Pitt Volleyball Faces Nebraska in Final Four Rematch

TAMPA, Fla. — Pitt volleyball is preparing for its third Final Four in consecutive years, as they face off against No. 1 overall seed Nebraska Thursday night, 7:00 p.m. at Amalie Arena.

Road for Pitt Volleyball to the Final Four

Pitt Volleyball earned a No. 1 seed heading into the NCAA Tournament, as a reverse sweep over rival and then ranked No. 4 Louisville on Nov. 18 at the Petersen Events Center proved crucial in the final seeding. Pitt got the final No. 1 seed and Louisville earned a No. 2 seed, in the same quadrant of the bracket as Pitt.

Pitt swept Coppin State in the First Round on Dec. 1 and defeated No. 8 USC in the four sets after dropping the first in the Second Round on Dec. 2, with both games at the Petersen Events Center. A dominating sweep over No. 4 Washington State on Dec. 7 set up a third matchup with Louisville at Fitzgerald Field House last Saturday.

The Cardinals opened up by winning the first two sets, looking to defeat the Panthers for the second straight season in the NCAA Tournament, as they won in five sets in the Final Four last year.

Despite falling behind two sets, Pitt battled back once again, outplaying Louisville in all facets of the match the final three sets to complete their second reverse sweep of them in 2023.

Road for Nebraska Volleyball to the Final Four

Nebraska finished the regular season with a 27-1 record and 19-1 in the Big Ten, earning them their first Big Ten Title since 2017, the last time they won a National Title.

The only loss they suffered came on the road against then ranked No. 5 Wisconsin on Nov. 24 in a sweep. Wisconsin earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, and they face off against reigning National Champions No. 2 Texas in the other Final Four match following Pitt-Nebraska.

The NCAA Tournament has been pretty simple for the most part for Nebraska. They swept LIU, Missouri and No. 12 Georgia Tech in the first three rounds and faced their only serious challenge in No. 3 Arkansas, who they defeated in four sets in the Elite Eight to make their second Final Four in three seasons.

2021 Final Four Rematch for Pitt Volleyball vs. Nebraska

This semifinal match Thursday night serves as the rematch for the 2021 Final Four between Pitt volleyball and Nebraska in Columbus, Ohio.

The Panthers, in their first ever Final Four, controlled the first set, outhitting the Cornhuskers .483 to .167 and winning it 25-16. The Cornhuskers would respond by holding the Panthers to below .162 hitting the final three sets, winning the match in four and making it to the National Title game.

Nebraska had great performances from many players. This included setter/defensive specialist Nicklin Hames (2018-22), who had 45 assists and tied then first-year defensive specialist/libero Lexi Rodriguez with a team-high 13 digs in the win, then first-year outside hitter Lindsey Krause with nine kills on .368 hitting, outside hitter Madi Kubik (2019-22) leading the way with 13 kills and middle blocker Lauren Stivrins (2016-21) hitting a team high .529 along with having nine kills herself.

The best players on the Panthers came two middle blockers: Serena Gray (2021-22) and then junior Chiamaka Nwokolo. Gray finished second with 11 kills and led with .474 hitting percentage. while Nwokolo had seven kills and a .750 hitting percentage with only one error.

A Change in Both Squads

Both teams have changed dramatically since that Final Four match in 2021, with most players not on the team and many new ones making big impacts for their team.

Along with Nwokolo, graduate student setter Lexis Akeo, redshirt senior outside hitter Valeria Vazquez Gomez and juniors in setter Rachel Fairbanks and libero/defensive specialist Emmy Klika are the only players on Pitt volleyball who played in that match. Vazquez Gomez, now a full-fledged starter these past two seasons, was a serving specialist on that team. Fairbanks and Akeo both played in the 6-2 rotation, while Klika came in rarely.

Nebraska has changed a lot as well themselves, as junior outside hitter Ally Batenhorst, Krause and Rodriguez are the only players who played in that Final Four match.

First-Years Lead the Way

First-year players don’t generally make the biggest impact for the best volleyball teams in the country, but both Pitt volleyball and Nebraska have some of the best in the country.

Right side hitter Olivia Babcock leads the Panthers with 408 kills, 3.61 per set , 519.5 points, 4.60 per set and 50 service aces, 0.44 per set. She is also second with 117.0 total blocks, 1.04 per set, and fifth with 155 digs, 1.37 per set.

She earned AVCA National Freshman of the Year Award on Friday, along with First-Team All-American honors. She also earned AVCA East Coast Region Freshman of the Year, ACC Freshman of the Year, All-ACC First Team and AVCA East Coast Region honors this season.

Outside hitter Torrey Stafford second on the team with 415.5 points, 3.74 per set, and 362 kills, 3.26 per set, as well as third with 196 digs, 1.77 per set. She made the AVCA All-American Third-Team, All-ACC First Team and All-ACC Freshman Team, along with receiving three ACC Freshman of the Week awards and ACC Offensive Player of the Week honors for her double-double in the reverse sweep of Louisville on Nov. 18.

The Cornhuskers have even more first-year players that see the court and have featured as some of the top athletes in 2023.

Outside hitter Harper Murray is first on her team with 34 service aces and second with both 371 kills, 3.23 per set and 438.0 points, 3.81 per set. She received the Big Ten Freshman of the Year award and made both the First Team All-Big Ten and the All-American Third Team.

Setter Bergen Reilly leads Nebraska with 1,224 assists, 10.64 per set, is second with 310 digs, 2.70 per set and third with 26 service aces. She received the Big Ten Setter of the Year award and made Second-Team All-American as well as First Team All-Big Ten.

Middle blocker Andi Jackson is second on the Cornhuskers with 112 blocks, 1.09 per set and third with both 228 kills, 2.04 per set and 291.5 points, 2.60 per set. She received Second Team and made the Big Ten All-Freshman Team along with Murray and Reilly. 

Defensive specialist/libero Laney Choboy has also provided great play for Nebraska in her first collegiate season. She has 200 digs, played in all 32 matches and all but four sets all season.

Pitt Volleyball History with Meritt Beason

Junior right side/outside hitter Merritt Beason is the best attacker on Nebraska this season. She leads with 444 kills, 3.86 per set and 525 points, 4.57 points per set, second with 29 service aces and third with both 99 blocks, 0.86 per set and .293 hitting. Beason received both First Team All-American and First Team All-Big Ten honors for her play this season.

Beason played for Pitt volleyball head coach Dan Fisher and with Fairbanks on the USA U21 squad for the 2022 Pan-Am Cup, which they won the gold medal in. Beason won MVP for her play in the tournament, while Rodriguez and Cornhuskers sophomore middle blocker Bekka Allick both played on the team themselves.

Before transferring to Nebraska this season, Beason played for Florida last season, facing off against Pitt in the Sweet 16 in Madison, Wis. Pitt defeated Florida in four sets, but Beason had 13 kills, hit .290 hitting and made nine digs.

“I loved playing for Coach Dan,” Beason said Wednesday during Final Four media day. “He was one of the few coaches that I could instantly click with in a very short amount of time. That was really, really cool. He was very good about building relationships and being very personable, even in a very short amount of time. That stood out a lot about him. And he pushed us and I loved playing for him.”

“And Rachel, she’s one of a kind. She’s hilarious and a great person. And I absolutely loved playing with her. They’re both great people. Rachel’s obviously a great setter. So I’m excited to see them again and to be able to play them and kind of get another rematch like last year and kind of have another chance at that.”

Pitt Volleyball vs. Nebraska Likely Starting Lineups

Pitt Starting lineup

Outside hitter Valeria Vazquez Gomez
Outside hitter Torrey Stafford
Right side hitter Olivia Babcock
Middle blocker Emma Monks
Setter Rachel Fairbanks
Libero/defensive specialist Emmy Klika
Middle blocker Chiamaka Nwokolo

Nebraska Starting Lineup

Setter Bergen Reilly
Outside hitter Harper Murray
Middle blocker Bekka Allick
Right side hitter/outside hitter Merritt Beason
Defensive specialist/libero Laney Choboy
Middle blocker Andi Jackson
Defensive specialist Lexi Rodriguez

How to Watch/Stream

Pitt Volleyball will face Nebraska at 7:00 p.m. on ESPN as well as ESPN+ for streaming purposes. ESPN+ also has a high end zone coverage for an alternate view of the match.