All semifinals for the women's volleyball NCAA Championship have been decided.
After a thrilling first four rounds, all four No. 1 seeds booked a trip to Louisville for a chance to win the national championship.
These two matchups are a battle of familiar foes, and should be a spicy version of the Final Four. Preview each matchup and predict who will win them all.
The first semifinal begins at 6:30 PM ET. The following games will follow, with both games being broadcast on ESPN on Thursday night.
No. 1 Louisville vs. No. 1 Pittsburgh
The left side of the bracket depicts the conflict between two ACC programs that have become national powers in recent years.
The Cards dominated Purdue in the Sweet Sixteen, sweeping them 3-0 (25-17, 25-18, 25-18, 25-18). The Cards then avenge their loss to Stanford at the end of the season, defeating the second-place Stanford Cardinal 3-1 (22-25, 25-14, 28-26, 25-20) and advancing to the Final Four. I got the ticket. .
Louisville outscored Stanford 16-10 in this match, holding the Cardinal to a .153 batting average and responding very well after dropping the first set. Louisville has been the best blocking team in the NCAA this season, with Sofia Maldonado-Diaz and Pekran Kong each recording seven blocks in the win over Stanford.
Local hero Anna DeVere had 15 kills for Louisville in both games over the second weekend, and she will have a chance to win a national title in her hometown.
The Pitt Panthers enter their third game against the Cardinals on an 18-game winning streak. The Panthers won in five sets (25-19, 24-26, 25-16, 21-25, 15-12). oregon ducks before a sweep in the Sweet 16. kentucky wildcats Advance to the Final Four with a score of 3-0 (25-22, 25-23, 25-17).
The Ducks pushed the Panthers ahead in the matchup, but Pitt fought back after losing the second and fourth sets. In the third set, the Panthers held the Ducks to a .269 batting average to 4.64. In the final set, the Panthers forced six errors and a batting average of .087 against the Ducks, and Pitt clinched the victory with a batting average of .217.
Star Olivia Babcock had 31 kills against the Ducks and was recently named one of four semifinalists for the National Player of the Year Award.
How Louisville wins
Louisville's blocking is statistically the best in the NCAA. Their middle blockers, 6-foot-6 Carla Kresse and 6-foot-4 Pekran Kong, both graduate students, are physical forces in the middle who lead the blocks. They will have to be at their best against a strong Pitt offense, but the Panthers' young attackers could be disrupted by a big attack early on.
If the Cardinals can feed off the energy at home, add plenty of momentum plays from the blocks, and keep Anna DeVere active, they can continue their quest for a national championship.
How pit wins
The Panthers' offense is probably the best in the country. Olivia Babcock and Torrey Stafford are electrifying attackers who, while only freshmen, seem to step up whenever Pitt needs them. In the Panthers' two regular-season wins over Louisville, Babcock had 5.00 kills per set and Stafford had 3.56 kills. Meanwhile, junior Bre Kelly and senior Valeria Vasquez-Gomez are also viable options for the Panthers' offense.
If the Panthers can take an early lead, get Babcock and Stafford to be clutch, and hit some service runs to separate the crowd, Pitt will average two aces per set as a team. With this game being seen as an X-factor, the Panthers can earn their third victory in a card game.
No. 1 Penn State vs. No. 1 Nebraska
The Nittany Lions and Cornhuskers shared the Big Ten title this season, splitting the right side of the bracket. They will now compete to advance to the finals.
Penn State, led by head coach Katie Schumacher-Coley, who was diagnosed with breast cancer during the season and is still on the bench, defeated Marquette 3-1 (25-15, 25-21, 24-26). , 25-). 20) Defeated Creighton in the Sweet Sixteen with a five-set thriller (25-15, 16-25, 25-22, 20-25, 15-7) to advance to the Final Four for the first time since 2017.
The Nittany Lions are Led by freshman setter Izzy Stark all season.was named AVCA Freshman of the Year. Meanwhile, graduate student Jess Murzik was selected to represent All-American. Murzik was huge for PSU in the final two rounds, recording 20 kills in both matches. Kamryn Hanna is Penn State's second-best attacker, but the Nittany Lions also feature Caroline Jurevicious, Maggie Mendelsohn and Taylor Trammell as other important options set by Stark.
The Nittany Lions also have strong attack power from the service line, with the team averaging 1.5 aces per set. Eva Falduto and libero Gillian Grimes are the two back row players who remain solid servers, while Murzik also poses a threat behind the line.
Nebraska advanced to the Final Four by defeating the Dayton Flyers 3-1 (25-17, 25-18, 25-27, 25-13) before facing rival Wisconsin (26-24, 25-13). It was the third sweep of the season against the Reds. 17, 25-21) with a statement win heading to Louisville.
In the game against the Flyers, some parts of the offense struggled, but Harper Murray carried the offense. The sophomore had 22 kills, 16 digs and four aces against Dayton, and recorded her second double-double with 10 kills and 12 digs against Wisconsin. Against the Badgers, Taylor Landfair led the Huskers' offense with 13 kills, but the story of both games was Nebraska's floor defense.
Senior libero Lexi Rodriguez was named a semifinalist for the AVCA Player of the Year award, an unusual feat for a back-row player, but her performance against Wisconsin truly highlighted her qualities. Rodriguez appeared to cover the entire floor against the Badgers, thwarting the normally deadly Badger offense and helping hold UW to just a .126 batting average.
The back row helped the Huskers defeat both Dayton and Wisconsin, recording double-digit blocks in both games. Bekah Aric had four blocks against Dayton and six against Wisconsin.
How Penn State wins
The Nittany Lions have already defeated Nebraska in their only matchup of the season, and their offense is heating up at the right time. Kamryn Hanna had 24 kills against Marquette and Caroline Jurevicius had 11 kills against Creighton. Murzik has been consistent all season, and the freshman setter hasn't played like a freshman. Considering several of Nebraska's players were subpar offensively, it could mean PSU has bigger weapons to get its second win against the Huskers.
If Penn State can get Murzik off to a good start and serve tough early against the Huskers, forcing Rodriguez to work even harder, forcing Nebraska out of its system and making it difficult for the Huskers offense to gain momentum. , PSU will have a chance to win. First national championship since 2014.
How Nebraska wins
Granted, Merritt Beason has struggled offensively lately, forcing the Huskers to rely on Harper Murray or a middle blocker, but it's tough to keep Nebraska down for long. This is a program that reached the finals last year before losing to Texas and has nearly all of its players returning. This team has a lot of experience in Lexi Rodriguez who can weaken any offense.
If the Huskers, other than Murray, can heat up offensively, if Rodriguez continues his masterclass performance at libero, and if the experienced Huskers can stay unfazed and show off their championship pedigree, the Huskers could make it to the finals again. Dew.
National Champion Prediction: Pittsburgh Panthers.
They were the No. 1 team for most of the season. They have lost just one game all season and field an offensive duo that is two of the most powerful hitters in the country.
Olivia Babcock and Torrey Stafford are somehow still sophomores. But the rest of the team is full of experienced seniors who are stars in their own right. Valeria Vazquez-Gomez is a six-rotation player who has been the driving force behind Pitt's rise, although her offense has decreased with the additions of Babcock and Stafford. Senior libero Emmy Krika and senior setter Rachel Fairbanks were also important members of the team that reached the Final Four for the fourth straight year, the program's first Final Four appearance.
The overall combination of experience and dynamic duo of Babcock and Stafford will be second to none this season. The team is complete and more explosive than the rest of the teams in the Final Four. While I believe Nebraska will come out on the other side of the bracket, I believe Pitt can further the program's rise and win its first-ever national title.
