Nick Hartley

Less than 24 hours after struggling at the Battle of the Bird tournament in Milwaukee, the Jackrabbit volleyball team was gathered together at Cubby’s. They were celebrating their right to be SDSU’s first team in an NCAA tournament. Gathered together alongside them were a 100 or so Jackrabbit fans proud of their accomplishments.

“It’s going to be real exciting for the girls. We parents will enjoy it also; the opportunity to compete for a national championship is very rare on this level. I think it’s really exciting. It is more than one game, two games or five games. It is the week; it is the experience,” said Erik Dahl, father of junior defensive specialist Rachel Dahl.

At 7 p.m. the selection show was on almost every screen in Cubby’s and the talk of who the Jacks would play began. As parts of the bracket were revealed, it sank in just how big this was for the program. Eventually one part of the bracket was left and the talk about playing the defending national champions heated up.

It all led to the final piece of the puzzle being revealed: the final four games in the Big Dance. With the pieces revealed, Nancy Neiber looked over and winked, making it official. The Summit League regular season and tournament champion Jackrabbits face defending national champion Nebraska in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at 7 p.m. Nov. 30 in Lincoln, Neb., at the NU Coliseum in what could be the biggest event for SDSU ever.

“Where’s the line for tickets? Bring on the Huskers. This would be the biggest volleyball upset ever, so why not. We’re a team of destiny. I think we can do it. Hopefully, the whole Jackrabbit Nation can come down to Lincoln and we beat them,” said Jordan Priebe, a junior geography/GIS major from Chamberlain, SD.

So go ahead Jackrabbit fans skip class, skip work, skip whatever and join the rest of the Jackrabbit Nation down in Lincoln in an attempt to make school history.