One of these four will claim national title
The NCAA volleyball tournament might not get as much attention as other collegiate finals, but the atmosphere at Nationwide Arena this weekend will no doubt rival some of the top environments in college athletics.
No. 1 Louisville will take on No. 4 Wisconsin at 7 p.m. Thursday, and No. 3 Pittsburgh will face No. 10 Nebraska at 9:30 p.m. on ESPN. Of the final four teams, only Nebraska has won a national title, while Louisville and Pittsburgh have never made a national championship match.
Here's a primer of the final four teams in Columbus:
Louisville
Record: 32-0
Summary: The Cardinals have been the clear front-runners for a national title this season, led by coach Dani Busboomkelly, who could become the first-ever female coach to win an NCAA Division I volleyball championship. Setter Tori Dilfer and middle blocker Anna Stevenson are two of the top players at their position in the country.
Pittsburgh
Record: 30-3
Summary: The Panthers reached the regional final last season but are now a more complete team. Kayla Lund and Chinaza Ndee returned to Pitt for a final shot at a title. They've been supplemented by transfers Serena Gray and Leketor Member-meneh who round out a dominant attacking group.
Wisconsin
Record: 29-3
Summary: Reaching their third straight final four, the Badgers are looking to finally finish what they started. Setter Sidney Hilley and middle blocker Dana Rettke returned to get another shot at a championship, as did libero Lauren Barnes. The Badgers won an extremely competitive Big Ten for the third consecutive year.
Nebraska
Record: 25-7
Summary: Coach John Cook has reached his fifth final four in seven seasons and the 16th in program history. The Huskers were last in the final four when they lost the championship in five sets in 2018. Setter Nicklin Hames and middle blocker Lauren Stivrins are a couple key players to getting the program's sixth national title. jmyers@dispatch.com @_jcmyers