Defending national champion Texas upset Stanford to join three No. 1 seeds headed to Tampa, Fla., for the fourth round of the NCAA women’s volleyball tournament. Pittsburgh, Nebraska and Wisconsin also punched their tickets Saturday with victories in the regional finals.
Nebraska, 32-1 and the No. 1 overall seed, will play Pitt in the first semifinal on Thursday at Amalie Arena. Texas and Wisconsin will play in the other game on Thursday. The winners will meet on Sunday.
Pitt (27-5) is headed to the quarterfinals for the third straight season. The Panthers lost to Louisville last year — but won a postseason game Saturday against the Cardinals. Pitt came back from two sets down in the regional final, winning the deciding fifth set 15-7 against its ACC rival.
Nebraska beat Arkansas on Saturday in four sets. Wisconsin (30-3) topped Oregon by four. Texas (26-4), the No. 2 seed in the regional, beat No. 1 seed Stanford in four sets.
Nebraska will make its 17th appearance in the quarterfinals. The Huskers have won five titles. Texas is making its sixteenth trip in search of its fifth championship after defeating Louisville in the title game a year ago. This final four for Wisconsin is sixth. The Badgers won their only title in 2021. Pitt has not won a championship in three semifinal appearances.
Who is favorite?
Wisconsin, the No. 3 overall seed, has won seven straight games since losing last month on the road to Purdue and Penn State is without Anna Smric. Smrek, a 6-foot-9 outside hitter, is back in control of the nets for the Badgers, perhaps the most physical team in the country.
The Badgers’ only other loss in October came in five sets at Nebraska, a defeat that Wisconsin avenged with a sweep against the champion Big Ten Huskers on Nov. 24. Sarah Franklin, the Big Ten Player of the Year, brings firepower to Wisconsin.
Who are the other players to keep an eye on?
Nebraska starts four freshmen, but is led by libero Lexi Rodriguez and outside hitter Merritt Bisson. The Huskers have no seniors on the roster. For Pitt, Rachel Fairbanks was named ACC Player of the Year, and right fielder Olivia Babcock earned All-Rookie of the Year honors.
Texas outside hitter Madisen Skinner is a Big 12 player of the year who has won national championships with Kentucky and with the Longhorns. Middle blocker Asjia O’Neal is a three-time All-Big 12 selection for Texas and led the Big 12 in blocks per set.
Required reading
(Texas Longhorns players photo: David Bono/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)