No. 3 Aggies take on No. 1 Panthers in NCAA Volleyball Semifinals

On Thursday, Dec. 18, the semifinals of the NCAA Volleyball Tournament will commence. On one side of the bracket, the No. 3 Aggies of Texas A&M will take on the No. 1 Panthers of the University of Pittsburgh. Here’s a look at how each team got here and how they can win and advance to the finals.

Texas A&M (No. 3)

How they got here:

The Aggies have fought a few hard battles to make it to their first Final Four in program history. Their first round game, a win over unranked Campbell University, was somewhat of a layup, as the Aggies swept the Camels in three sets. They then went on to beat the No. 6-seed TCU Horned Frogs in four sets.

Things heated up from there. The Aggies beat the No. 2-ranked Louisville Cardinals in a reverse sweep, coming back from a 23-25 and 22-25 deficit to ultimately take the last three sets, 25-23, 25-18, and 15-12. That game clinched the Aggies’ first Elite Eight since 2001, and the magic didn’t stop there. On Dec. 14, A&M took down No. 1-seed and volleyball powerhouse Nebraska in five grueling sets. The Aggies went up early before dropping sets three and four to the Cornhuskers, but they won the fifth set 15-3 and secured their first ever trip to the Final Four, and their second win over a No. 1 seed ever (and their first in 30 years). Additionally, this surprise loss for Nebraska was their first home loss since November 2022.

Who can help them win:

Much of the Aggies’ success this season has come from the power of a few specific players who tend to keep A&M in the game, even when their leads start to slip. Perhaps most significant of all these players is senior opposite hitter Logan Lednicky, who tends to have at least 20 kills per game. Lednicky is assisted by senior middle blocker Ifenna Cos-Okpalla, who regularly leads the team in blocks. If these two can work together as the quiet engine of the A&M team, they can both stabilize the team’s defense and generate offensive harmony. If Cos-Okpalla is the generator, Lednicky is the finisher.

Pittsburgh (No. 1)

How they got here: By being one of the best teams in the nation, simply put. It would’ve been a surprise if Pittsburgh hadn’t made it this far. Their journey began with an easy 3-0 defeat over UMBC in the first round, followed by a 3-0 rout of Michigan in the second round.

Though Pitt started taking on ranked opponents in the third and fourth round, they still didn’t struggle to come out on top. They beat No. 4. Minnesota 3-0 in the third round to make it to their sixth straight quarterfinals; in those quarterfinals, they beat fellow No. 1-seed Purdue 3-1 to advance to their fifth straight semifinals. With that win, the Pittsburgh Panthers became the first program to reach five consecutive NCAA semifinals since Texas (from 2012-2016).

Who can help them win:

It’s impossible to talk about the story of the Pittsburgh Panthers without talking about Olivia Babcock. The junior right side hitter leads in kills in nearly every Pittsburgh game, and she recently broke the single-season program kills record when she made her 564th kill in the first round match against UMBC.

When Babcock is on her best game, she can be almost impossible to compete with. The key to Pittsburgh’s success is making the game work for her. If middle blocker Bre Kelley occupies the defense to make space for Babbock, outside hitter Marina Pezelj helps balance her out, and libero Mallorie Meyer allows Babcock to swing confidently, Pittsburgh may have the recipe for true unbeatability.

5Wins Pick: Pittsburgh