The NCAA women’s volleyball Sweet Sixteen begins this week.
The No. 3 Wisconsin Badgers play a conference foe in Ohio State. Wisconsin swept the Buckeyes in both of their matches this season. Wisconsin out-blocked Ohio State 22-8. Wisconsin had 79 kills, compared to Ohio State’s 74 kills. Wisconsin held the Buckeyes to under a .200 hitting percentage. Ohio State had 80 digs and Wisconsin had 88.
The No. 1 Nebraska Cornhuskers play No. 16 Penn State. Nebraska won both of the matches. The Cornhuskers won 3-2 and 3-0. In their first match, the Cornhuskers out-blocked Penn State 13-12. Penn State hit at .166 percent, and Nebraska hit at .238 percent. In their second match, the Cornhuskers out-blocked Penn state 9-5. Penn State hit at .065 percent, compared to Nebraska’s at .290 percent.
Arizona will play conference foe No. 8 Washington. Washington won both of their matches in the regular season, 3-1 and 3-0. In their first match, Washington out-blocked Arizona 17-5. However, Arizona had 77 digs, compared to Washington’s 61. Washington hit at .255 percent and Arizona hit at .187 percent. In their second match, Washington out-blocked the Wildcats 10-5. Washington hit at .286 percent, compared to Arizona’s .160 hitting percentage.
Florida State will play No. 6 Stanford. The two teams haven’t played each other in the regular season. Florida State averages a .252 hitting percentage out-blocks their opponents 2.9-1.8 per set. Stanford averages a .279 hitting percentage out-blocks their opponents 3.3-2.0 per set. Both teams hold their opponents to less than .200 hitting percentage, so it will likely be a defensive match-up.
Creighton will play No. 12 Michigan. Creighton out-blocks their opponents 2.2-1.8 per set, whereas Michigan only out-blocks their opponents 2.55-2.44. Both teams have solid hitting accuracy, with Michigan’s hitting percentage at .260 and Creighton’s at .277.
No. 13 BYU and No. 4 Texas play each other. Texas has one of the highest hitting percentages in the country, coming in at .308 percent. BYU hits at .290 percent. Both teams average similar stats on blocks, with Texas at 2.5 and BYU at 2.68.
No. 7 North Carolina and No. 19 UCLA will play on Friday evening. The Tar Heels hit at .275 percent, and the Bruins hit at .247 percent. North Carolina blocks 3.0 per set, and UCLA blocks 2.36 per set.
No. 2 Minnesota and No. 15 Missouri face off on Friday. Minnesota finished second in the Big Ten. They have one of the most efficient teams in the nation, hitting at .293 percent with 2.7 blocks per set. Mizzou hits at .279 percent and blocks 2.58 per set.
Wisconsin/Ohio State and Florida State/Stanford will play in Madison. Nebraska/Penn State and Arizona/Washington will play in Lincoln, Nebraska. Creighton/Michigan and BYU/Texas will play in Austin, Texas. North Carolina/UCLA and Minnesota/Missouri will play in Minneapolis.
The Big Ten has had a great showing in the tournament thus far. With two match-ups being two Big Ten teams, it is likely that at least one Big Ten team will make it to the Final Four.
Wisconsin is playing its best volleyball right now. The Badgers swept their first two tournament matches. Wisconsin is 13-1 at home, and being home for the regional finals will be extremely beneficial for the Badgers.
All regional match-ups will take place on Friday afternoon or Friday evening.