Nebraska vs. Penn State
The 5th-seed Nebraska Huskers (31-4) have advanced to their 8th national Championship Final and will fight for the 4th gold medal in the history of their volleyball program. The Huskers came back from 1-2 in sets against fierce rivals from the Big Ten Conference, Pennsylvania State Nittany Lions (33-2), in front of the largest number of fans ever in the national Semifinal (18,374) at Sprint Center, Kansas City, Missouri – 3-2 (25-18, 23-25, 24-26, 28-26, 15-11). Interestingly, both defeats of the top-seed Penn State this season came exactly from Nebraska. As for the play itself, the Huskers made a turnaround not only from 1-2 in sets but also from 5-10 in the 4th set to extend the winning streak in the tournament to 18 games an end a 23-game run of the Nittany Lions. Junior outside hitter Mikaela Foecke topped Nebraska with 20 points while senior outside hitter Annika Albrecht contributed with 15 points. Senior middle blocker Simone Lee was the best scorer for Penn State with 21 points.
Florida
No.2 Florida Gators (30-1, Southeastern Conference) will play their back-to-back national Final, 3rd overall, despite dropping a 2-0 lead in sets in the semis against the defending champions and also No.3 Stanford Cardinal (30-4, Pac-12 Conference) who did not have enough stamina to make a full comeback – 3-2 (25-22, 25-21, 18-25, 18-25, 15-10). Senior middle blocker Rhamat Alhassan stood out for the Gators with 22 points (4 kill blocks). Senior outside hitter Carli Snyder added 21 points (3 aces). Senior opposite Merete Lutz highlighted the Cardinal with 20 points.
Nebraska vs. Florida face-off for the national title will be played at Sprint Center, Kansas City, Missouri, on December 17 at 3:00 AM CET (December 16 at 9:00 PM ET).
More info and reports on NCAA Women’s Volleyball Division I Championship.
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