Stanford defeated Nebraska in five sets on Saturday to win the 2018 national championship.
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NCAA volleyball championship: Nebraska-Stanford time, TV channel, watch online
No. 1 Stanford meets No. 7 Nebraska at 9 p.m. ET on Saturday, Dec. 15. The match can be watched on ESPN2 and can be streamed online with WatchESPN.
| Game | Time (ET) | Date | TV channel | Live stats |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stanford 3, Nebraska 2 | 9 p.m. | Saturday, Dec. 15 |
ESPN2 | Box Score |
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NCAA volleyball championship: Nebraska-Stanford
As the No. 1 seed, Stanford beat seeded teams No. 16 Washington State, No. 8 Penn State and then No. 4 BYU. In the Thursday semifinal, the Cardinal swept BYU to avenge the team's only loss of the season.
Seeded seventh, the Huskers beat seeded teams in No. 10 Kentucky, No. 15 Oregon and finally No. 3 Illinois. Against the Illini, Nebraska lost the first two sets before rallying to stun Illinois.
Stanford
- Defeated Alabama State, 3-0 (25-10, 25-17, 25-15)
- Defeated Loyola Marymount, 3-0 (25-20, 25-15, 25-17)
- Defeated No. 16 Washington State, 3-1 (25-17, 24-26, 25-14, 25-19)
- Defeated No. 8 Penn State, 3-1 (18-25, 25-23, 25-20, 25-16)
- Defeated No. 4 BYU, 3-0 (25-15, 25-15, 25-18)
Nebraska
- Defeated Hofstra, 3-0 (25-19, 25-12, 25-16)
- Defeated Missouri, 3-0 (25-14, 25-22, 25-18)
- Defeated No. 10 Kentucky, 3-0 (25-17, 25-20, 25-23)
- Defeated No. 15 Oregon, 3-0 (25-22, 25-23, 25-17)
- Defeated No. 3 Illinois, 3-2 (22-25, 16-25, 25-23, 25-20, 15-11)
In sweeping Cougars, Stanford returned the favor after losing to the Cougars in five sets on August 31. This time, Stanford held BYU to a negative hitting percentage: -.026. BYU star Roni Jones-Perry finished with only 8 kills on 35 attacks.
The Cardinal, the top blocking team in the nation, had 17 blocks and were in control for all match. Outside hitter Kathryn Plummer, now the AVCA Division Player of the Year for the second year in a row, hit .300 with 12 kills.
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The second semifinal went the full five, as the Huskers rallied from down 0-2 to win the last three sets and upset the No. 3 Illini.
After losing only 25-22 in the first set, Nebraska lost big 25-16 in the second, hitting only .129 in the second set. But the Huskers regrouped by hitting .298, .206 and then .375 in the next three sets to win.
Mikaela Foecke and Lexi Sun both totaled 19 kills, with Foecke hitting .300. Illinois stars Jordyn Poulter had 46 assists and Jacqueline Quade led all players with 28 kills, but Nebraska surged late to advance.
