Well, these two undefeated teams’ courses collided one Saturday in late October. There couldn’t have been a more compelling lead-up to the big match. No. 1 vs No. 2, the battle of the unbeatens, the team that Nebraska never seems to get past, sold out arena, game broadcasted in prime time TV. Let’s gooo! And the match more than lived up to its billing. It was back and forth the entire time, and of course it went to a deciding fifth set in the best-of-five matchup. Both teams fought through momentum shifts and dry spells, but they kept fighting and always brought themselves back into contention when it seemed like they might be defeated. In the end, Nebraska squeaked it out by two points. Even from my couch in Kansas City, the scene after the Huskers’ victorious match point was quite a sight to behold. Tears, cheers, smiles and relief! There was a new No. 1 team in college volleyball. 

One of the postgame interviews with Nebraska captain Merritt Beason revealed her team’s mindset and preparedness for the guaranteed ups and downs of the match. She referenced the team’s “FRS,” or “failure recovery system.” She said when they prepare for games, they talk about their FRS. They know they will experience little losses, or failures, throughout the game. That’s guaranteed! (Check it, you won’t find many–or any?–shutout volleyball wins. That would mean the winning team didn’t lose a single point throughout the entire match.) So athletes are mentally prepared for failures along the way. But their main focus is on how they will recover from those failures! They have a failure recovery system that prepares and motivates them to get back up, stay positive and mentally move on toward the next success. The team has pre-decided to come together after each failure, encourage one another, and intentionally step past the failure and on to the next play.