NCAA Womens Volleyball

Early semifinal predictions for the 2024 women’s volleyball tournament

Texas huddle during a timeout in scrimmage volleyball match against UTSA

With the 2024 women’s volleyball season here, NCAA Digital’s Michella Chester and BTN’s Emily Ehman collaborated on a preseason Instagram live to discuss everything surrounding the upcoming season.

One of the topics the two covered was which four teams may end up reaching the NCAA tournament national semifinals in late December.

Here are their picks for the squads they believe will meet up in Louisville in less than four months.

Chester’s & Ehman’s first pick — Texas 

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Before even discussing the semifinals, Chester and Ehman both agreed that a three-peat was possible for the Longhorns.

Coming off back-to-back championships, it would etch Texas in the history books by winning its third straight title — the first since Penn State’s four-peat that ended in 2010. It would be the second-ever in DI women’s volleyball history — and 2023 NCAA tournament most outstanding player Madi Skinner’s fourth national championship in college.

Ehman’s biggest question for the Longhorns was the middle after losing Asjia O’Neal. However, Texas did reload by adding freshman Ayden Ames, the 2023 Texas Gatorade Volleyball Player of the Year, and brought more support to right side with Kentucky’s Reagan Rutherford.

Chester mentioned how excited she was to see Baylor’s Averi Carlson being mixed in at setter with Ella Swindle and the addition of Nebraska’s Whitney Lauenstein.

RANKINGS: Preseason AVCA Top 25 poll

Chester’s & Ehman’s second pick — Nebraska 

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Nebraska players celebrate after a point against Wisconsin

Another no-doubter is Nebraska. Chester and Ehman agreed that Texas and Nebraska were “in a league of their own.”

The Huskers were the overall No. 1 seed in the 2023 NCAA tournament but fell short and got swept by Texas in the national championship. That should be enough motivation for Nebraska to make it over the hump this season.

Nebraska was one of the country’s youngest teams last year — and had no seniors on the roster. This time around, the Huskers bring back nearly their entire core, and Chester jokingly argued that they have too many offensive options with the additions of Minnesota’s Taylor Landfair and San Diego’s Leyla Blackwell.

Ehman doubled down, adding that Nebraska’s all-around talent will make them elite, especially with the return of outside hitter Lindsay Krause, whose 2023 season was cut short due to an…

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