The NCAA women’s volleyball Sweet 16 started Thursday with first serve at noon ET in Pittsburgh. By the time the last point was scored at Stanford some 15 hours later, all the No. 1 seeds had survived — but a No. 2 had tumbled.
It all set up Saturday’s regional finals, the last step on the Road to Tampa, site of the national semifinals and final. The eight teams left have combined to win 18 national championships, including last year’s winner, Texas. The No. 2 Longhorns had the longest match of a long Thursday, coming back from down 2-1 and facing a match point to defeat Tennessee in five sets.
The No. 2 seed that fell was 2020 national champion Kentucky, which was upset in five sets by fellow SEC team Arkansas, a No. 3 seed that advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time in program history.
Another No. 2, Louisville, also had to go five sets to beat No. 3 Creighton. The only regional that didn’t have a five-set match in the semifinals was in Madison, as No. 1 Wisconsin beat Penn State 3-1 and No. 2 Oregon swept Purdue.
Saturday’s regional finals…
