Huskers, Penn State, Pitt, Louisville preview Final Four in NCAA Volleyball Tournament

All four teams in this year’s Final Four of the NCAA Volleyball Tournament are tucked inside the Top 4 of the AVCA Top 25 national rankings: Nebraska volleyball, Penn State, Pittsburgh and Louisville.

Not coincidentally, those are your four No. 1 seeds in the 2024 tournament’s Field of 64.

No. 1-ranked and top overall seed Pittsburgh (33-1 overall) defeated Morehead State (3-0), 8 seed Oklahoma (3-0), 4 seed Oregon (3-2) and 3 seed Kentucky (3-0) to reach Louisville.

The Panthers’ opponent in the 5:30 p.m. CT matchup, No. 4-ranked Louisville (29-5), will be on its home floor at the KFC Yum! Center after taking down Chicago State (3-0), 8 seed Northern Iowa (3-2), 4 seed Purdue (3-0) and 2 seed Stanford (3-1).

No. 2-ranked Penn State (33-2) beat Delaware State (3-0), 8 seed North Carolina (3-1), 5 seed Marquette (3-1) and 2 seed Creighton (3-2) en route to the sport’s last weekend.

And, of course, No. 3-ranked Nebraska (33-2) breezed past Florida A&M (3-0), 8 seed Miami (3-0), 5 seed Dayton (3-1) and 2 seed Wisconsin (3-0) as the Huskers square off with the Nittany Lions (30 minutes following the conclusion of Pitt-Louisville).

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Nebraska is making its third trip to Louisville this season. The Huskers kicked off 2024 at the KFC Yum! Center with a four-set win over then-No. 9 Kentucky (3-1) in the Aug. 27 season opener. Then, the Huskers traveled to face the host Cardinals, ranked No. 4 at the time of their Sept. 22 matchup, and left with a sweep toward the beginning of what would become a 25-match win streak.

And that particular stretch featured an explosion of Top-15 wins as the Huskers took down No. 9 Creighton, No. 14 Arizona State, No. 2 Stanford and No. 4 Louisville in a 12-day span. Three of those came via sweep and one (vs. Creighton) was a five-set thriller.

So, perhaps the Huskers will be more comfortable in the Final Four atmosphere than any team other than the host Cardinals. (Or, perhaps just as comfortable?)

Either way, all roads have led to this moment and that venue as the four best teams of the 2024 college volleyball season have reached the pinnacle of the sport and the biggest stage possible. And tonight’s winners will earn the right to play on an even grander stage in Sunday’s national championship match at 2 p.m. CT on ABC.

Hear from the head coaches of all four teams and three of the star players on each squad ahead of the two NCAA National Semifinal matchups at the Final Four press conference.

Watch all of the Final Four press conference videos in the links below and on the Inside Nebraska YouTube channel. Subscribe to our channel for FREE to get even more daily content on all things Nebraska.