Friday, December 9
Lincoln, NE
11:30 AM
University of Washington
vs
Arizona
Dawgs Return To Regionals With Familiar Foes
December 07, 2016 | Volleyball
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS • REGIONALS
LINCOLN, NEB. - DEVANEY CENTER
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 9 • ROUND OF 16
(1) Nebraska vs. (16) Penn State • 9:00 a.m. PT - ESPNU - Live Scoring
(8) Washington vs. Arizona • 11:30 a.m. PT - ESPN3 - Live Scoring
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 10 • QUARTERFINALS
Winner Match 1 vs. Winner Match 2 • 1:00 p.m. PT - ESPNU
SEATTLE - Sixteen teams remain in the NCAA Volleyball title hunt, and four of those teams will meet in Lincoln, Nebraska this week to fight for a spot in the Final Four. For the fifth straight season, the Huskies are still standing with just two weeks left in the season, as the Pac-12 Champions aim to reach their first Final Four since 2013.
The Lincoln Regional will have a Big Ten battle followed by a Pac-12 showcase in Friday's round of 16 matches. First up will be the No. 1-seeded and defending champion Nebraska on its home court, the Devaney Center, facing off with 16th-seeded Penn State, with an 11 a.m. local start time, 9 a.m. Pacific. The eighth-seeded Huskies will then take on unseeded Arizona, which knocked off No. 9 Michigan State last week to earn its first Sweet 16 appearance since 2005. Washington and Arizona's first serve will be Friday at 1:30 p.m. Central/11:30 a.m. Pacific.
While the Nebraska-Penn State match will be televised on ESPNU, Washington's match will be online only via ESPN3. Saturday's Elite Eight match, scheduled for 1 p.m. Pacific time, will be live on ESPNU regardless of teams.
The Lincoln Regional field has quite a lot of recent tradition. Nebraska and Penn State features the 2015 national champions against the 2013 and 2014 champs. In fact, going back to Washington's NCAA title in 2005, the Huskies, Huskers, and Nittany Lions have combined for nine of the past 11 NCAA titles, six going to Penn State, two to Nebraska, and one to Washington.
This is the 15th consecutive NCAA tournament appearance for the Huskies, the fifth-straight trip to the round of 16, and the 11th time in the past 14 years that the Dawgs have reached at least the round of 16. Washington won its NCAA opener at home in a sweep over Southland Conference champion Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, and then hit .337 in a strong performance to knock off Kentucky in the second round in another straight setter. UW will be looking to continue its staunch play away from home, as the Dawgs are 4-0 this year on neutral courts and 13-1 in true road matches for a 17-1 mark away from Alaska Airlines Arena.
Arizona was the only one of the five unseeded Pac-12 teams to advance to the Regional round. The Wildcats swept Cleveland State in the first round in East Lansing, Mich. last week and then fought past 9th-seeded Michigan State in a five setter, improving to 20-14 on the season after finishing 10-10 in the Pac-12 and tying for seventh. Senior All-Pac-12 outside hitter Kalei Mau had a great week in Michigan, as she had 17 kills and hit .400 vs Cleveland St. and then had 23 kills and hit .321 against the Spartans. Kendra Dahlke also had 22 kills against MSU, with no other Wildcat having more than six. Arizona hit .311 as a team against MSU and .410 vs. Cleveland State and is now hitting .231 for the year. Senior Penina Snuka was named the Pac-12 Setter of the Year and averages 10.76 assists per set, 0.26 aces per set, and 3.05 digs per set. The Huskies won both meetings against Arizona this year, winning 3-1 in Tucson and 3-0 in Seattle but ever set was within at least five points.
Nebraska has spent much of the season ranked No. 1 after winning the championship last year, defeating the Huskies in the Elite Eight. The Cornhuskers are 29-2 this year and won the Big Ten title with an 18-2 league record. Their only two losses came to Ohio State at home in four sets, and at Minnesota in five sets in the final week of the regular season. Nebraska opened the tourney with sweeps of New Hampshire and TCU. The Huskers are hitting .288 on the year and holding opponents to just .139. Nebraska had four All-Big Ten picks, including senior twin sisters Amber and Kadie Rolfzen, junior setter Kelly Hunter, and senior libero Justine Wong-Orantes. Won-Orantes is the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. Six Huskers earned AVCA All-Region, including the four All-Big Ten picks plus sophomore outside hitter Mikaela Foecke and junior middle Briana Holman. Kadie Rolfzen leads the team with 3.21 kills per set and a .299 attack percentage, and Foecke has 2.94 kills at a .309 clip. Amber Rolfzen is one of the nation's top blockers with 1.43 blocks per set, while Holman's .343 attack percentage is the best on the team and she averages 2.37 kills per set. Head Coach John Cook was Big Ten Coach of the Year this season. If UW and Nebraska meet, it would be the seventh NCAA tourney meeting in a 12 year span. Washington won the 2005 NCAA title by beating Nebraska, and had a win in the 2010 Sweet 16. Nebraska had a five set Elite Eight win in 2008 coming back from 0-2 down, and has won the past three meetings in 2012, 2014, and 2015, all in Regional rounds.
Penn State won six NCAA titles from 2007-14 including four in a row from 2007-10, then back-to-back in 2013-14. This season, the Nittany Lions are 24-9 and went 14-6 in Big Ten play. Penn State was 16-2 at home but just 6-6 on the road and 2-1 in neutral matches. In the NCAA opener, PSU swept LIU Brooklyn, then beat Pittsburgh in the second round in four sets. Penn State and Nebraska played twice in November, with Nebraska winning both, in five sets at Penn State then in three sets in Lincoln. Junior outside hitter Simone Lee and junior middle blocker Haleigh Washington were both unanimous All-Big Ten seleections and AVCA All-Region picks. Freshmen Tori Gorrell and Kendall White were All-Freshman Team picks. Lee leads the team with 4.15 kills per set and hits .265, while Washington is second in the NCAA with a .435 attack percentage with 2.42 kills per set and a team-best 2.58 blocks per set. Penn State is hitting .294 on the season, which ranks fifth in the NCAA, and holding opponents to just .167. Setter Abby Detering averages 10.02 assists per set and leads the team with 0.38 aces per set. Russ Rose is the winningest volleyball coach in NCAA history and is in his 38th season, having gone into the AVCA Hall of Fame in 2007. Washington last met Penn State in the 2013 Final Four, falling in three sets. Prior to that, UW had a 3-1 win over Penn State in the 2006 Elite Eight.
LINCOLN, NEB. - DEVANEY CENTER
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 9 • ROUND OF 16
(1) Nebraska vs. (16) Penn State • 9:00 a.m. PT - ESPNU - Live Scoring
(8) Washington vs. Arizona • 11:30 a.m. PT - ESPN3 - Live Scoring
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 10 • QUARTERFINALS
Winner Match 1 vs. Winner Match 2 • 1:00 p.m. PT - ESPNU
SEATTLE - Sixteen teams remain in the NCAA Volleyball title hunt, and four of those teams will meet in Lincoln, Nebraska this week to fight for a spot in the Final Four. For the fifth straight season, the Huskies are still standing with just two weeks left in the season, as the Pac-12 Champions aim to reach their first Final Four since 2013.
The Lincoln Regional will have a Big Ten battle followed by a Pac-12 showcase in Friday's round of 16 matches. First up will be the No. 1-seeded and defending champion Nebraska on its home court, the Devaney Center, facing off with 16th-seeded Penn State, with an 11 a.m. local start time, 9 a.m. Pacific. The eighth-seeded Huskies will then take on unseeded Arizona, which knocked off No. 9 Michigan State last week to earn its first Sweet 16 appearance since 2005. Washington and Arizona's first serve will be Friday at 1:30 p.m. Central/11:30 a.m. Pacific.
While the Nebraska-Penn State match will be televised on ESPNU, Washington's match will be online only via ESPN3. Saturday's Elite Eight match, scheduled for 1 p.m. Pacific time, will be live on ESPNU regardless of teams.
The Lincoln Regional field has quite a lot of recent tradition. Nebraska and Penn State features the 2015 national champions against the 2013 and 2014 champs. In fact, going back to Washington's NCAA title in 2005, the Huskies, Huskers, and Nittany Lions have combined for nine of the past 11 NCAA titles, six going to Penn State, two to Nebraska, and one to Washington.
This is the 15th consecutive NCAA tournament appearance for the Huskies, the fifth-straight trip to the round of 16, and the 11th time in the past 14 years that the Dawgs have reached at least the round of 16. Washington won its NCAA opener at home in a sweep over Southland Conference champion Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, and then hit .337 in a strong performance to knock off Kentucky in the second round in another straight setter. UW will be looking to continue its staunch play away from home, as the Dawgs are 4-0 this year on neutral courts and 13-1 in true road matches for a 17-1 mark away from Alaska Airlines Arena.
Arizona was the only one of the five unseeded Pac-12 teams to advance to the Regional round. The Wildcats swept Cleveland State in the first round in East Lansing, Mich. last week and then fought past 9th-seeded Michigan State in a five setter, improving to 20-14 on the season after finishing 10-10 in the Pac-12 and tying for seventh. Senior All-Pac-12 outside hitter Kalei Mau had a great week in Michigan, as she had 17 kills and hit .400 vs Cleveland St. and then had 23 kills and hit .321 against the Spartans. Kendra Dahlke also had 22 kills against MSU, with no other Wildcat having more than six. Arizona hit .311 as a team against MSU and .410 vs. Cleveland State and is now hitting .231 for the year. Senior Penina Snuka was named the Pac-12 Setter of the Year and averages 10.76 assists per set, 0.26 aces per set, and 3.05 digs per set. The Huskies won both meetings against Arizona this year, winning 3-1 in Tucson and 3-0 in Seattle but ever set was within at least five points.
Nebraska has spent much of the season ranked No. 1 after winning the championship last year, defeating the Huskies in the Elite Eight. The Cornhuskers are 29-2 this year and won the Big Ten title with an 18-2 league record. Their only two losses came to Ohio State at home in four sets, and at Minnesota in five sets in the final week of the regular season. Nebraska opened the tourney with sweeps of New Hampshire and TCU. The Huskers are hitting .288 on the year and holding opponents to just .139. Nebraska had four All-Big Ten picks, including senior twin sisters Amber and Kadie Rolfzen, junior setter Kelly Hunter, and senior libero Justine Wong-Orantes. Won-Orantes is the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. Six Huskers earned AVCA All-Region, including the four All-Big Ten picks plus sophomore outside hitter Mikaela Foecke and junior middle Briana Holman. Kadie Rolfzen leads the team with 3.21 kills per set and a .299 attack percentage, and Foecke has 2.94 kills at a .309 clip. Amber Rolfzen is one of the nation's top blockers with 1.43 blocks per set, while Holman's .343 attack percentage is the best on the team and she averages 2.37 kills per set. Head Coach John Cook was Big Ten Coach of the Year this season. If UW and Nebraska meet, it would be the seventh NCAA tourney meeting in a 12 year span. Washington won the 2005 NCAA title by beating Nebraska, and had a win in the 2010 Sweet 16. Nebraska had a five set Elite Eight win in 2008 coming back from 0-2 down, and has won the past three meetings in 2012, 2014, and 2015, all in Regional rounds.
Penn State won six NCAA titles from 2007-14 including four in a row from 2007-10, then back-to-back in 2013-14. This season, the Nittany Lions are 24-9 and went 14-6 in Big Ten play. Penn State was 16-2 at home but just 6-6 on the road and 2-1 in neutral matches. In the NCAA opener, PSU swept LIU Brooklyn, then beat Pittsburgh in the second round in four sets. Penn State and Nebraska played twice in November, with Nebraska winning both, in five sets at Penn State then in three sets in Lincoln. Junior outside hitter Simone Lee and junior middle blocker Haleigh Washington were both unanimous All-Big Ten seleections and AVCA All-Region picks. Freshmen Tori Gorrell and Kendall White were All-Freshman Team picks. Lee leads the team with 4.15 kills per set and hits .265, while Washington is second in the NCAA with a .435 attack percentage with 2.42 kills per set and a team-best 2.58 blocks per set. Penn State is hitting .294 on the season, which ranks fifth in the NCAA, and holding opponents to just .167. Setter Abby Detering averages 10.02 assists per set and leads the team with 0.38 aces per set. Russ Rose is the winningest volleyball coach in NCAA history and is in his 38th season, having gone into the AVCA Hall of Fame in 2007. Washington last met Penn State in the 2013 Final Four, falling in three sets. Prior to that, UW had a 3-1 win over Penn State in the 2006 Elite Eight.
Washington Volleyball 2025 Big Ten Media Day
Tuesday, July 29
2025 Go BIG! for Washington Day
Friday, February 28
Empowering the next generation of girls & women in sports
Sunday, February 09
UW Volleyball 2024 NCAA Hype Video
Friday, December 06
