And then there were four in the NCAA volleyball tournament

December 11, 2023
Four familiar faces — three No. 1 seeds and one No. 2 seed — emerged victorious from Saturday’s national tournament’s tumultuous regional round, booking their tickets to Thursday’s national semifinals in Tampa, FL.
CollegeVolleyball
And then there were four in the NCAA volleyball tournament
SOURCE: HUSKERVB/X

The GIST: Four familiar faces — three No. 1 seeds and one No. 2 seed — emerged victorious from Saturday’s national tournament’s tumultuous regional round, booking their tickets to Thursday’s national semifinals in Tampa, FL. Here’s who’s going in for the kill later this week.

No. 1 Nebraska Cornhuskers (32-1): No. 3 Arkansas was the only team to win a set against Nebraska since the tourney began — but the Huskers, aka one of the sport’s most dominant teams, still rolled over the Razorbacks en route to their 17th (!!!) semis in a 3-1 dub in front of 8,713 roaring fans. The Corn is very, very real.

No. 1 Wisconsin Badgers (30-3): Along with Nebraska, Wisconsin is the volleyball school. The Badgers, led by outside hitter (OH) Sarah Franklin, took down West Coast powerhouse No. 2 Oregon 3-1 to advance. Fans are hankering for a Badgers-Huskers blood-rival rematch in the final — but there are some heavyweight opponents in their way…

No. 1 Pitt Panthers (29-4): Pitt vs. No. 2 Louisville was the quarter-finals’ most hotly-anticipated matchup, and it did not disappoint. The Panthers eventually won the five-set thriller thanks to OH Torrey Stafford’s blistering 18 kills, redeeming their loss to Louisville in last year’s Final Four. It’s called Glennergy.

No. 2 Texas Longhorns (26-4): The reigning national champs pulled off the round’s only upset, bringing the block party to No. 1 Stanford’s home court for a 3-1 win. OH Madisen Skinner showed up and showed out, recording 24 kills and a .383 hitting percentage. Surprised she didn’t put a hole through the floor.

What’s next: A semifinal preview will hit your inboxes Wednesday before Nebraska faces off against Pitt at 7 p.m. ET and Wisconsin takes on Texas at 9:30 p.m. ET on Thursday. You can find both matches on ESPN — where they belong. Can you dig it?