Nebraska-Penn State Final Four preview and how to watch, stream, listen

Nebraska volleyball is making its 18th Final Four in the 44-year history of the NCAA Volleyball Tournament.

Standing in the Huskers’ way of an 11th appearance in the national championship match is fellow tournament No. 1 seed Penn State.

The Huskers (33-2 overall, 19-1 Big Ten) finished with just one blemish on their conference record, falling victim to the Nittany Lions (33-2, 19-1) in four sets on Nov. 29 in Happy Valley. The loss ended Nebraska’s 25-match win streak and gave Penn State a co-Big Ten championship with the Huskers.

Now, John Cook’s club gets an opportunity to exact some revenge on Penn State on a neutral court in Louisville.

It’s Nebraska vs. Penn State for a right to play Pittsburgh or Louisville in the national championship of a Final Four that features all four teams that ranked in the Top 4 of the final regular-season AVCA Top 25 rankings. (#1 Pitt, #2 Penn State, #3 Nebraska, #4 Louisville)

With that, let’s get to a preview of Thursday night’s Final Four battle between the two Big Ten foes. Here are the players to watch, stats to know and how to watch, stream and listen to the Huskers vs. Nittany Lions and the Pitt Panthers vs. the Louisville Cardinals in a preview of the NCAA National Semifinals.

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Nebraska: 33-2 overall, 19-1 Big Ten (co-champs), ranked #3 in AVCA Top 25

Penn State: 33-2 overall, 19-1 Big Ten (co-champs), ranked #2 in AVCA Top 25

Time: 30 minutes after conclusion of 5:30 p.m. CT match (Pitt vs. Louisville)

TV Channel: ABC

Commentators: Courtney Lyle, Holly McPeak, Katie George and Madison Fitzpatrick

Streaming: WatchESPN and ESPN+

Radio: Huskers Radio Network with John Baylor and Lauren (Cook) West will broadcast all the action on their volleyball affiliate stations

Listen online: Huskers.com (LINK)

App Audio: Official Huskers App

>> Nebraska is 28-12 all-time against Penn State and has won 14 of the last 16 meetings.

>> Penn State snapped a seven-match losing streak to Nebraska with a 3-1 win on Nov. 29, 2024. In that match, the Huskers hit a season-low .154 and were out-killed 57-46.

>> The teams have met 11 times in the NCAA Tournament with NU holding an 8-3 record against PSU in the postseason.

>> The last NCAA Tournament meeting was Dec. 14, 2017 when the Huskers won 3-2 against the top-ranked Nittany Lions in an NCAA Semifinal. Nebraska went on to win the national title that season.

>> Nebraska (33-2) advanced to the NCAA Semifinals for the second year in a row and seventh time in the last 10 years with a 3-0 sweep of No. 7 Wisconsin on Sunday afternoon at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.

>> The Huskers will be playing at the KFC Yum! Center for the third time this season. Nebraska beat No. 9 Kentucky, 3-1, in the AVCA Showcase on Aug. 27 and No. 4 Louisville, 3-0, on Sept. 22.

>> Nebraska won its 36th all-time conference title and fifth Big Ten title with a 19-1 record in Big Ten play this season. The Huskers went back-to-back as Big Ten champions for the second time, also accomplishing that feat in 2016 and 2017.

>> The Huskers’ 29 regular-season wins tied the 1983 school record for most wins in a regular season in the NCAA era.

>> The Huskers’ 33 wins this season are tied for the most victories by a Husker team since the 2000 national championship team went 34-0.

>> Nebraska won 25 matches in a row after a Sept. 3 loss at SMU. Of those 25 wins, 20 were sweeps. NU’s win streak ended on Nov. 29 in a 3-1 loss at No. 4 Penn State.

>> Nebraska is 13-1 against ranked foes this season and 8-1 against top-10 teams. The Huskers’ eight wins against top-10 teams ties the school record, as the 1995 national championship team also had eight victories against top-10 opponents.

>> After the Sept. 3 loss at SMU, Nebraska won 27 straight sets on the road until the Nov. 29 loss at No. 4 Penn State.

>> The Huskers rank 12th nationally with a team hitting percentage of .285.

>> The Huskers rank fourth nationally and first in the Big Ten in opponent hitting percentage at .139. NU led the nation in opponent hitting percentage in 2022 and 2023.

>> Nebraska ranks 11th nationally in kills per set (14.15).

>> Nebraska enters Thursday’s match with 1,499 all-time victories and is looking to become the first Division I volleyball program to reach 1,500 all-time wins.

>> No. 2 Penn State is 33-2 overall and shared the Big Ten title with Nebraska with a 19-1 conference record.

>> The Nittany Lions won their regional final against Creighton, 3-2, on Sunday night to advance to the NCAA Semifinals for the first time since 2017.

>> Under third-year head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley, the Nittany Lions have won their most matches in a season since going 33-2 in 2017. Schumacher-Cawley was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year.

>> Penn State has won 10 matches in a row since being swept at Wisconsin on Nov. 9.

>> Jess Mruzik leads Penn State with 4.21 kills per set with 2.37 digs per set.

>> Camryn Hannah adds 3.59 kills per set.

>> Freshman setter Izzy Starck is averaging 10.89 assists per set in guiding Penn State to a .285 hitting percentage. Starck was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year.

>> Nebraska advanced to an NCAA Semifinal for the 18th time in program history and for the seventh time in the past 10 seasons. The Huskers’ 18 NCAA Semifinals rank second in NCAA history, and Nebraska’s seven semifinal appearances in the last 10 seasons lead the nation.

>> Nebraska has made 13 NCAA Semifinals since the NCAA Tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1998. The Huskers’ 13 trips to the semifinals in the 64-team NCAA Tournament era lead the nation.

>> John Cook has led Nebraska to an NCAA Semifinal for the 12th time in his 25 seasons. He is one of only two coaches two make 12 NCAA Semifinals with one school.

>> Cook is 101-25 in his NCAA Tournament career, including a 93-20 record at Nebraska. He ranks second all-time in career NCAA Tournament victories and NCAA Tournament wins at one school.

>> Nebraska is 134-37 all-time in the NCAA Tournament. The Huskers rank second in NCAA history in postseason wins and winning percentage (.784).

>> NU has held its four NCAA Tournament opponents to a combined .066 hitting percentage, which leads the field.

ROTATION RUNDOWN

>> Outside hitter Harper Murray is the team leader in kills at 3.37 per set, and also in aces with 36. One of the top six-rotation players in the country, Murray adds 2.41 digs per set.

>> Opposite hitter Merritt Beason is second on the team in kills at 2.83 per set, and the two-year captain also contributes 1.25 digs per set and 29 aces.

>> Middle blocker Andi Jackson is averaging 2.57 kills per set with a .428 hitting percentage, which ranks ninth in the nation.

>> Middle blocker Rebekah Allick adds 1.83 kills per set on .357 hitting with 1.40 blocks per set. Allick has moved into the top 10 in school history in career blocks at No. 6 with 405.

>> Setter Bergen Reilly is averaging 11.09 assists per set, which ranks 10th in the nation. She also adds 2.85 digs per set and has 21 aces. Reilly has 16 double-doubles and was named Big Ten Setter of the Year for the second straight year.

>> Lexi Rodriguez, the 2024 Big Ten Libero of the Year, leads the Husker back row with 3.91 digs per set. Rodriguez ranks No. 2 in school history in career digs with 1,882, needing nine more to break the school record of 1,890 set by Justine Wong-Orantes (2013-16).

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SERVE AND PASS

>> Nebraska has allowed just 74 service aces this season, which leads the nation.

>> NU allowed 77 aces in the 2022 season and 80 aces in 2017. Last season, the Huskers were aced 104 times.

>> The Huskers have served 146 aces and committed 183 errors so far this season. The ace-to-error ratio of 0.80 is NU’s best in a full season since 2010 (0.86).

>> Nebraska is on pace to record its fewest service errors in a season since 2011 (161).

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BALANCED ATTACK

>> Nebraska has seven different players averaging between 1.83 and 3.37 kills per set.

>> Six different players have led the Huskers in kills in a match this season.

>> Setter Bergen Reilly ranks 10th nationally averaging 11.09 assists per set.

>> Nebraska’s attack has been one of the best in the nation this season. The Huskers rank 12th in hitting percentage (.285) and 11th in kills per set (14.15).

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HOME SWEET HOME

>> Nebraska has won 45 home matches in a row dating back to Dec. 1, 2022, which is the longest active streak in the nation.

>> The Huskers’ home win streak is its longest since moving into the Devaney Center in 2013.

>> Nebraska’s longest all-time home win streak was 88 matches from 2004-09.

>> The Huskers went 22-0 at home in 2024, a school record for home wins in a season.

>> Nebraska has won 26 consecutive NCAA Tournament matches played in the Devaney Center, a school record.