Big Ten Volleyball NCAA Tournament Central Dec. 7-9

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BIG TEN WEEKLY RELEASE - DEC. 7

• Four of the remaining schools in this year’s NCAA Tournament come from the Big Ten Conference as postseason play continues with regional semifinal action on Thursday. The Big Ten and the Pac-12 are the only two conferences with four Sweet 16 teams. Top-seeded Nebraska will host fifth-seeded Georgia Tech on Thursday at 2 p.m. (ET) on ESPN2. An all-Big Ten matchup is set between No. 1 seed Wisconsin and No. 5 seed Penn State at 7 p.m. (ET) on Thursday on ESPN2. The winner of that semifinal matchup will meet either No. 2 Oregon or No. 3 Purdue in the regional final on Saturday at UW Fieldhouse in Madison, Wis., with the Boilermakers and Ducks meeting in the semifinal on Thursday at 9:30 p.m. (ET) on ESPNU. 

• For the 14th consecutive year, the Big Ten Conference has seen at least four schools advance to the regional semifinals (Sweet 16) of the NCAA Tournament. Nebraska is making its NCAA-record 39th regional appearance and its 29th in 30 seasons. Penn State heads into the Sweet 16 for the 36th time and 20th time in 21 seasons, Purdue advances to the regional semifinals for the 16th time in program history and Wisconsin returns for the 11th consecutive year and 21st time in program history.  

• For the second-straight postseason, [1] No. 3 Wisconsin and [5] No. 14 Penn State will meet in the regional semifinals. In 2022, the Badgers emerged victorious in a five set win which sent Wisconsin to the Elite Eight. In the two teams only meeting during the regular season, Penn State defeated Wisconsin 3-1 inside Rec Hall on Nov. 11. 

• Each earning the No. 1 seed in this year’s tournament bracket, Nebraska and Wisconsin will host matches at home through the regional finals. Both the Huskers and the Badgers are undefeated at home this season with a 19-0 and a 15-0 record, respectively. 

• Nebraska improved to 30-1 with its pair of wins over LIU and Missouri in the first and second rounds of this year’s tournament. It’s the first time since 2017 that the Huskers have won at least 30 matches in a single season and 12th time under head coach John Cook. 

• Penn State’s Katie Schumacher-Cawley leads the Nittany Lions into the regional semifinal for the second consecutive season after taking over the program in 2022. Schumacher-Cawley has guided Penn State to a 23-8 overall record this season.

• Thursday’s Purdue/Oregon match will be the fourth all-time meeting between the two programs and second in the NCAA Tournament. Purdue owns a 3-0 record against the Ducks, most recently earning a 3-1 victory in the third round of the 2021 tournament. 

• Purdue’s freshman setter Taylor Anderson racked up 60 assists in a double-double effort (16 digs) in the Boilermakers’ 3-1 win over Marquette in the second round on Friday. Anderson’s 60 assists are the most in team history in an NCAA Tournament match and a season-high by any Big Ten setter and all Division I freshmen this season. 

• The Big Ten Conference was well-represented among the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) regional awards announced Tuesday, with 28 players from nine conference schools earning all-region accolades. In addition, Nebraska’s Merritt Beason was named AVCA North Region Player of the Year, Harper Murray earned the region’s Freshman of the Year honor and Nebraska head coach John Cook was named the AVCA North Region Coach of the Year. In the Northeast Region, Wisconsin’s Sarah Franklin was named Player of the Year, Purdue’s Chloe Chicoine was selected as Freshman of the Year and Wisconsin head coach Kelly Sheffield collected Coach of the Year honors. Nebraska’s six All-Region selections ties the 2016 team for the most in program history. 

• At least one Big Ten program has reached the NCAA national semifinals (Final Four) all but one year since 2007, with at least one member institution advancing to the national championship match 12 times in that span. The Big Ten has sent two representatives to seven of the last 10 NCAA Final Fours (since 2013). Current Big Ten schools have won a total of 12 national championships (10 while competing as a member of the conference).