Top-10 showdowns dominate this week’s NCAA volleyball schedule

The GIST: If you thought Wednesday night volleyball was exciting, just wait until you see the Top-10 matchups that the sport’s “It Girls” have for you this weekend. It’s official: We’re living in the Golden Age of college volleyball.

No. 1 Pitt and No. 5 Nebraska snag Top-10 sweeps: When Hannah said “Nobody’s Perfect,” she clearly hadn’t heard of the top-ranked Panthers. On Wednesday, Pitt dominated intrastate rival No. 3 Penn State in front of a record crowd to capture their season’s seventh win — all without dropping a single set. Holy moly.

• Elsewhere on Wednesday, Nebraska also bagged a big one, upsetting No. 2 Stanford in a stunning and redemptive sweep of their own. The Cornhuskers’ attack was formidable, but it was their blocking that brought down the house — and the Cardinal.

No. 4 Louisville wins the Battle of the Bluegrass: Veteran outside hitter Anna DeBeer has officially found her 2024 groove, racking up 13 kills and 12 digs to lead her Cardinals to a 3-1 road dub over state rival No. 11 Kentucky. The win marked Louisville’s fourth ranked dub in nine matches and banked some much-needed momentum heading into their Sunday showdown…

The weekend’s biggest matchup: With no fewer than six Player of the Year candidates between them, Sunday’s game between Nebraska and Louisville is wildly deserving of the national TV treatment it will receive at 12:30 p.m. ET on ABC. On the line? A massive W before conference play starts next week.

• As if that’s not exciting enough, the Jayhawk Classic is also serving up a nail-biting round-robin. Host No. 10 Kansas bested No. 6 Purdue in last night’s 3-1 dogfight, and now both teams will take on No. 9 Creighton this weekend. So much volleyball, so little time.