The NCAA women’s volleyball tournament is flying by. We started with 64 teams and now we’re down to just 16 in the regional semis. This was probably the best women’s volleyball season in a while. Let’s take a look at who’s in. All the games are on December 9th and the regional finals are on the 11th.
First, we have the 11th seed in BYU playing the 6th seed Purdue. Their game is at 11 am on ESPNU. Purdue had a big test against Dayton in the last round when they were down 2 sets to none in the 3rd set. They found their way back to beat them 3-2. BYU beat Boise State 3-0 and their main rivals Utah 3-1. BYU had an amazing season finishing 30-1 and all their opponents that they’ve beat except Weber State didn’t win more than 1 set. Purdue had a good season as well. They finished 21-6. They beat Wisconsin in both their matches against them with identical 3-1 scorelines.
Next, we have the number 1 seed Louisville playing the 16th seed Florida. Their game is at 1 pm on ESPNU. Louisville is undefeated with 30 wins this season. They’re taking on a 16 seed in Florida which is a very good side as well finishing the season 22-8. Mary Wise earned her 1,001 career win in Florida’s last game.
Next is number 3 Pittsburgh playing unranked Kansas. Their game is at 1 pm on ESPN+. Pitt finished 28-3 with their only losses being against the number 1 seed Louisville and Georgia Tech who are also in the sweet sixteen. Pitt had a great season and dominated the ACC along with Louisville and Georgia Tech. Kansas finished the season 18-11. They won two sets in their loss against Texas on October 9th. They also won a set in their back-to-back matches against Baylor. They lost their first game to Oklahoma before beating them 3-1 the next day. Kansas pulled off two upsets against the 19th seed Oregon when they beat them 3-0 in the first round. They then played number 20 Creighton and beat them 3-1 in the second set.
The next game is Number 9 Ohio State playing Number 8 Georgia Tech. Their game is at 3 pm on ESPN+. Ohio State finished the season 27-5 with their only losses being against Purdue, Wisconsin, and Minnesota twice who are all still in the tournament, and Penn State who were knocked out by Pitt. They did beat Nebraska 3-0. In the tournament, Ohio State beat Howard 3-0 and Tennessee 3-1. Georgia Tech finished the season 25-5 with their only losses being against UCLA, Notre Dame, Louisville twice, and Pitt. Some big wins are when they beat Pitt 3-2 in their October 10th match. They also beat Penn State 3-1 in August. In the tournament, they beat Citadel 3-0 and Western Kentucky 3-0 as well.
The next game is number 5 Baylor against number 12 Minnesota which is another fun matchup to watch. Their game is at 3 pm on ESPNU. Baylor finished the season 22-5 with their only losses being against Wisconsin, Tennessee, Pitt, Texas Tech, and Texas. They did hand Texas their first loss of the season in their second match when they beat Texas 3-1. They did beat Minnesota 3-1 back in August. Minnesota finished the season 22-8 with their losses being against Baylor, Texas, Florida, Wisconsin, Michigan, Penn State, Purdue, and Wisconsin again. They did beat Stanford 3-1 on September 10th, Oregon 3-2 on September 11th, Michigan 3-2 in their September 24th match, Ohio State 3-1 in their October 24th match, Nebraska 3-2 in their October 30th match, Ohio State 3-1 in their November 4th match, and Penn State 3-1 in their November 26th match. In the tournament, they knocked out Number 18 Stanford 3-0 in the second round.
The next game is number 13 UCLA against number 4 Wisconsin. Their game is at 5 pm on ESPNU. UCLA finished the season 25-5 with their only losses being against San Diego 2-3, Washington 2-3, Arizona State 2-3, Oregon 0-3, and USC 2-3. They did beat Georgia Tech 3-1, USC 3-1 in their September 22nd match, Stanford 3-2, Cal 3-0 and in the tournament, they beat Fairfield 3-0 and UCF 3-2. Wisconsin finished the season 27-3 and are big ten champs. They only lost to Maryland and Purdue twice. They beat Baylor 3-1 on August 28th, Kentucky 3-1 on September 10th, Minnesota 3-0 on October 1st, Ohio State 3-1 on October 22nd, Penn State 3-2 on October 23rd, Nebraska 3-0 on October 27th, Minnesota 3-2 on November 21st, and Nebraska 3-1 on November 26th. In the tournament, they beat Colgate 3-0 and Florida Gulf Coast 3-0 as well.
The next game is number 15 Washington against number 2 Texas. Their game is at 7:30 pm on ESPNU. Washington finished their season 26-4 with their only losses being against Ohio State, Utah, Washington State, and UCLA. They did beat UCLA 3-2 on October 1st, USC 3-1 on October 3rd, Stanford 3-0 on October 24th, Stanford 3-1 on November 11th, and Oregon 3-0 on November 21st. In the tournament, they beat Brown and Hawai’i 3-0. Texas finished their season 26-1 with their only loss being against Baylor on November 6th. They beat Minnesota 3-1 on September 1st, Stanford 3-0 on September 5th, Baylor 3-0 on November 5th, and everyone they played. In the tournament, they beat Sacred Heart and Rice 3-0.
The last Regional semifinal game is Big Ten foes, unranked Illinois and number 10 Nebraska, meeting again. Their match is at 9:30 pm on ESPNU. Illinois finished the season 22-11 which may look bad but they’re a very young, good team that plays in one of the toughest conferences in the country against teams like Wisconsin, Purdue, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio State, etc. Some of their losses were against Wisconsin twice, they lost to Purdue but hung with them for most of the match that finished 3-2. They beat Purdue 3-2 on October 4th, Michigan 3-1 on October 23rd, Rutgers 3-2 on October 29th, and Penn State 3-1 on October 30th. In the tournament, they beat West Virginia 3-1 and pulled off a huge 3-1 win against number 7 Kentucky. Raina Terry had 27 kills, Megan Cooney had 17, and Kennedy Collins had 10. Diana Brown had 52 assists, Taylor Kuper had 23 digs and Illinois beat Kentucky in all statistical categories except Aces. Nebraska finished their season 23-7. They lost to Utah, Stanford, Louisville, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Ohio State, and Wisconsin again. They did beat Michigan 3-0 on October 1st, Penn State 3-1 on October 8th, Rutgers 3-0 on October 10th, Purdue 3-1 on October 23rd, Penn State 3-0 on November 19th, and Purdue 3-1 on November 27th. In the tournament, they beat Campbell and Florida State 3-0.