Wisconsin 2023 NCAA volleyball regional, what to know about Penn State, Oregon and Purdue
MADISON – The road to the Final Four could also be the road to redemption for the Wisconsin volleyball team.
The Badgers will host an NCAA regional Thursday and Saturday at the UW Field House. The winner heads to the Final Four, which will be played Dec. 14 and 17 at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida.
To get there, UW could face two teams to which it lost earlier this season. The Badgers are guaranteed a rematch with Penn State, a four-set winner over UW on Nov. 11.
A win over the Nittany Lions could set up a showdown with Purdue in the regional final if the Boilermakers get past Oregon on Thursday night. UW and Purdue split this season, but the Boilermakers won the last meeting Nov. 17.
Here's what you need to know about the regional:
More: NCAA tournament bracket
What is the schedule for the 2023 NCAA volleyball regional at Wisconsin?
Thursday
No. 1 seed Wisconsin (28-3) vs. No. 5 Penn State (23-8), 6 p.m.
No. 2 Oregon (28-5) vs. No. 3 Purdue (23-8), 8:30 p.m.
Saturday
Semifinal winners, 6 p.m.
How did the Wisconsin volleyball advance to the Sweet 16?
The Badgers swept Jackson State in the first round Thursday as three players reached double-digits for kills and swept Miami Friday with the help of unsung heroes Gulce Guctekin and Caroline Crawford.
How did the Penn State volleyball team advance to the Sweet 16?
The Nittany Lions defeated Ivy League champion Yale, 3-1, in the first round and upset Kansas, 3-2, in the second round on the Jayhawks' home floor.
Left it all on the floor 🏐 #WeAre
🔵⚪️ pic.twitter.com/oaMULQYHXL— Penn State Women’s Volleyball (@PennStateVBALL) December 2, 2023
Who are the Penn State volleyball team's top players?
The Nittany Lions’ 42nd NCAA tournament appearance has been led by three players added through the transfer portal this past offseason.
Jess Mruzik, who played at Michigan for three years, earned first-team all-Big Ten distinction. She leads the Nittany Lions with 4.42 kills per set and is hitting .252. She has formed a 1-2 punch with former Clemson Tiger Camryn Hannah, a senior right-side who is second on the team in kills per set (2.95) while hitting .275. Setter Mac Podraza, a graduate student who played at Ohio State, is second in the Big Ten with 10.42 assists per set.
What happened the last time Wisconsin played Penn State?
Penn State defeated the Badgers, 3-1, at Rec Hall in University Park, Pennsylvania, holding UW to a season-low .176 hitting percentage. Hannah finished the night with 19 kills and a .375 hitting percentage and Podraza registered 51 assists.
The Badgers played without Anna Smrek for the second straight night and used a makeshift lineup that featured Julia Orzol at outside hitter rather than her usual spot at libero and Temi Thomas-Ailara at right-side hitter rather than on the left side where she usually plays.
Who could Wisconsin face in the regional final of the 2023 NCAA volleyball tournament?
Oregon: The Ducks finished second in the Pac-12 to Stanford, a No. 1 seed in the tournament that they pushed to five sets Nov. 9. Oregon had a program-record five players on the all-conference team, including former Ohio State standout Gabby Gonzales. Six of the team’s wins came versus top-25 opponents.
Purdue: The Boilermakers have won 11 straight, a run that includes five-set victories over then-No. 16 Penn State and then-No. 3 Wisconsin. This is the program's third trip to the Sweet 16 in four seasons. It has one of the best young hitting tandems in freshman Chloe Chicoine and sophomore Eva Hudson.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin volleyball 2023 NCAA tournament schedule, look at Penn State
