Ultimately, the favorites all won and we get to do it all over again Friday.
But what a great day Thursday was for NCAA Division I women’s volleyball.
The new four-day format was a huge bonus for TV viewers with just four matches, one after another, and even a studio show in between. High fives to the NCAA and ESPN for doing this.
The winners moved on — most notably top-seeded Pittsburgh survived Oregon in five and fourth-seeded Louisville crushed Purdue — and Saturday, Kentucky will play at Pitt and Stanford will play at Louisville with spots in the national semifinals at stake. The recaps follow.
The other half of the bracket’s round-of-16 matches are Friday, with Texas vs. Creighton, Marquette vs. Penn State, Texas A&M vs. Wisconsin and Dayton vs. Nebraska. All four matches can be seen on ESPN2.
But we’ve got more in this edition of Volleyball Today.
There were two monumental upsets in the NCAA Division II quarterfinals and the NIVC is down to three teams:
NCAA Tournament round of 16 Friday
At Penn State
1 p.m. — Texas (20-6) vs. Creighton (31-2), Marquette (25-8) vs. Penn State (31-2)
At Nebraska
7 p.m. — Texas A&M (21-7) vs. Wisconsin (25-6), Dayton (31-2) vs. Nebraska (31-2)
NCAA Tournament round of 16 Thursday
KENTUCKY 3, MISSOURI 1: In third Kentucky victory of the season between the SEC teams, Kentucky (23-7) hit .347 and won 25-20, 25-20, 16-25, 25-13. The Wildcats are back in a regional final for the first time since winning the 2020 NCAA title in the spring of 2021 after beating Missouri for the third time this season.
Brooklyn DeLeye, the SEC player of the year, had 22 kills with four errors in 43 attacks to hit .419 and she had three of her team’s five aces, six digs and two blocks, one solo solo.
“Our defense wasn’t always great, but it was when it needed to be,” Kentucky coach Craig Skinner said. “I’m proud to be moving on.”
Megan Wilson had 13 kills, hit .375, and had a dig, and Brooke Bultema had 10 kills, hit .438, and had a dig and two blocks. Emma Grome, who had kills in both her attempts, had 50 assists, an ace, 10 digs and three blocks, one solo. Kentuck has won 14 in a row,
Missouri, which ended its season 22-9, hit .242. Jordan Ilief had 20 kills, hitting .341, and had an assist, two aces and a block. Mychael Vernon had 11 kills but 12 errors to go with six digs and two blocks, one solo.
Kentucky is the…
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