2016 NCAA Semifinals Rank #6 All-Time In Attendance

The semifinal matches of the 2016 NCAA Volleyball Tournament drew a crowd of 16,670 fans, the 6th-biggest attendance figure in NCAA Volleyball history.

The two semifinal matches are calculated as one total attendance, as they happen back-to-back in the same location. This season’s host is Columbus, Ohio. #6 Stanford upset #2 Minnesota in the first match and #4 Texas knocked off #1 and defending champs Nebraska in the second half of the doubleheader.

The only matches to rank ahead of this year’s semis are the NCAA semifinals and finals from three other seasons.

2015 was the perfect storm, taking place in Omaha, Nebraska with the University of Nebraska playing in both semifinals and the final. Nebraska would ultimately win the NCAA crown. Further, their semifinal opponent was Kansas, with fans of the Jayhawks able to jump the border easily to view the match live in Omaha. The NCAA final from that season (2015) still ranks as the highest match attendance-wise in history at 17,561. The semifinals from two days earlier rank #2.

The 2008 semifinals are third, followed by the 2006 finals and 2006 semifinals. Those five are the only NCAA matches ever to break 17,000 in attendance.

Also of note: Nebraska has now been involved in the 6 highest-attended volleyball matches in NCAA history and 7 of the top 10.

You can view the full list of attendance records here. We’ve also included the top 10 matches in attendance history below.