, it was only fitting that the game-winner would be unbelievable.
That’s the same Shea Theodore, by the way, who skied the puck into the stands to set up the tying goal, and he did it after 39 minutes of ice time.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Vegas players Brett Howden (21), Shea Theodore (center), and Mitch Marner (93) celebrate the game-winning goal in double overtime. (Lucas Peltier-Imagn Images)
What. A. Game.
I think after this one, Game 4 — which will be on Tuesday in Las Vegas — is officially appointment viewing.
The Dodgers spent so long racking up an insurmountable lead in the first inning that starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto resorted to throwing a ball against the back of the dugout to stave off rust.
He also went to the batting cages to keep his arm moving, tossing weighted PlyoCare balls.
As he worked, the Dodgers scored all of the runs they would need and more to defeat the Angels 9-2 on Saturday at Dodger Stadium. The chasm between the Freeway Series rivals was on display.
“That’s a lot of fun,” Dodgers rookie Ryan Ward said of the first-inning onslaught. “You can feel them start to speed up a little bit, and we’re starting to calm down and enjoy it. And it’s easy to pass it along when you have a lot of runners on, and then just keep it going.”
The one-run lead the Angels (24-41) had jumped out to in the top of the inning — when a leaping center fielder Andy Pages couldn’t quite reel in Oswald Peraza‘s deep line drive for an RBI triple — was long forgotten after the Dodgers rallied for nine runs in the first.
Andy Pages celebrates with teammates in the dugout after hitting a two-run home run as part of a nine-run first inning for the Dodgers.
(Ronaldo Bolaños / Los Angeles Times)
It was the most runs the Dodgers scored in a single inning in nearly five years, matching their seventh-inning rally against the Nationals on July 2, 2021.
The Dodgers (42-23) helped themselves with a show of power. Pages drove in the first two runs by crushing a center-cut changeup from Angels starting pitcher Jack Kochanowicz over the left-field wall.
Judging by his stroll out of the batter’s box, Pages seemed to know it was a homer on contact.
The ball had so much loft that reliever Blake Treinen parked under it in the bullpen and caught it with his hat. His fellow relievers mobbed him in an impromptu mosh pit.
“The homer by Andy to answer back was big, kind of put to bed any type of momentum they had at the top of the first,” manager Dave Roberts said. “And then after that, just the hits kept coming, just good at-bats.”
Later in the same inning, after the lineup turned over, Shohei Ohtani also notched a two-run homer, for his second hit. In between, rookie Ryan Ward hit a two-run double off the wall.
The Dodgers brought 12 batters to the plate and recorded six hits in a row — seven total.
The Angels’ shoddy defense exacerbated the scoring spree. They had a chance to get out of it just four runs into the rally.
Kochanowicz had faced eight hitters and only recorded one out when Angels manager Kurt Suzuki turned to his bullpen.
Veteran left-hander Brent Suter jogged in with the bases loaded. Immediately, Suter got Alex Freeland to hit a ground ball to shortstop Zach Neto, for what should have been an inning-ending double play.
Instead, Neto’s throw across his body sailed past second and into foul territory on the other side of the diamond. By the time Angels right fielder Jo Adell collected the ball and threw to the cutoff man, three runs had scored.
“We always say, you can’t give good teams extra outs,” Roberts said. “And so, to give us extra outs just makes us really tough to beat.”
Ohtani was up next. And in a two-strike count, he stayed inside a sinker to launch his two-run blast to left-center field.
The Angels’ defense didn’t fare much better in the second, although Suter navigated a pair of misplays — Neto muffed a one-hopper up the middle, which was ruled a single, and third baseman Donovan Walton overthrew first on a chopper — to escape without the Dodgers extending their lead.
Yamamoto retired 22 straight en route to eight innings of two-hit ball.
“I was given a big lead,” Yamamoto said through interpreter Yoshihiro Sonoda. “So what I was trying to do was focus on my execution and also be fine, precise with my location, the height and location of my pitches.”
Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto delivers against the Angels in the first inning Saturday at Dodger Stadium.
(Ronaldo Bolaños / Los Angeles Times)
The lead also gave him a chance to experiment.
“You get up big like that, you don’t want to get too cute to an extent,” catcher Dalton Rushing said. “But you also want to understand and see what he’s capable of. … For him, it’s so easy, because he has eight pitches that he can throw wherever he wants. Obviously it’s fun to work with him. We tried a few new tricks, and we’ll carry them over into his next one.”
While Yamamoto gave the Dodgers bullpen a rest, Roberts used the early blowout to give first baseman Freddie Freeman some rest.
Freeman, who has played in 62 of the Dodgers’ 65 games, left after the top of the fourth inning, replaced by Miguel Rojas.
The Angels had time to chip away, but they didn’t score again until Neto’s solo homer off Dodgers reliever Jack Dreyer in the ninth inning.
The contrast was glaring.
Rams defensive end Myles Garrett throws out the ceremonial first pitch Saturday at Dodger Stadium.
(Ronaldo Bolaños / Los Angeles Times)
Smith scratched
Dodgers catcher Will Smith was scratched from the lineup because of a stiff neck, Roberts said. The issue “came out of nowhere,” Roberts said, pointing to a “bad night’s sleep or a bad pillow.”
“He was going to play two out of three [against the Angels] regardless,” Roberts said. “So it’s nice that we could kind of tap Dalton on the shoulder and get him in there.”
Roberts said he expects Smith will return to the lineup Sunday.
Injury update
Right-handed reliever Brock Stewart (left foot bone spur) is progressing after a setback a week and a half ago stymied his throwing progression.
The last time Stewart threw live batting practice, he aggravated the injury by running afterward. But throwing to hitters Saturday went better. He’s scheduled to throw one more live BP session before going out on a minor-league rehab assignment, Roberts said.
Roster moves
Dodgers pitcher Tyler Glasnow smiles on the field before the Dodgers’ 9-2 win Saturday against the Angels at Dodger Stadium.
(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)
The Dodgers added right-hander Nick Frasso to the 40-man roster and transferred right-hander Tyler Glasnow (back spasms) to the 60-day injured list.
The team originally expected Glasnow to avoid the IL altogether, but his back issues have persisted. He remains shut down from throwing after a flare-up.
“He wants to get cranking again,” Roberts said, “but the doctors just aren’t allowing it and the body is not allowing for it right now.”
The Dodgers also traded left-hander Antoine Kelly, whom they signed to a minor-league deal in November to the Cubs.
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
It’s a two of a kind for Golden Tempo.
The winner of last month’s Kentucky Derby, who sat out the Preakness Stakes, forfeiting a shot at the Triple Crown, took home the victory at the 158th Belmont Stakes in New York on Saturday.
Renegade opened up as the morningline 2-1 favorite, similar to the Derby, followed by Chief Wallabee at 3-1 and Golden Tempo at 9-2.
The racing post is pulled down the front stretch for a race at Saratoga Race Course. (Gregory Fisher/Imagn Images)
Just like the Derby, Golden Tempo was well at the back of the pack but began to make his move at the final turn. At one point, Golden Tempo was neck-and-neck with Commandment, but Golden Tempo was able to get away from the pack in the final stretch.
This was the second consecutive year in which the Derby winner skipped out on the Preakness to tune up for the Belmont. Last year, Sovereignty won the Kentucky Derby before not traveling to Pimlico Race Course and then taking home the Belmont.
Golden Tempo (9) with Jockey Jose Ortiz crosses the finish line to win the 158th running of the Belmont Stakes horse race, Saturday, June 6, 2026, in Saratoga Springs, New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
CHERIE DEVAUX REFLECTS ON MAKING KENTUCKY DERBY HISTORY AS FIRST FEMALE TRAINER TO WIN THE RACE
“We made our decision, he won today, and we’re happy about that,” trainer Cherie DeVaux said after the race.
Saturday’s Belmont Stakes marked the third consecutive, and final, year in which the race took place at Saratoga Race Course in Upstate New York, as Belmont Park finishes up renovations.
Due to the change in course since 2024, the race ran at 1 ¼ miles instead of its usual mile-and-a-half. Saratoga is home to the annual Whitney, Travers, and Jim Dandy Stakes.
A sign at Saratoga Race Course for the 2026 Belmont Stakes. (Will Waldron/Albany Times Union via Getty Images)
This year’s Belmont did not feature any horses from the Preakness Stakes three weeks ago and just four from the Kentucky Derby in early May: Renegade, Commandment, Chief Wallabee, and Golden Tempo.
All four of them finished in the top four.
Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
-
Austin, TX2 minutes agoOregon Baseball vs. Texas: Starting Pitchers, How to Watch Elimination Game
-
Alabama5 minutes agoAlabama football priority wide receiver target down to 4 schools
-
Alaska10 minutes agoAlaska Educators Travel the State Exploring Natural Resource Sites
-
Arizona17 minutes agoArizona Republic’s 2026 spring high school players of the year
-
Arkansas20 minutes agoCapitol View: Columnist John Brummett, Arkansas Finance and Administration Secretary Jim Hudson
-
California25 minutes agoNature: Cormorants in California
-
Colorado32 minutes agoBennet wants to be Colorado’s next governor
-
Connecticut35 minutes agoRocky Hill water main break closes road
