And then there were four in the NCAA volleyball tournament
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?
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