Link: Full Match Notes (Huskers.com)
NCAA DIVISION I VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT
NATIONAL SEMIFINALS
When: Thursday, December 14 | 6:00 PM (CT)
Where: Amalie Arena (20,500) | Tampa, Florida
TV: ESPN (Courtney Lyle, Holly McPeak, Katie George)
RADIO: Huskers Radio Network (John Baylor, Lauren Cook West)
NEBRASKA
Record: 32-1 (19-1 Big Ten)
Head Coach: John Cook (688-99, 24th year NU | 849-172, 30th year overall)
PITTSBURGH
Record: 29-4 (16-2 ACC)
Head Coach: Dan Fisher (287-66, 11th year Pitt | 362-68, 13th year overall)
MATCH PREVIEW
The No. 1 Nebraska volleyball team squares off against No. 4 Pittsburgh on Thursday in the NCAA Semifinals at 6 p.m. (CT) at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida. The winner will advance to Sunday's NCAA Championship at 2 p.m. (CT) on ABC against either No. 3 Wisconsin or No. 5 Texas.
Thursday's match will be televised nationally on ESPN and streamed on WatchESPN. Courtney Lyle, Holly McPeak and Katie George will be on the call.
The Huskers Radio Network will broadcast all of the action on their radio affiliates, including 107.3 FM in Lincoln and AM 590 in Omaha. A live audio stream will be provided at Huskers.com and on the Huskers app. John Baylor is in his 30th season doing play-by-play for the Husker volleyball program. Lauren (Cook) West, a former All-American setter for the Huskers, will provide color commentary.
SERIES HISTORY
Nebraska is 13-0 all-time against Pittsburgh. The teams met in the NCAA Semifinals in Columbus, Ohio on Dec. 16, 2021. The Huskers won that match, 3-1 (16-25, 25-17, 25-20, 25-22) to advance to the NCAA Championship match, which Wisconsin won 3-2.
ABOUT THE HUSKERS
- Nebraska (32-1) is the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament for the sixth time in program history. The other years were 2000 (NCAA Champion), 2004 (NCAA Regional Finalist), 2005 (NCAA Runner-Up), 2006 (NCAA Champion) and 2016 (NCAA Semifinalist).
- The Huskers won the outright Big Ten title this season with a 19-1 league record, earning their first Big Ten title since 2017. Nebraska has now won four Big Ten titles since joining the conference in 2011. Nebraska won Big Ten titles in 2011, 2016, 2017 (co-champions) and 2023. All-time, Nebraska volleyball has won 35 conference titles. John Cook has been head coach for 13 of them.
- Nebraska's 32 wins are tied for the most by a Nebraska team since the 2006 team won 33 matches (33-1).
- Nebraska won 27 matches in a row to begin the season and finished 28-1, its best regular-season record since going 28-1 in 2005.
- The Huskers, who led the nation in defense in 2022, have held their opponents this season to a combined .134 hitting percentage, which ranks first nationally.
- Nebraska has been sharp offensively this season, hitting .279 to rank 18th nationally. The Huskers rank 10th nationally with 14.06 kills per set and 15th in assists per set at 13.02.
- Nebraska had four All-Big Ten First Team selections and two All-Big Ten Second Team selections for a total of six all-conference players this season, the most in program history.
- The Huskers had six AVCA All-Region honorees, tied for the most in program history
- Thursday's semifinals pits the nation's top two defenses against each other. Nebraska is No. 1 nationally at .134 while Pittsburgh is No. 2 at .138
- Nebraska and Pittsburgh are the only two teams who are holding their opponents under .100 hitting in the NCAA Tournament. The Huskers are No. 1 with a .090 opponent hitting percentage in the NCAA Tournament while the Panthers rank second with an .095 opponent hitting percentage
- Nebraska has lost only one set in the NCAA Tournament, the only team in the tournament with fewer than two set losses.
- Nebraska enters the NCAA Tournament with 32 wins. That ties for the most wins by a team entering the NCAA Semifinals since 2014, when Penn State entered the semifinals with a 34-3 record.
- Bekka Allick is averaging 2.4 blocks per set during the NCAA Tournament and is the nation's leading blocker during the postseason.
- Bergen Reilly is looking to become just the fourth freshman setter to lead her team to a national championship. Bryn Keho set Stanford to a national title as a true freshman in 2004 as did Jenna Gray for the Cardinal in 2016. In addition to the two Stanford setters, Nebraska's Rachel Holloway set the Huskers to a national championship in 2006, when she was a redshirt freshman.
- Merritt Beason has 444 kills in her first season as a Husker. With six more kills, Beason would join an accomplished group of four Huskers who totaled 450 kills in a season during the rally-scoring era (2001-present). That group includes Sarah Pavan, Kelsey Robinson, Mikaela Foecke and Jordan Larson. Pavan and Foecke were each named the NCAA Championship Most Outstanding Player in their careers, while Robinson and Larson both won gold medals with Team USA at the 2020 Olympics, with Larson being the Olympics' Most Outstanding Player.
- Andi Jackson is hitting .402 this season, as she attempts to become the first freshman in program history to hit .400. The current record for freshman hitting percentage is .388 by Karen Dahlgren in 1983.
NEBRASKA NCAA TOURNAMENT NOTES
- Nebraska advanced to an NCAA Semifinal for the 17th time in program history and for the sixth time in the past nine seasons. The Huskers' 17 NCAA Semifinals rank second in NCAA history, and Nebraska's six semifinal appearances since 2015 lead the nation.
- John Cook has led Nebraska to an NCAA Semifinal for the 10th time in his 24 seasons. Cook is the fourth Division I coach to take one school to 10 NCAA Semifinals, joining Russ Rose (Penn State), Andy Banachowski (UCLA) and Jerritt Elliott (Texas).
- Nebraska is 129-36 all-time in the NCAA Tournament. The Huskers rank second in NCAA history in postseason wins and winning percentage (.782).
- John Cook is 88-19 in the NCAA Tournament as Nebraska's head coach. He is 96-24 in his NCAA Tournament career. Cook ranks second all-time in career NCAA Tournament wins at one school.
- Bekka Allick had a career-high 12 blocks in the regional final vs. Arkansas (her previous career-high was 10 at Minnesota on Nov. 25, 2023). Allick's 12 blocks were the most by a Huskers in an NCAA Tournament match during the rally-scoring era (since 2001), breaking the record of 10, which was accomplished seven times by five Huskers.
- Merritt Beason had 19 kills in the Arkansas match. She has produced double-digit kills in 17 of her last 18 matches, including all four matches of the NCAA Tournament. Beason has 444 kills this season. She moved into the top 10 on Nebraska's single-season kills list, passing Mikaela Foecke (441 in 2017) and Sarah Pavan (443 in 2005) for the ninth-most single-season kills by a Husker in the rally-scoring era (since 2001).
- Lexi Rodriguez had 20 digs in the regional final to increase her career total to 1,404. Rodriguez became the seventh player in school history to total 1,400 career digs.
SCOUTING PITTSBURGH
- Pittsburgh (29-4, 16-2 ACC) earned a third straight trip to the NCAA Semifinals with a 3-2 reverse sweep of Louisville in the regional finals, its second time in four weeks the Panthers reverse swept the Cardinals.
- The Panthers rank second nationally in opponent hitting percentage (.138) and third in hitting percentage (.308). Pitt is No. 2 in the nation in blocks at 2.97 per set.
- Outside hitter Olivia Babcock was the ACC Freshman of the Year. Babcock leads the attack with 3.61 kills per set and has served a team-high 50 aces.
- Setter Rachel Fairbanks was the ACC Setter of the Year. Fairbanks averages 9.32 assists per set.
Pitt 2023 Schedule
vs. BYU (L 1-3)
at Montana (W 3-0)
vs. Texas-Rio Grande Valley (W 3-0)
at #15 Kentucky (W 3-0)
at #15 Kentucky (W 3-1)
at #24 Marquette (W 3-0)
at Loyola Chicago (W 3-0)
#7 Oregon (L 2-3)
James Madison (W 3-0)
High Point (W 3-0)
Maryland-Baltimore County (W 3-0)
at Duke (W 3-0)
at North Carolina (W 3-0)
Boston College (W 3-0)
Syracuse (W 3-0)
#11 Georgia Tech (W 3-2)
Clemson (W 3-0)
at #6 Louisville (L 0-3)
at Notre Dame (W 3-0)
Virginia (W 3-0)
at North Carolina State (W 3-0)
Virginia Tech (W 3-0)
Wake Forest (W 3-0)
at Florida State (L 2-3)
at Miami (FL) (W 3-1)
at #8 Georgia Tech (W 3-0)
#4 Louisville (W 3-2)
Miami (FL) (W 3-0)
at Syracuse (W 3-0)
--------NCAA Tournament--------
Coppin State (W 3-0)
#25 USC (W 3-1)
#10 Washington State (W 3-0)
#7 Louisville (W 3-2)
HUSKERS RANKED NO. 1 IN AVCA COACHES POLL
- Nebraska is ranked No. 1 in the AVCA Coaches Poll this week
- Nebraska has been ranked No. 1 in 108 all-time polls, the most in NCAA history
- The Huskers have been ranked in the top 10 a total of 557 times, which is also the most in NCAA history.
- Nebraska has appeared in all 618 AVCA Coaches Polls it has been eligible for since the poll was established in 1982. Nebraska is the only program to be ranked in every eligible poll all-time
- Nebraska's 618 consecutive weeks of being ranked is the longest active streak in Division I for any sport, leading Connecticut women's basketball and North Carolina women's soccer.
#4 PITTSBURGH PANTHERS (29-4) | vs | #1 NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS (32-1) |
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NCAA DIVISION I VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT
NATIONAL SEMIFINALS
When: Thursday, December 14 | 6:00 PM (CT)
Where: Amalie Arena (20,500) | Tampa, Florida
TV: ESPN (Courtney Lyle, Holly McPeak, Katie George)
RADIO: Huskers Radio Network (John Baylor, Lauren Cook West)
NEBRASKA
Record: 32-1 (19-1 Big Ten)
Head Coach: John Cook (688-99, 24th year NU | 849-172, 30th year overall)
PITTSBURGH
Record: 29-4 (16-2 ACC)
Head Coach: Dan Fisher (287-66, 11th year Pitt | 362-68, 13th year overall)
MATCH PREVIEW
The No. 1 Nebraska volleyball team squares off against No. 4 Pittsburgh on Thursday in the NCAA Semifinals at 6 p.m. (CT) at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida. The winner will advance to Sunday's NCAA Championship at 2 p.m. (CT) on ABC against either No. 3 Wisconsin or No. 5 Texas.
Thursday's match will be televised nationally on ESPN and streamed on WatchESPN. Courtney Lyle, Holly McPeak and Katie George will be on the call.
The Huskers Radio Network will broadcast all of the action on their radio affiliates, including 107.3 FM in Lincoln and AM 590 in Omaha. A live audio stream will be provided at Huskers.com and on the Huskers app. John Baylor is in his 30th season doing play-by-play for the Husker volleyball program. Lauren (Cook) West, a former All-American setter for the Huskers, will provide color commentary.
SERIES HISTORY
Nebraska is 13-0 all-time against Pittsburgh. The teams met in the NCAA Semifinals in Columbus, Ohio on Dec. 16, 2021. The Huskers won that match, 3-1 (16-25, 25-17, 25-20, 25-22) to advance to the NCAA Championship match, which Wisconsin won 3-2.
ABOUT THE HUSKERS
- Nebraska (32-1) is the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament for the sixth time in program history. The other years were 2000 (NCAA Champion), 2004 (NCAA Regional Finalist), 2005 (NCAA Runner-Up), 2006 (NCAA Champion) and 2016 (NCAA Semifinalist).
- The Huskers won the outright Big Ten title this season with a 19-1 league record, earning their first Big Ten title since 2017. Nebraska has now won four Big Ten titles since joining the conference in 2011. Nebraska won Big Ten titles in 2011, 2016, 2017 (co-champions) and 2023. All-time, Nebraska volleyball has won 35 conference titles. John Cook has been head coach for 13 of them.
- Nebraska's 32 wins are tied for the most by a Nebraska team since the 2006 team won 33 matches (33-1).
- Nebraska won 27 matches in a row to begin the season and finished 28-1, its best regular-season record since going 28-1 in 2005.
- The Huskers, who led the nation in defense in 2022, have held their opponents this season to a combined .134 hitting percentage, which ranks first nationally.
- Nebraska has been sharp offensively this season, hitting .279 to rank 18th nationally. The Huskers rank 10th nationally with 14.06 kills per set and 15th in assists per set at 13.02.
- Nebraska had four All-Big Ten First Team selections and two All-Big Ten Second Team selections for a total of six all-conference players this season, the most in program history.
- The Huskers had six AVCA All-Region honorees, tied for the most in program history
- Thursday's semifinals pits the nation's top two defenses against each other. Nebraska is No. 1 nationally at .134 while Pittsburgh is No. 2 at .138
- Nebraska and Pittsburgh are the only two teams who are holding their opponents under .100 hitting in the NCAA Tournament. The Huskers are No. 1 with a .090 opponent hitting percentage in the NCAA Tournament while the Panthers rank second with an .095 opponent hitting percentage
- Nebraska has lost only one set in the NCAA Tournament, the only team in the tournament with fewer than two set losses.
- Nebraska enters the NCAA Tournament with 32 wins. That ties for the most wins by a team entering the NCAA Semifinals since 2014, when Penn State entered the semifinals with a 34-3 record.
- Bekka Allick is averaging 2.4 blocks per set during the NCAA Tournament and is the nation's leading blocker during the postseason.
- Bergen Reilly is looking to become just the fourth freshman setter to lead her team to a national championship. Bryn Keho set Stanford to a national title as a true freshman in 2004 as did Jenna Gray for the Cardinal in 2016. In addition to the two Stanford setters, Nebraska's Rachel Holloway set the Huskers to a national championship in 2006, when she was a redshirt freshman.
- Merritt Beason has 444 kills in her first season as a Husker. With six more kills, Beason would join an accomplished group of four Huskers who totaled 450 kills in a season during the rally-scoring era (2001-present). That group includes Sarah Pavan, Kelsey Robinson, Mikaela Foecke and Jordan Larson. Pavan and Foecke were each named the NCAA Championship Most Outstanding Player in their careers, while Robinson and Larson both won gold medals with Team USA at the 2020 Olympics, with Larson being the Olympics' Most Outstanding Player.
- Andi Jackson is hitting .402 this season, as she attempts to become the first freshman in program history to hit .400. The current record for freshman hitting percentage is .388 by Karen Dahlgren in 1983.
NEBRASKA NCAA TOURNAMENT NOTES
- Nebraska advanced to an NCAA Semifinal for the 17th time in program history and for the sixth time in the past nine seasons. The Huskers' 17 NCAA Semifinals rank second in NCAA history, and Nebraska's six semifinal appearances since 2015 lead the nation.
- John Cook has led Nebraska to an NCAA Semifinal for the 10th time in his 24 seasons. Cook is the fourth Division I coach to take one school to 10 NCAA Semifinals, joining Russ Rose (Penn State), Andy Banachowski (UCLA) and Jerritt Elliott (Texas).
- Nebraska is 129-36 all-time in the NCAA Tournament. The Huskers rank second in NCAA history in postseason wins and winning percentage (.782).
- John Cook is 88-19 in the NCAA Tournament as Nebraska's head coach. He is 96-24 in his NCAA Tournament career. Cook ranks second all-time in career NCAA Tournament wins at one school.
- Bekka Allick had a career-high 12 blocks in the regional final vs. Arkansas (her previous career-high was 10 at Minnesota on Nov. 25, 2023). Allick's 12 blocks were the most by a Huskers in an NCAA Tournament match during the rally-scoring era (since 2001), breaking the record of 10, which was accomplished seven times by five Huskers.
- Merritt Beason had 19 kills in the Arkansas match. She has produced double-digit kills in 17 of her last 18 matches, including all four matches of the NCAA Tournament. Beason has 444 kills this season. She moved into the top 10 on Nebraska's single-season kills list, passing Mikaela Foecke (441 in 2017) and Sarah Pavan (443 in 2005) for the ninth-most single-season kills by a Husker in the rally-scoring era (since 2001).
- Lexi Rodriguez had 20 digs in the regional final to increase her career total to 1,404. Rodriguez became the seventh player in school history to total 1,400 career digs.
SCOUTING PITTSBURGH
- Pittsburgh (29-4, 16-2 ACC) earned a third straight trip to the NCAA Semifinals with a 3-2 reverse sweep of Louisville in the regional finals, its second time in four weeks the Panthers reverse swept the Cardinals.
- The Panthers rank second nationally in opponent hitting percentage (.138) and third in hitting percentage (.308). Pitt is No. 2 in the nation in blocks at 2.97 per set.
- Outside hitter Olivia Babcock was the ACC Freshman of the Year. Babcock leads the attack with 3.61 kills per set and has served a team-high 50 aces.
- Setter Rachel Fairbanks was the ACC Setter of the Year. Fairbanks averages 9.32 assists per set.
Pitt 2023 Schedule
vs. BYU (L 1-3)
at Montana (W 3-0)
vs. Texas-Rio Grande Valley (W 3-0)
at #15 Kentucky (W 3-0)
at #15 Kentucky (W 3-1)
at #24 Marquette (W 3-0)
at Loyola Chicago (W 3-0)
#7 Oregon (L 2-3)
James Madison (W 3-0)
High Point (W 3-0)
Maryland-Baltimore County (W 3-0)
at Duke (W 3-0)
at North Carolina (W 3-0)
Boston College (W 3-0)
Syracuse (W 3-0)
#11 Georgia Tech (W 3-2)
Clemson (W 3-0)
at #6 Louisville (L 0-3)
at Notre Dame (W 3-0)
Virginia (W 3-0)
at North Carolina State (W 3-0)
Virginia Tech (W 3-0)
Wake Forest (W 3-0)
at Florida State (L 2-3)
at Miami (FL) (W 3-1)
at #8 Georgia Tech (W 3-0)
#4 Louisville (W 3-2)
Miami (FL) (W 3-0)
at Syracuse (W 3-0)
--------NCAA Tournament--------
Coppin State (W 3-0)
#25 USC (W 3-1)
#10 Washington State (W 3-0)
#7 Louisville (W 3-2)
HUSKERS RANKED NO. 1 IN AVCA COACHES POLL
- Nebraska is ranked No. 1 in the AVCA Coaches Poll this week
- Nebraska has been ranked No. 1 in 108 all-time polls, the most in NCAA history
- The Huskers have been ranked in the top 10 a total of 557 times, which is also the most in NCAA history.
- Nebraska has appeared in all 618 AVCA Coaches Polls it has been eligible for since the poll was established in 1982. Nebraska is the only program to be ranked in every eligible poll all-time
- Nebraska's 618 consecutive weeks of being ranked is the longest active streak in Division I for any sport, leading Connecticut women's basketball and North Carolina women's soccer.
