NCAA Women's Volleyball Championship 2014: Date, TV Schedule, Preview and More
The entire country gets swept up in bracket mania every March during the NCAA basketball tournament, but the college volleyball world has been seeing brackets in its sleep since Dec. 4.
The NCAA women’s volleyball championship started as a 64-team field but is now down to an enticing last four. Three of the five highest-ranked teams in the country remain in the field in the form of No. 1 Stanford, No. 2 Texas and No. 5 Penn State, while unranked BYU is trying to play the role of the ultimate Cinderella.
With that in mind, here is a look at the remaining schedule and broadcast information for the event before digging into a semifinals preview. An entire bracket can be found here, courtesy of NCAA.com.
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Semifinal No. 1
Matchup: No. 2 Texas vs. BYU
Date: Thursday, Dec. 18
Time (ET): 7 p.m.
TV: ESPN 2
Semifinal No. 2
Matchup: No. 1 Stanford vs. No. 5 Penn State
Date: Thursday, Dec. 18
Time (ET): 9:30 p.m.
TV: ESPN 2
National Championship
Matchup: Semifinal winners
Date: Saturday, Dec. 20
Time (ET): 7:30 p.m.
TV: ESPN 2
Semifinals Preview
BYU vs. Texas
Bust out all your David vs. Goliath cliches for this one, because that is exactly what the matchup between BYU and Texas in the semifinals is.
Texas won the 2012 title and will be making its third straight trip to the semifinals, while BYU became only the third unseeded squad to reach the Final Four since 1981. This also represents the Cougars' first semifinals appearance in 21 years.
Texas is led by three-time Big 12 Player of the Year Haley Eckerman, but don't overlook the contributions of Khat Bell, Amy Neal and Chiaka Ogbogu, among others. The Longhorns are battle-tested and will not be intimidated by the moment against the underdog Cougars.
BYU is here thanks to the efforts of Jennifer Hamson, who was named the regional's most outstanding player, Alexa Gray and Amy Boswell, among others. Gray and Boswell were particularly impressive in the quarterfinals win over Nebraska. Gray led the squad with 11 kills, and Boswell tallied a team-high six blocks.
The Cougars have been impressive the entire tournament and have already surpassed expectations. Dealing with the volleyball powerhouse that is Texas will be difficult, but BYU can be proud of its accomplishments regardless of what happens.
Stanford vs. Penn State
The semifinal showdown between Stanford and Penn State is something of a clash of volleyball royalty.
Stanford won 33 games this season and will be making an NCAA-best 19th appearance in the Final Four, while Penn State has reached seven of the last eight semifinals. What’s more, both Penn State and Stanford are going for their seventh NCAA title.
Despite the historical success, Stanford hasn't been to the Final Four since 2008. Outside hitter Jordan Burgess talked about that, via NCAA.com:
"No one on our team has been to the Final Four, so it will be a new experience for us and it is something that we’ve always strived for this whole time. We’ve always wanted to win a national championship. Getting past the Elite 8 has been something that has been very hard for us, so we are so excited and super proud of our whole team.
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Stanford lost to Penn State in the regional final last year, and Mike Wolf of BTN.com noted that the defeat has served as motivation all season:
"Stanford has not forgotten that match. That sentiment is typically used as hyperbole to build up a showdown, but the interviews following the Cardinal’s win over Florida showed it is much more than build up. Head coach John Dunning and his players talked about how they have been thinking about that match ever since and hoping for a rematch to avenge what was a devastating loss. The Cardinal will get their chance on Thursday, and volleyball fans will see the two most decorated programs in the sport vie for a title match appearance.
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Motivation or not, the Cardinal will have to deal with Penn State’s Micha Hancock, who led the country in aces. She is far from a one-woman show, though, thanks to the presence of freshmen Haleigh Washington and Ali Frantti. Washington was the Big Ten Freshman of the Year and led the conference in hitting percentage at .492. Frantti led Penn State with 369 kills.
Hancock was named the regional's most outstanding player on the way to the semifinals.
Stanford will counter with the likes of Morgan Boukather, Jordan Burgess, Merete Lutz and Inky Ajanaku, among others.
Penn State’s balanced attack will be difficult for Stanford to deal with, but it has spent the entire season building toward a much-anticipated rematch. Now, it finally gets that chance.
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