Overall No. 1-seed Nebraska's perfect season is officially over, after No. 3-seed Texas A&M volleyball ousted the Huskers in a five-set Elite Eight thriller on Sunday, booking the Aggies a program-first trip to the Final Four.
Undaunted by Nebraska's 33-0 record, the Aggies jumped out to a 2-0 lead before the Huskers stormed back to force a fifth-set tiebreaker — which A&M won 15-13, stunning a home crowd that hasn't seen a Cornhusker loss in Lincoln in more than three years.
"A lot of us are seniors, and we've been doing this for a really long time," said Aggie senior opposite Logan Lednicky. "And I think all the newbies came in ready to work, ready to grind."
Though Nebraska boasts five national titles — good for third on the all-time NCAA volleyball championship list — the Huskers haven't won an NCAA volleyball tournament since 2017, falling three times in the final and once in the semifinals in recent years.
With fellow No. 3-seed Wisconsin's Sunday Elite Eight upset win over four-time champ No. 1 Texas, the 2025 Final Four will now feature two squads — A&M and No. 1-seed Pitt — hunting a first-ever title.
Meanwhile, No. 1-seed Kentucky and the Badgers will be aiming for a second national trophy after earning their debut Division I championships in 2020 and 2021, respectively.
How to watch the 2025 NCAA volleyball Final Four
Texas A&M will kick off the 2025 Final Four against Pitt at 6:30 PM ET on Thursday, before Kentucky takes on Wisconsin at 9 PM ET.
Both semifinals will air live on ESPN.
With half of the Elite Eight now set, a few Big Ten underdogs still have a shot at disrupting the No. 1 seed stronghold at the 2025 NCAA volleyball tournament this weekend.
The No. 3-seed Purdue Boilermakers are through to the quarterfinals after defeating No. 2-seed SMU 3-1 on Thursday, while the No. 4-seed Indiana Hoosiers, No. 3 seed-Wisconsin Badgers, and the still-undefeated overall No. 1 seed Nebraska Cornhuskers all face stiff Sweet Sixteen competition on Friday afternoon.
Coming off a strong regular season, the Big Ten could still field half of the quarterfinal round — though that would require the first No. 1-seed upset of the 2025 national tournament in the form of an Indiana victory over top-seeded Texas.
Bolstered by their defensive leader, senior middle blocker Madi Sell, the Hoosiers booked just their second-ever Sweet Sixteen trip with last week's win over No. 5 Colorado, with Indiana now hoping their lucky run continues against the 2022 and 2023 champion Longhorns.
Meanwhile, the No. 1 Huskers will look to keep rolling against No. 4-seed Kansas while the No. 3 Badgers aim to snag another Big Ten spot in the Elite Eight by ousting No. 2-seed Stanford on Friday.
How to watch the 2025 NCAA volleyball tournament this weekend
The NCAA volleyball tournament's Sweet Sixteen action will wrap with four games on Friday, starting with No. 1 Texas vs. No. 4 Indiana at 12 PM ET.
The Elite Eight will then meet at the net on Saturday and Sunday to determine the last-standing teams heading to next week's Final Four in Kansas City.
All of this weekend's NCAA tournament games will air live across ESPN platforms.
The first two rounds of the 2025 NCAA volleyball tournament saw a lot of chalk last week, as the four No. 1-seeds — Nebraska, Texas, Pitt, and Kentucky — all rolled to spots in this week's Sweet Sixteen.
The Longhorns ousted reigning national champion No. 8-seed Penn State with a second-round sweep last Saturday, while Kentucky became the only top seed to drop a single set through the first two matches when the Wildcats defeated No. UCLA 3-1 on Friday.
"I think what I liked is the concentration throughout the entire match. There were no letdowns," said Texas head coach Jerritt Elliott following his team's win over the Nittany Lions. "There's so many good teams right now. The sport continues to grow and continues to be dominant. I told them we don't need to play perfect, but we need to be good enough to win each night, and so that's what we did."
Along with the No. 1 squads, nearly every Top-4 seed advanced to the Sweet Sixteen, with the only Cinderella story coming from the unseeded Cal Poly Mustangs.
The 2025 Big West champions stunned their Power Four opponents last week, taking down No. 5-seed BYU and No. 4-seed USC in five-set thrillers to book a third-round matchup against No. 1 Kentucky — the Mustangs' first Sweet Sixteen berth since 2007 and second since the 1980s.
How to watch the 2025 NCAA volleyball tournament this week
The 2025 NCAA volleyball tournament resumes when No. 2-seed Arizona State and No. 3-seed Creighton face off in the first of the two-day Sweet Sixteen slate at 1 PM ET on Thursday, with the Elite Eight then set to compete in the Regional finals on Saturday and Sunday.
All games in the Regional finales of the 2025 Division I tournament will air live on either ESPN2 or ESPN.
Led by undefeated overall No. 1-seed Nebraska, the college volleyball elite will begin their quest for the 2025 national championship on Thursday, when the first round of the 64-team NCAA Division I tournament hits courts nationwide.
The Huskers are still chasing a perfect season, entering the 2025 title hunt on a 30-0 run having dropped just six sets all season — including losing just one set since September 16th.
"I was expecting us to be great, but certainly not undefeated," said Nebraska alumna and first-year Cornhusker head coach Dani Busboom Kelly on a recent episode of the Welcome to the Party podcast. "They continue to exceed our expectations."
Busboom Kelly's roster is loaded with the kind of experienced connection that only comes when the core of players have competed together for three straight seasons — an increasing rarity in the transfer portal and NIL era.
That said, this core has unfinished business on the national stage, with the superstar junior trio of middle blocker Andi Jackson, outside hitter Harper Murray, and setter Bergen Reilly — all AVCA Player of the Year semifinalists — looking to bring the first NCAA trophy in eight years back to Lincoln.
"It's such a special row, because we just know that all of us have been through thick and thin together and our bond is so strong," Jackson told USA Today Sports earlier this week. "[And Busboom Kelly] gives us so much confidence and we know that with her as our coach, we just can play fearless."
Stacked tournament field looks to spoil Nebraska's season
Even with their "fearless" play, a host of stellar opponents await Nebraska in the NCAA tournament gauntlet, hoping to play spoiler — including Busboom Kelly's previous program, the Louisville Cardinals, who await the Cornhuskers as the No. 2-seed in their own regional quadrant.
Fellow No. 1 seeds Texas, Kentucky, and Pitt will also chase their eventual chance at the Huskers via their own regionals, where the Longhorns could see arguably the stiffest competition from both No. 2-seed Stanford — the winningest program in NCAA volleyball history — and defending champion and No. 8-seed Penn State.
With tickets to the 2025 Final Four in Kansas City on the line, the NCAA volleyball bracket's 64 squads will start serving at 16 campus sites on Thursday.
How to watch the first round of the 2025 NCAA volleyball tournament
This year's NCAA volleyball finale begins when No. 5-seed Colorado takes on unseeded American University at 3 PM ET on Thursday, kicking off a two-day first round of 32 matches — with No. 1 Nebraska looking to handle Long Island University in their initial tournament tilt at 8 PM ET on Friday.
All games in the early rounds of the 2025 Division I tournament will air live on ESPN+.
With the 64-team national tournament bracket dropping in less than four weeks, the No. 1 Nebraska Cornhuskers remain the only undefeated squad in the 2025 NCAA volleyball season after back-to-back weekend losses snapped the previously unbeaten No. 4 Texas Longhorns' winning streak.
Downed in consecutive Top-10 matchups, Texas first fell to No. 6 Texas A&M in a tense five-set thriller on Friday before No. 2 Kentucky quickly handled the Longhorns in a Sunday sweep.
"We got to make sure that we are dialed in from the very first point. I thought our team fought pretty hard, but we didn't execute the level that we can," said Texas head coach Jerritt Elliott.
The weekend's volatile Top 10 results ultimately cemented Nebraska's standing as the team to beat, with the Huskers earning a unanimous No. 1 vote in the AVCA rankings for the third time this season on Monday.
Nebraska's dominance drives even deeper than the team's current 22-0 season record, with the Huskers only dropping six sets all year as they ride a 13-game sweep streak into their last eight regular-season clashes.
"I wouldn't say there's anything super unique or new that we're doing," said first-year Nebraska head coach Dani Busboom Kelly. "Putting our players in challenging situations in practice against other players has been pretty important."
How to watch Nebraska and Texas volleyball this week
Top-ranked Nebraska will next face unranked Illinois at 8 PM ET on Thursday, airing live on FS1.
Meanwhile, No. 4 Texas will look to bounce back when the Longhorns take on recently unranked Florida at 7 PM ET on Friday, with live coverage on the SEC Network.
The 2025 NCAA volleyball season is heating up, with a pair of Top 10 matchups headlining the first annual ACC-SEC "Showdown at the Net" event on Wednesday.
Recent conference realignment has seen the SEC and ACC emerge as volleyball strongholds alongside the Big Ten, with the two Power Four rivals laying claim to seven of the current Top 10 teams.
Putting their reputations to the test, the conferences launched the two-day "Showdown at the Net" series this season, with 14 SEC vs. ACC games taking place at campuses nationwide while the four top contenders face off in the event's two-game spotlight showcase in Fort Worth, Texas.
The Wednesday doubleheader will first pair the SEC's No. 3 Kentucky Wildcats against the ACC's No. 7 Pitt Panthers before their respective conference standouts take the court as the No. 2 Texas Longhorns face the No. 4 Louisville Cardinals.
The battle between the Longhorns and Cardinals — a rematch of the 2022 national championship game — will be particularly tense, as both squads enter the match without a single loss on the young 2025 season.
How to watch "Showdown at the Net" NCAA volleyball tournament
No. 3 Kentucky and No. 7 Pitt will kick off Wednesday's top-tier college volleyball clashes at 6:30 PM ET before No. 2 Texas and No. 4 Louisville square off at 9 PM ET.
Both games will air live on ESPN.
Just 16 teams remain in the 2024 NCAA volleyball tournament after last week's opening rounds, setting the stage for this weekend's four Regional showdowns.
Hosted by the No. 1 seeds (Pitt, Nebraska, Penn State, and Louisville), each four-team mini-tournament will send one squad to next Thursday's national semifinals in Louisville.
Regional action kicks off in the ACC
The Pitt and Louisville Regionals will start the Sweet Sixteen action on Thursday, when the Panthers host No. 7 Missouri, No. 3 Kentucky, and No. 4 Oregon. Louisville helms the evening party, which includes No. 2 Stanford, No. 4 Purdue, and No. 6 Florida.
With Pittsburgh already in full swing, the Wildcats added a third defeat of Missouri to their 2024 tally on Thursday, ousting the Tigers 3-1 and extending their win streak to 14 matches in the process.
About to take the court are two of the nation's best blocking teams, with the overall No. 1 seed Panthers aiming for a repeat of their season-opening sweep of the Ducks.
Thursday night's action starts when Stanford, whose nine NCAA titles dwarf all other Division I programs, takes on a tough Florida side who upset No. 3 Kansas in a gritty five-set thriller last Saturday.
Finally, while no team is immune to upsets at this level, Thursday's closer between Purdue and Louisville is especially vulnerable after the Cardinals barely survived Northern Iowa on Saturday.
The Big Ten begins hosting on Friday
Big Ten courts will serve as the stage for Friday's Regional semifinals, with Penn State hosting No. 2 Creighton, No. 3 Texas, and No. 5 Marquette before Nebraska welcomes No. 2 Wisconsin, No. 5 Dayton, and No. 6 Texas A&M to Cornhusker country.
Friday's opener pits two offensive powerhouses who've swept their way through the NCAA bracket against each other. The Bluejays, who are riding a 24-match win streak, will try to harness that momentum to end the back-to-back defending champs Longhorns' hopes of a three-peat.
Soon after, the Nittany Lions will again defend home court — a feat they've accomplished in every 2024 home match — in Friday's second tilt against the Golden Eagles.
Like Penn State, fellow Big Ten behemoth Wisconsin is likely to emerge victorious from their Regional semifinal, a rematch of the Badgers's September sweep of Texas A&M.
Capping the weekend's first matches is a battle of experience against this year's Cinderella squad. In their 40th Sweet Sixteen appearance, Nebraska's superstar-stacked roster will take on Regional debutants Dayton, who outlasted No. 4 Baylor in five gritty sets to earn the trip. The Flyers boast the fifth-best defense in the country, and they'll need every ounce of it to snap the Huskers' 43-match home win streak.
How to watch the 2024 NCAA volleyball Regionals
Thursday's action is in full swing, and No. 2 Creighton vs. No. 3 Texas will jumpstart Friday's slate at 1 PM ET before Saturday and Sunday each feature a pair of Regional finals.
The full schedule will stream live on ESPN+, with ESPN2 also airing all matches through Saturday.
Sunday's games received a broadcast bump, with the Nebraska Regional final airing at 3 PM ET on ABC and the Penn State-hosted finale taking the 8:30 PM ET slot on ESPN.
Already one of the most popular women’s spectator sports in the US, the 2024 NCAA volleyball season is off to the races this month as the shifting lines of modern college sports plays out in real time.
Thanks to major conference realignments, regional rivalries turned national storylines will drive the narrative all the way to December's NCAA tournament.
The Big Ten's big changes
At the forefront of these shifts is longtime volleyball powerhouse the Big Ten, which welcomed USC, UCLA, Oregon, and Washington from the Pac-12 this summer to bring the conference total to 18 teams.
Added travel, raucous home crowds, and even fiercer competition will play into the conference's season storyline as Midwest heavyweights Wisconsin and Nebraska meet West Coast specialists in a quest to bring the Big Ten its first NCAA title since 2021.
"We knew the venues, everything was comfortable," Oregon head coach Matt Ulmer, speaking with JWS at last month's Big Ten Media Day in Chicago, said of his team’s former Pac-12 home. "I think we're going to [see] a lot of uncomfortableness this year, just with new change."
Surprises and upsets already define the 2024 season
Mirroring that uncertainty, several 2023 heavy-hitters have already produced surprising results this season. Two-time defending champion Texas fell to Minnesota in early non-conference play and again to unranked Miami last weekend, while Wisconsin went 0-3 before picking up a pair of weekend wins.
Then last week, 2023 runners-up Nebraska suffered a historic upset loss to unranked SMU, though they also bounced back with weekend victories.
With Power 10 rankings already a rollercoaster, expect even more impressive performances, greater parity, and larger crowds as college volleyball rides its meteoric rise through 2024.
The Pro Volleyball Federation has signed its first media deal, bringing televised professional volleyball games to CBS Sports.
CBS Sports is the first media organization to partner with the PVF, and the deal likely includes domestic and international rights. According to Sportico, the deal includes a minimum of 10 matches to be aired in 2024 along with the league semifinals and championship games.
“This is another groundbreaking day in the history of Pro Volleyball Federation,” PVF co-founder Dave Whinham told Sportico. “We have a great partner that believes in the growth of women’s professional volleyball in North America. We are very proud of this relationship and excited about the dynamic new ways we will be able to present our matches within the CBS Sports platform.”
The PVF started in 2022 and includes seven teams with plans to expand next season. The existing teams are the Atlanta Vibe, Columbus Fury, Vegas Thrill, Grand Rapids Rise, Omaha Supernovas, Orlando Valkryies and San Diego Mojo, and the league will introduce teams in Kansas City, Dallas and Indianapolis in 2025.
“[Volleyball] is the only team sport in the world where the women’s version doesn’t take a backseat to the men’s version,” said Stephen Evans, one of the founders of the PVF. “And most people will tell you that the women’s version is more fun to watch and attend. It’s not a thing taking away from the men’s game. It’s just a different game.”
The matches will be aired primarily on CBS Sports Network, with the possibility that some may be aired on CBS throughout the partnership term. The PVF’s national broadcast schedule, which will include other media partnerships, will be released at a later date.