Two Big Ten Teams To Compete In NCAA Semifinals

Two of the four Big Ten teams remain in the NCAA Volleyball Tournament. Nebraska is set to take on Texas and Minnesota will face Stanford. The Big Ten is currently 19-6 in the tournament. Minnesota’s Paige Tapp earned the 2016 Senior CLASS Award, with twin sister Hannah Tapp and Nebraska’s Kadie Rolfzen also being nominated for the award.

• Two Big Ten volleyball programs remain in the hunt for a national championship. Second-seeded Minnesota and top-seeded Nebraska will compete in the Final Four on Thursday. The Golden Gophers will take on No. 6 Stanford, while Nebraska will play fourth-seeded Texas in a rematch of last year’s national championship match. The winner of each contest will advance to the national championship match on Saturday.

• The last time the NCAA championship match featured two Big Ten squads was in 2013 when Penn State claimed a four-set win over Wisconsin.

• Nebraska has claimed four national championships, lifting the trophy in 1995, 2000, 2006 and 2015. The Golden Gophers will look to claim their first national title.

• Since 2004, current Big Ten institutions have appeared in every national championship match, claiming eight national titles in that span, including one NCAA Championship and one runner-up finish from Nebraska, prior to joining the Big Ten.

• Nebraska’s Kadie Rolfzen was named the NCAA Lincoln Regional Most Outstanding Player, while the Golden Gophers’ Sarah Wilhite claimed the Minneapolis Regional Most Outstanding Player plaudit. Both players have led their squads to their second straight Final Four appearance.

• A Big Ten record-tying 16 students were named AVCA All-America selections. One-half of all players on the first team were from Big Ten institutions. The Big Ten also boasted six second-team honorees and three third-team selections. In addition, 10 standouts were named AVCA Honorable Mention All-America.

•Nebraska’s Kadie Rolfzen and Wisconsin’s Lauren Carlini became the 27th and 28th players in Division I history to be named All-America selections in all four years of their respective careers.

• Minnesota’s Paige Tapp was named the 2016 Senior CLASS Award winner.

News courtesy of the Big Ten.