The Pittsburgh Panthers are the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Women’s Volleyball Tournament and will be looking to bring the ACC its first national championship in the sport.
Pitt, 29-1 overall and 19-1 in the ACC, has made the Final Four the past three consecutive years, losing in the semifinals each time. The Panthers are joined as the No. 1 seed by Big Ten co-champions Nebraska and Penn State and fellow ACC school Louisville.
The Huskers are second overall and the Nittany Lions third. Both went 29-2 overall and 19-1 in the Big Ten. Penn State has won seven NCAA titles — the last was in 2014 — and Nebraska has five. The Huskers, who most recently won the title in 2017, were runners-up to Texas last year.
The Cardinals, the fourth seed overall, are hoping to make the Final Four in their hometown. The event is on December 19-22 at the KFC Yum! In downtown Louisville. The Cardinals have been to the Final Four twice before: in 2021 and 2022, when they lost to Texas.
The four No. 1 seeds can host all of their matches leading up to the Final Four, as the regionals will be on the courts of the top four remaining seeds in the Sweet 16. Championship
All NCAA Tournament games through the national semifinals will be televised on ESPN Networks and ESPN+. The national championship game will air on ABC for the second year in a row, December 22nd at 3pm ET.
Here’s how the top four seeds break down in each region:
Pitt Region: Pitt’s only loss this season came to ACC newcomer SMU, and those teams could meet in the regional final. The Mustangs are the No. 2 seed, while the No. 3 seed is Kentucky and the No. 4 seed is Oregon.
Pitt and Louisville are on the same side of the bracket and could meet in the national semifinals. Pitt defeated Louisville in both regular season meetings in ACC play.
Louisville Region: No school has won an NCAA volleyball title while in the ACC, the league now has the most successful program as a member in the sport. Nine-time national champion Stanford is in its first year in the ACC after the demise of the PAC-12.
Bracket 🏐🏆
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#NCAAWVB pic.twitter.com/MmJI0ZNmJi— NCAA Women’s Volleyball (@NCAAVolleyball) December 1, 2024
Louisville, 25-5, and Stanford, 25-4, were both 17-3 for second in the ACC behind Pitt and in contention for the final NCAA No. 1 seed. The Cardinals and Cardinals split their regular season meetings with each winning at home. Stanford won the most recent of those matches, Saturday at Maples Pavilion. However, that wasn’t enough to sway the selection committee toward Stanford, as Louisville got the upper hand based in part on strength of schedule.
Stanford received the No. 2 seed and could meet Louisville in the regional final for the third time this season. The No. 3 seed is Kansas and the No. 4 seed is Purdue.
Nebraska Region: The other top seeds here are No. 2 Wisconsin, No. 3 Arizona State and No. 4 Baylor. Nebraska and Wisconsin, who could have met in the regional final, played twice in the Big Ten season, with the Huskers sweeping both games.
Little separates Nebraska and Penn State, who are on the same side of the bracket and could meet in the national semifinals. He played in Big Ten play just once this season. The Nittany Lions won 3-1 at Penn State on Friday. It was Nebraska’s only Big Ten loss.
Penn State Region: The Nittany Lions’ only Big Ten loss came at Wisconsin. The No. 2 seed in the region is Creighton, and No. 4 is Utah.
But the most dangerous team for Penn State in the region may be No. 3 seed Texas, a four-time national champion that has won the past two NCAA titles. The Longhorns, in their first year in the SEC, are 18-6 overall and 13-3 in league play.