Nebraska volleyball selected No. 1 in NCAA Tournament
Nebraska volleyball (30-0, 20-0) is the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three seasons.
The Huskers face Long Island University on Friday, Dec. 5 at 7 p.m. CT on ESPN+ at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. Kansas State (17-9) and No. 8 San Diego (25-4) battle to advance to round two on Friday, Dec. 5 at 4:30 p.m. In the second round, the Lincoln regional round one winners will play on Saturday, Dec. 6 at 7 p.m. CT.
If NU wins in the first and second rounds, they will host the round of 16 and quarterfinal at Devaney.
The top four seeds in the NCAA tournament are Nebraska, Kentucky, Texas and Pittsburgh in that order. Nine Big Ten teams made the tournament: No. 1 overall Nebraska, No. 3 Purdue, No. 3 Wisconsin, No. 4 Minnesota, No. 4 Indiana, No. 4 USC, No. 8 Penn State, No. 8 UCLA and Michigan. Nebraska has 17 wins over tournament teams.
The top seeds in the Lincoln Regional are No. 2 Louisville, No. 3 Texas A&M, No. 4 Kansas, No. 5 Miami, No. 6 TCU, No. 7 Western Kentucky and No. 8 San Diego.
In her first season as head coach, Dani Busboom Kelly led the Huskers to an undefeated regular season and the top overall seed. Nebraska volleyball is the first team to be undefeated in a full Big Ten schedule since Penn State in 2009. They lost one set in 20 Big Ten matches and seven this season.
The Huskers lead the country with a .352 hitting percentage and a .125 opponent hitting percentage. They have been dominant in every aspect of the game and haven’t shown any major weaknesses.
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Huskers could host Louisville
If the seeds hold, Busboom Kelly could face her former team, the Louisville Cardinals.
Busboom Kelly said she wasn’t surprised that Louisville was in Nebraska’s quadrant. The NCAA loves great storylines. She has enjoyed watching her former team and assistant coaches this season.
“You go through a lot of emotions, because, of course, I spent eight years there and still love everybody associated with that program,” Busboom Kelly said. “To watch them have some awesome wins was really great. To see some players that you know haven’t played a lot have to step up and deliver was really satisfying.
“Of course, I still want them to be great. The bummer about having them in our bracket is that we both can’t be in Kansas City. They’re a really great team, and I think there’s no doubt that they were going to have a great season. They should be very proud. I’m proud of them, so hope they can make a deep run, well, sort of deep.”
Nebraska’s players aren’t worried about having Louisville in their bracket. The Cardinals are a great team, but so are the Huskers. If the duo does face, Busboom Kelly would have the edge on the scouting report.
“It’d be cool if they came here and she’d get to see all the girls and all the coaches that she was with in the past few years,” Harper Murray said. “I don’t think it’s anything to worry about, or to over exaggerate. I think it’s just going to be really cool if they get to come here, they get to play us, and see Dani again.”
