A group of Cal Poly players seated behind press row froze when the defending national champions loped onto the Coliseum hardwood Friday night.
The slouched visitors had been gulfing down Subway sandwiches and small bags of potato chips after their five-game loss to No. 3-ranked Penn State.
Now their jaws stopped chomping. Bits of chatter ceased. Nebraska was on the floor.
Fellow teams seemed mesmerized, if not downright intimidated, by the Cornhuskers during the Holiday Inn Downtown Classic this weekend.
"They're so used to playing in an environment that's got some pressure," Cal Poly Coach Jon Stevenson said. "To the credit of (NU Coach) John Cook and his program, they have developed this really powerful aura about them."
The Huskers have reached the last two NCAA Final Fours, won 74 of their last 78 matches and showcase five AVCA All-Americans.
An ambience of superiority sort of comes with the territory, and it was put on display this weekend.
After sweeping Creighton on Friday, NU clashed with Penn State at the Qwest Center in Omaha on Sunday. A record regular-season crowd of 13, 081 showed up. A dramatic showdown between two of the top teams in America seemed realistic.
The Huskers rolled in three games, a methodical flogging that made the Nittany Lions appear somewhat average.
Penn State's Nicole Fawcett had bombed 31 kills against No. 18 Cal Poly Friday night. But against NU she hit .000 and tallied just six kills.
"I think we've all played in a good number of big matches," NU senior outside hitter Sarah Pavan said. "It's just a matter of taking that experience - and being put under pressure in practice - and translating that into a real game situation."
To prepare for high-caliber opponents, the Huskers routinely compete against men in workouts. And Nebraska's starters often scrimmage against a talented group of substitute players.
So it was no surprise that Cal Poly suffered the same fate as its tournament predecessors Monday evening.
"Our one chance was that the Cornhuskers would take us lightly, and that they might be flat from the Penn State game," Stevenson said. "But they weren't."
Yet the Huskers weren't exactly invincible.
NU senior outside hitter Christina Houghtelling left Friday night's match with cold symptoms.
Against Penn State on Sunday, junior libero Rachel Schwartz took a painful spike off her cheek. And Pavan smashed a ball that landed closer to a towel girl on the opposite end of the gym than the inbounds line.
But NU's swagger soon returned, the crowds roared louder and the matches ended quickly.
"I think confidence is such a fragile thing in the sport of volleyball," Cook said. "You want to continue to build that deep confidence so you know you can play great when you have to."
Nebraska's success has only bred self-assuredness, a quality vocally envied by opposing players and coaches.
This weekend, however, they could only watch in awe as the Huskers won with an aura unknown to the rest of collegiate volleyball.
"It's all connected, I think, from coach to players to fans and the whole environment here," Stevenson said. "It's very difficult to contend with. And I would say for other teams, it's downright stifling."
MICHAELMCHALE@DAILYNEBRASKAN.COM
is a member of the 
