TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Madison Skinner had 18 kills and a Final Four record six aces to lead defending champion Texas to a 3-1 win over Wisconsin in the semifinals of the NCAA women’s volleyball tournament. The Longhorns face Nebraska in Sunday’s championship. Skinner had three aces in an 11-0 run in the third set that broke the match open. Texas won 25-22, 20-25, 25-13, 25-16. The Longhorns had a season-high 11 aces, while the Badgers, a No. 1 regional seed, had 11 service errors. Asjia O’Neal had 11 kills without an error and hit .688. Sarah Franklin and Anna Smrek both had 13 kills for the Badgers.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Harper Murray had 13 kills, Bekka Alllick had 10 blocks and Nebraska continued its relentless march to an NCAA volleyball championship with a 3-0 sweep of Pittsburgh in the semifinals. Nebraska advanced to its 11th championship match and will go for its sixth title on Sunday. The Huskers won 25-20, 25-23 and 25-7. Pitt, which had 22 attacking errors, lost the first set on an attack error, lost the second with a service error and the third on a net violation. Pitt’s only leads were 1-0, 3-2 and 4-2 in the first set. The Cornhuskers set the tone with eight blocks in the first set and hit .407 in the third to improved to 15-0 against Pitt. The last meeting was in the 2021 semifinals, won by Nebraska 3-1. Olivia Babcock had 12 kills and Torrey Stafford had 10 for Pitt.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Steven Crowl had 19 points and nine rebounds, Tyler Wahl added 16 points and No. 23 Wisconsin beat Jacksonville State 75-60. Wahl scored the first eight points for the Badgers, who never trailed as they bounced back from a lackluster performance in last Saturday’s 98-73 loss at No. 1 Arizona. Wahl went 6 of 9 from the field in the first half as Wisconsin led 38-30 at the break. KyKy Tandy scored 16 points for Jacksonville State. Marcellus Brigham Jr. came off the bench to score 10 first-half points for the Gamecocks, but he didn’t score after halftime.
UNDATED (AP) — Former Oregon State quarterback Aidan Chiles has announced he is following coach Jonathan Smith to Michigan State as a transfer. Chiles hade his commitment to Michigan State public in a social media post. He played in nine games this season as a freshman backup to DJ Uiagalelei. The former four-star recruit from California threw for 309 yards and four touchdowns and ran for three scores. Smith left Oregon State to become the head coach at Michigan State on Nov. 25.
UNDATED (AP) — Bowl season is becoming increasingly complicated. With so many players opting out and jumping into the portal and coaches changing jobs, the teams that show up to play in the bowls often don’t look much like the ones that played during the regular season. Still, you should watch every bowl game. Why watch? AP College Football Writer Ralph Russo has got you covered.
