This post was co-written by Mia Kovachev
It’s not unusual to see the bleachers of AT&T Stadium packed with a loud crowd and loyal fanbase. But on Thursday night, the stands looked a bit different. A sea of red replaced the usual navy blue worn by diehard fans of “America’s Team,” the Dallas Cowboys. Instead of the usual football game, the stadium hosted Spikes Under the Lights, where four of the country’s top ranked women’s volleyball teams – Nebraska, Penn State, Florida, and Southern Methodist – competed for a $1 million prize.
The red matched the colors of the two eventual finalists: Nebraska and SMU. While SMU would be considered the closest to a home team for this event – “Dallas’s volleyball team,” in Head Coach Sam Erger’s words – the bulk of the red shirts read “Cornhuskers” (Nebraska’s mascot). The Mustangs had a strong showing, but it was clear the Huskers were the favorites.
In typical No. 1-ranked-team-in-the-nation fashion, Nebraska did not drop a set during either game. They received a massive check upon winning, hoisting it high in the air as their supporters lingered after the match finished to celebrate. Despite Nebraska taking the title with little resistance, the importance of Thursday’s event was larger than dominance on the court.
While a visiting team may have brought the evening’s largest contingent of fans, the opportunity to compete on an NFL-sized stage in front of a hometown crowd was a key takeaway from the night, according to members of the 11th-ranked SMU squad.
Erger thinks it’s a big deal that Thursday’s event highlighted hometown heroes on a large stage. Spikes Under the Light’s impact goes beyond growing SMU’s volleyball program, she said, and is important to the North Texas volleyball community as a whole.
“The little girls around here can go, ‘Hey, I can see myself in them.’”
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North Texas is a hotbed for junior club volleyball. There are over 130 clubs in the area, according to North Texas Region Volleyball’s website, with around 11,000 participants. Six members of SMU’s team are products of the local club system, including middle blocker Favor Anyanwu.
A Rowlett, Texas, native, Anyanwu made a strong impression in SMU’s stadium debut, despite the Mustangs’ eventual loss to Nebraska. She led the team in aces and blocks in their opening match against Penn State, then followed with another strong blocking performance against the Cornhuskers. In her opinion, this nationally-televised event is finally giving volleyball the spotlight it deserves.
“We’re setting a whole lot of trends and firsts for everything, and to be part of it, I’m just so grateful and honored to be just growing the game of volleyball in itself,” she said. “We’re honestly just growing the game for the younger generation to look up to.”
Anyanwu played junior club volleyball for Texas Advantage Volleyball, a top-five program according to NTR Volleyball. Among Thursday’s crowd, multiple girls wearing matching TAV shirts could be spotted, supporting the teams from the stands.
In addition to playing for young fans, Anyanwu said getting to play in front of family and friends is an added bonus, similar to matches at SMU’s home court, Moody Coliseum.
“As long as we just have tunnel vision and treat every game just as we should, and play SMU volleyball, then it’s not anything too out of the norm for us.”
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Anyanwu’s fellow middle blocker Natalia Newsome is also a former NTR club volleyball player. She competed for Texas Image, located about a 10-minute drive from AT&T Stadium. Her ties to Thursday’s event run deep, starting with her connection to the host city.
Newsome grew up in Arlington and graduated from the city’s Martin High School. Her reaction to getting to play in her hometown? “Oh my gosh, I’m in my home!”
“[I’m] just super excited and honestly grateful to be put in the position we’re in,” she said. “We’re so blessed to be here.”
In addition, her family boasts a strong football background. She calls herself an SMU legacy, referencing her father Tony, who played for the Mustangs from 1997 to 2000. She also has two uncles who played in the NFL. While neither of them played for the Cowboys, she said her family’s loyalty lies in Dallas.
“It’s really cool to be in an NFL stadium, just in general, playing volleyball,” she said. “Not many people get to do this, and then on top of that, my family’s a big football family, and my grandparents are huge Cowboys fans.”
Once SMU took the court, a few fans waved four enormous posters around, each one an individual letter to spell out S-U-L-I. They saluted hometown hero Suli Davis. A star transfer from Brigham Young, where she earned Big 12 Conference Freshman of the Year honors in 2025, Davis is from Euless, Texas, and graduated from Colleyville Heritage High School. Just like Anyanwu and Newsome, she developed her game in the North Texas club scene.
Erger believes the North Texas community can rally around names like Anyanwu, Newsome, and Davis.
“I think [Spikes Under the Lights] will be a good example of leading the way and for future events like this to be a big deal, including prize money and investment,” she said. “We’ve got players that are very recognizable faces around this community, so we’re excited for them.”
