WATCH: Nebraska Huskers volleyball team douses coach John Cook after beating Maryland to win back-to-back Big Ten titles

The Nebraska Huskers women's volleyball team doused its head coach John Cook in the locker room following its second consecutive Big Ten regular season championship win. The Huskers beat the Maryland Terrapins 3-1 to become the 2024 Co-Big Ten champions alongside Penn State.

The Huskers were on a dominant run this season before suffering their first conference loss against fourth-ranked Nittany Lions on November 30. They lost 3-1 to share the championship with Penn State before earning their half of the share against Maryland on December 1.

Nebraska had a nervy start in the opening set and lost 25-27 before putting up a dominant show in the final three sets, 25-14, 25-8, 25-12. It was the second consecutive Big Ten title for Huskers and the fifth overall, and all five of them have come under head coach John Cook.

The team gave an enthusiastic welcome to Cook following its conference championship win on Saturday night, drenching him in water on his arrival into the locker room. The 68-year-old joined the celebrations afterwards and danced with the team.

Cook joined Huskers as an assistant coach in 1999 and was promoted to the head coach position in the following year. In his 25 seasons with the team, he has won four NCAA titles and thirteen conference titles which also include five Big Ten titles. The four-time Big Ten Coach of The Year will now lead the team in the NCAA Championships as the postseason kicks in.

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"We really struggled" - Nebraska Huskers' John Cook says it was hard to move on from Penn State loss

Volleyball Day in Nebraska - John Cook giving a speech (Source: Getty)

Nebraska Huskers fought valiantly against Penn State on Saturday night but lost 25-21, 14-25, 25-22, 25-23 to share the conference title with them. Head coach John Cook termed the loss a tough one and claimed it lowered the morale inside the locker room so much so that they struggled in the first game against Maryland.

"Last night was a tough match. It was a great match by both teams, we spent a lot of energy emotionally and physically and today we came out, we had a hard time moving, we really struggled in game one and but we found a way and got some momentum," he said.

Huskers were led by an impressive performance from senior Merritt Beason, who scored 19 kills and a career-high 10 blocks and received massive praise from Cook following the game.

"Our goal was just be Merrit Beason, that's what the great ones do, they can struggle and then come back and play great next time. We knew we needed her tonight and I'm just really proud of her how she bounced back," John Cook said when asked what he told her after Penn State loss.

Captain Lexi Rodriguez also played an important role in the victory, scoring 14 digs before bidding her farewell to the crowd in her last conference match.