VB Final Four Set -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

All Top Seeds Advanced to Final Four

In a tournament where we saw a fair share of upsets, the NCAA Volleyball Regional Tournaments ended with a chalk result as all four 1-seeds from their respective regionals advanced to the National Semifinals.

Pittsburgh, Nebraska, Penn State, and Louisville all won their regions and will prepare for the Final Four, hosted at the KFC Yum! Center. For us Louisville folks, playing in town makes the trip much easier. Louisville's other two Final Four appearances were in Columbus, Ohio and Omaha, Nebraska.

Let's take a look at each team's journey to the Final Four...

Pittsburgh

Photo by Pitt Athletics

vs Morehead State 3-0 (25-17, 25-15, 25-15)

vs 8-seed Oklahoma 3-0 (28-26, 25-21, 25-19)

vs 4-seed Oregon 3-2 (25-19, 24-26, 25-16, 21-25, 15-12)

vs 3-seed Kentucky 3-0 (25-22, 25-23, 25-17)

The toughest match for the Panthers came in the Sweet Sixteen against Oregon. The Ducks, who upset 2-seed Nebraska as a 3-seed in 2022 tried to pull off another tournament upset but the hostile crowd at the Petersen Events Center proved to be too much.

Penn State

Photo by Penn State Athletics

vs Delaware State 3-0 (25-4, 25-20, 25-18)

vs 8-seed North Carolina 3-1 (25-21, 25-18, 20-25, 25-15)

vs 5-seed Marquette 3-1 (25-15, 25-21, 24-26, 25-20)

vs 2-seed Creighton 3-2 (25-15, 18-25, 25-22, 20-25, 15-7)

Creighton nearly pulled off the upset against the Nittany Lions. The Blue Jays took Penn State to five sets, but could not get anything going in the final lap. North Carolina and Marquette both were competitive but were overpowered.

Nebraska

Photo by Nebraska Athletics

vs Florida A&M 3-0 (25-3, 25-9, 25-17)

vs 8-seed Miami 3-0 (25-19, 25-14, 25-18)

vs 5-seed Dayton 3-1 (25-17, 25-18, 25-27, 25-13)

vs 2-seed Wisconsin 3-0 (26-24, 25-17, 25-21)

Nebraska hasn't truly had a tough test up to this point of the tournament. While Dayton was able to steal a set from the Huskers, the Flyers weren't too competitive the rest of the time. Wisconsin was the only team to score in the 20's on two different sets.

Louisville

Photo by Louisville Athletics

vs Chicago State 3-0 (25-10, 25-18, 25-13)

vs 8-seed Northern Iowa (26-28, 25-22, 23-25, 25-13, 22-20)

vs 4-seed Purdue (25-17, 25-18, 25-18)

vs 2-seed Stanford (22-25, 25-14, 28-26, 25-20)

Louisville nearly saw an early exit from the tournament after Northern Iowa had multiple match point chances. The Cards found a way to pull out a win. Stanford played the Cards tough in a pair of sets but Louisville prevailed.

Facts and Tidbits

Photo by Jared Anderson

Pittsburgh has advanced to four straight Final Fours. Louisville has advanced to three Final Fours over the last four years. The ACC vs ACC match-up will guarantee the conference has a team in the title game for just the second time in history. Stanford has multiple titles, but they were not a member of the ACC at the time.

Nebraska has been to three of the last four Final Fours. This is Penn State's first Final Four appearance since 2017. In this Big Ten vs Big Ten match-up, the conference is guaranteed to have a team in the title game. The Big Ten has been represented in the national championship every year since 2007 with the exception of 2012, 2016, 2020, and 2022.

The top two teams in the ACC and the top two teams in the Big Ten make up the Final Four. This is the first time since 2008 that the top four seeds advanced to the Final Four. That year, the top overall seeded team beat the second overall seeded team in the final.

Stanford has won the most volleyball championships with nine. Penn State has seven titles and Nebraska has five. Texas and UCLA have both won four times. Hawai'i, Long Beach State, and USC each have three titles. Pacific is the only other school with multiple championships with two.

Louisville will face Pittsburgh at 6:30pm on Thursday. Nebraska and Penn State will play about 30 minutes after the first match ends.

Happy Tuesday and Go Cards!

Jared