"Something I'm going to look back on one day" - Harper Murray reflects on 'cool' experience of playing volleyball at Nebraska football stadium

Harper Murray, a prominent outside hitter for the Nebraska Cornhuskers, recently attended a Kansas City Convention Center meeting. During the same, the athlete discussed her life experiences and topics related to mental health.

Last year, she was named the NCAA Lincoln Regional Most Outstanding Player and was named to the NCAA Championship All-Tournament Team. Harper Murray talked with Triple Crown Sports Network's Sarah Lauren, expressed her thoughts on her impressive story with the program, and shared significant takeaways with the audience. She also shed light on her thoughts about the Cornhuskers' achievements in her first year and how playing in a football stadium was an experience of a lifetime.

“That year for us, like setting a national record and doing all the cool things that we did, was definitely a magical season for sure. I looked back on it and sometimes I'm like, there's no way I played in a football stadium. That's something I'm going to look back on one day and tell my kids about. But in the moment right now, it feels cool but it doesn't actually feel like it happened. And you know, we were undefeated majority of the season we only lost two games and that's incredible I think,” she shared [2:13 onwards].

The stadium in question is the Memorial Stadium, which hosted "Volleyball Day in Nebraska" in 2023 and set up a temporary court on the football playing field for the same. Alongside a regular season game between Harper Murray's Cornhuskers and Omaha Mavericks, the event also featured an exhibition by two of the state's three Division II schools, Nebraska–Kearney and Wayne State.

Murray further mentioned that during her collegiate career, she has only lost “five games,” reflecting her notable performances over the years with Nebraska. She also expressed that her freshman year was “awesome”. Murray has been nominated for the Tom Osborne Citizenship Team twice and, last year, for the AVCA All-America Second Team.

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Harper Murray shares her thoughts on NIL and its effects on college sports

Harper Murray at the 2024 Division I Women's Volleyball Semifinals - Source: Getty

Murray is now pursuing her junior year at the University of Nebraska and has emerged as one of the best outside hitters of Nebraska Cornhuskers. She was also named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year and recently shared her viewpoints on NIL and how it will impact collegiate sports in an interview with 1890 Nebraska.

“I think it’s crazy how much it’s growing, and I think it’s gonna continue to do that. And I think volleyball is a sport that’s growing NIL—and it is growing in general as a sport—and a lot of little girls are playing volleyball now, and I think Nebraska is part of the reason why so many people want to be involved in volleyball and start at a young age,” she shared [2:22 onwards].

Harper Murray is one of the brand ambassadors of Avoli, an athletic brand focusing on the performance needs of women volleyball players. As a junior, Murray concluded the Division I state finals in the second position. She also won the gold medal with the U.S. Girls U19 Team at the Pan American Cup 2022. Individually, she was honored with the Best Spiker award in the same edition.