2016 NCAA Volleyball Tournament

[wusphlash]

K-State just lost to Ohio State 2-3. Lost the last set 15-17.

[flyingMoose]

Three more National Seeds go out (with three subregionals yet to finish), all in five sets. Among them

Kansas State 2-3 Ohio State
20, 22, (22), (23), 15

All three of the teams located in Kansas are gone the first weekend.


At the Lincoln Subregional,

Nebraska 3-0 TCU
22, 12, 16

[flyingMoose]

... (with three subregionals yet to finish) ...

The National Seeds won all three.

[1972Shocker]

A "heads up" play by Nebraska's Kadie Rolfzen. No. 9 on Sports Center Top 10.

[flyingMoose]

Lincoln Regional

1 Nebraska 3-2 16 Penn State
(23), (23), 24, 19, 6

The Huskers held off two match points at 22-24 in the third set, winning it 26-24 and eventually the match.


8 Washington 3-0 Arizona
15, 22, 18


Madison Regional

3 Wisconsin 3-2 Ohio State
15, (22), (29), 22, 13

The Badgers, trailing 14-19 in the fourth set, ran off six in a row to turn the match around.


6 Stanford 3-1 Florida State
(25), 20, 9, 23


Austin Regional

4 Texas 3-2 13 BYU
23, 14, (24), (22), 14

The Longhorns, down 5-11 and 12-14 in the fifth set, rally to take the match. They are the third host team to escape dire straits today.


12 Michigan 2-3 Creighton
(24), 21, (17), 20, 7

Our ex-buddies continue to roll after defeating Kansas last weekend.


Minneapolis Regional

2 Minnesota 3-1 15 Missouri
15, (21), 19, 14


7 North Carolina 1-3 10 UCLA
(23), 22, 23, 26

[1972Shocker]

Pretty competitive matches.

[flyingMoose]

Pretty competitive matches.

Four tight sets in the late match.

[flyingMoose]

Lincoln Regional

1 Nebraska 3-0 8 Washington
16, 10, 21

Unlike yesterday, the #1 National Seed were never in trouble in this match. Their largest deficit in the match was 0-2, and their latest deficit was 11-12. They jumped out to a 9-0 lead in the second set. The Huskers hit .437 v .088.


Madison Regional

3 Wisconsin 2-3 6 Stanford
(18), (24), 21, 21, 9

The Badgers are the first host team to fall. The Cardinal was ahead for much of set two before losing it, and then took control of the rest of the match.


Austin Regional

4 Texas 3-0 Creighton
19, 20, 11

The bubble has burst. The Longhorns hit .425 v .154.


Minneapolis Regional

2 Minnesota 3-0 10 UCLA
23, 20, 22

The Golden Gophers rallied late to win the first set and were not pushed again until late in the third set.

[JayPak]

Congrats to the Shockers on an excellent season, overcoming injuries and adjusting to fluctuating lineups and offensive systems. Best wishes to your graduating seniors. I was concerned when you beat us in the first weekend of the season but fortunately for both teams it turned out to be a "good loss" for us and a "good win" for you. I hope the series will continue, going forward. Lambo is a master of strategy. Do you think he will be a lifer at WSU?

[boyshocker]

Thanks for the kind words. It's seems so long ago but that match was a come from behind from two sets down. This team proved to be one of the toughest mentally and physically than any team I can remember. Congrats to the Jays, great season. We need a volleyball/mens basketball doubleheader!

[flyingMoose]

Do you think he will be a lifer at WSU?

Thanks - and another excellent season for the Jays! I think it would be fun to continue to play once a year.

Yes, I think Lambo is here to stay. A number of years ago, he had conversations with Oklahoma, but he didn't think they were serious enough about their program. I think he likes being the main athletic event(s) in town in the fall. He also sees other programs in the Valley making progress, and I think that is an encouragement to stay.

[flyingMoose]

Semi-finals

2 Minnesota 1-3 6 Stanford
24, 19, (22), 22

The block of the Cardinal (eighteen for the match) won against the quick offense of the Golden Gophers. Stanford has a front line of 6' 8", 6' 6" and 6' 3" in one of their rotations.

The second referee for this match has done matches at Koch.


1 Nebraska 0-3 4 Texas
18, 23, 21

The three pin hitters for the Longhorns hit .311, and the serve-receive and passing of Nebraska was not up to their standards. This is revenge of sorts as the Huskers won the National Championship last year against Texas.


Two upset winners meet for the Championship on Saturday.

[flyingMoose]

Finals

#4 Texas 1-3 #6 Stanford
21, 19, (18), 21

Stanford win their seventh National Championship, and are now tied with Penn State. Texas has been in the Final Weekend eight of the last nine years, but has only one national championship to show for it.

The Cardinal block (twelve for the match) completely shut down Cerame, one of the three principal pin hitters for the Longhorns, and Stanford took the first two sets. Cerame hit -.231 and sat sets three and four. The rest of the Longhorn lineup hit .304 for the match.

The Longhorns switched up the lineup and won set three, but the Cardinal steadied, started the fourth set with a 6-0 lead and captured the championship.

Ajanaku, the senior leader for Stanford, led the Cardinal attack with 16-3-31 for .419. Plummer, one of four freshmen in the Cardinal lineup including the setter and the libero, was 18-5-40 for .325.

[JayPak]

My perception is that the MVC and AAC are basically at the same level in volleyball. Lateral move. The midwestern programs will be stronger than the others within AAC, due to recruiting hotbeds nearby.