It took five sets, and overcoming a loud arena, but Pittsburgh volleyball is moving on to the National Semifinals.

The Panthers beat the No. 2 team in the country Wisconsin on Saturday in front of a rowdy Wisconsin crowd of over 7,200 people. After taking a 2-1 lead, Pitt found themselves in a fifth set after the defending national champions battled back.

They led 5-1 and 11-6 in the fifth set before the Badgers took a 13-12 lead. From there, the Panthers took over. They won the fifth set 15-13.

ON TO THE SEMIS‼️

Pittsburgh takes down defending champions, Wisconsin, in a five-set thriller to move on to the National Semifinals 😤

(📸: @Pitt_VB) pic.twitter.com/dw2uXqeX8S

— ESPN (@espn) December 11, 2022

“I don’t know how much I can tell you about the Xs and Os. We just found a way,” Pitt coach Dan Fisher said. “I’m very proud of this team.”

With the defeat, Pitt ensured that for the first time since 2002 no Big Ten team will feature in the NCAA semifinals. Wisconsin had been one of two teams left after Nebraska and Penn State lost in the regional semifinals.

Ohio State had also advanced to the Regional Final, but lost to Texas in four sets.

“All credit to Pitt,” said Wisconsin coach Kelly Sheffield. “The effort that they gave tonight in that arena, with that awesome crowd. That’s a tough thing that they were able to do. That was one of the things we talked about is, somebody’s going to beat us, they were going to have to beat us, because our team, there’s no quit.”

Pitt will next play Louisville, who advanced with a win over Oregon.

The USA Rugby women's 15s shattered the sport's US attendance record on Friday, welcoming 10,518 fans to Kansas City's CPKC Stadium for the Eagles' matchup against Canada.

Though the world No. 9 ranked US fell short in their come-from-behind push, falling 26-14 to No. 2 Canada in the opening game of the 2025 Pacific Four Series, Friday's crowd gave the players a massive off-field victory.

"To see the crowd be over 10,500 like that was absolutely fantastic in this women's purposely built stadium, and to debut rugby here in that stadium as well," said USA captain Kate Zackary after the game.

Even Canada's athletes lauded the significance of the record-setting crowd, despite the overwhelmingly US cheers from the home fans.

"Being here in North America and having 10,000 people coming to watch women's sports was so amazing," remarked Canada's Sarah-Maude Lachance.

Rugby's rise spurs exponential growth

After the Eagles secured Olympic bronze in rugby sevens last summer, the sport gained significant momentum.

The national attention captured by 2024 Olympians like superstar Ilona Maher earned USA Rugby a multimillion-dollar investment, helped fuel a new domestic league, and minted fresh fans en route to Friday's attendance record.

In the long-term, that growth could turn the US-hosted 2033 Rugby World Cup into a marquee national event.

For the rugby faithful, however, the biggest win is seeing those new to the sport become lifelong fans.

"Everyone I talked to after [Friday's] game who didn't know what rugby was, [I hope] has fallen in love with it," said Zachary.

How to attend the next USA Rugby game

The Eagles will take aim at breaking Friday's attendance record in Washington, DC, on July 19th, when they'll face No. 16 Fiji in a send-off game before August's 2025 Rugby World Cup in England.

Tickets to the Audi Field doubleheader, which also includes the US men's side against England, are available online now.

Three-time WNBA MVP A'ja Wilson officially joined the signature shoe ranks on Tuesday, when the first edition of the Las Vegas Aces star's Nike sneaker hit shelves — only to sell out within minutes.

Wilson is now the 14th WNBA athlete across all brands to receive her own signature shoe, joining current players like Sabrina Ionescu and retired legends including Sheryl Swoopes, Lisa Leslie, and Candace Parker.

With more colors already in the works, the 28-year-old's debut "A'One" shoe arrived in a bright "Pink A'ura" colorway — a hue also heavily used across Wilson's Nike apparel collection, which dropped at the same time as the sneakers.

The eight-piece collection includes foam slides, T-shirts, shorts, cropped tops, and a single-legged "A'Symmetric" compression tight — a nod to Wilson's on-court uniform.

"My first A'One Collection reflects both my vision for the future of the game and the inspirations that fuel my performance and style every day," said Wilson in the February announcement detailing her Nike collaboration.

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Wilson honors family in A'One Nike ads

Both the design details in the A'One shoes and Nike's series of commercials celebrating the collection boast nods to those inspirations.

The sneakers include symbols representing Wilson's parents, plus a quote from her grandmother: "As a matter of fact, the best is yet to come."

Photos of Wilson's paternal grandparents, which hang in her childhood church, make an appearance in director Jenn Nkiru's Nike ad, which also featured cameos from her parents and former college coach, South Carolina boss Dawn Staley.

The WNBA icon herself took a star turn in a second Nike ad, collaborating with Malia Obama in a vignette directed by the 26-year-old former US First Daughter.

How to buy A'ja Wilson's signature Nike A'One shoe

While Nike has temporarily removed Wilson's "Pink A'ura" A'One sneaker from the sportswear giant's online store, more inventory will be released in the coming days.

In the meantime, Wilson's apparel collection is now available directly from Nike, with purchase options both online and at select retail locations.

Her sneaker's second colorway, entitled "Blue Fury," will drop in the same locations on May 15th.

College softball closed out regular-season play over the weekend, transitioning into a slate of cutthroat conference tournaments ahead of this year's 64-team NCAA Division I tournament.

Starting on Tuesday and running through Saturday, the 31 single-elimination softball conference tournaments will determine the champions who will automatically book their postseason tickets with their trophies.

The NCAA committee will award the remaining 33 bracket spots during this weekend's upcoming Selection Sunday show.

SEC dominance sets up blockbuster conference tournament

Thanks in part to recent conference realignment, the powerhouse SEC appears to have the college softball landscape on lock this year, with this week's tournament likely providing a sneak peek of the national tournament.

With the addition of newcomers No. 2 Oklahoma and No. 5 Texas — and led by current national No. 1 Texas A&M — seven of the Top 10 Division I teams hail from the SEC, including all of the Top 6.

Despite some growing pains — and seven conference losses — the defending champion Sooners will look to again lead the pack as they hunt a fifth straight Women’s College World Series title.

Joining the Sooners, Longhorns, and Aggies in pursuit of the SEC crown — and perhaps the national trophy, as well — are No. 3 Tennessee, No. 4 Florida, and No. 6 Arkansas.

How to watch the SEC softball conference tournament

With the conference's top teams earning byes through to later rounds, the SEC tournament begins when unranked Georgia takes on unranked Kentucky at 1 PM ET on Tuesday.

Later, No. 21 Ole Miss will battle unranked Missouri at 4 PM ET, before No. 16 Alabama wraps up the SEC's first round against unranked Auburn at 7 PM ET.

All three Tuesday games will air live on the SEC Network.

Four-time Olympic gold medalist Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone maintained her 400-meter crown this weekend, completing her second straight 400-meter events sweep at the Grand Slam Track series' Miami meet on Sunday.

One month after completing the sweep at the first Grand Slam meet in Kingston, Jamaica, the 25-year-old US track star won Saturday's 400-meter hurdles with a time of 52.07 seconds before also taking Sunday's 400-meter flat event in 49.69 seconds — a race that earned McLaughlin-Levrone a $100,000 winner's check.

McLaughlin-Levrone has a veritable stranglehold on the 400-meter hurdles, dominating that race since her last loss at the 2019 World Championships.

In that span, she blasted through six world records across 12 straight victories — lowering the women's 400-meter hurdles world standard from 52.16 seconds to a blistering 50.37-second pace.

With two more Grand Slam meets in Philadelphia and LA in the coming weeks, McLaughlin-Levrone is considering a literal change of pace, temporarily switching to run the 100-meter events — a distance she hasn't competed in since 2018.

Should she take on the shorter sprints, McLaughlin-Levrone could find herself racing against the reigning Olympic champion in the 100-meter hurdles, Masai Russell — who notably posted the second-fastest time in the event's history, not to mention a new US record, by winning in 12.17 seconds on Friday.

How to watch the final two Grand Slam Track meets

McLaughlin-Levrone, Russell, and other track stars will next compete in the third Grand Slam Track meet in Philadelphia from May 30th through June 1st, before closing out the series in LA between June 27th and June 29th.

All 2025 Grand Slam Track meets stream live on Peacock.