NCAA Women
December 16, 2023
To say that the hits just keep on coming for women’s college volleyball in 2023 has gotten to be an understatement.
The national semifinal matches of the NCAA tournament that aired Thursday night on cable ESPN each eclipsed 1 million viewers, all-time highs, even as the final four at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida, broke the attendance record for an indoor collegiate volleyball event with a crowd of 19,598.
Such metrics continue to demonstrate volleyball’s skyrocketing popularity among fans and TV viewers.
According to the Nielsen ratings reported by the Sports Media Watch site, the first national semifinal, won in three sets by Nebraska over Pitt, that started at 7 p.m. Eastern lured a total-average viewership of 1.097 million and a rating in the key 18-49 demo of .26. The nightcap, claimed in four sets by defending NCAA champion Texas over Wisconsin, that began at 9:31 p.m. Eastern and didn’t conclude until a few minutes before midnight, attracted 1.070 million viewers and an 18-49 rating of .24.
The Spoiler TV site noted that the NCAA volleyball matches finished 1-2 on the day among original programming on cable as ranked by the 18-49 demo. The…
