Big Ten Volleyball NCAA Tournament Central Dec. 14-17

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BIG TEN WEEKLY RELEASE - DEC. 14

• Two of the remaining schools in this year’s NCAA Tournament come from the Big Ten Conference as the 2023 NCAA champion will be crowned at the culmination of this weekend with semifinal action on Thursday followed by the National Championship Final on Sunday. No. 1 Nebraska meets No. 1 seed Pittsburgh in game one of the semis on Thursday at 7 p.m. (ET), before No. 1 seed Wisconsin and No. 2 seed Texas play at approximately 9:30 p.m. (ET), with both matches available on ESPN. 

• The Big Ten has had at least two teams in the Final Four nine times in the past 12 NCAA Tournaments. It’s the 17th time in program history that Nebraska has advanced to the national semifinal and sixth time in the last nine years. It’s Wisconsin’s sixth time in the national semifinal and fourth time in the last five seasons. 

• Nebraska eyes its sixth title overall and first since 2017, while Wisconsin seeks its second  championship. 

• Should both Big Ten teams win Thursday’s semifinal, it would set up an all-Big Ten title game for the fourth time in conference history and third meeting between the Huskers and Badgers in the final. The two teams met on the national stage most recently in 2021, with Wisconsin hoisting the trophy after a 3-2 victory for the program’s first-ever title. 

• Nebraska topped Wisconsin (3-2) in the national title match in 2000, the first season under head coach John Cook. At the time, Nebraska was an active member in the Big 12 conference before joining the Big Ten in 2011.  

• Nebraska and Pittsburgh met in the national semifinal in 2021. The Huskers handed the Panthers a 3-1 loss (16-25, 25-17, 25-20, 25-22) to advance to the national title match. All-time, Nebraska holds a perfect 13-0 record against Pittsburgh. 

• Wisconsin and Texas played in the national semifinal in 2013, with Wisconsin earning the 3-1 victory to advance to the final vs. Penn State. It will be the ninth meeting overall between the two teams, with the series record tied 4-4 and the NCAA Tournament record tied 1-1. 

• The top two teams in the nation in opponent hitting percentage meet in the national semifinal on Thursday with Nebraska boasting a .134 opponent hitting percentage while Pittsburgh carries a .138 opponent %. Additionally, the Badgers lead the nation with 3.09 blocks per set while their semifinal opponent, Texas, is third nationally with 2.94 blocks/set. 

• Ten Big Ten Conference volleyball student-athletes were selected as All-Americans by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA). In all, four Big Ten institutions were represented among the AVCA All-Americans, with Nebraska tying Stanford for the most All-Americans with four honorees. Nebraska also had two players on the first team and Wisconsin placed three players on the first three teams. Nebraska junior libero Lexi Rodriguez picked up her third-career All-American honor. 

• The Big Ten Conference was well-represented among the AVCA regional awards announced Tuesday, Dec. 5, 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.

• 126 volleyball student-athletes were named to the Academic All-Big Ten Team on Monday. Among the 126 honorees, five had unblemished GPAs.