As Big Ten heavyweights Nebraska and Wisconsin collided with the national championship in women’s volleyball in 2021, the game lived up to its lofty standard.

The Badgers won in five sets to claim their first title while denying the Huskers their sixth title. There were more spectators in attendance (18,755) than have ever seen an NCAA volleyball game in history.

That December day in Columbus, Ohio, served as a catalyst for the sport’s growth. And while Texas has won championships each of the last two seasons, the two programs that were in that championship game three years ago continue to lead the way when it comes to generating excitement and interest.

“The rise of Nebraska and Wisconsin and the rivalry not only fueled each other,” said Emily Ehman, television commentator for Big Ten Network, ESPN and Fox and a former Northwestern libero, “but I think it created a lot of interest in it. “the sport of people who otherwise wouldn’t have paid attention.”

Since 2017, Nebraska and Wisconsin have each appeared in the national championship game three times. A Final Four appearance this year would be the Huskers’ 18th since 1986 and seventh since 2015. For Wisconsin, a trip to Louisville next week would be their seventh Final Four appearance and fifth since 2019.

But they can’t both go.

This year, Nebraska and Wisconsin are on a collision course again as the tournament reaches its round of 16 on Thursday and Friday and could meet on Sunday in the first regional final televised by ABC – another result of rising energy in arenas and gyms across the country surrounding college volleyball.

The Badgers, seeded seventh in the NCAA Tournament, travel to Lincoln, Nebraska, on Friday to face Texas A&M in the regional semifinal round. The winner will face No. 2 seeds Nebraska or Dayton on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET, with a trip to the Final Four on the line.

The Nebraska-Wisconsin rivalry has become perhaps the best rivalry in volleyball.

“For these players and the fans, this is clearly not just any other game,” Ehman said. “It goes much deeper than that.”

The Huskers (31-2) and Badgers (25-6) met twice this season, both winning in three sets for Nebraska. However, the results do not provide any insight into the series’ recent history.

“When I saw Nebraska and Wisconsin in the same quadrant, I thought, ‘You know, this could be interesting,'” said Holly McPeak, the former UCLA player, Olympian and ESPN commentator who is calling the Lincoln Regional with Courtney will be Lyle, Katie George and Madison Fitzpatrick. “It’s hard to beat a good team three times.

“Nebraska has been pretty dominant in its wins so far. But can Wisconsin make some adjustments and play at a better level? I think they can. But I don’t know if they can beat Nebraska. That’s a big question.”

Wisconsin beat Nebraska in 10 straight meetings from 2017 through last season. The series included the Badgers winning the national championship.

When Nebraska got over the hump in Lincoln in October 2023, it was a game reminiscent of the 2021 classic. The rivals entered the competition undefeated and topped the rankings. Nebraska won in five sets, setting off a storm on the court.

“I’ve never seen a game get so heated,” Ehman said. “And it lived up to the hype. It was another situation where you would say, “Hey, this sport is really exciting.”

Ehman has been on the BTN call for each of the four games between Nebraska and Wisconsin over the past two seasons. The 2023 game in Lincoln raised the bar for the rivalry, she said.

With an average of 612,000 spectators, there was a further boost for the sport of volleyball. At that time, there were more viewers than had ever seen a regular season game on BTN. Volleyball outperformed the Nebraska-Northwestern football game on the same day and on the same network.

Nebraska and Louisville broke that BTN record this year with 684,000 viewers. The Huskers have competed in games over the past two seasons that have set regular-season viewership records for volleyball on ABC, NBC, ESPN and BTN.

“It’s amazing what Nebraska is doing,” McPeak said. “Wherever Nebraska goes, the gyms are sold out. It’s not just in Nebraska. It’s a national thing. People talk about Nebraska volleyball.”

Why did Nebraska have the edge over Wisconsin this year?

The Huskers returned their entire starting lineup from a year ago, including three sophomores and two seniors who were named to the 2024 All-Big Ten first team. Wisconsin, with two first-team honorees – including Big Ten Player of the Year Sarah Franklin – replaced its seeding duo from last season with a freshman, Charlie Fuerbringer.

The Badgers have a variety of options on offense, which requires Fürbringer to vary her sets.

“It really took her until the last month to get comfortable with this system,” Ehman said. “I think Fürbringer has the toughest job in college volleyball right now.”

Since Sept. 28, Wisconsin has lost just twice in 21 games, both against Nebraska. The Badgers faced Fairfield and Georgia Tech in the opening rounds of the NCAA Tournament last week.

If Wisconsin beats Texas A&M and Nebraska beats Dayton, keep an eye out for fireworks on Sunday.

Elsewhere in Regionals:

• Games at Pittsburgh and Louisville begin Thursday. If the seedings hold and Stanford (27-4) meets Louisville (27-5) in the final on Saturday, it would be the third meeting between the ACC opponents. They split in the regular season when Stanford won at home on Nov. 30, in a game that some observers said should have given the Cardinal a No. 1 seed in the region. It went to the Cardinals, who can play the entire tournament at home if they win this weekend.

• Pittsburgh (31-1) is the heavy favorite to win at home this week and is the pick of Ehman to take home the top prize on Dec. 22. The Panthers are playing second-year coach Olivia Babcock, a favorite to be named National Player of the Year.

“Pitt is way better than any other team in my opinion,” Ehman said. “That doesn’t mean they can’t lose. But I think if they give their best, there is no team that can hold a candle to them.”

• Penn State’s most exciting regional semifinal game is Friday at 1 p.m. ET on ESPN2, pitting Creighton (31-2) against lower-seeded Texas (20-6). The Longhorns defeated Nebraska in the championship game a year ago and pose a threat to any opponent.

Texas senior outside hitter Madisen Skinner won a national championship at Kentucky as a freshman during the 2020 season and then helped lead the Longhorns to the last two titles. She was named the Most Outstanding Player of the 2023 Final Four.

• The Nittany Lions (31-2) face Marquette on Friday and could face the Texas-Creighton winner. Penn State coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley battled breast cancer this year and led her team to a share of the Big Ten title with Nebraska.

“This is the best story in college sports right now,” Ehman said. “The fact that Katie shows up every day with a smile on her face and is there for these girls is just incredible to me.”

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

Wisconsin Badgers, Nebraska Cornhuskers, college sports, women’s college sports

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