Every day at VolleyMob we will preview several of the most notable and interesting matches in NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball. We will offer an inside look at some of those top matchups each day as we carry along through the 2017 season.
If the heavy slate of that Friday provided didn’t fully fill your volleyball appetite, Saturday should get you covered with plenty of top 25 action. Most notably, three of the matches are among top 12 competition that all feature some level of possible revenge.
*Note: VolleyMob’s Top 25 is utilized for a team’s ranking
*The entire week’s schedule can be seen here.
THE BIG MATCH:
#2 Penn State vs. #5 Stanford – 6 pm ET (Watch Illini/Live Stats)
One week ago the Nittany Lions knocked off the Cardinal to unseat the defending National Champions from atop the poll. Now, they rematch in Champaign, Illinois.
Penn State comes in undefeated and will look for another strong performance from Abby Detering, who posted a triple-double against Stanford last week (23 assists, 11 kills, 10 digs). The Nittany Lions could be looking to feed Haleigh Washington even more, as the All-American hit .625 to record her 10 kills out of the middle.
Stanford can get their biggest resume building win if they can knock off a higher-ranked opponent as they look to re-ascend up the polls. It will be interesting to see if Kathryn Plummer’s first performance vs. Penn State (27 kills while hitting .440, 11 digs) will force the Nittany Lions to key on her and open things up for the rest of the Cardinal.
OTHER NOTABLE MATCHES:
#11 UCLA at #12 Nebraska – 8 pm ET (Big Ten 2 Go/Audio/Live Stats)
Nebraska looks to keep rolling after an 0-2 start as they can score two ranked wins in the same week over the same team. With that being said, UCLA won’t be easy to oust twice in two nights as the Bruins should know more of what to expect in this one with vengeance on their mind.
#7 Creighton at #9 Kansas – 8:30 pm ET (ESPN3/Live Stats)
On most nights this would be the match of the day as it not only featured a top 10 clash but one that occurred twice last season. In the first meeting in Omaha, Kansas came out on top in five sets. In the more notable second match that came in the NCAA Second Round, Creighton upset the Jayhawks in extra points in the fifth set on the very floor the two will be playing this one.
#13 BYU vs. RV(#28) Baylor – 9 pm ET (Audio/Live Stats)
Taking place in Honolulu, BYU looks for another strong win after taking down another receiving votes team in Hawaii on the road to start the tournament. Baylor will need to be on their ‘A’ game as they take on a BYU team that hasn’t missed a beat to start 2017 as Camryn Freiberg needs to continue her strong defense up front for the Bears against a fierce BYU front line.
BEST OF THE REST:
Missouri vs. #22 San Diego – Noon ET (Live Stats)
Belmont vs. #19 Purdue – 1 pm ET (Audio/Live Stats)
Colorado at #25 Illinois – 3:30 pm ET (Watch Illini/Audio/Live Stats)
RV(#30) Wichita State vs. RV(#35) Cal Poly – 5 pm ET (Audio/Live Stats)
Texas A&M at #6 Wisconsin – 8 pm ET (Big Ten 2 Go/Audio/Live Stats)
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