Eight teams are left standing in the D1 women’s volleyball tournament after Thursday’s slate of thrilling come-from-behind wins, sweeps and upsets.
No. 1 Louisville, No. 2 Texas, No. 3 Pittsburgh, No. 4 Wisconsin, No. 6 Purdue, No. 9 Georgia Tech, No. 10 Nebraska and No. 12 Minnesota round out the tournament’s Elite Eight, advancing to Saturday’s quarterfinals.
No. 6 Purdue fought off No. 11 BYU, surviving four match points to defeat the Cougars 3-2. The thrilling matchup included 17 total service aces, with Purdue’s Caitlyn Newton notching 20 kills to lead all hitters.
Match. Point. #BoilerUp pic.twitter.com/dhyf670GDb— Purdue Volleyball (@PurdueVB) December 9, 2021
Match. Point. #BoilerUp pic.twitter.com/dhyf670GDb
No. 2 Texas survived a scare from No. 15 Washington, coming back from a 2-0 deficit to cruise past Washington in the final three sets. Melanie Parra pulled out a 9-0 service run in the fourth set to help lift the Longhorns to victory.
Thursday’s matchups also included an upset, with No. 12 Minnesota bouncing No. 5 Baylor from the tournament to advance to the quarterfinals. Minnesota overcame a 6-2 deficit in the fifth set to defeat Baylor 3-2.
ROOFED!!! 😱Texas now ⬆️ 8️⃣-5️⃣! #HookEm pic.twitter.com/VsNJvW7cQd— Texas Volleyball (@TexasVolleyball) December 10, 2021
ROOFED!!! 😱Texas now ⬆️ 8️⃣-5️⃣! #HookEm pic.twitter.com/VsNJvW7cQd
Full results:
No. 6 Purdue 3, No. 11 BYU 2
No. 1 Louisville 3, No. 16 Florida 0
No. 3 Pittsburgh 3, Kansas 0
No. 8 Georgia Tech 3, No. 9 Ohio State 0
No. 12 Minnesota 3, No. 5 Baylor 0
No. 4 Wisconsin 3, No. 13 UCLA 0
No. 2 Texas 3, No. 15 Washington 2
No. 10 Nebraska 3, Illinois 0
Saturday’s matchups:
No. 3 Pittsburgh vs. No. 6 Purdue at 4 p.m. ET on ESPNU
No. 1 Louisville vs. No. 8 Georgia Tech at 6 p.m. ET on ESPNU
No. 4 Wisconsin vs. No. 12 Minnesota at 6 p.m. ET on ESPNU
No. 2 Texas vs. No. 10 Nebraska at 10 p.m. ET on ESPNU