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BIG TEN Showdown in the NCAA Volleyball Championship

By World Exposure Report News Service, 12/17/21, 9:00AM CST

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Nebraska storms back to defeat Pitt
Madi Kubik had 13 kills, three aces and two blocks, Lauren Stivrins had nine kills and six blocks — the last of which came on match points — and Nebraska rallied to beat No. 3 seed Pittsburgh 16-25, 25-17, 25-20, 25-22 on Thursday night in the semifinals of the NCAA volleyball tournament.

No. 10 seed Nebraska (26-7) — 40th consecutive NCAA tournament appearance, second nationally to Penn State (41) — plays Wisconsin in Saturday's championship game. 

Badgers take down No. 1 Louisville
Competing in the NCAA National Semifinals for the third year in a row, the fourth-ranked Wisconsin volleyball team advanced to its fourth NCAA championship match with a 3-2 win over No. 1 Louisville on Thursday night. Wisconsin (30-3) downed the undefeated Cardinals (32-1) 25-23, 15-25, 25-21, 23-25, 15-9. 

Freshman Anna Smrek was on fire for the Badger offense from the start. She scored the first Badger point of the match and did not stop until she finished the fifth set with a kill. Smrek ended with a career-high 20 kills and a team-best hit .704 (20 kills - 1 error - 27 attempts) hitting percentage while the Badgers combined to hit .289 (71-21-173). 

Aside from Smrek, Dana Rettke (14) and Grace Loberg (13) added double-digit kills. Wisconsin was able to hold Louisville to a .230 (63-25-165) hitting percentage for the match. 

 

National Championship Game: Huskers vs Badgers 
The fourth-seeded Badgers won both regular-season matchups between the teams, losing just one set.