Omaha To Host Entire NCAA Women’s Volleyball Tournament

Posted on by Ethan Kasales

The NCAA announced this week that Omaha, Nebraska, will host the entirety of the spring 2021 NCAA women’s volleyball tournament.

The bracket will feature 48 teams instead of the usual 64, including 30 automatic qualifiers and 18 at-large bids. Penn State and Stanford are the only two women’s volleyball teams to participate in all 39 NCAA tournaments so far.

Although a limited number of teams from the Big Ten and Pac-12 will secure spots in this spring’s field, chances are high that the Nittany Lions and Cardinal will eventually punch their tickets to Omaha. If so, it will certainly be strange not seeing the opening weekend of the tournament getting underway at Rec Hall as it has so many times in previous years.

Nebraska has won two of the last five NCAA women’s volleyball championships and is undoubtedly pleased at the prospects of not having to leave its home state for this spring’s tournament — regardless of what the fan situation will be in Omaha this April. The tournament is scheduled to begin April 14 and all rounds will take place at CHI Health Center Arena.

Head coach Russ Rose currently owns a 104-32 record in NCAA tournament action and has guided the Nittany Lions to seven national championships, which ranks second all-time behind Stanford’s nine titles. The Cardinal swept Wisconsin on December 21, 2019 in Pittsburgh to extend its lead over the Nittany Lions.

After seeing their first four matches postponed due to positive COVID-19 test results within the program, the Nittany Lions will finally begin their season this weekend when they host Illinois Friday and Saturday night. Penn State’s split series against Ohio State has been rescheduled, though. The Nittany Lions will travel to Columbus February 17, then the Buckeyes will return the favor with a trip to Rec Hall March 3.

The Big Ten is the only conference with four teams ranked inside the top 10 of the most recent AVCA coaches’ poll. Wisconsin is holding steady at No. 1 through the first two weeks of the season, as the Badgers received 48 of the 60 first-place votes in this week’s poll. Nebraska checks in at No. 4 in the rankings, while Minnesota currently sits at No. 6. The Nittany Lions have remained No. 9 the last three weeks despite not playing yet.