A Million Dollars at the Cowboys' Stadium, in Matches That Don't Count

Husker fans, this one is strange and enormous at the same time.

No. 1 Nebraska plays No. 17 Florida tonight at 7 p.m. Central on TNT — inside AT&T Stadium in Arlington, the home of the Dallas Cowboys.

There is $1 million on the line. It’s the largest prize ever put up in women’s college sports.

And none of it counts.

The event

It’s called Spikes Under the Lights, and it’s the first time it’s ever been held.

Four teams, one night. Nebraska and Florida open at 7. No. 10 Penn State plays No. 11 SMU at 8. The two winners meet at 9 p.m. for the purse.

This is also the first women’s collegiate sporting event ever staged at AT&T Stadium — and one of the first women’s sporting events of any kind held in an NFL venue.

It isn’t normal volleyball

Every match is best-of-three. The first two sets go to 21 points. A deciding third set, if it’s needed, goes to 15.

So a team can win the whole thing in roughly the time a normal match takes to reach a fourth set. There is no margin, no long grind back, and no second night to fix anything.

And here’s the part worth knowing before you watch: these are exhibition matches. Nothing tonight goes in the record book. No kills, no digs, no aces, no win, no loss.

A million dollars, a national broadcast, and a scoreboard that officially never happened.

What Nebraska brings

The Huskers arrive as the preseason No. 1, having taken 57 first-place votes in the AVCA poll — the program’s 124th week at the top all-time, more than anyone else has managed.

Dani Busboom Kelly is in her second season in charge.

And the roster is built exactly for a night with no margin. Nebraska has four seniors, and they occupy the four positions that run a match: Bergen Reilly at setter, Laney Choboy at libero, Andi Jackson in the middle and Harper Murray on the outside.

Murray has been an All-American in each of her three seasons. Last year she averaged 3.54 kills per set on .295 hitting, both career highs, with a team-high 34 aces.

Behind them: seven sophomores and three freshmen.

Then it gets real

Whatever happens tonight, the actual season starts almost immediately — and brutally.

Nebraska plays UNLV on Saturday and Texas on Sunday afternoon on FOX. Three matches in four days, every one of them away from Lincoln.

Husker fans, a million dollars and none of it on the record. Seven o’clock, TNT.