The No. 1 Nebraska volleyball team was selected as the No. 1 overall national seed for the NCAA Volleyball tournament, and will face Northeast Conference champion Long Island in the first round of the tournament, with first serve slated for 7 p.m. The Cornhuskers will play in Lincoln for the first two weekends of the tournament, all the way until the national semifinal round. Old Big 12 foe Kansas State and West Coast Conference champion San Diego round out the four teams sent to Lincoln for the first two rounds of the tournament, beginning Friday at John Cook Arena. The Wildcats and Toreros will square off at 4:30 p.m. Friday, with the winner facing the winner of the 7 p.m. matchup between NU and the Sharks Saturday night at 7 p.m. The matches will be telecast on ESPN+, and the Huskers’ matches will be broadcast on KLIN and B-107.3. Pregame coverage begins at 6 p.m. Friday, and would begin at 6 p.m. Saturday if the Huskers advance.
Should Nebraska advance through the first two weekends, familiar faces lurk in the rest of the regional. No. 4 national seed Kansas would be the Huskers’ regional semifinal round opponent, if favorites advance through the first two rounds. The Jayhawks are led by first-year coach Matt Ulmer, who came to Lawrence after a successful eight-year tenure as head coach at Big Ten foe Oregon. The Jayhawks will host High Point, Tulsa, and No. 5 national seed Miami in the first weekend of the tournament.
But emotions would be highest if Louisville, the No. 2 seed in the regional, advances all the way to the regional finals. The Cardinals were led by current NU head coach Dani Busboom Kelly through last year. Another storyline would pop up in the regional finals if No. 3 regional seed Texas A&M advanced through, with former NU athletic director currently at the helm of the Aggies’ athletic department.
The top four national seeds are Nebraska, No. 4 Pitt, No. 2 Kentucky and No. 3 Texas. After the first two weekends at campus sites, the national semifinals and finals will be played in Kansas City, Mo., Dec. 18 and 21.