ɬַ President Charlie Baker on the growing popularity of women's volleyball
Nebraska and Omaha shattered the all-time record for DI women's college volleyball attendance when 92,003 fans packed Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska, home of the Cornhuskers football team, on Aug. 30, 2023. In fact, the regular season match officially broke the world record for attendance at any women’s sporting event, surpassing the 91,648 in attendance at a 2022 UEFA Women's Champions League match between Barcelona and Wolfsburg at Camp Nou. On Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024, the national final between Penn State and Louisiville at KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky, broke the indoor record at 21,860.
Here are the nine DI college volleyball games with the most attendance. You can see all DI, DII, and DIII volleyball attendance records and averages in this .PDF.
1. 92,003: Nebraska defeated Omaha on Aug. 30, 2023 at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska
"Volleyball Day in Nebraska" included an exhibition match between DII schools Wayne State and Nebraska-Kearney, before Nebraska and Omaha took center stage at the home of Cornhuskers football.
2. 21,860: Penn State def Louisville on Dec. 22, 2024 at the KFC Yum! Center, Louisville, KY in the ɬַ final
3. 19,727: Texas defeated Nebraska on Dec. 17, 2023 at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida in the ɬַ final
4. 19,598: Nebraska defeated Pitt and Texas defeated Wisconsin on Dec. 14, 2023, at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida in the ɬַ semifinals
5. 18,755: Wisconsin defeated Nebraska on Dec. 18, 2021 at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio in the ɬַ final
Jamie Schwaberow | ɬַ Photos
6. 18,516: Nebraska defeated Florida on Dec. 16, 2017 at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo. in the ɬַ final
7. 18,374: Florida defeated Stanford and Nebraska defeated Penn State on Dec. 14, 2017, at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo. in the ɬַ semifinals
Jamie Schwaberow | ɬַ Photos
8. 18,113: Stanford defeated Nebraska on Dec. 15, 2018, at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minn., in the ɬַ final
9. 17,808: Stanford defeated BYU and Nebraska defeated Illinois on Dec. 13, 2018, in the ɬַ semifinals at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minn.
Jamie Schwaberow | ɬַ Photos
Here is the list of the top 37 most attended women's college volleyball games from the ɬַ DI record book.
Scroll to the right to view the entire table.
| ATT. | WINNER | OPPONENT | SCORE | DATE | ARENA | CITY | STATE | TOURNAMENT ROUND | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 92,003 | Nebraska* | Omaha | 3-0 | Aug. 30, 2023 | Memorial Stadium | Lincoln | NE | |
| 2 | 21,860 | Penn State | Louisville | 3-1 | Dec. 22, 2024 | KFC Yum! Center | Louisville | KY | ɬַ Final |
| 3 | 19,727 | Texas | Nebraska | 3-0 | Dec. 17, 2023 | Amalie Arena | Tampa | FL | ɬַ Final |
| 4 | 19,598 | Nebraska | Pitt | 3-0 | Dec. 14, 2023 | Amalie Arena | Tempa | FL | ɬַ semifinals |
| Texas | Wisconsin | 3-1 | ɬַ semifinals | ||||||
| 5 | 18,755 | Wisconsin | Nebraska | 3-2 | Dec. 18, 2021 | Nationwide Arena | Columbus | OH | ɬַ final |
| 6 | 18,516 | Nebraska | Florida | 3-1 | Dec. 16, 2017 | Sprint Center | Kansas City | MO | ɬַ final |
| 7 | 18,374 | Florida | Stanford | 3-2 | Dec. 14, 2017 | Sprint Center | Kansas City | MO | ɬַ semifinals |
| Nebraska | Penn St. | 3-2 | ɬַ semifinals | ||||||
| 8 | 18,113 | Stanford | Nebraska | 3-2 | Dec. 15, 2018 | Target Center | Minneapolis | MN | ɬַ final |
| 9 | 17,808 | Stanford | BYU | 3-0 | Dec. 13, 2018 | Target Center | Minneapolis | MN | ɬַ semifinals |
| Nebraska | Illinois | 3-2 | ɬַ semifinals | ||||||
| 10 | 17,561 | Nebraska | Texas | 3-0 | Dec. 19, 2015 | CHI Health Center | Omaha | NE | ɬַ final |
| 11 | 17,551 | Nebraska | Kansas | 3-1 | Dec. 17, 2015 | CHI Health Center | Omaha | NE | ɬַ semifinals |
| Texas | Minnesota | 3-1 | ɬַ semifinals | ||||||
| 12 | 17,430 | Stanford | Texas | 3-2 | Dec. 18, 2008 | CHI Health Center | Omaha | NE | ɬַ semifinals |
| Penn St. | Nebraska | 3-2 | ɬַ semifinals | ||||||
| 13 | 17,345 | Stanford | Texas | 3-1 | Dec. 17, 2016 | Nationwide Arena | Columbus | OH | ɬַ final |
| 14 | 17,209 | Nebraska | Stanford | 3-1 | Dec. 16, 2006 | CHI Health Center | Omaha | NE | ɬַ final |
| 15 | 17,037 | Wisconsin | Marquette | 3-1 | Sept. 13, 2023 | Fiserv Forum | Milwaukee | WI | |
| 16 | 17,014 | Nebraska | UCLA | 3-1 | Dec. 14, 2006 | CHI Health Center | Omaha | NE | ɬַ semifinals |
| Stanford | Washington | 3-0 | ɬַ semifinals | ||||||
| 17 | 16,833 | Florida | Wisconsin* | 3-2 | Sept. 16, 2022 | Kohl Center | Madison | WI | |
| 18 | 16,670 | Stanford | Minnesota | 3-1 | Dec. 15, 2016 | Nationwide Arena | Columbus | OH | ɬַ semifinals |
| Texas | Nebraska | 3-0 | ɬַ semifinals | ||||||
| 19 | 16,531 | Wisconsin | Louisville | 3-2 | Dec. 16, 2021 | Nationwide Arena | Columbus | OH | ɬַ semifinals |
| Nebraska | Pittsburgh | 3-1 | ɬַ semifinals | ||||||
| 20 | 16,290 | Stanford | Wisconsin | 3-0 | Dec. 21, 2019 | PPG Paints Arena | Pittsburgh | PA | ɬַ final |
| 21 | 16,448 | Texas | Oregon | 3-0 | Dec. 15, 2012 | KFC Yum! Center | Louisville | KY | ɬַ final |
| 22 | 15,797 | Nebraska | Creighton* | 3-2 | Sept. 7, 2022 | CHI Health Center | Omaha | NE | |
| 23 | 15,119 | Nebraska | Florida | 3-0 | Dec. 10, 2005 | CHI Health Center | Omaha | NE | ɬַ regional final |
| 24 | 14,975 | Penn St. | Washington | 3-0 | Dec. 19, 2013 | KeyArena | Seattle | WA | ɬַ semifinals |
| 25 | 14,779 | Penn St. | Wisconsin | 3-1 | Dec. 21, 2013 | KeyArena | Seattle | WA | ɬַ final |
| 26 | 14,661 | Stanford | Minnesota | 3-0 | Dec. 19, 2019 | PPG Paints Arena | Pittsburgh | PA | ɬַ semifinals |
| Wisconsin | Baylor | 3-1 | ɬַ semifinals | ||||||
| 27 | 14,489 | Nebraska | UCLA | 3-0 | Dec. 9, 2005 | CHI Health Center | Omaha | NE | ɬַ regional semifinals |
| Florida | Louisville | 3-0 | ɬַ regional semifinals | ||||||
| 28 | 14,299 | Penn St. | Stanford | 3-0 | Dec. 20, 2008 | CHI Health Center | Omaha | NE | ɬַ final |
| 29 | 14,035 | Texas | Wisconsin | 3-1 | Sep. 1, 2024 | Fiserv Forum | Milwaukee | WI | |
| Stanford | Minnesota | 3-2 | |||||||
| 30 | 14,032 | Penn St. | California | 3-0 | Dec. 18, 2010 | Sprint Center | Kansas City | MO | ɬַ final |
| 31 | 14,022 | Nebraska | *Creighton | 3-2 | Sept. 6, 2018 | CHI Health Center | Omaha | NE | |
| 32 | 13,870 | UCLA | *Nebraska | 3-2 | Sept. 13, 2009 | Bob Devaney Sports Center | Lincoln | NE | |
| 33 | 13,747 | UCLA | Illinois | 3-1 | Dec. 17, 2011 | Alamodome | San Antonio | TX | ɬַ final |
| 34 | 13,631 | Penn St. | Stanford | 3-2 | Dec. 15, 2007 | Power Balance Pavilion | Sacramento | CA | ɬַ final |
| 35 | 13,412 | *Nebraska | LSU | 3-0 | Sept. 12, 2008 | Bob Devaney Sports Center | Lincoln | NE | |
| 36 | 13,396 | *Nebraska | Hawaii | 3-0 | Oct. 21, 2007 | Bob Devaney Sports Center | Lincoln | NE | |
| 37 | 13,385 | Oregon | Penn St. | 3-1 | Dec. 13, 2012 | KFC Yum! Center | Louisville | KY | ɬַ semifinals |
| Texas | Michigan | 3-2 | ɬַ semifinals |
* Host institution.
All arenas listed under current (or most recent) name.
