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How Title IX Impacted Three Huskers – ITCM-029

Janice Kruger and Nancy Grant-Colson played on the earliest Women’s volleyball teams at Nebraska and helped build the foundation to remarkable consistency. Kruger went on to great success as a head volleyball coach at Nebraska-Omaha and the University of Maryland. Grant-Colson coached high school volleyball in Lincoln throughout her career as an educator. Dahlgren waked on to Nebraska volleyball, introduced the slide attack, and became Nebraska’s first National Player of the Year.

7 Comments

  1. Mary Davidson Fuller Mary Davidson Fuller

    Thoroughly enjoyed this conversation! It brought back great memories of those early years and how different things are today.

  2. Vicki Highstreet Vicki Highstreet

    Susie Heiser, Cheryl Nolte Henry, Denise Stange and Vicki Ossenkop Highstreet were the first 4 scholarships for Nebraska Volleyball for the Fall 1974 team. Pat Sullivan was our coach after Margaret Penny coached in our first two years. Injuries – you were on your own! We didn’t have access to athletic medicine. We played in Mabel Lee Hall and weren’t allowed to charge a fee for fans to watch the games due to Mabel Lee’s stipulation for naming the building. There was a small room in the basement with a couple weight machines in the basement and you lifted on your own – no coach for your strength training.
    Freshman couldn’t travel until they changed the schedule to a one semester because they hadn’t established their GPA, but our season overlapped fall and spring semesters so they could then travel 2nd semester.
    Janice was a freshman when I was a senior. Great hearing from all three of these athletes!

    • Terry Pettit Terry Pettit

      Thanks for the information Vicki. I was aware Mabel Lee was not in favor of scholarships (She may have seen them as the NIL of her day.) I really enjoyed hearing from these three remarkable women. If you have contact with any of the women that you played with, I would appreciate you sharing the podcast with them. Thanks!

  3. Ted Heise Ted Heise

    Inspiring stuff, thank you all!

  4. Angie Millikin Angie Millikin

    Three great women. Each pioneers for the program in their own way.

  5. Sue Meyer Sue Meyer

    Janice Krueger’s high school coach, Marvin Beardshear, turns 90 this month. He was the volleyball coach back in the 60s and 70s when volleyball was a winter sport, played between boys JV and Varsity BB games, with a 15 minute clock. Practices were held over the lunch hour or in the city auditorium. Was great to hear Janice speak so highly of Coach Beardshear. She is the Jordan Larson of Randolph High School Volleyball. “Honey Capital of the Nation”

    • Megan Patent- Nygren Megan Patent- Nygren

      Yes! Growing up in Randolph, Janice was the most famous alumnus. She was coaching at Maryland when I was in high school taking physical science with Mr. Beardshear. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the peek back into RHS and NU history through a Title IX lens.

      This episode is how I discovered the podcast and have since binged a couple of dozen additional episodes. Well worth the listen, for sure.

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