The 64-team field for the 2023 DI women’s volleyball tournament has been whittled down to 16 teams to set up the regional semifinals. With the first and second rounds done and dusted, let’s take a look at how NCAA Digital’s Michella Chester re-ranks the 16 teams that have made it this far.
1. Nebraska
Sweeping LIU and (8) Missouri, the Nebraska Cornhuskers remain the unquestioned frontrunners. For a team that has shown weakness in the serve this season, Bergen Reilly acing four times against Missouri — three in the first six plays of the match — was huge for the Huskers, as they out-scored Mizzou 75-54. Nebraska faces (5) Georgia Tech on Thursday in Lincoln.
🎥 Nebraska vs. Missouri highlights
2. Wisconsin
Similarly, another undisputed top team is the Badgers, who swept Jackson State and a scrappy Miami squad. They look to face (5) Penn State on Thursday, still with home-court advantage.
3. Pitt
Of the 1-seeds, Pitt has been tested the most thus far. And despite going down a set against (8) Southern California, the Pitt block guided the Panthers to a four-set victory in the second round. After both teams hit low .087 (Pitt) and .089 (USC) with 13 ties and five lead changes in the first frame, the Panthers gained composure when it counted in the final three sets behind Olivia Babcock’s 16 kills, 12 digs and six blocks to fend off the Trojans. Now tasked with defending its home court again, the 1-seed takes on (4) Washington State on Thursday afternoon.
4. Oregon
Next is Oregon, who has shown no mercy in the tournament thus far with shutouts over Southeastern Louisiana and Hawai’i. Even though OH Mimi Colyer didn’t have her strongest outing against the Rainbow Wahine — she was held to .037 hitting and 7 kills, which is four below her season average of 12.88 — seniors Morgan Lewis and Gabby Gonzales stepped up to the plate. They’ve got (3) Purdue next on the docket.
5. Louisville
Louisville still makes the top 5, despite dropping the opening set to Wright State. It could be justified to put the Cardinals higher or lower, but they’ll be put to the test against a tough Creighton team on Thursday.
6. Stanford
The Cardinal just narrowly avoided being the first 1-seed to exit the tournament in last night’s bout with Houston. Almost a reverse sweep, Stanford sputtered down the stretch to drop the third and fourth sets, and finally put the match away in five. Kendall Kipp had her lowest-scoring five-setter of the year with 16 kills. Although Stanford got the job done, they’ll face a hot Arizona State squad in regionals.
🎥 How Stanford topped Houston in five sets
7. Kentucky
Two-seeded Kentucky flew past Wofford and Baylor — who upset (7) JMU in the first round — in straight sets and face the Razorbacks in the round of 16.
8. Texas
Texas came out on top of Texas A&M in the first round in a blocking showcase — each team tallied 14 apiece — even though Texas fell short in the opening set. Madisen Skinner and Asjia O’Neal continue to put up numbers, and Thursday’s battle against Tennessee will be a contested one.
9. Tennessee
Speaking of Tennessee, the Lady Vols land right behind their next opponent in these rankings after sweeps over High Point and (6) Western Kentucky. An all-orange battle will be an exciting one as Tennessee takes on the reigning champs.
⚠️ SPLASH ZONE ⚠️ pic.twitter.com/TRdRaaxZc2
— Tennessee Volleyball (@Vol_VBall) December 3, 2023
10. Arizona State
Coming in at No. 10 is Arizona State. This team was not voted a top-16 seed, but is playing like a top-10 team with a dominant win over Georgia in the first round and a straight-set takedown over (4) BYU on Saturday. The Sun Devils have the pieces and are playing confidently right now — they are a downright problem for a shaky Stanford team.
11. Arkansas
The (3) Razorbacks clock in at No. 11 with a sweep over SFA in the first round and a four-set win over TCU in the second. Jill Gillen and Taylor Head have been fun to watch this tournament, as they’ve put up 29 and 32 respective kills throughout the tournament.
12. Creighton
The Bluejays have shown growth in the postseason by sweeping Minnesota in the second round after the Golden Gophers pushed them to five sets earlier in the season. This, and a 3-0 win over Colgate puts (3) Creighton in a good spot to rock the boat against Louisville.
13. Purdue
Sliding in at 13 is Purdue. Eva Hudson went off with 27 kills in a four-set win over (6) Marquette; the Boilermakers will challenge Oregon next.
14. Washington State
A sweep over GCU and a four-set victory over (5) Dayton gets the Cougs the No. 14 spot, although it can be justified that they could be ranked higher. They’ve demonstrated a lot of composure over the tournament thus far and will be a team to watch against (1) Pitt in the regional semifinals.
15. Georgia Tech
In one of the tightest battles this tournament has seen, the Yellow Jackets thrashed (4) Florida in five sets on Friday. The effort was led by Bianca Bertolino’s double-double of 18 kills and 17 digs and Tamara Otene’s 21 kills. This team is dangerous at the service line and comes up big in narrow situations, so it’ll be interesting to see if they rise up to the challenge against Nebraska on Thursday.
🎥 Georgia Tech’s impressive five-set rally over Florida
16. Penn State
Finally, Penn State rounds out the top 16 teams. The Nittany Lions have dropped four sets in this tournament so far and battle (1) Wisconsin next.