Madisen Skinner was named the Stanford Regional Most Outstanding Player in Texas’ 3-1 victory on Saturday.
The Texas Volleyball team has secured a spot in the NCAA Final Four after a hard fought victory over No. 2 Stanford on their home court. The match took place during the Stanford regionals and was an intense battle, with both teams going back and forth.
However, Texas ultimately emerged with a 3-1 victory behind the valiant efforts of Madisen Skinner.
On Saturday, Skinner was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Stanford Regional after an impressive match where she finished with 24 kills, the highest of any player on both teams.
This win is a testament to the resiliency of the entire Texas Volleyball team, and they will be a formidable contender in the upcoming Final Four when they face Wisconsin on Dec. 14.
The Wisconsin women’s volleyball team was able to take down Penn State in the NCAA Regional Semifinals on Thursday night, defeating the Nittany Lions 3-1. The Badgers are back in the Elite 8 where they fell to Pittsburgh last season.
Kelly Sheffield’s squad got their payback against Penn State after falling to their Big Ten foes 3-1 on the road Nov. 11.
The Badgers were able to take the first set handily 25-11, setting the tone early. The second set was a marathon 30-28 loss for Wisconsin, but they came back to win the next two 25-12 and 25-18.
Wisconsin will face Oregon at the UW Field House on Saturday night. The Ducks were able to sweep Purdue on their way to Regional Finals versus the Badgers.
“Wisconsin advances to the Elite Eight.”
Wisconsin volleyball beat Penn State in 4 sets tonight and will play either Purdue or Oregon on Saturday night with the winner moving to the Final Four. Here is tonight’s final call from @TheGameMadisonpic.twitter.com/6b3WXHmKpT
The Wisconsin women’s volleyball season starts tonight, with the number two ranked Badgers facing off with number 15 Baylor at the Big Ten/Big 12 Challenge.
Kelly Sheffield’s team is just two seasons removed from their National Championship win over Nebraska in 2021 and they’ll look to get back to the top again in 2023.
In 2022, the team advanced all the way to the final eight, losing to Pittsburgh 3-2 over five sets, the last of which finished 15-13.
With most of the roster returning this season, Wisconsin will have a shot to win their fifth consecutive Big Ten conference title.
After Baylor, the Badgers play again Saturday at 4:30 versus TCU.
In 2020, Lichtman agreed to come back from retirement and play in the inaugural season of Athletes Unlimited volleyball
This Women’s History Month, I will be spotlighting women athletes and their achievements in college, after college, and beyond. Athletes are Humans First and while I want to highlight their athletic ability and achievements, I also want to point a spotlight on what they are doing off their field of play.
Cassidy Lichtman is the Director of Volleyball for Athletes Unlimited where she was previously a professional volleyball player and Chairperson of the Player Executive Committee. Lichtman is a former member of the USA Volleyball Women’s National Team, a two-time All-American, and an Academic All-American at Stanford.
She played professionally in Europe and Asia for five years and was keenly aware of the power imbalances prevalent in sport between the owners and the players. The owners had full control and reign over the lives of the athletes on the court and a huge level of power off the court as well.
“Rule number 1, don’t argue with the owner, because they own you. The decide if you get paid, if you get fired, where you live, how much you play, whether or not you get Christmas off,” Lichtman said in her TEDxBoston presentation entitled The Power in My Voice. She played half of the year in Europe and Asia and half the year on the USA Volleyball Women’s National Team and retired in 2016. However in 2020, when a professional league was founded in the United States, Lichtman agreed to come back from retirement and play in the inaugural season of Athletes Unlimited volleyball. Up until that point, no professional indoor volleyball leagues existed in the United States.
There were no owners, no clubs, and no set teams. This was something entirely different than anything Lichtman had experienced previously in her volleyball career. The balance of power was shifted and players held power with the founders of the league. This was a novel concept that kept the players at the nexus of all decisions made within the league. Lichtman became the Chairperson of the Player Executive Committee (PEC) which is made up of five athletes from the volleyball league. The PEC meets with league staff, co-founders, and other leadership to work together on decision-making that affects the league.
One revolutionary decision the players were allowed to make is what uniforms they wanted to wear. Some players wanted shorts and others wanted long leggings, so each player was able to choose what bottoms they wore. This seemingly small choice, allowed all the players to feel comfortable when they were doing their job, playing volleyball professionally.
Other teams in other professional women’s leagues are starting to allow athletes to make choices about their own bodies. Recently, the Orlando Pride of the National Women’s Soccer League announced, in a press release:
“Orlando Pride has announced an updated look to its Luna Kit, the Club’s secondary jersey. To make players more comfortable and confident when playing during their menstrual cycle, the team will now wear black shorts, replacing the white shorts previously worn throughout the 2022 season and with other secondary kits in prior years.”
Small change but important priority for us. Improving performance and setting an example regarding inclusivity and accessibility to keep women, girls, and menstruating non-binary and trans athletes in sport matters! Thankful for the buy-in to make these changes! #PrideOrDiehttps://t.co/flgnCugmgT
Athletes having a voice in their workplace and being able to advocate for themselves is vital to a healthy sports ecosystem. People like Lichtman are making sure athletes are given that opportunity.
Athletes Unlimited volleyball is gearing up for another season. Ahead of their fall season, the league is embarking upon the Athletes Unlimited Volleyball Exhibition Tour. The tour features Athletes Unlimited professional volleyball athletes traveling across the United States playing exhibition matches against top college programs. This tour will promote the sport at a grassroots level and preview what’s to come in season 3 of Athletes Unlimited volleyball.
The Cornhuskers are jumping on the outdoor sports trend with a record-setting attendance in mind.
The five-time national champion Nebraska volleyball team plans to add another accolade to its collection in the form of the sport’s NCAA attendance record this fall, and that plan involves jumping on the outdoor sports trend.
On Aug. 30, the Cornhuskers will be leaving the confines of their arena to play Nebraska-Omaha at the football team’s Memorial Stadium. The attendance record for an NCAA volleyball match is currently 18,755, which was set in 2021.
Memorial Stadium seats more than 85,000, so a sizable representation would easily set the record.
Nebraska is turning it into a big event in hopes of driving up attendance. The university described it in a release as a celebration of the impact of volleyball on the state of Nebraska, and it will feature an exhibition matchup between in-state Division II programs and a performance from a “national recording artist” who is yet to be determined.
We’ve seen a recent push for indoor sports to experiment with playing outdoors — particularly in hockey with the NHL’s Stadium Series. It would be cool to see college volleyball expand on this trend, perhaps as other teams attempt to chase the record that the ‘Huskers are likely to break this fall.
Everyone was in the building for Creighton-Nebraska women’s volleyball.
Women’s volleyball in the state of Nebraska is about as good as it gets.
Every year, the Cornhuskers, of Lincoln roll out one of the best teams in all of the NCAA, as evidenced by their five national championships (tied for third-most in the sport). Meanwhile in Omaha, Creighton has also become a mainstay in the Top 25 over the years. And when you put the two in-state rivals on the same court, you get some seriously high-level volleyball.
What you also get when the two teams link up is an amazing turnout. Wednesday’s match, in which the No. 2 Huskers outlasted the No. 17 Bluejays in five sets, nearly filled up the CHI Health Center in Omaha.
The attendance? An NCAA women’s volleyball record-setting regular-season crowd of 15,797.
Last night, 15,797 fans attended Nebraska Volleyball's win over Creighton.
It's the largest regular season volleyball crowd in NCAA history.
The top 13 largest regular season crowds in NCAA history have all involved the Huskers.
Texas volleyball set for another run at a national championship.
Jerritt Elliott has turned Texas volleyball into a national powerhouse during his 20-plus years as the head coach.
The Longhorns have reached nine Final Four appearances and five national championship games since Elliott’s arrival. The Horns won the national championship in 2012.
The 2021 Longhorns have continued the dynasty. Texas is 24-1 and won their fifth straight Big 12 conference title this season.
On Sunday night, the NCAA announced Texas as the No. 2 national seed for the NCAA tournament.
If they can keep winning, Texas will have the luxury of not having to play outside of Gregory Gym until the Final Four. Texas will host Sacred Heart, Rice, and San Diego this weekend for the first two rounds of the tournament.
The bracket sets up a potential rematch of last season’s national championship in the Elite Eight between No. 2 Texas and No. 7 Kentucky.
Texas won 15 of 16 matches against teams who qualified for the 2021 NCAA tournament. The only loss was to No. 5 Baylor in Waco.
