UPDATE
FINAL
1 Nebraska def. 5 Dayton, 3-1, in Sweet 16 match (25-17, 25-18, 25-27, 25-13)
Harper Murray: 22 kills, 4 aces, 16 digs, 4 blocks
Bergen Reilly: 42 assists, 6 digs, 4 blocks and 1 ace
Rebekah Allick: 10 kills, 4 blocks
The Huskers move past the Flyers (31-3) and into an astounding 34th Elite Eight appearance in the last 43 years. That number is absolutely ludicrous. So is the fact that they will now be gunning to reach their 29th Final Four in that same time span. Banana land.
They will be attempting to do so against the #2 seed in the Lincoln Regional – the Wisconsin Badgers.
Kelly Sheffield’s crew took down #6 seed Texas A&M earlier in the night at Devaney. So…
Regional Final (Elite Eight)
Matchup: #1 Nebraska vs. #2 Wisconsin
Nebraska record: 32-2 overall and 19-1 (Big Ten co-champs)
Wisconsin record: 26-6 overall and 17-3 (3rd in Big Ten)
Day/Time: Sunday at 2 p.m. CT
TV: ABC
Stream: ESPN+ and WatchESPN
Radio: Huskers Radio Network
Nebraska’s NCAA Tournament path
def. Florida A&M, 3-0 (1st RD)
def. #8 seed Miami, 3-0 (2nd RD)
def. #5 seed Dayton, 3-0 (Sweet 16)
Wisconsin’s NCAA Tournament path
def. Fairfield, 3-0 (1st RD)
def. #7 Georgia Tech, 3-1 (2nd RD)
def. #6 Texas A&M, 3-2 (Sweet 16)
Series history
Nebraska is 11-13 in the all-time series vs. Wisconsin. The Badgers held a 10-game win streak over Nebraska until last year’s #1 vs. #2 all-time classic won by the Huskers in Lincoln.
Nebraska has won 3 of the last 4 over the Badgers, including sweeps over then-No. 7 Wisconsin on the road (Nov. 1) and then-No. 6 Wisconsin at home (Nov. 23). Huskers are currently ranked #3 and Badgers are ranked #7 in the latest AVCA Top 25 poll.
NCAA Volleyball Tournament Schedule
- Elite 8: Sunday, Dec. 15
- Final Four: Begin at 6:30 p.m. ET Thursday, Dec. 19 on ESPN
- National Championship Match: 3 p.m. ET Sunday, Dec. 22 on ABC
Elite Eight is fully set, and it’s almost entirely chalk:
1 Pitt vs. 3 Kentucky (Saturday at 4 p.m. CT)
1 Louisville vs. 2 Stanford (Saturday at 6:30 p.m. CT)
1 Penn State vs. 2 Creighton (Sunday at 7:30 p.m. CT)
1 Nebraska vs. 2 Wisconsin (Sunday at 2 p.m. CT)
– Zack Carpenter
=================================
=================================
Getting started now. First match is Missouri v Kentucky in the Pitt Regional.
Kentucky coached by Skinner, an old Nebraska assistant, has beaten Missouri twice 3-0 at home and then 3-1 at Missouri in the last regular season match.
I'd go with Kentucky in 4. Missouri had a nice run, but Kentucky has to many good players.
Skinner coached under Cook at Wisconsin, then coached under Cook at Nebraska before getting the Kentucky HC job, he has won the national title at Kentucky in 2020.
Kentucky has a couple of stars in DeLeye at OH and Grome at S. Missouri is lead by OH Mychael Vernon a 6th year Oregon State transfer.
