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Lively Lopers take 33-0 into tonight's regional
KEARNEY, Neb. – Other collegiate volleyball coaches ask Rick Squiers about it all the time.
“What’s with your crazy bench?”
“His team’s over-the-top sideline antics have “definitely caught some attention,” according to Squiers, the longtime head coach at the University of Nebraska at Kearney.
But he’s not the mastermind behind the loud, vivacious and completely unapologetic crew bringing extra excitement to every Loper volleyball match.
“I really didn’t have anything to do with it,” Squiers said. “I try to stay out of it.”
The tradition was started by his players a few years ago, and it continues to grow and evolve over time.
This year’s team has chants for kills, blocks, serve-receive and just about every UNK player who steps on the court.
They do the can-can for freshman outside hitter Kamryn Schuler, cheer for Annnnaaaaa Squiers and break into the chicken dance when they’ve recorded enough kills to earn free Raising Cane’s for the home crowd.
“It makes matches more fun for everyone,” said Bailee Sterling, a redshirt freshman from Kearney. “If the bench is loud, it’s going to give our team more energy. It gives the fans more energy.”
When junior Mary Katherine Wolfe steps to the service line, it’s Stienike who forms a moon shape with her arms while two teammates howl from the gym floor.
“I think our fans find it hilarious,” Stienike said of the animation.
“But other teams … I don’t think they like how obnoxious we are,” Sterling injected.
The Lopers credit the silliness for relieving some of the pressure during a season when they’re 33-0 and ranked second in NCAA Division II.
“Some of them (cheers) are clever and I kind of smile,” he said, “And some of them I cringe a little.”
UNK is hosting the NCAA Division II Central Regional for the second consecutive year.
The second-ranked Lopers (33-0) are the top seed in the eight-team tournament. They face Oklahoma Baptist University (28-5) at 7:30 tonight in the Health and Sports Center.