Volleyball is about to begin a new chapter in Nebraska. At the helm is a woman who secretly helped establish volleyball in the state.
Few people have left as much of a mark on Nebraska volleyball as Diane Mendenhall. The Ogallala native has served in just about every role: player, coach, analyst and administrator. Former Husker volleyball coach Terry Pettit said when she was named president of Nebraska's new professional volleyball team, she was instantly given credibility by the newly formed Omaha Supernovas.
“She's special,” Pettit said. “If the team plays in a way that allows Diane to fulfill her responsibilities, we will be a winning team.''
The Supernovas open the inaugural season of the Federation of Professional Volleyball on Wednesday at CHI Health Center in Omaha. Mendenhall is working to get Nebraskans to embrace the professional version of the sport the same way they embrace the amateur sport.
The hope: With Mendenhall leading the way, the professional game will also have a solid foothold in what many consider the epicenter of volleyball. It helps that she has deep roots throughout the state, and she said she uses that background to promote Supernova and professional volleyball.
“I think she's uniquely qualified,” Pettit said.
Mendenhall's resume includes playing for legendary coach Steve Morgan in high school and then playing volleyball at the University of Kansas. She was a head coach at York University and Concordia University, and then served as director of volleyball operations at the University of Nebraska. In her first year on the job, the Huskers won the national championship. She also worked as a color analyst for Husker volleyball broadcasts, a board member for the Nebraska State Alumni Association, and an associate athletic director.
“The Supernova president's job is not just about volleyball, it's about raising financial support for the players and selling tickets,” Pettit said. “She understands the game, she can empathize with players and coaches, and she can talk to CEOs.”
Mendenhall, like the sport, has come a long way since he started playing on the outdoor concrete courts on the St. Paul Lutheran School campus in Ogallala.
For her and her sisters, that unforgiving slate was their backyard playground. Their father, Lee Schroeder, was the school's principal, and the family lived next door.
Her father installed a portable volleyball net suspended from steel poles held in place by tires filled with concrete. There she, her older sister Pam, and her younger sister Jen learned the game. Pam was one of the first student-athletes to participate in state-sanctioned sports under Title IX.
“We looked up to them,” Mendenhall said. “They were pioneers.”
In fact, the family's volleyball history dates back to Mendenhall's mother, Doris Schroeder, who played in Waco in the late 1950s. She and the women of even earlier generations make up what NU coach John Cook calls the “hidden DNA” of the state's sports.
Mendenhall believes the big bang for volleyball in Nebraska came in 1974, when Ogallala, then a high school sophomore, faced Scottsbluff in the regional final.
“I think they had to turn people away. It was packed, it was hot. It was kind of a 'Hoosier' feel,” she said. “From that point on, the town fell in love with the sport.”
Morgan, the head coach who led the Indians for more than 40 seasons, learned the game in the U.S. Army. The roots of the sport were already planted when he arrived in Ogallala, but he nurtured them. Winning helped me.
“Things reached a climax. Ogallala became famous because of volleyball,” Morgan said. “It started with Diane and her teammates.”
Morgan was one of several coaches in western Nebraska who, like Johnny Appleseed, grew the sport and popularized it. Others included Jody Rhodes from Paxton and Bill Wilburn from Sydney.
“I think because it started there, there are these small towns that experienced it from the beginning,” Mendenhall said. “It was a great start for the sport.”
The sport's popularity grew with the “move east,” she said, and “more towns and teams found success with volleyball.”
Morgan marvels at the changes both in high school and at the prestigious University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
“This is a Vatican-like moment in terms of the magic that was created. It's really amazing.”
Mendenhall believes much of volleyball's appeal lies in its structure. It's fast-paced, she said. Elegant. powerful. The women's match features a long and thrilling rally.
Generations of more knowledgeable fans have emerged and enjoyed its excellence. Mendenhall helped educate fans during her 16 years as a color analyst on Husker radio.
In a state divided by the rural-urban divide, volleyball has become a unifying factor. She hopes that carries over to Supernova.
“This is a professional team from the state of Nebraska.”
Mendenhall acknowledges that she stands on the shoulders of pioneers like Pettit, Morgan and Barbara Hibner, who laid the foundation for volleyball in the state.
Hibner served in various athletic administrator roles at NU and was a passionate champion of women's sports, helping volleyball gain the resources it needed to compete.
Morgan started teaching volleyball in elementary school physical education classes, and later ran camps. He said Mendenhall “helped” him run the camp.
Mendenhall said Pettit promoted the sport “door-to-door” and took players overseas for exhibitions, clinics and goodwill tours. “Coach Cook continues to do that.”
Now, Mendenhall is in the process of consciously trying to connect the entire state.
“Our team is the Omaha Supernovas, but our franchise is Nebraska Pro Volleyball. It was very intentional,” she said.
Supernova strength and conditioning coach Laura Pirajkowski was an All-American volleyball player at Nebraska. She earned her final point, sealing NU's 2000 national championship after Coach Cook, concerned about the team's poor performance, requested Mendenhall's assistance. Borrowing from Native American culture, Mendenhall had his players create team dreamcatchers that they would tie together with yarn before each game as a ritual to release fear. Cook and his players acknowledged this strategy was key to the Huskers' title win.
Former Huskers Kenzie Maroney and Kenzie Knuckles and former Creighton Blue Jay Jaela Zimmerman are serving as “Super Rising Star Ambassadors” to interact with fans.
Mendenhall likes that American fighters are getting the chance to compete professionally in the United States. Two of the Supernovas' franchise players, former Husker Gina Mancuso-Prososki and Olympian Natalia Valentin-Anderson, live in Omaha and played overseas for years before this new opportunity arose. .
Valentin Anderson, who is originally from Puerto Rico, is one of several women of color on the Supernova roster, a move in the United States where volleyball has historically struggled to be inclusive. Mendenhall said it reflects the growing diversity of volleyball.
“We want to make volleyball more accessible to underserved areas of our community and ensure that everyone who wants to play the sport has the same opportunity.”
The team plans to partner with nonprofit organizations to provide free admission to youth. Mendenhall also said he plans to use the spring and summer off-seasons to visit camps and have his players interact with kids from across Nebraska.
As for how Nebraskans approach professional volleyball, she talks about CHI University's sold-out NU-Creighton game and the NCAA finals, Nebraska's historic “Volleyball Day,” and how NU Volleyball He cited the fact that it broke the attendance record for a single season.
“We have proof of concept here that as Nebraskans we love volleyball and are here to support it.”
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The Flatwater Free Press is Nebraska's first independent, nonprofit news station focused on important investigations and features.
