Nebraska sweeps Pitt in 2023 DI volleyball semifinals
Bekka Allick gives her post-match thoughts
Nebraska sophomore blocker Bekka Allick chats with Michella Chester after sweeping Pitt.
"I dreamed about this when I was young and I told Coach that I wanted this. But now it's for my girls."
— NCAA Women's Volleyball (@NCAAVolleyball)
@bekkaallick5 chats with after advanced to the National Championship 🏐
🚨 BIG RED ADVANCES TO THE NATIONAL FINAL
Playing through three match points as Pitt tried to rally, the Huskers took a time out and came out with a Bekka Allick dagger to put the match away, 25-17, in the third set (25-20, 25-23, 25-17).
Allick had her best three-set performance of her collegiate career with 10 total blocks. Ally Batenhorst and Merritt Beason also made a difference at the net with nine combined blocks, contributing to the team's 15 blocks. It was this block and missed Pitt hitting that ultimately shut down the Panthers' attack, holding the Panthers to a mere .137 (under its season average of .308).
Andi Jackson and Allick played flawless games with five and four respective kills and zero errors. Harper Murray notched a match-high 13 kills on .273 hitting.
This will be Nebraska's 11th program national championship appearance and fifth in the last nine years. The Huskers have won five national championships, four under coach John Cook.
🔨 Indoor attendance record shattered
The 2023 NCAA semifinals has a record-breaking 19,598 fans in attendance, making this event the most-attended indoor college volleyball matches ever.
👉🏼 Tap here for the full list of volleyball all-time attendance records
🛑 Bekka Allick DENIAL
Nebraska sophomore Bekka Allick doesn't mess around at the net, as she tipped over two balls to end this rally. Allick currently leads the match with nine blocks, coming off a season-high 12B against Arkansas in the quarterfinals.
DO NOT PLAY WITH HER AT THE NET. 😮💨
— Nebraska Volleyball (@HuskerVB)
🙅♀️ @bekkaallick5
All red in Set ✌🏼
Scattering the Pitt attack, the Huskers leapt to a 10-5 advantage with consecutive Pitt errors and a Merritt Beason service ace. The Panthers kept within two points, squeezing their deficit to 24-23, but a Pitt service error decided the frame, 25-23 to make the match 2-0 Huskers.
The entire Panther offensive effort is struggling with efficiency, with no hitters swinging above .250 and averaging .105 altogether throughout the game. The team leader in service aces this season, Olivia Babcock, is falling short at the service line; she's aced once, but has erred every time she's stepped up to the line.
The right arm of Harper Murray swung big down the stretch as she killed five in the set.
Long Live Long Rallies x 🎥 ESPN /
— NCAA Women's Volleyball (@NCAAVolleyball)
Roof, roof, roof for Big Red to take Set 1 🏠
The Panthers led the kill count (13-9), but offense didn't connect with the Nebraska block on lock. Facing the No. 2 blocking team in the nation, the Huskers played up to the Pitt brick wall, tallying eight blocks ahead of Pitt's two. That's also almost six blocks ahead of the season's set average for the Huskers at 2.64 B/S.
The Huskers sided out a hefty 70% against the Panthers as Pitt had 13 hitting errors. The Panthers had some digging to do, racking up 19 to Nebraska's 10, and forced three set points until Bekka Allick and Merritt Beason's block decided the frame, 25-20.
Newly minted AVCA Freshman of the Year Olivia Babcock led the kill count with five alongside Torrey Stafford, who was kept quiet for the first half of the frame, but exploded towards the end. Nebraska's Harper Murray and Merritt Beason also knocked down four apiece.
THE BLOCK MEANS BUSINESS. 😤
— Nebraska Volleyball (@HuskerVB)
SET 1, HUSKERS].
🔄 Starting rotations
Here are tonight's semifinal starting lineups. Of note, all officials are female.
🌽 Nebraska
- Harper Murray
- Andi Jackson
- Merritt Beason
- Bekka Allick
- Laney Choboy
- Lexi Rodriguez
- Bergen Reilly
🐆 Pitt
- Torrey Stafford
- Emma Monks
- Olivia Babcock
- Rachel Fairbanks
- Chiamaka Nwokolo
- Emmy Klika
- Valeria Vazquez Gomez
📺 How to watch the Huskers battle the Panthers
The first DI women's volleyball semifinal will see Nebraska meet Pitt for a spot in Sunday's national championship. Here's how to watch:
- Date: Thursday, Dec. 14
- Time: 7 p.m. ET
- Location: Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida
- TV channel: ESPN
- Live stats: Click or tap here
All female referees tonight 🏁
Tonight's lineup of NCAA volleyball referees are all female, with two male line judges. First serve in Tampa is slated for 7 p.m. tonight.
🍿 Match preview
After scrapping through tough regionals, No. 1 seeds Pitt and Nebraska made it to Tampa, Florida. And it wasn't always easy — the Panthers dropped three sets and the Huskers dropped one en route to the semifinals. Let's do a brief check-in on these two ahead of Thursday's match.
🐆 Pitt
The Panthers narrowly beat No. 2 Louisville in the quarterfinals — reverse-sweeping the Cardinals for the second straight time — to catch their flights to Tampa this week. Pitt's been averaging 3.13 B/S and has some of the best defensive players in the tournament behind Emma Monks and Olivia Babcock. A utility player leading her team in kills and aces, Babcock was recently named to the AVCA First Team All America, alongside setter Rachel Fairbanks. The Panthers struggled in transition and distribution play during the opening two sets against Louisville, and must clean up their game plan out of the gate to take down a Nebraska team with a near-flawless record.
🌽 Nebraska
In the quarterfinals, Arkansas — Jill Gillen, specifically — was pretty much the first team to give the Huskers any trouble in this tournament. The Razorbacks were successful in limiting the Huskers' top hitters, AVCA First-Team All American Merritt Beason, Second-Team All American Harper Murray and Andi Jackson, in the opening frame, which almost cost Nebraska the set (the Huskers converted down the stretch, 26-24). It'll be interesting to see how the Huskers hold up against a particularly tough block. Wisconsin and Pitt rank No. 1 and No. 2 in B/S nationally, and Wisconsin was the only team to puncture the Huskers' record this season.
This exact matchup played out in the 2021 semifinals. Nebraska advanced to the national championship with a 3-1 victory over the Panthers and lost to Wisconsin in the final. Since then, Pitt has made every single semifinals, but still has yet to win a championship. The Huskers currently hold a 13-0 record over the Panthers. Is Pitt's not-so-secret weapon its massive block? Is Nebraska's key penetrating the Panthers early on with crafty hits? We'll find out on Thursday.
↪️ How they got here
Here are the Huskers' and Panthers' paths to the national semifinals:
| No. 1 Nebraska | Round | No. 1 Pitt |
|---|---|---|
| Def. LIU, 3-0 | First | Def. Coppin State, 3-0 |
| Def. No. 8 Missouri, 3-0 | Second | Def. No. 8 USC, 3-1 |
| Def. No. 5 Georgia Tech, 3-0 | Regional semifinals | Def. No. 4 Washington State, 3-0 |
| Def. No. 3 Arkansas, 3-1 | Regional finals | Def. No. 2 Louisville, 3-2 |
🧐 What the stats say
Let's take a look at how the Huskers and Panthers match up statistically.
| Nebraska | Pitt | |
|---|---|---|
| 32-1 (19-1 Big Ten) | Record (Conference) | 29-4 (16-2 ACC) |
| .279 | Hitting % | .308 |
| .134 | Opp hitting % | .138 |
| 13.0 | Assists/set | 12.8 |
| 136 | Aces | 169 |
| 13.9 | Digs/set | 12.1 |
| 2.6 | Blocks/set | 3 |