Pitt lands top seed in NCAA volleyball tourney

The Pittsburgh Panthers are the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA women’s volleyball tournament and will look to bring the ACC its first national championship in the sport.

Pitt, 29-1 overall and 19-1 in the ACC, has made the final four the past three years in a row, losing in the semifinals each time. The Panthers are joined as No. 1 seeds by Big Ten co-champions Nebraska and Penn State and fellow ACC school Louisville.

The Huskers are the second overall seed and the Nittany Lions third; both finished 29-2 overall and 19-1 in the Big Ten. Penn State has won seven NCAA titles — the last was in 2014 — and Nebraska five. The Huskers, who most recently won the title in 2017, were runners-up to Texas last year.

The Cardinals, the fourth overall seed, are hoping to make the final four in their hometown. The event is Dec. 19-22 at the KFC Yum! Center in downtown Louisville. The Cardinals have been to the final four twice previously: in 2021 and 2022, when they lost the final to Texas.

The four No. 1 seeds could host all their matches until the final four, as the regionals will be held on the courts of the top four surviving seeds into the Sweet 16. Thus, Louisville would not have to leave the city to win a national championship.

All NCAA tournament matches through the national semifinals will be televised by ESPN networks and ESPN+. The national championship match will be on ABC for the second year in a row, at 3 p.m. ET on Dec. 22.

Here is how the top four seeds in each region break down:

Pitt region: Pitt’s only loss this season was to new ACC member SMU, and those teams could meet up in the regional final. The Mustangs are the No. 2 seed, while the No. 3 seed is Kentucky and No. 4 is Oregon.

Pitt and Louisville are on the same side of the bracket and could face off in the national semifinals. Pitt beat Louisville in both regular-season meetings in ACC play.

Louisville region: While no school has won the NCAA volleyball title while in the ACC, the league does now have the most successful program in the sport as a member. Nine-time national champion Stanford is in its first year in the ACC after the demise of the Pac-12.

The Bracket 🏐🏆

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Louisville, 25-5, and Stanford, 25-4, were both 17-3 in the ACC for second place behind Pitt and were in a battle for the last NCAA No. 1 seed. The Cardinals and Cardinal split their regular-season meetings with each winning at home. Stanford won the most recent of those matches, Saturday at Maples Pavilion. However, that wasn’t enough to tilt the selection committee toward Stanford, as Louisville got the edge based in part on strength of schedule.

Stanford got the No. 2 seed and could meet Louisville for the third time this season in the regional final. The No. 3 seed is Kansas and No. 4 is Purdue.

Nebraska region: The other top seeds here are No. 2 Wisconsin, No. 3 Arizona State and No. 4 Baylor. Nebraska and Wisconsin, who could meet in the regional final, played twice in Big Ten season, with both matches going to the Huskers in sweeps.

There is little separating Nebraska and Penn State, who are on the same side of the bracket and could meet in the national semifinals. They played just once in Big Ten play this season; the Nittany Lions won 3-1 Friday at Penn State. That was Nebraska’s only Big Ten loss.

Penn State region: The Nittany Lions’ only Big Ten loss was at Wisconsin. The No. 2 seed in this region is Creighton, and No. 4 is Utah.

But the most dangerous team to Penn State in this region could be No. 3 seed Texas, a four-time national champion that won the past two NCAA titles. The Longhorns, in their first year in the SEC, are 18-6 overall and 13-3 in league play.