MADISON, Wis. – Making its third appearance in the NCAA National Semifinals, the fourth-seeded Wisconsin volleyball team (26-6) takes on top-seeded Baylor (29-1) in the first national semifinal on Thursday at 6 p.m. CT from PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh. The match will be televised by ESPN.
Third-seed Stanford (28-4) takes on seventh-seeded Minnesota (27-5) in the second semifinal at approximately 8:30 p.m. CT. Semifinal winners advance to the national championship match on Saturday at 7 p.m. CT from PPG Paints Arena. That match will be televised by ESPN2.
Wisconsin is 2-0 in national semifinal matches, defeating No. 2 USC, 3-1, in 2000 and top-ranked Texas, 3-1, in 2013. The Badgers fell in the national championship match both seasons, losing to No. 1 Nebraska, 3-2, in 2000 and second-seeded Penn State, 3-1, in 2013.
The Badgers advanced to the national semifinals by sweeping all four opponents in NCAA tournament play. Wisconsin downed Illinois State in the first round before sweeping UCLA in the second round. On Friday, UW defeated No. 13 Texas A&M, 3-0, in the regional semifinals before triumphing over fifth-seeded Nebraska, 3-0, on Saturday in the regional final.
