“This match has been one thing else. I imply, it’s simply stability, the competitiveness, seemingly each single match after which the variety of five-setters which have already occurred, barely midway by way of. It’s simply, it’s unbelievable.”
What Wisconsin coach Kelly Sheffield stated.
We acquired what we wished — effectively, not those that arrived early on the Devaney Middle who have been rooting for the upset — albeit a few rounds early, when Nebraska will play Sheffield’s Wisconsin on Sunday for a spot within the nationwide semifinals.
Friday’s 4 round-of-16 matches went to kind, however not with out the twists and turns which have made this NCAA Event so thrilling and unpredictable.
Nonetheless … Creighton ended Texas’s two-year maintain on the NCAA volleyball championship trophy, Penn State acquired previous Marquette, Wisconsin survived an amazing effort by Logan Lednicky and Texas A&M, and Nebraska took care of Dayton.
On Saturday, Pittsburgh, the highest seed in its regional, will play host to third-seeded Kentucky at 5 p.m. Japanese. Then Louisville, the top-seed in its regional, performs second-seeded Stanford in a 7:30 p.m. match that ought to be in Palo Alto as a result of Stanford ought to have been the fourth seed total and Louisville the No. 5.
On Sunday, which can present great TV protection for the game, Nebraska, the No. 1 seed in its regional, performs host to second-seeded Wisconsin at 3 p.m. on ABC. At 8:30 p.m. on ESPN, Penn State, the No. 1 seed in its regional, is dwelling for the second seed, Creighton. The latter presents an unlucky state of affairs in that two of essentially the most well-liked and revered coaches within the sport, who occur to be girls and mothers, go up towards one another in Penn State’s Katie Schumacher-Cawley and Creighton’s Kirsten Bernthal Sales space. The one different girl coach left is Louisville’s Dani Busboom Kelly.
Additionally on this NCAA version of Volleyball Right this moment, there have been two extra upsets in Division II as Saturday’s title match is ready between fourth-seeded Lynn and seventh-seeded San Francisco State; the NIVC has its second semifinal when Bowling Inexperienced performs St. John’s for the proper to play Arizona; and the teaching carousel spun at Cincinnati, the place Molly Alvey is out after 13 years:
NCAA Event Saturday
Pittsburgh (32-1), which has gained 17 matches in a row and survived a five-setter with Oregon on Thursday, performs Kentucky (23-7), which has gained 14 in a row and acquired previous Missouri.
Pitt gained the ACC and within the match swept Morehead State and Oklahoma earlier than coming away with a 25-19, 24-26, 25-16, 21-25, 15-12 victory over Oregon. Pitt, which has been to the final 4 nationwide semifinals, is in a regional closing for the fifth 12 months in a row.
Kentucky, which gained the SEC and is the league’s final crew standing after 9 acquired in, swept Cleveland State, beat Minnesota in 4, after which got here away with a 25-20, 25-20, 16-25, 25-13 victory over Missouri.
Pitt and Kentucky didn’t play this season.
The nightcap pits two ACC groups that break up their regular-season matches. Louisville (28-5) swept visiting Stanford (28-4) on September 29 within the KFC Yum! Middle, website of subsequent week’s NCAA Division I Volleyball Championship. However Saturday’s match is in Louisville’s Freedom Corridor, as a result of the Yum Middle was unavailable. Within the rematch, at Stanford to finish the common season, the Cardinal beat the Cardinals 25-23, 25-22, 27-29, 27-25.
Within the NCAA Event, Louisville sept Chicago State, escaped Northern Iowa in 5 and swept Purdue in one of many extra dominant performances of the tourney.
Stanford, which has gained 12 in a row, swept Sacramento State and Loyola Marymount earlier than beating Florida in 4.
NCAA Event Friday
CREIGHTON 3, TEXAS 1: Creighton (32-2), the Large East champion, gained its twenty fifth match in a row by overpowering the two-time defending champions 24-26, 25-19, 25-21, 25-20. Texas, which ended its season 20-7, didn’t make a regional closing for simply the second time in 19 seasons.
Creighton, which hit .307, acquired 15 kills apiece from its great exterior hitters Norah Sis and Ava Martin. Martin hit simply .190, however had an help, an ace, three digs and two blocks. Sis hit .227 and had an help, 4 aces, 13 digs and three blocks. Freshman proper facet Jaya Johnson was overpowering, developing with 9 kills with one error in 12 assaults to hit .667 advert she had two digs and 4 blocks. Kiara Reinhardt had 9 kills, hit .438, and had eight blocks, one solo. Elise Goetzinger had seven kills, hit .333, and had a dig and three blocks.
Setter Kendra Wait had 5 kills with one error in eight makes an attempt, 47 assists, 17 digs and a block. Libero Maddy Bilinovic had 9 digs, two assists and an ace. Creighton had eight aces and 10 serving errors.
Madi Skinner, the 2023 VolleyballMag nationwide participant of the 12 months, led Texas with 23 kills however had 11 errors. She had an ace and 12 digs. Marianna Singletary had 11 kills and hit .304 and had an help and a dig. Ayden Ames had eight kills with one error to hit .538 and had two blocks and Reagan Rutherford had 5 kills and a dig. Skinner, Rutherford and Goetzinger performed collectively on the 2020/spring 2021 Kentucky crew that gained the nationwide championship.
Texas. which hit .197, acquired 41 assists from Averi Carlson, who had 9 digs. Libero Emma Halter had 16 digs and 4 assists. Texas had three aces and 5 errors.
PENN STATE 3, MARQUETTE 1: Penn State of the Large Ten improved to 32-2 with its 25-15, 25-21, 24-26, 25-20 over Marquette (25-9) of the Large East.
Marquette had no reply for Penn State outsides Camryn Hannah and Jess Mruzik. Hannah led with 24 kills and hit .476 to go along with an ace, 4 digs and a solo block. Mruzik had 20 kills, two assists, an ace and 13 digs.
Taylor Trammel had 9 kills with one error in 17 assaults to hit .471 and had two assists and 4 digs. Caroline Jurevicius had 5 kills, 5 digs and three blocks. Ava Falduto had 11 digs, 5 assists and 4 aces. Izzy Starck had three kills, 43 assists, 13 digs and three blocks. The Nittany Lions hit .280.
Marquette, which completed its season 25-9, which included three losses within the Large East to Creighton acquired 14 kills from Natalie Ring, who had an help, two digs and a block. Aubrey Hamilton had 12 kills, two assists, an ace, 5 digs and two blocks, one solo. Carsen Murray had seven kills with no errors in 17 swings, a dig and two blocks. Hattie Bray had six kills, two digs and 4 blocks, two solo. Molly Berezowitz had 18 digs and an help, and Yadira Anchante had a kill, 35 assists, 15 digs and a block. Her crew hit .210.
WISCONSIN 3, TEXAS A&M 2: Wisconsin (26-6) of the Large Ten earned each level of a remarkably hard-fought, heavyweight battle victory over Texas A&M (21-8). Even up 13-9 within the fifth Wisconsin needed to muster all it needed to maintain off the Aggies, led by Logan Lednicky, to come back away with the 25-21,18-25, 25-19, 23-25, 15-13 win.
Sarah Franklin led Wisconsin with 21 kills and had two aces, two blocks and eight digs. Carter Sales space had 14 kills, hit .444, and added an help, a dig and 9 blocks. Anna Smrek had 10 kills, an help, 5 digs and likewise 9 blocks. Julia Orzol had eight kills, an help, two blocks and 9 digs. Lola Schumacher had 24 digs, 5 assists and an ace, and setter Charlie Feurbringer had three kills in seven errorless tries, 56 assists a block and 12 digs. Her crew hit .257.
How Texas A&M completed 10-8 within the SEC with its expertise is mystifying. The Aggies definitely didn’t play prefer it did Friday all season. Lednicky led with 23 kills, 18 digs and 7 blocks, and when it mattered the lefty was unstoppable. Within the fifth, after Wisconsin went up 13-9, A&M sided out with a kill by setter Maddie Waak, her second with no errors in six tries. She had 56 assists, a block and eight digs. Again-to-back kills by Lednicky acquired the Aggies to 13-12, Sales space acquired a kill for Wisconsin, however Waak, Lednicky and Ava Underwood blocked Franklin. Franklin lastly ended it with a kill, and none of that description does justice to the lengthy rallies and depth from each groups all match and notably on the finish.
Emily Hellmuth had 14 kills however the identical variety of errors and had two aces, two blocks and 10 digs. Morgan Perkins had 13 kills in 23 errorless assaults to hit .565 and had three blocks and three digs. Ifenna Cos-Okpalla had eight kills with one error in 18 swings, 5 digs and 10 blocks, three solo. Taylor Humphrey had ight kills, two blocks and three digs.
NEBRASKA 3, DAYTON 1: Nebraska (32-2) of the Large Ten ousted spunky Dayton (31-3) of the Atlantic 10 25-17, 25-18, 25-27, 25-13 to get to a regional closing for the thirty third time and twelfth time in 13 seasons.
Harper Murray feasted on the Flyers with a career-high 22 kills whereas hitting .318 to go along with an help, a match-high 4 of Nebraska’s seven aces, 16 digs and 4 blocks. Rebekah Allick had 10 kills, hit .368, and had 4 blocks. Andi Jackson had eight kills and 7 blocks. Bergen Reilly had two kills in three errorless tries, 47 assists, an ace and 4 blocks. Her crew hit .216.
Dayton hit .087. Lexie Almodovar capped her great profession with 20 kills however hit .132. She acquired 12 of her kills with no errors within the third set.
SF State vs. Lynn for the DII crown
Seventh-seeded San Francisco State (26-6) goes for its first nationwide title when the Gators play third-seeded Lynn (32-3) on Saturday in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The 6 p.m. Japanese first serve may be seen on ESPN+.
San Francisco State defeated third-seeded Angelo State 21-25, 25-19, 25-23, 25-22 as 4 gamers had 10 or extra kills, 19 by Anastacia Garza, who hit .533 and had a block and a dig. Brianna DeBoer had 23 digs and three assists.
Angelo State ended its season 32-3.
Lynn, situated in Boca Raton, Florida, improved to 32-3 with its 25-21, 25-15, 25-18 victory over eighth-seeded Bentley (26-7). Bentley acquired there by upsetting top-seeded Ferris State on Thursday. Lynn, which hit .342, acquired 11 kills every from Samantha Wolf and Fabia Gonzalez Stanton. Wolf had one error in 31 assaults to hit .323 and had two blocks and 11 digs, and Gonzalez Stanton had one error in 25 assaults to hit .400 and had an help, an ace and likewise 11 digs. Isabelle Gentile had 17 digs and 10 assists and setter Ula Gorjup had 5 kills in six errorless tries, 31 assists, two aces, a block and 10 digs.
Arizona awaits BGSU-St. John’s winner in NIVC closing
Arizona of the Large 12 (23-9) superior to the title match on Thursday with a four-set win over Northern Colorado.
The Wildcats play the winner of Saturday’s match between Bowling Inexperienced (24-9) of the MAC at St. John’s (24-12) of the Large East. They haven’t performed since 1998. The match will likely be streamed on FloVolleyball.
Bowling Inexperienced superior with victories over Binghamton, Wright State and DePaul. St. John’s ousted North Carolina A&T, Virginia and UConn.
Cincinnati wants a volleyball coach
Cincinnati turned the third Energy 4 program with a gap (UCF, NC State) when it introduced Friday that Molly Alvey gained’t be again after 13 years.
Alvey went 201-186 at Cincinnati and took the Bearcats to the NCAA Event thrice, the final in 2019. This season, the crew completed 14-15, 5-13 within the Large 12.
Among the many gamers Alvey coached two was two-time Olympian Jordan Thompson. This previous September Alvey interviewed Thompson when she visited campus. It’s effectively price a watch:
