Nine Big Ten Teams Selected for 2024 NCAA Volleyball Tournament

ROSEMONT, Ill. - The Big Ten Conference will have nine schools participating in the 2024 NCAA Division I Volleyball Tournament, the NCAA announced during Monday evening’s selection show. Illinois, Minnesota, Nebraska, Oregon, Penn State, Purdue, USC, Washington and Wisconsin will represent the Big Ten in this year’s tournament. The nine teams tie the ACC and the SEC for the most teams selected across all conferences.  

No. 1 seed Nebraska will make its 43^rd postseason appearance after winning its 36^th all-time conference title and fifth since joining the Big Ten in 2011. The Huskers finished the regular season with a 29-2 overall record and a 19-1 mark in conference play. Nebraska hosts Florida A&M on Friday, Dec. 6 at 8 p.m. ET.  

Of the 44 NCAA Tournaments, No. 1 seed Penn State has appeared in all of them and will host Delaware State on Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET. The Nittany Lions won the program’s 18^th Big Ten title overall and first since 2017.  Penn State has won 19 straight at Rec Hall and will look to extend its home win streak to 20 on Friday vs. the Hornets.  

No. 4 seed Oregon makes its fifth-straight postseason appearance and 21^st overall after finishing the regular season 22-7 overall and 14-6 in Big Ten play. The Ducks will host High Point on Thursday at 9:30 p.m. ET.  

Minnesota earned a No. 6 seed in this year’s tournament. The Golden Gophers (20-10, 13-7 Big Ten) were placed in the Lexington, Ky., region and will take on Western Kentucky in the first round on Thursday at 4:30 p.m. ET. The Gophers have advanced to the tournament in 10 straight seasons and 25 of the last 26 overall. 

Illinois earned a spot in this year’s tournament for the first time since 2021 after finishing the regular season 18-12 overall and 10-10 in the Big Ten. The Fighting Illini will play Northern Iowa in its tournament opener on Friday at 4 p.m. ET. 

For the eighth time under head coach Dave Shondell, the Purdue Boilermakers will begin the postseason hosting the First and Second Rounds inside Holloway Gymnasium. Purdue was selected as a four-seed and will face Western Michigan on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. ET. The Boilermakers earned their bid for the 10^th consecutive year and the 19^th time in Shondell’s 22 seasons at Purdue and 36^th overall program appearance.  

Washington will be making its postseason appearance for the 22nd time in the past 23 seasons, playing Loyola Marymount on Friday night at 7:30 p.m. ET. After missing the tournament last season for the first time since 2001, second-year head coach Leslie Gabriel brought Washington back into the postseason conversation. The Huskies finished the regular season at 19-11 and 9-11 in their first year in the Big Ten.  

USC will make its 40^th appearance in the national tournament, receiving a six seed in the bracket, and will face UT Arlington in a first-round match on Thursday at 5 p.m. ET. The Women of Troy will make their third consecutive postseason appearance after finishing the regular season 21-9 overall and 13-7 in the Big Ten.  

For the 12^th-straight season and the 28^th time in program history, the Wisconsin Badgers earned a bid into this year’s tournament and were selected as the No. 2 seed in the Nebraska regional. The Badgers will play Fairfield and host the first and second round matches on Thursday and Friday in the UW Field House. First serve between the Badgers and Stags is set for Thursday at 8 p.m. ET. 

At least one Big Ten program has reached the NCAA national semifinals (Final Four) in all but one year since 2007, with at least one member institution advancing to the NCAA national championship match 13 times in that 17-year span. The 2024 National Semifinals and Championship match will be played at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Ky., on Dec. 19 and 22.