The NCAA volleyball semifinals have arrived, with four of the nation’s best teams set to face off to determine who will advance to the championship match.

Texas, San Diego, Pittsburgh and Louisville will compete Thursday night in Omaha for a spot in Saturday’s final.

In an action-packed regional finals, three of the four matches went to five sets, and Pitt knocked reigning champion Wisconsin from contention. The semifinals promise just as much drama.

No. 1 seed Texas will face No. 2 seed San Diego in the first semifinal at 7 p.m. ET, and then No. 1 seed Louisville will go up against No. 2 seed Pittsburgh at 9:30 p.m. ET. Both matches will air on ESPN and will stream on ESPN+.

Just Women’s Sports highlights one player to watch from each of the four teams.

Texas: Logan Eggleston

The three-time Big 12 Player of the Year, Logan Eggleston has shown up big for Texas in this year’s tournament.

The senior outside hitter recorded 20 kills and nine digs in the regional final against Texas. She also had two aces, which made her the Big 12’s all-time service ace leader (207). She was named the most outstanding player of the Austin regional, with 35 kills, 18 digs, 7 blocks and 5 aces through two matches.

With Eggleston and teammates Madisen Skinner and Asjia O’Neal leading the way, the Longhorns have plenty of firepower. They were the only team in the Elite Eight to wrap up their Final Four berth in five sets, as they beat Ohio State in four.

.@loganeggleston_ sealed the deal 🤘#HookEm pic.twitter.com/nosoTCOI21

— Texas Volleyball (@TexasVolleyball) December 11, 2022

San Diego: Gabby Blossom

San Diego is competing in its first Final Four, and the Toreros can thank setter Gabby Blossom. The graduate transfer from Penn State recorded a game-high 68 assists, seven digs and two blocks in the team’s Sweet Sixteen win against Kentucky.

In the next round, the Toreros pushed No. 1 Stanford to five sets, eventually securing the victory and extending their winning streak to 28 matches. Blossom has made all the difference in that run, averaging 11.39 assists per set. Her success has enabled teammates such as Katie Lukes to lead the team in scoring with 4.12 points per set.

Needed the set win...did it in style 😎

📺 ESPNU#NCAAWVB x @USDVolleyball pic.twitter.com/8Tn8WSZpQl

— NCAA Women's Volleyball (@NCAAVolleyball) December 11, 2022

Pittsburgh: Courtney Buzzerio

Another big-name graduate transfer, Buzzerio leads Pittsburgh in points after transferring from Iowa. With 4.33 points per set to go alongside a .329 hitting efficiency, the right-side hitter has helped the Panthers make it to their second straight Final Four.

In the regional final, Buzzerio showed up big. Against defending champion Wisconsin, she led the Panthers with 18 kills while hitting .213. Buzzerio and the Panthers went on a 3-0 run to take the fifth set and advance, and she was named MVP of the Madison regional.

PITT TAKES OUT THE DEFENDING CHAMPS!!

📺 ESPNU#NCAAWVB x @Pitt_VB pic.twitter.com/Vh70rh0faS

— NCAA Women's Volleyball (@NCAAVolleyball) December 11, 2022

Louisville: Anna DeBeer

After missing a large part of the season with a knee injury, DeBeer has returned with a vengeance. Louisville went down 2-1 to Oregon on Saturday, but then DeBeer took over. She led the team with 17 kills and added 10 digs to help the Cardinals secure their spot in the semifinals.

Six of those kills came in the fourth set, which tied the match. A scary moment came in the fifth set, as she landed on her previously injured knee. But while trainers assessed DeBeer, she refused to come out. Her efforts earned her MVP of the Louisville regional as the team advanced to its second straight Final Four.

“We wouldn’t be here hosting a regional if it weren’t for Anna, and we’re going to need her in the Final Four,” coach Dani Busboom Kelly said. “I always say that she’s like my safety blanket when she’s out there.”

The dig @clairechaussee9 🤝 The kill @anna_debeer

📺 ESPNU#NCAAWVB x @LouisvilleVB pic.twitter.com/PGIzaWiQmH

— NCAA Women's Volleyball (@NCAAVolleyball) December 10, 2022

The 2025 Canadian Open wrapped up with a storybook ending in Montréal, as 18-year-old Canadian Victoria Mboko earned her first-ever WTA Tour title by defeating four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka in Thursday's final.

"I would have never thought that I would have made it to the final, let alone win the tournament," Mboko said after battling back to take down Osaka 2-6, 6-4, 6-1. "It just proves that your dreams are closer than they [seem]."

The largely unexpected final matchup capped a 2025 Canadian Open that saw every seeded player fall, with Mboko putting together a dream run that included ousting four Grand Slam champions — Osaka, Sofia Kenin, Elena Rybakina, and Coco Gauff.

Thursday saw Mboko become just the third-ever Canadian to win the event, plus the teen phenom made tennis history as only the third wild-card entrant to ever claim victory in a WTA 1000 tournament.

As for Osaka, despite falling just short of the finish line, the 2025 Canadian Open was a distinct return to form for the fan favorite, who put together her most successful tournament run in three years in Montréal this week.

Both finalists earned a significant rankings bump with their performances this week, with Osaka rising to world No. 25 while Mboko, who started the 2025 season outside the WTA's Top 350, skyrocketed to No. 24.

Having withdrawn from the 2025 Cincinnati Open due to the near-impossible turnaround between Thursday's final in Montréal and their Saturday matches in Ohio, both Mboko and Osaka will enjoy some much-deserved rest before gearing up for the season's final Grand Slam — the 2025 US Open.

Thursday's WNBA trade deadline came and went with one final flurry of activity, as the No. 10 Washington Mystics leaned all the way into their rebuild by sending 2024 No. 6 draft pick Aaliyah Edwards to the No. 13 Connecticut Sun.

"Bringing Aaliyah to the Connecticut Sun is more than just a roster move.... Aaliyah is a transformational talent with the mindset and drive that aligns with our vision of building a championship culture," Sun GM Morgan Tuck said in a statement. "Aaliyah is the kind of person and player who can help redefine the future of this organization and we're ready to build that future together."

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In return for Edwards, Connecticut sent 2024 No. 5 draft pick Jacy Sheldon to the Mystics, with Washington also receiving the right to a first-round pick swap in 2026 WNBA Draft in the trade deal.

The move follows a Tuesday trade in which the Mystics offloaded their leading scorer Brittney Sykes to the No. 6 Seattle Storm in return for forward Alysha Clark and a 2026 first-round draft pick.

While a few major midseason moves emerged this week, seven of the league's 13 teams decided to forego any trades, with No. 2 New York, No. 3 Atlanta, No. 4 Phoenix, No. 5 Indiana, No. 8 Golden State, No. 9 LA, and No. 11 Chicago holding their rosters steady in the final week of the transaction window.

In the new Prime docuseries Taurasi, retired USA and WNBA legend Diana Taurasi opened up about not playing any minutes in her sixth and final Olympic gold-medal game in Paris last summer.

Having won gold at five consecutive past Olympic Games, Taurasi made the 2024 Team USA roster at 42-years-old precisely because of her deep veteran experience on the international stage.

"I always felt like I deserved to be on the team," she said in the third episode of the three-part series. "It was my team for 20 years and I know how to get the job done."

"She's there to lead," fellow retired basketball icon Sue Bird — Taurasi's longtime friend and teammate in those first five Olympic outings — explained during the episode. "She's there to calm everyone down when s—t gets weird because s—t's gonna get weird. It always does."

While Taurasi played minutes off the bench throughout the tournament, she failed to step on the court during the USA's narrow one-point victory over France last August.

"She should have played, 100%. And to be honest, I don't know why they didn't play her," said Bird. "This was the game she was actually brought here for."

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"I'm confused by what happened," Taurasi acknowledged. "I never got [an explanation like], 'Hey, you're not going to play because we're going this direction.' Sounds good. I can live with that."

"Maybe it was just my time to get the raw end of the stick," she continued.

"I've done this five other times where I felt like I really earned it," Taurasi concluded. "This one was the one that doesn't belong."

How to watch the docuseries "Taurasi"

All three episodes of Taurasi are currently available to stream on Prime.

The 2025 Ballon d'Or nominations dropped on Thursday, and only two USWNT players earned nods on the 30-athlete shortlist for soccer's most prestigious individual honor.

US and Arsenal defender Emily Fox earned her first career nomination after the 27-year-old won 2024 Olympic gold with the USWNT and the 2024/25 UEFA Women's Champions League with her club side.

With her third career Ballon d'Or nod, USWNT captain Lindsey Heaps joined Fox on Thursday's 2025 list after leading the US in Paris last summer and playing another strong season with OL Lyonnes.

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While the first half of 2025 has been admittedly quiet for USWNT without a major continental tournament on the docket this year — and many of the team's heavy hitters sidelined for various reasons — the Ballon d'Or's consideration timeframe includes their Olympic gold-medal run, making the team's lack of nods a bit head-scratching.

It's far from the first time that the award's shortlist has fallen short. Awarded by French magazine France Football, the Ballon d’Or has long been criticized for heavily favoring athletes who play in Europe. Of the 30 2025 nominees, only six play for clubs outside of Europe — five of them in the NWSL.

Notably, only one US player has ever won the Ballon d'Or, with the 2019 trophy lifted by USWNT icon Megan Rapinoe.

Since then, Barcelona FC have maintained a stranglehold on the award, with midfielder Aitana Bonmatí's two straight wins following attacker Alexia Putellas's back-to-back reign.

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USWNT drop to No. 2 in world rankings

This week also saw the USWNT cede ground in the overall FIFA rankings, falling to world No. 2 as new No. 1 Spain claimed a narrow lead of less than two points with their 2025 Euro Final appearance.

Like the Ballon d'Or, Thursday's world ranks contained more than a few confusing shifts, with Brazil somehow falling three spots to No. 7 despite winning a fifth straight Copa América title last weekend, and England earning a mere one-spot rise to No. 4 after defeating Spain in last month's Euro.

The 2025 Ballon d'Or Féminin nominees

Sandy Baltimore (Chelsea, France)
Barbra Banda (Orlando Pride, Zambia)
Aitana Bonmatí (Barcelona, Spain)
Lucy Bronze (Chelsea, England)
Mariona Caldentey (Arsenal, Spain)
Klara Bühl (Bayern Munich, Germany)
Sofia Cantore (Washington Spirit, Italy)
Steph Catley (Arsenal, Australia)
Melchie Dumornay (OL Lyonnes, Haiti)
Temwa Chawinga (Kansas City Current, Malawi)
Emily Fox (Arsenal, US)
Cristiana Girelli (Juventus, Italy)
Esther González (Gotham FC, Spain)
Caroline Graham Hansen (Barcelona, Norway)
Hannah Hampton (Chelsea, England)
Pernille Harder (Bayern Munich, Denmark)
Patri Guijarro (Barcelona, Spain)
Amanda Gutierres (Palmeiras, Brazil)
Lindsey Heaps (OL Lyonnes, US)
Chloe Kelly (Arsenal, England)
Frida Maanum (Arsenal, Norway)
Marta (Orlando Pride, Brazil)
Clara Mateo (Paris FC, France)
Ewa Pajor (Barcelona, Poland)
Clàudia Pina (Barcelona, Spain)
Alexia Putellas (Barcelona, Spain)
Alessia Russo (Arsenal, England)
Johanna Rytting Kaneryd (Chelsea, Sweden)
Caroline Weir (Real Madrid, Scotland)
Leah Williamson (Arsenal, England)