all scores

NCAA Volleyball Championship draws record 1.2 million viewers

img
(Jamie Schwaberow/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)

NCAA Volleyball continues to grow, with nearly 1.2 million viewers tuning in to watch Wisconsin defeat Nebraska in the championship match on ESPN2.

The final tally makes it the most-viewed women’s college volleyball match ever on ESPN’s networks. For comparison, the MLS Cup final on Dec. 11 drew 1.14 million viewers on ABC.

It’s the latest example of positive viewership trends in women’s sports, with the numbers for WNBA, NWSL and other NCAA Tournament games also rising over the past year. The 1,188,000 viewership marker represents a 71 percent increase from the spring championship, which drew 696,000 viewers, and a 119 percent increase from 2019.

The semifinals drew a total of 728,000 viewers on ESPN, up 50 percent over the spring and 20 percent from 2019.