NCAA Womens Volleyball
The NCAA Women’s Volleyball got underway on November 27th, with the tournament starting on December 1st. There were a few surprises, but mainly top seeds that all collegiate volleyball fans probably saw coming. The overall top 4 seeds going into the tournament are No.1 Texas, No.2 Wisconsin, No.3 San Diego, and No. 4 Louisville.
On the top left of the bracket, we have an extremely talented mix of teams. The No.1 seed in this part of the bracket is Texas, who finished their season with a record of 22-1. The No. 2 seed is Minnesota, who finished their season 20-8. The No. 3 seed is Ohio State, who finished the season 19-9, and the No. 4 seed is Marquette, who finished their season 27-3. Ohio State ended its season on a four-game losing streak which took them out of contention for a share of the Big Ten title. Minnesota finished their season with wins over Ohio State and Nebraska to clinch the higher seeding over Ohio State.
In the bottom left of the bracket, we have another mix of talented teams, with the No.1 seed being Stanford, who finished their season with a record of 24-4. The No.2 seed San Diego finished their season 27-1, while the No. 3 seed Kentucky finished their season 20-7. The No. 4 seed Creighton finished their season with a record of 27-4. San Diego finished the season with the WCC championship under its belt and is looking to move on deep into the tournament.
On the top right of the bracket, the reigning national champions took the top seed. With Wisconsin at No.1 and a record of 25-3, they are followed by No. 2 Pittsburgh, who finished their season with a record of 27-3. The No. 3 seed is Florida, who finished with a record 23-5. The No. 4 seed is Penn State, who finished with a record of 24-7. Wisconsin is looking to repeat as national champions after finishing their season with an 18-0 winning streak and the Big Ten title.
In the bottom right of the bracket, we have the No. 1 seed Louisville, No. 2 Nebraska, No. 3 Oregon, and No. 4 Baylor. Nebraska is looking to avenge their loss in the NCAA championship to Wisconsin last year. Plagued by some big-time injuries the last week of the season, fans will be keeping an eye on what John Cook chooses to do when it comes to his setters if Nicklin Hames continues to be out. Louisville is looking to make it to the championship game this year, behind the leadership of Claire Chaussee who was named the ACC Player of the Year.