🏐 It's Anyone's Championship Now

It looks like the NCAA Volleyball Classroom is out of chalk.

This had been a tournament of favorites taking care of business. The top-ranked teams who won home-court advantage via their regular season success were dominating December, as home teams began the tournament 37-1 – Cal Poly's Round 2 upset of USC in L.A. being the lone blemish – punctuated by Kentucky and Pitt winning convincingly at home Saturday to earn Final Four berths.

That home cooking turned into a kitchen fire on Sunday, and Pitt tripled its championship odds by simply watching from afar.

Nebraska and Texas – the two teams seen for months as destined to meet in the National Championship match when both began 18-0 – saw their seasons go up in flames in their home gyms. While Texas' Elite Eight defeat at the hands of Mimi Colyer and a talented Wisconsin squad was foreseeable, the volleyball world didn't perceive theretofore-undefeated Nebraska as nearly so vulnerable.

The Cornhuskers were fresh off a 25-12, 25-11, 25-12 drubbing of Kansas, but senior-laden Texas A&M shocked 'em (corn pun) by jumping out to a 2-0 set lead. I won't go into the rigamarole of recapping a match that I only started watching in the 4th set... but GOOD LORD what a 4th set as A&M saved nine set points before Nebraska finally won the frame 37-35.

The Aggies were ultimately too powerful on Sunday, finishing off a stunning five-set win and flipping the Final Four into chaos. A&M will find itself as the only Lone Star team in Kansas City, as Wisconsin held Texas' Torrey Stafford to single-digit kills and .132 hitting in a four-set victory on the other side of the bracket.

The national semifinals will feature two battles of 1-seed vs. 3-seed. Those 1-seeds, Pitt and Kentucky, will only be slight favorites against the two 'underdogs' that proved their mettle against the blue bloods on Sunday. Texas A&M hits the piss out of the ball. Wisconsin is now 22-1 with Charlie Fuerbringer setting. It could be a very long Thursday night.

Pitt's path to a title no longer crosses with Nebraska's. That helps matters, but the Panthers now need to prepare for the team that went into Lincoln and beat the Huskers.

An Unlikely Championship Becomes Possible

This was supposed to be a transition year at Pitt.

The Panthers lost their steady libero, their All-America setter (who went on to win a pro championship and a National Team spot), and oh yeah, they were down to one outside hitter in January when a versatile veteran graduated, an all-around superstar unexpectedly decamped to Texas, and a touted freshman was quickly in and out under unusual circumstances.

So, in the order outlined above: no Emmy Klika, no Rachel Fairbanks, no Valeria Vazquez-Gomez, no Torrey Stafford, no Samara Coleman... I guess, no problem?

As it turns out, Pitt Volleyball doesn't have transition years under coach Dan Fisher. They just have winning years.

Olivia Babcock was asked after Pitt's Elite Eight win over Purdue, did she expect after all those departures that she'd be headed to a fifth straight Final Four?

"Yes," Babcock responded, sans hesitation. "I would've said 'Fish is going to figure it out.'"

Fisher quickly objected into Babcock's ear, "WE'RE going to..."

"WE are going to figure it out, together," Babcock corrected herself. "And we did."

Here we are, as in olden days. The 2022 season was supposed to be one of those transition years after Pitt saw all-time greats Kayla Lund and Chinaza Ndee graduate alongside electrifying transfer Leketor Member-Meneh – but Courtney Buzzerio's right arm led them back to the Final Four.

Back then, Buzzerio recorded 26% of her team's kills. Babcock's has 36%.

Babcock will, barring some corrupt French judge stopping her, be National Player of the Year once again – becoming the first non-Stanford player to do so since the great Misty May in 1997 and 1998. She has earned every bit of it.

Stepping Up in December

When other volleyball fans say "But Pitt's only good because they have Olivia Babcock!" my usual response is a Lenny-esque "Yeah, and Babcock beat their brains out!" Still, it's not Liv alone propelling the Panthers back to the National Semifinals.

Last year's Pitt team was more talented and more dominant, but they were dangerously close to being eliminated in the Sweet 16 – barely out-gunning Oregon for a five-set home win. This year's edition is peaking at the right time, as they come into the Final Four having only dropped one set in all of December, Saturday's 3rd set in which Purdue collected seven blocks.

I'll point toward two players in particular who are playing their best volleyball here in the NCAA Tournament: freshman outside Marina Pezelj and senior setter Brooke Mosher.

Flowers first for Pezelj. I'll be honest: I thought outside hitter was a weak spot for Pitt heading into the tournament, but Pezelj has calmed my fears through the first four rounds with strong and consistent play both offensively and defensively.

Pezelj tied her season high with 12 kills in Round 2 against Michigan, then set a new high by recording 14 kills in the win over Purdue. She hit over .320 in both contests, providing better efficiency than usual along with some useful off-speed shots that keep opponents – prepared for the hot shots from Babcock and Bayless – off balance.

"She made really good choices," Fisher said after the Purdue match. "I think she had about five 'shove' kills when she saw those openings, which is kind of Purdue's game. I think she just was really in the moment making good decisions."

On the defensive side, Pezelj has recorded back-to-back double-digit dig totals. There have been many times where it looked like a ball would bounce off a block touch for a kill, but Pezelj was well-positioned in coverage to keep it up and get Pitt back in the point. Her teammates will need those kinds of clutch plays against the powerful swings of Texas A&M.

And Brooke Mosher. If we voted on Pitt's most improved player from the beginning of the season to the end, Mosher probably wins that plaque. While she was no slouch back in August, the drop-off from Rachel Fairbanks was obvious. Timing was off. A Pitt attack that should've been dominant was rather pedestrian early on.

What a difference a few months with coaches Dan Fisher and Kamalani Akeo will do.

Mosher is running this show. She directed Pitt's offense to a .349 hitting percentage on Saturday, and the numbers only reflect a portion of Mosher's prowess running down balls and setting Babcock, Bayless and Pezelj up for success. She is showing herself to be a championship-caliber setter.

Then you've got Mosher's jump-topspin serve. Holy crap. There's a reason Shohei Ohtani hits leadoff for the Dodgers, and there's a reason Mosher serves first for Pitt. You want to give her as many opportunities from the service line as possible, because when her serve is on, it wins you points.

It worked out perfectly against Purdue. When Pitt went up 21-17 in the fourth set, Mosher walked back to the line and assured that they would be advancing. Sharp serves followed, including one that practically broke through the tape for an ace to make it 24-17. Mosher made it back-to-back with a power slider that was practically un-passable. Set. Match. Regional.

"That was insane," Mosher said after. "Ending it on an ace is maybe something I wouldn't have expected, but being able to see that ball drop and go to the Final Four is just insane."

And Then There Were Four

Championship trophies aren't awarded to the "best team," they're won by the group that (in the case of this 64-team tournament) wins six times in a row. This Pitt team can win two more matches, even matches against missile-launching Texas A&M and all-around-strong Kentucky and Wisconsin.

Nebraska joins in a long line of magical unbeaten regular seasons that evaporated in the postseason. The 18-0 Patriots were upset by the 13-6 Giants in Super Bowl XLII. The 38-0 Kentucky men's basketball team lost to Wisconsin in the 2015 Final Four. You have to run through the tape.

Ultimately the 2025 Championship was the Cornhuskers' to lose. Well, they lost it. Now we could see any of these four teams hoist the trophy. If you'll forgive a cross-sport metaphor, this Final Four may be as much of a jump ball as we'll ever see.