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Clark (MA) vs WPI
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Springfield vs Wheaton
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United States Coas vs M.I.T.
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2017 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball National Championship

Regional Hosts Survive Sweet 16 Tests

Regional Hosts Survive Sweet 16 Tests

The four top seeds of the NCAA tournament won in their Round of 16 matches, moving on to the regional finals.

Dec 9, 2017 by Megan Kaplon
Regional Hosts Survive Sweet 16 Tests

The regional semifinal rounds of the 2017 NCAA Division I women’s volleyball tournament wrapped up last night, leaving only eight teams remaining in the hunt for the championship. 

Here’s a recap of the action.

Kentucky def. BYU 3-2 (25-20, 17-25, 25-22, 18-25, 15-9)

In the first match of the Round of 16, Kentucky defended its home floor against the Cougars of BYU, despite being pushed to five sets for the second match in a row. 

The Cougars' five-set loss was eerily similar to their 2016 regional semifinal loss to Texas. In 2016, the Cougars came back from down 0-2 to push the match to five sets, and then had a 5-0 lead in the fifth before losing 16-14. 

This year, BYU pushed back from down 1-2 and then led 6-2 in the fifth. But Kentucky, which just last week rallied back from from down 0-2 to eliminate Western Kentucky in five, came back to take the lead at 8-7, thanks to back-to-back kills from its star outside hitter Leah Edmond.

From that point on, Kentucky never trailed, and with a 15-9 victory in the fifth, No. 4-seeded Kentucky moved on to the regional final.


Nebraska def. Colorado 3-0 (25-19, 25-11, 25-21)

Nebraska wasted no time in dispatching its regional semifinal opponent Colorado. 

In Nebraska’s third consecutive sweep in the 2017 tournament, Annika Albrecht led the team with 13 kills, hitting .344, in addition to nine digs. Freshman opposite Jazz Sweet had nine kills and only one error to hit .533. 

Colorado hit .109 for the match, but in the second set, when the Buffs scored only 11 points, Nebraska held them to a -.024 percentage.

In advancing to the Elite Eight, No. 5-seeded Nebraska will get a chance to face No. 4-seeded Kentucky. The Huskers, who won the Big Ten and finished their season 29-4, likely felt like they had put together a resume worthy of a top-four seed and a chance to host the regional rounds, and tomorrow night, they’ll get a chance to make their case against the team that was awarded the honor in their place.


Lexington Regional Final: Nebraska vs. Kentucky

Saturday, December 9 | 4 PM ET


Penn State def. Missouri 3-0 (25-17, 25-18, 25-19)

Simone Lee put on yet another all-star performance in Penn State’s straight-set defeat of Missouri in the first match of the night in the University Park regional, smashing 15 kills at a .500 clip.

As a team, Penn State hit .432, out-digging Missouri 39 to 26 and out-blocking the Tigers six to two. With six service aces, the Nittany Lions also kept Missouri out-of-system on serve receive and held the Tigers to a .212 hitting percentage.

Melanie Crow led Missouri with 12 kills, but had five errors to hit .250.


Michigan State def. Illinois 3-1 (25-23, 18-25, 25-17, 29-27)

Fittingly, Michigan State, the best serving team in the Big Ten, and the seventh-ranked serving team in the country, won its regional semifinal match over conference rival Illinois with an ace. 

In the four-set match, Michigan State scored nine points on its serve to Illinois’ five, but the two teams were evenly matched in lot of ways. The Spartans held only a slight advantage in hitting efficiency, .255 to .248, and Illinois out-blocked MSU 12 to eight. Both teams had 52 digs.

Three Michigan State players -- Autumn Bailey, Brooke Kranda, and Holly Toliver -- contributed double-digit kills, while both middles, Alyssa Garvelink and Megan Tompkins had nine.

In the second set, which Illinois won, the Illini hit an impressive .419 with 15 kills and just two errors.


University Park Regional Final: Penn State vs. Michigan State

Saturday, December 9 | 8 PM ET


Florida def. UCLA 3-1 (23-25, 25-17, 25-17, 25-17)

Florida head coach Mary Wise told her team ahead of its Round of 16 match with UCLA that the balls they are used to having hit the floor for points wouldn’t necessarily score against the defensive-minded Bruins.

Sure enough, the Bruins had 75 digs on the match and won the first set, but No. 2-seeded Florida rebounded quickly, winning the next three sets by identical 25-17 scores.

Florida hit .282 to UCLA’s .124 for the match, but what really pleased Wise was that in 142 swings in the match, her team only hit six out of bounds, forcing UCLA to make a play on the ball.

A trio of seniors led the Gators' offense, with outside hitter Carli Snyder contributing 18 kills and Rhamat Alhassan and Shainah Joseph each with 10.


USC def. Minnesota 3-0 (25-23, 28-26, 25-16)

In the first and only upset of the Round of 16, USC swept Minnesota, holding the Gophers to a .094 hitting percentage in the third and final set.

Minnesota finished the season with a 28-6 overall record, while USC advanced to the NCAA regional finals for the sixth time in the last eight seasons and 12th overall. 

Khalia Lanier led the Trojans with 20 kills, hitting .280. Brooke Botkin and Brittany Abercrombie also added double digit kills.


Gainesville Regional Final: Florida vs. USC

Saturday December 9 | 6 PM ET


Texas def. Utah 3-2 (25-19, 16-25, 24-26, 25-21, 16-14)

It wasn’t easy, and it didn’t come quickly, but Texas got one step closer to its sixth-consecutive final four with a five-set victory over Utah. 

Yaazie Bedart-Ghani, who came in off the bench for Lexi Sun, made a huge impact for the Longhorns, hitting .462 with 12 kills and zero errors on 26 swings. Texas’ senior captain Chiaka Ogbogu had 16 kills, hitting .433, in addition to a solo block and three block assists that helped hold Utah to a .224 hitting percentage. 

Utah’s go-to outside hitter Adora Anae had 25 kills in 69 attempts, but had 12 errors to hit only .188. 


Stanford def. Wisconsin 3-1 (22-25, 25-20, 25-21, 25-19)

Wisconsin came on strong in its regional semifinal battle with Stanford, a rematch of last year’s regional semifinal in which the Badgers went up 2-0 before losing in five. Hitting .593, Wisconsin won the first set, but the reigning national champions weren’t fazed and won in four, holding the Badgers to a .237 hitting percentage in sets two, three, and four.

Freshman Grace Loberg set a new career high in her Wisconsin career with 20 kills hitting .341, but Stanford’s Kathryn Plummer did even better, terminating 22 kills and hitting .425. Senior Cardinal opposite Merete Lutz had 16 kills, hitting .560. As a team, Stanford out-blocked Wisconsin 10 to three. 

The win sets up a rematch of last year’s national championship between Stanford and Texas. The Cardinal took down the Longhorns in four sets to win the 2016 title.


Palo Alto Regional Final: Texas vs. Stanford

Saturday, December 9 | 10 PM ET

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