Day 2 of the NCAA Tournament featured 30 matches, including two Round 2 contests.
Let’s talk about those first. The first two teams on to the Sweet 16 are No. 11 seed Utah and No. 2 seed Florida.
The Utes edged past Purdue in four sets, though they faced a set-point at 24-22 in the fourth that could have sent it to five. In the end, No. 11 seed Utah came through with five of the next six points to steal away the 27-25 win and the match. Two Carly Trueman kills and one by Adora Anae turned the tables and put Utah up 25-24. A Dani Barton putaway and Purdue miscue ended the night.
The Gators moved avoided a second straight disappointment in Round 2 with a four-set win over in-state foe Miami. After splitting the first two sets, Florida dominated the third 25-11, but it was far from over. The teams were tied at 18 late in the fourth, but Shainah Joseph came through in the end with three kills and a block to help the Gators seal the 25-23 win. Joseph’s final two putaways gained separation after the Hurricanes cut the margin to one at 23-22 and 24-23.
In first round matches, we saw 20 sweeps in the 32 matches, but also three five-setters. It seemed no one was immune to the down set as even No. 1 seed Penn State dropped a set to Howard. No. 9 seed Creighton also dropped a set before taking out Coastal Carolina and USC lost its opening set to Central Arkansas before hanging on for the home win. The remainder of the Top 16 seeds won their openers in sweeps.
In the five setters, history was made. N.C. State snagged the first postseason victory in program history, edging out Oregon State. Illinois ended Hawaii’s streak of first round wins which dated to 1997. And in what some thought was the stunner of the night, Missouri topped Kansas in the renewal of an old Big 12 rivalry.
In the Lexington region, seven of the eight matches ended in sweeps, the lone exception was a battle between Washington State and Florida State, which the Cougars took in four.
The University Park region had the most extended matches with five of the eight going at least four sets.
In the Palo Alto region, five first round matches were over in sweeps. In the Gainesville region, just three matches lasted past three sets.
| University Park, Pennsylvania Region | ||
Winner |
Loser |
Result |
| #1 Penn State | Howard | 3-1 (25-10, 22-25, 25-15, 25-16) |
| Pittsburgh | VCU | 3-1 (25-14, 25-20, 18-25, 25-13) |
| Missouri | Kansas | 3-2 (25-23, 15-25, 25-15, 20-25, 15-10) |
| #16 Wichita State | Radford | 3-0 (25-16, 25-18, 25-15) |
| #9 Creighton | Coastal Carolina | 3-1 (25-20, 27-25, 20-25, 25-22) |
| Michigan State | Missouri State | 3-0 (25-19, 25-11, 25-15) |
| Illinois | Hawaii | 3-2 (25-18, 25-17, 13-25, 24-26, 15-10) |
| #8 Washington | LIU Brooklyn | 3-0 (25-10, 25-13, 25-15) |
| Lexington, Kentucky Region | ||
| Nebraska | Stony Brook | 3-0 (25-10, 25-14, 25-12) |
| Washington State | Florida State | 3-1 (34-32, 25-14, 23-25, 25-13) |
| Colorado | James Madison | 3-0 (25-21, 25-14, 25-12) |
| #12 Baylor | Miami (Ohio) | 3-0 (25-19, 25-16, 25-21) |
| #13 BYU | American | 3-0 (25-11, 25-17, 25-16) |
| Oregon | Kennesaw State | 3-0 (28-26, 25-19, 25-18) |
| Western Kentucky | Notre Dame | 3-0 (25-16, 25-18, 25-22) |
| #4 Kentucky | East Tennessee State | 3-0 (25-19, 25-20, 25-21) |
| Palo Alto, California Region | ||
| #3 Stanford | CSU Bakersfield | 3-0 (25-11, 25-15, 25-17) |
| Colorado State | Michigan | 3-1 (25-23, 23-25, 25-22, 26-24) |
| Wisconsin | Marquette | 3-0 (27-25, 25-21, 25-11) |
| #14 Iowa State | Princeton | 3-0 925-21, 25-17, 25-14) |
| #11 Utah | Cleveland State | 3-0 (25-14, 25-21, 25-12) |
| Purdue | High Point | 3-1 (21-25, 25-14, 25-22, 25-12) |
| NC State | Oregon State | 3-2 (25-18, 19-25, 25-21, 21-25, 15-13) |
| #6 Texas | Fairfield | 3-0 (25-16, 25-18, 25-17) |
| Second Round | ||
| #11 Utah | Purdue | 3-1 (25-23, 25-19, 13-25, 27-25) |
| Gainesville, Florida Region | ||
| #7 Minnesota | North Dakota | 3-0 (25-20, 25-15, 25-21) |
| Northern Iowa | Louisville | 3-0 (25-21, 25-15, 27-25) |
| San Diego | LSU | 3-1 (25-22, 24-26, 25-23, 25-21) |
| #10 USC | Central Arkansas | 3-1 (22-25, 25-23, 25-18, 25-12) |
| #15 UCLA | Austin Peay | 3-0 (25-10, 25-13, 25-15) |
| Cal Poly | Denver | 3-0 (25-20, 25-18, 25-18) |
| Miami (Fla.) | College of Charleston | 3-1 (25-21, 21-25, 25-20, 25-15) |
| #2 Florida | Alabama State | 3-0 (25-9, 25-13, 25-9) |
| Second Round | ||
| #2 Florida | Miami (Fla.) | 3-1 (25-14, 19-25, 25-11, 25-23) |
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