Why did officials call off historic Nebraska-Missouri volleyball showdown at Wrigley Field?

At the iconic Wrigley Field, over 43 thousand people were in attendance to witness the historic showdown volleyball game between Nebraska and Missouri on Sunday, September 6, 2026.

But officials dashed their hopes by calling off the match, after stadium staff along with players on both sides, did everything they could to get the playable court.

The historic women’s college volleyball match at Wrigley Field was delayed twice before finally being suspended.

Due to the weather conditions that caused excessive moisture on the court, the staff mopped the court several times between the matches, but it made little difference.

The first delay in the Nebraska-Missou match came after just three points into the match.

This time, not just workers but also players from both sides got on their hands and knees with towels in an effort to mop up the playing surface. But all in vain.

At this point, several Nebraska players took a break for a brief dance party when the court sound system began playing Justin Bieber’s Baby before they got back to the task of getting the court mop-up.

The match resumed after about 20 minutes only to be paused again after another 15 points were played.

The situation led to both coaches, Busboom Kelly and Dawn Sullivan, surrounding the officials, discussing the scenarios that led to the decision to suspend the match.

After just 10 points of play, the officials called off the match due to the excessive moisture on the court.

“It was on its way to being a very, very epic moment for our sport. Unfortunately, the weather didn’t cooperate,' said the Nebraska coach Kelly.

The historic match was part of the Big Ten/SEC Volleyball Challenge and was the inaugural volleyball game ever played at the iconic baseball stadium: Wrigley Field.