Former Huskers star Lindsay Krause was in disbelief when she found out that she had been drafted by the Omaha Supernovas. That was, of course, the disbelief that comes with success. And playing for the reigning Pro Volleyball champions is pretty much as good as it gets. However, there was something else that contributed to her disbelief—the thought of playing at home.

Even a few years ago, playing at home seemed like a dream for the North American professional volleyball player. Now, that has changed, and the former Huskers star is all for it.

Lindsay Krause recently opened up on how grateful she is for professional volleyball in the United States. “…just the idea of this professional volleyball even being in America is still something that is hard to believe that they’ve made it, they’ve done it and so I’m just so grateful,” she said, clad in Omaha colors. Even though volleyball was invented in the US, it was hardly a dominant sport. So, having not one but three professional volleyball leagues is something that still seems too good to be true.

“You know, even getting to have that kind of like next five or six months, I guess planned out once college ended was also kind of a relief,” Krause added in conversation with HuskerOnline. Until recently, student volleyball athletes had to live amidst uncertainty as they neared the end of their school careers. However, now student-volleyball players know “what’s next” thanks to the advent of pro leagues like the LOVB and PVF.

The LOVB will begin its inaugural season later today with the match-up between Salt Lake and Atalanta. There’s a Huskers connection in the LOVB as well with libero Lexi Rodriguez playing for Omaha. Meanwhile, the Pro Volleyball Federation had its inaugural season last year. In fact, it was Krause’s side the Omaha Supernovas who won the inaugural edition by beating the Grand Rapids Rise on May 18 at the CHI Health Center in downtown Omaha.

It’s safe to say our favorite college volleyball players aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. And players like Lindsay Krause have only themselves to credit for it.

Thanks to the likes of Lindsay Krause, the popularity of volleyball has grown in America

The Omaha Supernova gave fans a glimpse of their practice session in a recent Instagram post. The word ‘glimpse’ was chosen because one could hardly see the Supernovas through the 1200-strong crowd that had gathered on the sidelines to see the Supernovas practice. Yes, practice. Yes, 1200. Now, such numbers are understandable when it comes to pro teams. What about the amateurs? Well, they are—excuse the pun—in their own league.

Lindsay Krause and Lexi Rodriguez were there when the match between the Cornhuskers and the Cardinals broke a viewership record on ESP/ABC. The numbers? The average viewership was a whopping 684,000 while the peak was 808,000. All this happened even though the match clashed with three of the NFL schedules. So much for not being a popular sport!

The attendance record for a college volleyball match was broken by the 2023 NCAA final between Texas and Nebraska. The match was attended by 19,727 volleyball fans. The record it broke was, in fact, set just three days before in the semi-final.

The greatest record, however, came in 2023 when two amateur volleyball teams made history for all of the women’s sports. The match in question? Nebraska vs. Omaha on “Volleyball Day in Nebraska”. The match which was attended by 92,003 people became the most attended women’s sports event in history, leaving behind the UEFA Champions League Final between Barcelona and Wolfsburg.

So, players like Krause, Rodriguez, and Beason can pat themselves on the back. They know what’s next because they paved the way for it.