VOLLEYBALL

College Volleyball

Four of college women’s volleyball’s top teams are set to square off in Louisville on Thursday, with the national championship trophy two matches away.

Tipping off action in Thursday’s NCAA women’s volleyball championship semifinals is an ACC-vs.-ACC matchup between top-ranked Pittsburgh and Louisville, at 6:30 p.m. ET. A Big Ten-vs.-Big Ten semifinal matchup will follow when Penn State takes on Nebraska at 9 p.m. ET, or 30 minutes after the first match’s conclusion, inside KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky.

All four teams competing in the NCAA women’s volleyball national semifinals are No. 1 seeds and won their respective quadrants of the bracket.

Watch NCAA women’s volleyball live with Fubo (free trial)

Led by its star-studded lineup of four AVCA All-Americans — Olivia Babcock, Rachel Fairbanks, Torrey Stafford and Bre Kelley — Pitt has been the team to beat in women’s volleyball this season. The Panthers are making their fourth consecutive appearance in the national semifinals after defeating No. 3 Kentucky in the quarterfinals last Saturday.

One year removed from finishing as runner-up to Texas, Nebraska is back in the national semifinals thanks to a clean sweep victory over Big Ten foe Wisconsin. The Cornhuskers have finished one match short of winning their first national championship since 2017 in two of the last three seasons.

Penn State staved off an upset in its quarterfinals matchups against Big East powerhouse Creighton in Happy Valley, as the Nittany Lions pulled out the rare five-set victory. Outside hitter Jess Mruzik played a big part in the Nittany Lions securing their spot in their 14th national semifinals, as she finished with 20 kills on 54 swings and eight digs in the win over Creighton.

Louisville is the “home team” with the NCAA women’s volleyball championship taking place in its home city. It’s the third consecutive season that Louisville will match-up with ACC foe Pitt in the NCAA women’s volleyball tournament, with each team having won a game.

Here’s what you need to know to watch Thursday’s NCAA women’s volleyball championship semifinals, including time, TV channel, streaming options and more:

What channel are NCAA women’s volleyball semifinals?

• TV channel: ESPN
• Streaming options: ESPN app | Fubo (free trial)

ESPN will broadcast both NCAA women’s volleyball championship semifinal games on Thursday from KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky.

Streaming options for the game include the ESPN app (by logging in with your TV provider credentials) and Fubo, which carries the ESPN family of networks and offers a free trial to new subscribers.

NCAA women’s volleyball championship semifinals start times

• Date: Thursday, Dec. 19
• Times: 6:30 p.m. ET | 9 p.m. ET

The NCAA women’s volleyball championship semifinals will start at 6:30 p.m. ET with No. 1 Pitt taking on No. 1 Louisville. Following the conclusion of Game 1, No. 1 Penn State and No. 1 Nebraska will face each other in the second semifinals matchup at 9 p.m. ET.

Where is the NCAA women’s volleyball championship games in 2024?

• Location: KFC Yum! Center (Louisville, Ky.)
• Capacity: 22,090

The 2024 NCAA women’s volleyball championship is taking place this year at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky. It is the first time that the NCAA women’s volleyball championship is back in Louisville since 2012.

Who won the NCAA women’s volleyball championship in 2023?

Texas won its second consecutive national championship in 2023 by clean sweeping Nebraska 3-0. The Longhorns were the first back-to-back national champions since Stanford did it across the 2018 and 2019 seasons.

Here is a look back at who has won the NCAA national championship since 2010. Click here for the full list of national champions dating back to 1981.

• 2023: Texas
• 2022: Texas
• 2021: Wisconsin
• 2020: Kentucky
• 2019: Stanford
• 2018: Stanford
• 2017: Nebraska
• 2016: Stanford
• 2015: Nebraska
• 2014: Penn State
• 2013: Penn State
• 2012: Texas
• 2011: UCLA
• 2010: Penn State

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