Let’s take a look at some dark horse teams to watch in the 2025 NCAA women's volleyball tournament.
For the record, I am only looking at unseeded teams in the tournament.
1. Florida
All right, let’s get started with Florida. The Gators are unseeded and didn’t have the season they were hoping for, but we’re still talking about one of the best setters in the country, Alexis Stucky, two really talented middles and a phenom freshmen libero Lily Hayes. This team has pieces, and we’ve seen it come together at moments this season — definitely a team capable of upsets.
2. North Carolina
Next, I have North Carolina. This team has beaten Florida and SMU this year. They’ve played close games with the top teams in the ACC and are led by Safi Hampton, who has had an incredible year. Facing UTEP in the first round, North Carolina could pull off an upset.
Key Matchups to Watch Check out the NCAA women's volleyball Bracket
3. Arkansas State
This one might be surprising to some, but this is a good volleyball team. They’re No. 50 in the RPI and have some really good players — a scrappy team that took down Missouri early in the season in five sets. They’re facing Baylor in the first round, and it’s not necessarily an easy path, but they’re a team to be on the lookout for.
4. Michigan
Always gotta watch out for Big Ten teams that are accustomed to playing in grueling conference games and seeing some of the top talent night after night. Michigan beat Penn State, who’s an 8 seed in the tournament, took UCLA and Purdue to five sets and took down Minnesota — a top-16 overall seed. They’re facing Xavier in the first round and could definitely be an upset alert team to watch out for.
5. Arizona
Lastly, watch out for Arizona. They’ve had lots of ups and downs as well in the Big 12, but they pulled out wins over BYU, TCU and Utah this season. Jordan Wilson, a senior, leads the team with over five kills per set, so watch out for the Wildcats facing South Dakota State in the First Round.
