The first and second rounds of the 2025 NCAA volleyball tournament are in the books, and the answer to which team will lift the trophy after the national championship match later this month in Kansas City is becoming a bit clearer.
The action in the opening matches of the NCAA tournament included clean sweeps, massive upsets and five-set heavyweight matches that were some of the best played this year. Favorite and overall No. 1 seed Nebraska is still undefeated, boosted by big performances from middle blocker Andi Jackson. However, the lone remining unseeded team, Cal Poly, might have something to say about who makes a deeper tournament run. As we prepare for the NCAA volleyball Sweet 16, let’s take a look back at who’s in and who’s out.
Here are your winners and losers of the first two rounds of the NCAA volleyball tournament:
NCAA volleyball tournament winners
Opening round sweeps
Break out the brooms. There were a staggering 25 sweeps in the opening rounds of the NCAA tournament, including 18 in the first round. Even ranked squads, such as No. 7 Western Kentucky, No. 8 Xavier, and No. 7 Rice, were no match for ‘the broom.’ One of the most head-turning wins was No. 4 Indiana sweeping No. 5 Colorado behind a masterful performance from outside hitters Candela Alonso-Corcelles (16 kills on .556 hitting) and Jaidyn Jager (15 kills on .375 hitting). The Hoosiers move on to the Round of 16 for the second time in program history.
Five-set thrillers
If high-intensity matchups are what fans desire, the NCAA tournament did not disappoint. There were 10 five-set thrillers over the opening days of action, including eight in the first round. While there were likely many head-to-heads that had fans on the edge of their seats, the best of the weekend was the unseeded Marquette Golden Eagles taking the No. 2 Louisville Cardinals to the brink.
The back-and-forth rumble was a sight to behold, but in the end, Louisville that escaped with the win. Outside hitter Chloe Chicoine had a career-high 28 kills on .415 hitting, the most for a Cardinal in the NCAA tournament in 20 years. Outside hitter Payton Petersen added 19 kills on .364 hitting, and middle blocker Cara Cresse assisted on seven of the Cardinals’ 22 team blocks.
Cal Poly bracket-busting skills
Deepest condolences are in order for any bracket that did not survive Cal Poly’s tour of destruction against seeded teams. To open the tournament, the Mustangs took down the No. 5 seed BYU Cougars in a five-set stunner. Outside hitter Kendall Beshear led the way with 20 kills on .383 hitting and 12 digs that helped create 25 points against BYU. What’s more, the Cougars hit .000 in the fifth set against Cal Poly and logged four kills.
In the second round against No. 4 seeded USC, it was outside hitter Emma Frederick who led the Cal Poly with 17 kills and 15 points. Outside hitter Annabelle Thalken and Beshear also added 12 kills. The Trojans had a better overall match, but ran out of steam in the fifth set, recording four kills. After the Mustangs are headed to the Round of 16 for the first time in 18 years.
Big performances
With so many games, it’s hard to keep up with who had stellar performances. One of the best outings of the opening rounds came from the No. 2 seed SMU Mustangs, who hit a blistering .618 as a team against the Central Arkansas Bears on Friday. Outside hitter Jadyn Livings led SMU with 15 kills on .609 hitting and two blocks. Here’s a list of other performances that deserve recognition:
Thursday, December 4
No. 8 seed UCLA Bruins middle blocker Marianna Singletary vs. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets – 22 kills on .556 hitting and 11 blocks
No. 3 seed Creighton Bluejays outside hitter Ava Martin vs. Northern Colorado Bears – 30 kills
No. 5 seed Miami Hurricanes outside hitter Flormarie Heredia Colon vs. Tulsa Golden Hurricane – 33 kills
Friday, December 5
No. 1 seed Kentucky Wildcats vs. No. 8 seed UCLA Bruins
Kentucky outside hitter Eva Hudson – 27 kills on .463 hitting and 10 digs
Kentucky outside hitter Brooklyn Deleye – 30 kills on .397 hitting
No.1 seed Nebraska Cornhuskers vs. Long Island University Sharks
Nebraska middle blocker Andi Jackson – 10 kills on .833 hitting and five blocks
Nebraska middle blocker Rebekah Allick – 10 kills on .750 hitting and four blocks
No. 3 seed Wisconsin Badgers outside hitter Mimi Colyer vs. North Carolina – 22 kills on .405 hitting, 13 digs and three blocks
No. 5 seed Iowa State Cyclones libero Rachel Van Gorp vs. St. Thomas Tommies – 33 digs
Saturday, December 6
No.1 seed Nebraska middle blocker Andi Jackson vs. Kansas State Wildcats – 10 kills on .533 hitting and three blocks
No. 1 seed Pittsburgh outside hitter Olivia Babcock vs. Michigan Wolverines – 24 kills on .370 hitting, eight digs and three blocks
Losers
Penn State’s repeat bid
Penn State won’t have the chance to win back-to-back championships. The No. 8 seed Nittany Lions and head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley were swept by the No. 1 seed Texas Longhorns, behind dominant stat lines from outside hitters Torrey Stafford and Cari Spears. Together, the duo had 30 total kills and six total blocks. The Nittany Lions had very few answers offensively and hit .124 against Texas.
Tennessee Volunteers’ tournament dreams
The No. 7 seed Volunteers, who were largely expected to make a deep tournament run, fell flat against Utah State. Ultimately, they could not pull off a reverse sweep after falling behind 2-0. Tennessee ran out of steam in the fifth set, losing it 15-11, handing Utah State its 22nd straight win. Outsider hitter Starr Williams was the bright spot for the Volunteers, logging 15 kills on .387 hitting, seven digs and four blocks.
Ranked team upsets
The seeded losses didn’t stop with Tennessee. Kansas State beat No. 8 seed San Diego in five sets, Michigan swept No. 8 Xavier, and both No. 7 seed Rice (swept by Florida) and No. 7 seed South Dakota State (lost in four sets to Arizona) had first-round exits. Another notable upset was North Carolina unraveling No. 6 UTEP in four sets. The Miners had 35 attacker errors against the Tar Heels, and their hitting percentage was .079 percent.
The floor after Dior Charles dented it
It’s not very often that the floor ends up on the losing end of a volleyball match. However, Purdue Boilermakers middle blocker Dior Charles hit a volleyball so hard during a Thursday matchup against Wright State that it dented the floor.