All-big Ten title clash in Columbus
No. 4 Wisconsin, No. 10 Nebraska facing off Saturday
It’s an all-big Ten final.
No. 4 Wisconsin will play No. 10 Nebraska at Nationwide Arena on Saturday night in the NCAA Division I women’s volleyball championship match. The Badgers earned a spot in their second NCAA final in three seasons by knocking off No. 1 and previously unbeaten Louisville, while the Cornhuskers defeated No. 3 Pittsburgh to make their 10th final in program history — and first since 2018.
Here’s a breakdown of some of the highlights of Thursday’s national semifinal matches.
Wisconsin beats Louisville in five-set thriller
The first semifinal between Wisconsin and Louisville might have featured the two best teams in the country. Their
electrifying back-and-forth match ended with the Badgers winning 25-23, 1525, 25-21, 23-25, 15-9.
The first set played out with neither team taking more than a two-point lead until Wisconsin's 19-16 edge. But after the Badgers took the opening set, Louisville outside hitter Anna Debeer went off for seven of her 20 kills in the second set to reclaim momentum.
Wisconsin was down 19-17 in the third set before middle blocker Anna Smrek willed the Badgers back to a third-set victory.
The Cardinals looked like they would roll to a fifth set, with a 15-11 lead. But middle blocker Dana Rettke and outside hitter Grace Loberg helped the Badgers reclaim the advantage 20-19. Both teams made clutch defensive plays before Lousiville outside hitter Claire Chaussee and defensive specialist Ceci Rush had two straight points to finally force a fifth set.
During that moment, Wisconsin coach Kelly Sheffield said he told Rettke, libero Lauren Barnes and setter Sydney Hilley, his group of seniors who returned an extra year when they could've left, “This is why you came back, for moments like these.”
The three of them seized the fifth set, with Smrek finishing the final point to give Louisville the lone blemish on its spectacular season.
“In a rank of matches, that was alltime,” Barnes said.
Nebraska moves on win over Pittsburgh
Nebraska coach John Cook thought his team was in trouble, maybe in danger of being swept.
The Huskers, however, shook off a dominant first set by Pittsburgh and convincingly beat the ACC runner-up 3-1 (16-25, 25-17,25-20, 25-22).
“I was a little worried it could be a fast night, but we hung in there,” Cook said. “Our team made some adjustments, made adjustments to Pittsburgh's tempo and I thought as the match went on we just got stronger and stronger.”
The biggest factor in the game was Nebraska stopping Pittsburgh's dynamic attack. Outside of middle blocker Serena Gray, who hit .474 with 11 kills, Pittsburgh's top three outside hitters Kayla Lund, Leketor Member-meneh and Chinaza Ndee all hit .150 or lower.
Nebraska middle blocker Lauren Stivrins simply took over the match. The Panthers battled back from down 18-14 in the fourth set to tie it at 20. Then
Stivrins combined with Lindsay Krause for a massive block, followed by two kills and another block on Lund to clinch the Huskers' spot in Saturday's final.
Stivrins also made a huge five-point run at the service line to take control of the third set.
Nebraska was the runner-up in 2018. Wisconsin lost in the final in 2019. Both have a shot at redemption.
“I think we're more prepared and ready than we've ever been,” Stivrins said. “We're ready to step up.” jmyers@dispatch.com @_jcmyers