Volleyball Today: Wisconsin blasts Penn State; Nebraska, Oregon, Stanford win

Wisconsin reinserted itself into the Big Ten race, not only dealing Penn State its first conference loss, but acing the “eye test.”

In front of a boisterous capacity crowd of 7,229 at Wisconsin Field House and a national television audience on NBC, the No. 7 Badgers (18-5, 12-2 Big Ten) could not have looked more dominant in blowing out the No. 3 Nittany Lions (23-2, 13-1) 25-23, 25-12, 25-13 on Saturday afternoon.

The statistical disparity was startling. Wisconsin recorded 19 blocks to zero for Penn State. The Badgers hit an eye-popping .465 (with two errors) to the Nittany Lions’ .117 (with 22 miscues).

Their performance while knocking off one of the two Big Ten unbeatens (Nebraska is the other) was a 180-degree turn from the Badgers’ stinging three-set loss in Madison last weekend to their red-hot rivals, the Cornhuskers.

Asked during the postmatch TV interview what he learned about his team from this match, Wisconsin Coach Kelly Sheffield quipped, “We need to play on NBC more often.”

In other highlights in NCAA Division I women’s volleyball on Saturday, Nebraska kept its Big Ten “0” intact by cruising past Washington, Oregon swept Minnesota in a match of ranked Big Ten teams and Stanford mauled Georgia Tech in a significant ACC tussle. Also, South Dakota State hopped back on the winning track, and Dayton, Western Kentucky, Southeastern Louisiana, Northern Iowa and UT Arlington extended their lengthy streaks.

Reverse sweeps transpired: Host Merrimack turned the trick against Marist, Oregon State won the last three sets at San Francisco and visiting William & Mary did the same to Elon.

A five-set comeback victory by Lamar over McNeese, rallying from two sets down, helped produce the stat lines of the night: Lamar’s Maja Malinowska, a freshman from Poland, racked up 20 kills, two aces, 12 digs and two solo blocks, mitigating 29 kills, 21 digs and an ace by McNeese senior McKenzie Moore.

Also in this edition of Volleyball Today is a report on the AVP League semifinals.

NCAA volleyball Sunday

Fifth-ranked Creighton, 22-2, 13-0 in the Big East and on a 15-match winning streak, goes to second-place Marquette (18-6, 12-1) in one of the fiercest rivalries in the sport. The 3 p.m. Eastern first serve can be seen on FS1.

The SEC slate includes Texas A&M at Tennessee at 1 p.m. Eastern on ESPN. LSU at No. 16 Kentucky at 4:30 p.m. and South Carolina at Missouri are both on the SEC Network, No. 22 Florida is home for Alabama and Oklahoma is at Mississippi State.

Six ACC matches have one involving two ranked teams when No. 25 North Carolina goes to No. 10 SMU. Top-ranked Pittsburgh is home for Duke, No. 4 Louisville is at Boston College, No. 24 Florida State is home for NC State, Wake Forest is at Miami and Notre Dame is at Syracuse.

Three Big Ten matches see No. 11 Purdue home for Michigan, No. 20 USC at Indiana and Northwestern at Iowa.

The Big 12 is off.

All four teams tied for the CAA lead are in action including Towson at Stony Brook, Charleston at UNC Wilmington, Hofstra home for N.C. A&T and Delaware back at 0-27 Hampton, the only winless team in Division I. All four of those teams swept those same opponents Saturday.

In the American Athletic, where Rice and South Florida are tied for first, Rice is home for UAB and South Florida is at East Carolina.

 The best of NCAA Saturday

BIG TEN: Wisconsin ended Penn State’s 19-match winning streak over two seasons in league play. Freshman sensation Charlie Fuerbringer guided an explosive offense that saw four starters attack at better than .400 efficiency and she chipped in 12 digs.

Sarah Franklin (.419) and 6-foot-9 Anna Smrek (.462) each cracked 13 kills. Julia Orzol (.526) had 11 winners and middle blocker Carter Booth (.857) went 6-for-7 with five blocks, three solo. Freshman libero Lolo Schumacher notched 10 digs and an ace. Penn State’s Taylor Trammel, the national leader in hitting percentage, was held to .231 (5-for-13 against two errors).

“We played tough,” Sheffield said. “Our maturity was on display tonight and our grittiness. They put a ton of balls on Lola. Both of our freshmen played really, really well tonight and that was probably Charlie’s finest match. What I really enjoyed is that for most of the match, when there was a service error, we came right back and stuck the pass and had a lot of first ball kills.”

Smrek referenced the loss last weekend to Nebraska, saying, “That’s not who we are. Offense and defense, everything came together (today). My team needed me, Charlie put up dimes and I got the job done.”

Meanwhile, No. 2 Nebraska (24-1, 14-0 Big Ten) rumbled to its 21st consecutive victory before a crowd of 9,768 at Alaska Airlines Arena in Seattle, the first sellout in the history of Washington’s program. The Huskies (18-6, 8-6) had little answer for the Cornhuskers’ firepower in the 25-17, 25-11, 25-21 bruising. Harper Murray posted 12 kills, Taylor Landfair 10 and Andi Jackson seven. Lexi Rodriguez dug 11 balls.

Disappointing 5,166 fans at the Maturi Pavilion in Minneapolis, 12th-ranked Oregon (18-5, 10-4 Big Ten) earned an important road victory over No. 13 Minnesota (16-8, 9-5) 25-14, 25-20, 25-21. The Ducks enjoyed a large edge in blocking, getting a solo and 27 block assists to six block assists by the Gophers. Leading that effort was MB Onye Ofoegby (10-for-14, .714) with seven block assists.

Elsewhere, host Illinois (17-7, 9-5 Big Ten) rewarded a crowd of 3,335 at Huff Hall with a sweep of Ohio State (11-13, 4-10) 25-18, 27-25, 25-10. The Buckeyes hit just .137. … Maryland (12-13, 3-11 Big Ten) used a 12-4 advantage in blocks and a big all-around effort by Samantha Schnitta (22 kills, three aces, nine digs, six blocks) to hold off visiting UCLA (11-12, 5-9) 25-20, 23-25, 25-18, 27-25.

ACC: No. 8 Stanford (19-4, 11-3 Atlantic Coast) jumped to third in the conference standings, perhaps making a statement with a 25-9, 25-17, 25-12 drubbing of Georgia Tech (18-5, 10-4). A crowd of 3,309 at Maples Pavilion delighted in watching the Cardinal double up the shell-shocked visitors in kills (44 to 22) while outhitting the Yellow Jackets .542 to .034. Stanford freshman Ipar Kurt went 10-for-12 (.833) … Also, host California (11-14, 3-11 ACC) ended a seven-match skid with a 25-21, 25-15, 25-13 triumph over struggling Clemson (8-17, 0-14).

BIG 12: Baylor and Colorado recorded sweeps at home, while Texas Tech won in three on the road. … Baylor (17-6, 9-3) pounded last-place UCF (8-13, 1-11) 25-22, 25-16, 25-19 as 6-foot-4 opposite Elise McGhee went off for 17 kills on 29 swings against one error (.552), two aces and 10 digs. … Colorado (11-14, 4-9) clubbed Cincinnati (13-10, 4-8) 25-20, 25-18, 25-21, limiting the Bearcats to .075 hitting. Ana Burilovic paced the Buffaloes with 14 kills and nine digs. … Texas Tech (13-13, 5-8) scored a mild 25-15, 26-24, 25-19 upset over Houston (11-11, 6-6) with Emily Merrick hitting .571 (13-for-21 against one error) and making three blocks.

BIG EAST: Aly Kindelberger pounded 22 kills on .415 efficiency as third-place DePaul (17-9, 9-5 Big East) held off host Villanova in five sets (15-11 in the tiebreaker). … Host St. John’s (18-8, 7-7 Big East) swept Xavier. … Seton Hall defeated visiting Providence in three.

Around the nation

South Dakota State (23-1, 12-1 Summit League) righted the ship after their first loss earlier in the week with a sweep of visiting North Dakota State (10-13, 6-8). Sylvie Zgonc had 12 kills and Joslyn Richardson 10 digs for the Jackrabbits, who had been the last undefeated NCAA DI squad. … The team that took them down, St. Thomas (16-10, 8-6 Summit), swept Kansas City on the road. … Host Denver topped North Dakota in four sets.

No. 15 Dayton (26-1, 16-0 Atlantic 10) has a 19-match winning streak after a sweep of Davidson (13-14, 9-7), its second in two nights against the Wildcats. The Flyers outscored the visitors 75-38, with mighty mite senior OH Lexie Almodovar hitting .467 (15-for-30 with one error), adding two aces, nine digs and two blocks. Middle blocker Alyana Yates had eight kills on 12 errorless attacks (.667) and five blocks, while Karissa Kaminski keyed a defense that held Davidson to .018 hitting with 19 digs. … Visiting VCU (16-8, 14-2 A-10) took care of business in three sets against Duquesne (13-15, 4-12), propelled by opposite Julia Rienks’ 12 kills and two aces. … Bree Borum picked up 12 kills on .588 hitting and 13 digs in a sweep by host Loyola Chicago (15-11, 10-5 A-10) over cellar-dwelling Fordham. …  George Washington (19-10, 9-7 A-10) got a strong performance from Cianna Tejada (10-for-14 with no errors, three aces and six blocks) in a three-set road victory over Rhode Island.

Sizzling Western Kentucky (23-6, 16-0 Conference USA) put a three-set beatdown on host Sam Houston (13-14, 8-8) to win their 19th consecutive match. Senior Kaylee Cox stood out for the Lady Toppers with 14 kills, 11 digs, an ace, three solo rejections and a block assist. Abby Schaefer contributed 18 digs and three assists. … Texas-El Paso (24-4, 14-2 C-USA) remained two games out of the lead in the standings by taking down host Liberty (13-15- 7-9) in three sets as MB Kaya Weaver compiled eight kills and six blocks. … Host New Mexico State (16-10, 10-6 C-USA) defeated last-place Jacksonville State in four and visiting Middle Tennessee took a four-setter against Kennesaw State.

The nation’s longest streak belongs to Southeastern Louisiana (22-4, 14-0 Southland), which has won 22 in a row after a four-set victory over visiting Texas-Rio Grande Valley (14-10, 10-4). The Lady Lions started 0-4 and haven’t lost since. The victors got 16 kills and five blocks from Kyra McKelvey and 14 kills and 15 digs from Cicily Hidalgo. … Stephen F. Austin (20-7, 12-2 Southland) stayed in the hunt by winning in four over visiting Nichols, which hit .090. … Visiting Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (15-10, 10-4 Southland) was a four-set victor over upstreaming New Orleans. … Also, host Incarnate Word beat East Texas A&M in four and Lamar won in five (15-11 in the tiebreaker) over visiting McNeese.

Northern Iowa (20-7, 15-0 Missouri Valley) rolled to its 15th consecutive victory while staying a game ahead of Drake in the league. Before a crowd of 2,988 at the McLeod Center in Cedar Falls, the Panthers blasted Valparaiso (15-12, 7-8) in three sets while recording a 55-31 bulge in kills. Cassidy Hartman and Olivia Tjernagel each notched 11 kills, and Erin Powers had 17 digs and three aces. … Host Drake (18-8, 14-1 MVC) solidified its hold on second with a four-set triumph over third-place Illinois-Chicago (18-9, 10-5). The Bulldogs were paced by Megan Witte’s 19 kills, seven digs and two blocks. … Visiting Murray State swept Indiana State, host Bradley beat Southern Illinois in three and Missouri State prevailed in four at Illinois State.

UT Arlington (23-2, 13-0 WAC) extended its streak to 14 and maintained its lead in the conference with a workmanlike sweep of visiting Utah Valley (17-9, 8-6). The Mavericks, who clinched the top seed in the WAC Tournament, got a strong game at the net from MB Paige Reagor (seven blocks, three solo) and 11 digs by Samantha Glenn. … Grand Canyon (18-8, 11-3 WAC) triumphed in four sets over visiting Seattle as Tatum Parrot went 17-for-25 against two errors (.536) with two aces and four blocks. … Host California Baptist (5-21, 5-9 WAC) upset Utah Tech (15-9, 9-5) in four sets despite 27 kills by the Trailblazers’ Kennedy Knudsen. … Abilene Christian won a home-court five-setter (15-8 in the tiebreaker) over Southern Utah.

San Diego (14-8, 9-3 West Coast Conference) forged into a tie for second place in the league behind idle Loyola Marymount with a four-set score over visiting Pepperdine (12-10, 9-3). Freshman Isabel Clark led the Toreros with 24 kills on 55 swings against a single error (.418), adding nine digs and six blocks. … Pacific kept Gonzaga winless in the WCC, prevailing in four on the road behind Alexa Edwards’ 22 kills. … Also, Oregon State pulled off a reverse sweep (15-12 in the fifth) against host San Francisco and visiting Portland took a four-set victory over Santa Clara.

The Big West Conference has a four-way logjam in first place with Cal Poly, Hawaii, UC Davis and UC San Diego all at 10-4. … Cal Poly (17-8) swept visiting Cal State Northridge, Hawaii (16-8) won in four sets at UC Davis (15-8) behind Caylen Alexander’s 21 kills, and UC San Diego (16-9) captured a four-setter over host Cal State Fullerton.

A four-way tie at the top also exists in the CAA. Knotted at 10-4 are Towson, Delaware, Charleston and Hofstra. All won in sweeps: Towson (21-4) at Stony Brook, visiting Delaware (16-6) keeping Hampton winless at 0-27, Charleston (20-8) on the road against North Carolina-Wilmington and Hofstra (16-8) at home against North Carolina A&T.

On the sand

The second-seeded Dallas Dream and fourth-seeded San Diego Smash will battle for the title in the inaugural AVP League on Sunday afternoon after winning their semifinals in Carson, California.

The Dream topped the third-seeded Miami Mayhem as up-and-comers Hailey Harward and Kylie Deberg won 15-12, 15-12 over April Ross and Alix Klineman, followed by an 11-15, 15-9, 15-10 victory by Miles Partain and Andy Benesh against Trevor Crabb and Theo Brunner. Pertain and Benesh remained undefeated in League play after going 8-0 in the regular season.

The sizzling Smash, who jumped from last place in the standings to a spot in the playoffs in the final two weeks, ousted the top-seeded New York Nitro, with both matches going three sets. Chase Budinger and Miles Evans bounced Taylor Crabb and Taylor Sander 15-13, 11-15, 15-8 and Geena Urango and Toni Rodriguez clinched the team’s spot in the championship game by taking down Kelly Cheng and Sara Hughes 15-12, 11-15, 15-12.

The Nitro and Mayhem will play for third place at 3 p.m. Eastern with the game streamed live on the Bally Live app. The final will air live exclusively on the CBS Sports Network cable channel in a three-hour window starting at 5 p.m. Eastern.     

Meanwhile, Americans Megan Kraft and Terese Cannon, seeded third, advanced to the medal rounds of the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Elite16 event in Rio de Janeiro with an 18-21, 21-15, 15-11 victory in the quarterfinals over the veteran Brazilian pair of Tainana Lima, 40, and Talita Antunes, 42. The only United States duo in the main draws of either gender, Kraft and Cannon will face Sandra Ittlinger and Kim Van de Velde of Germany in the semifinals on Sunday.