LINCOLN, Neb. — Nebraska volleyball player Madi Kubik grew up as the oldest of four sisters, always expected by her parents Brad and Renae to set a positive example.

Kubik’s list of academic and athletic achievements is long, topped by her first-team All-Big Ten and third-team All-America honors as the primary attacker in 2021 for the Huskers, who advanced to the NCAA championship match.

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The next Kubik in line, 18-year-old Hayden, arrived at Nebraska as a freshman in January out of West Des Moines, Iowa, the No. 1-ranked recruit nationally. Sisters Peyton, 13, and 11-year-old Jensen are following the family path in volleyball.

“I’ve been a role model,” said Madi, 21, “and I’ve had to demonstrate how to be a strong woman in sports and in life.”

What perfect preparation for her recent assignment.

Nick Burkhardt, Nebraska’s director of creative and emerging media, two weeks ago asked Kubik and teammates Nicklin Hames, Kenzie Knuckles and Lexi Rodriguez to participate in a video shoot with four young volleyball fans as part of the school’s recognition of National Girls and Women in Sports Day.

The result was magical, a four-minute montage produced by Burkhardt that drew nearly 700,000 views, more than 3 million impressions and 100,000 engagements on social media in the week after it was posted.

It's one thing to have a role model,

it's another to be one.

For #NGWSD, we brought the two together. pic.twitter.com/CtlKDoBAYi

— Husker Volleyball (@Huskervball) February 3, 2022

It received widespread acclaim — first within the Huskers’ program, then around the Nebraska athletics community before the video spread via social media to corners of sports and society normally out of reach for coach John Cook’s team.

“That one really touched a lot of people,” Cook said. “The responses we got, the responses the girls got, it’s probably one of the biggest things we’ve done to have an impact.”

Nebraska volleyball showcases the strongest brand in its sport. It leads the nation in attendance with a per-match average of more than 8,000 fans in 2021, running its streak of regular-season sellouts at the Bob Devaney Sports Center to 286. The Huskers have won five national titles, including four under Cook, and have played for titles in four of the past seven seasons.

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But its reach remains limited until something like this happens.

“The overwhelming message is that it’s great to see female athletes on that platform,” Burkhardt said.

Cook’s Huskers are celebrities in Nebraska, as much among girls as male athletes are to fans in a football- or basketball-crazed state. Their opportunities to connect on a personal level occur only on occasion, though.

“We need more of that,” said Callie Porter, whose daughter shared her story in the video. “Because they really do impact the lives of little kids. And they need to see that.”

While meeting to plan content with Jessica Coody from the Huskers Radio Network, Burkhardt locked in on the concept for the volleyball video shoot less than a week before the 36th annual National Girls and Women in Sports Day, celebrated this year on Feb. 2.

He teamed with Nebraska’s athletic marketing department, using their kids club email list to reach parents with a simple request of their children: Tell us about your favorite Nebraska volleyball player — and why.

Porter found the message in her junk folder on Jan. 28 and replied. Her daughter 8-year-old Emmie, attended one match at the Devaney Center in 2021, a three-set sweep against Illinois.

“She got to go down on the court,” Callie Porter said. “We thought that was as close as we were going to get to the players.”

Emmie and her family watched many more matches on television. She developed a strong liking for Hames, the Huskers’ demonstrative, four-year starting setter. A two-time first-team All-Big Ten choice, Hames recently announced she would cede her position but return to play in 2022, with hopes to get into coaching.

Emmie wrote about her admiration for Hames, just as 5-year-old Ophelia did about Knuckles, 8-year-old Mya about Kubik and 6-year Sage about Rodriguez.

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Burkhardt invited them to the Devaney Center on Tuesday, Feb. 1. He asked the players to come, too.

“We obviously didn’t tell them what we were doing,” Burkhardt said.

He conducted the interviews individually. The players answered questions about their role models in sports.

After a few minutes, Burkhardt left to retrieve a forgotten item. Or so he told the volleyball players. He reappeared each time out of the elevator doors with the girls and their families, moments caught on tape.

“I didn’t know what was going to happen,” Rodriguez said. “But whenever you see a little, cute girl in Husker gear, it’s gotta be something special.”

The kids sat down with the athletes and read their letters.

“It just immediately brought tears to my eyes,” Kubik said. “I was so caught off guard that she was there in the first place. And then she’s reading this letter, talking about how I am inspirational to her.”

Mya told Kubik she noticed her constant smile on the court and that it made her want to work hard.

“Things that we don’t even realize have an impact,” Kubik said, “people notice. I was emotional and surprised and speechless.”

Rodriguez, 18, the national freshman of the year last season and a first-team All-American at the libero position, talked on camera of her feelings for Olympic gold medalist Misty May-Treanor.

“I’m still a freshman,” she said. “I know there are little kids who look up to me and this program, but it’s still hard to believe that I have as big of an impact as I do on young kids. It showed me the platform that I have, I can use it to motivate and inspire kids.”

“What’s your why?”

It’s a key question inside of the Nebraska volleyball program. Cook, set to coach his 23rd season at the school this year, traces the roots to 2008. Behind senior star Jordan Larson, the Huskers faced host Washington in an NCAA regional final.

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Larson’s mother, Kae, fighting cancer, traveled to Seattle, but her weakened state prevented her from attending the match. Nebraska fell behind two sets to zero in the best-of-five competition.

“Jordan took over and willed our team to a win,” Cook said. “She said, ‘I’m not going to let my mom miss my last match. That’s when it hit me that if somebody’s got a strong ‘why,’ they can do incredible things.”

So Cook incorporated the question into Nebraska’s offseason performance program. It remains a staple.

“You see it all the time in sports,” Cook said. “If somebody wins a gold medal, there’s probably a strong story behind it, a ‘why’ behind it. It’s a good thing we all should be asking ourselves.”

For Kubik, the “why” was once about her sisters. Now, it’s more.

“It’s kind of an unreal situation for it to transfer over to other young girls who are not my sisters,” Kubik said. “We talk about that a lot — that we have that platform to inspire these girls. But we don’t get to sit down and hang out with them and talk to them and hear their stories and hear how they feel inspired.

“For that to happen, it re-emphasizes that ‘why’ for me.”

And when her message resonates across sports, even better.

“One thing we always talk about in social media is that emotion really carries well in engaging with fans,” Burkhardt said.

It’s a simple premise, according to Blake Lawrence, the former Nebraska linebacker and CEO of Opendorse, a social media and sports technology company.

“Social media is about human connection,” he said. “It can be a great place to tell a story and bring fans closer to athletes. That’s the name of the game in college sports and media today. It matters a lot in the NIL era, but it has always mattered.”

The volleyball video appeals to fans in part because it doesn’t involve the movement in college sports that allows athletes to earn money for their name, image and likeness. Not directly, at least.

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The players’ personal brands, of course, receive a bump, providing a boost to Cook’s recruiting efforts — not that he needs it after Rodriguez’s class ranked No. 1 nationally and Hayden Kubik’s group came in at No. 2.

But that’s all for another day. The motives at work with this project were pure.

“It was just a happy moment,” Rodriguez said, “something that I don’t think any of us will forget.”

The letter recited on camera hangs on Kubik’s bulletin board at home, along with a poster board painted by Mya in red and black with stars and little volleyballs. After the video shoot, Kubik stayed to talk with Mya about school and sports.

“We got to be regular people,” Kubik said.

She got a phone number from Mya’s mom and plans to keep in touch.

Like another little sister. They can never have too many.

(Top photo of  Lauren Stivrins (26) and Madi Kubik (10)  celebrating a point against Wisconsin during the 2021 NCAA championship match: Jamie Schwaberow / NCAA Photos via Getty Images)

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