How to Watch Nebraska Volleyball in NCAA First & Second Rounds: Previews, Breakdowns, Streaming

The No. 2 Huskers begin their postseason journey as the second overall seed, hosting regionals with Florida A&M, Miami, and South Dakota State coming to town.

Geoff Exstrom | Dec 5, 2024

Nebraska volleyball players celebrate a point at Maryland. / Nebraska Athletics

One season ends and another begins.

The No. 2 Nebraska volleyball dropped its second match of the season in a four-set loss to No. 3 Penn State on Black Friday, but that didn’t stop the Huskers from winning a share of their second-straight Big Ten championship, and fifth since joining the conference.

Despite the loss, it didn’t affect the NCAA Tournament seedings when they were released on Sunday, as NU was named the No. 2 overall seed in the tournament, securing home-court advantage all the way until the Final Four in Louisville. It’s the Huskers 43rd-straight NCAA Tournament appearance and 39th time they will host on the opening weekend. Nebraska has their work cut out for them with Miami, Wisconsin and Arizona State all in their regional, but no one said the road to Louisville would be easy.

Before postseason play began, a flurry of Huskers took home some Big Ten awards. Merritt Beason, Harper Murray, Bergen Reilly, Lexi Rodriguez and Andi Jackson were all named to the 25-person All-Big Ten First Team. Plus, Rodriguez won the Big Ten Libero of the Year award, marking her third Big Ten Defensive Player / Libero of the Year honor. Reilly won her second-straight Setter of the Year award, marking the first player in Big Ten history to accomplish that feat as a freshman and sophomore. She’s also the first Husker to win multiple Setter of the Year awards.

Here’s all you need to know for this weekend’s first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament in Lincoln.

How to Follow Along

First Round

When: Friday, December 6
Where: Bob Devaney Sports Center, Lincoln, NE
Matchups: Miami (FL) vs. South Dakota State - 4:30 p.m. CST | Nebraska vs. Florida A&M - 7 p.m. CST*
Watch: ESPN+ (All matches)
Listen: Huskers Radio Network and Affiliates

*or 30 minutes following the conclusion of the first match, but no sooner than 7 p.m.

Second Round

When: Saturday, December 6
Where: Bob Devaney Sports Center, Lincoln, NE
Matchup: First Round Winners - 7 p.m. CST
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: Huskers Radio Network and Affiliates

Florida A&M Scout

Head Coach: Gokhan Yilmaz | 7th Season at FAMU; 8th as Head Coach | 112-77 (.593) at FAMU; 129-94 (.593) as Head Coach | 3x NCAA Tournament Appearances, 3x SWAC Champions, 3x SWAC Coach OTY | One season as head coach at Charlotte; previous assistant stops at FAMU, Florida State, Arkansas, Northwood, Cameron and Western New Mexico.

2024 Record: 27-6 (16-0 SWAC, 1st) | SWAC Regular Season & Tournament Champions | SWAC Coach of the Year, 2x All-SWAC First Team, 2x All-SWAC Second Team.

All-Time Series: vs. Nebraska: Florida A&M leads 1-0 (Sept. 10, 2004 last matchup, 3-1 Florida A&M)

Fun Fact: Florida A&M’s upset of Nebraska is one of, if not the biggest upset in the program’s history. The Rattlers' victory in 2004 marked the first time an unranked opponent had won a match in the NU Coliseum since 1986. Merritt Beason has experience against FAMU in the NCAA Tournament when she was at Florida, as the Gators swept both matches.

Other Key Contributors: Iyonnie Sanford, OH, Soph. (2.66 K/S) | Brookelynn Thomas, MB, Gr. (2.47 K/S) | Isis Williams, MB, Gr. (1.26 B/S) | Taylor Makenzie, S, Fr. (5.06 A/S) | London Hatch, S, Sr. (2.36 A/S, 26 Aces).

Outlook: Florida A&M enters its third overall NCAA Tournament appearance aiming to repeat its 2004 feat of upsetting a top-three team in the country. In 2004, the Rattlers became the first unranked team since 1986 to beat Nebraska at the NU Coliseum with a 3-1 victory.

Circumstances are different this time around, but what isn’t is FAMU’s dominance of its conference. The Rattlers went an unblemished 19-0 in SWAC play, which includes its 3-0 run through the conference tournament. All six losses came during non-conference play with defeats to West Florida, South Dakota State (Also in Lincoln Regional), Georgia State, McNeese State, Southeastern Louisiana and Louisiana.

5-foot-9 senior outside hitter Brooke Lynn Watts will be the one to watch. After averaging 3.65 kills per set to lead the team, Lynn Watts was named to her third consecutive All-SWAC First Team honor. She set new career highs in kills, kills per set, hitting percentage, aces digs, blocks and points. Offensively, look out for outside hitter Iyonnie Sanford (2.66 K/S) and middle blocker Brookelynn Thomas (2.47 K/S) to provide support. Alexandra Koleva (7.13 A/S) and Makenzie Taylor (5.06 A/S) form a two-setter offensive system for the Rattlers with the two also combining for 38 aces, including 25 alone from Koleva, who is one of six players with 25 or more aces.

FAMU has four middle blockers who have seen action in 73 sets or more. Senior Kalia Todd leads the way with 102 blocks and 1.76 kills per set. Isis Williams (98 blocks), Thomas (82 blocks) and Farah Farooq (52 blocks) have all rotated throughout the season.

Spanish freshman libero Tinons Galmés leads the team and was second in the SWAC with 4.29 digs per set. She’s also a threat from the service line with 36 aces, which is second in the team and tied for seventh in the conference.

I wouldn’t be expecting another major upset like in 2004, but this is a quality Florida A&M team who has run the table in the SWAC the last few seasons. One major outlier from this team is the amount of depth. 15 players have played in 40 or more sets, while 11 have appeared in at least 72. Expect to see plenty of faces subbing in and out when they take on the Huskers Friday night.

Miami (FL) Scout

Head Coach: Jose “Keno” Gandara | 12th Season at Miami | 216-127 (.630) school & career record | 8x NCAA Tournament Appearances | Previous assistant coach roles at Washington, UNLV and UC Santa Barbara.

2024 Record: 21-10 (12-8 ACC, T-7th) | 1x All-ACC First Team, 1x All-ACC Second Team.

All-Time Series: vs. SDSU: Miami leads 1-0 (Sept. 4, 2008 last matchup, 3-0 Miami)

Fun Fact: This season will mark the Hurricanes’ 13th all-time NCAA Tournament appearance. They have made the tournament eight different times under head coach Jose “Keno” Gandara, including four straight.

Other Key Contributors: Grace Lopez, OH, Soph. (3.54 K/S) | Ava Carney, OH, Soph. (2.20 K/S) | Ashley Carr, MB, Sr. (70 Blocks) | Paula Guersching, OH, Sr. (1.80 K/S, 21 Aces).

Outlook: Miami enters Friday as one of the more dangerous eight seeds in one quarter of the bracket. The Hurricanes may have finished tied for seventh in the new version of the ACC, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t create chaos throughout the year.

Miami defeated four top-25 teams during the 2024 season which includes – in order – No. 1 Texas (3-2), No. 25 Arkansas (3-0), No. 5 Stanford (3-2) and No. 15 Georgia Tech (3-2).

The dynamic duo of junior Flormarie Heredia Colon and sophomore Grace Lopez are big proponents of those upsets. Heredia Colon leads the team with 4.30 kills per set on a .248 hitting percentage. Her kills per set mark is second in the ACC while also second in points per set. She’s put up double-digit kills in all but four matches this season, including a season high 30 against a ranked SMU team on Nov. 15. Unsurprisingly, she was named to the All-ACC First Team.

Grace Lopez made the All-ACC Second Team behind 3.54 kills per set with 2.31 digs per set, 75 blocks and 31 aces. Her .260 clip is higher than Heredia Colon, while also making a bigger impact at the net. It’s a down year for Lopez, however, after averaging 4.11 kills per set last season.

5-foot-10 redshirt freshman setter Ariana Rodriguez runs the offense for Miami with a team-leading 8.67 assists per set. She’s also the team’s biggest threat from the service line with a team-high 38 aces and 1.89 digs per set. Senior libero Yaidaliz Rosado leads the team with 3.09 digs per set while also adding 25 aces.

Dalia Wilson – standing at 6-foot-4 – leads the effort at the net with 108 blocks while hitting .270 on the season with 1.36 kills per set, which is low for a middle blocker. The junior is in her first year with the Hurricanes after transferring from Kansas State. Senior Ashley Carr (1.23 B/S) and redshirt freshman Bianka Lulić (0.95 B/S) split time as the second middle blocker. Lulić has been more offensive with 1.14 kills per set on a .345 hitting percentage, which leads the team.

What makes this team so dangerous is their ability to play high-caliber volleyball and compete with some of the top teams in the country. They’ve shown that ability both at home and on the road, so a first-round win should be within expectation. If Nebraska and Miami both win, that second round matchup may be closer than some might think.

South Dakota State volleyball players huddle after a point during Tuesday's win over Chicago State. Img 9902 / Matt Zimmer / USA TODAY NETWORK

South Dakota State Scout

Head Coach: Dan Georgalas | 5th Season at SDSU | 79-60 (.568) SDSU & Career record | Previous assistant coach roles at Wyoming, Kansas and Stephen F. Austin.

2024 Record: 27-2 (15-1 Summit, 1st) | Summit League Player, Freshman and Coach OTY, 2x All-Summit League First Team, 1x Honorable Mention, 1x Freshman Team.

Fun Fact: SDSU will be making its second NCAA Tournament appearance in school history and first since 2007. However, the Jackrabbits made it as an at-large after dominating the Summit League, despite losing in the conference tournament final to South Dakota.

Other Key Contributors: Madison Burr, RS/MB, Fr. (1.90 K/S, 130 blocks) | Alyssa Groves, RS, Gr. (96 Blocks, 1.64 K/S) | Camryn Honn, S, Gr. (4.21 A/S, 25 SA) | Joslyn Richardson, DS/OH, Soph. (2.41 D/S).

Outlook: South Dakota State nearly ran the table in the Summit League, going undefeated during the regular season before losing to rival South Dakota in the Summit League Tournament Championships. It’s rare for a Group of Five team to receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, but the Jackrabbits joined that exclusive party.

It’s rare to see such a jump as SDSU did with head coach Dan Georgalas. The Jackrabbits went 9-20 in 2023 following back-to-back seasons of being above .500. That rise has to do with the explosion of sophomore Sylvie Zgonc who followed up her Summit League Freshman of the Year award last season by winning the Summit League Player of the Year in 2024. She’s had an unreal season by posting 540.5 points, 4.41 kills per set on a .249 clip, 26 aces, 2.68 digs per set and 45 blocks.

She’s accompanied by redshirt junior Sydni Schetan who was also named to the All-Summit League First Team as a middle blocker. She’s second on the team with 2.50 kills per set, and dominates at the net with 141 total blocks on the season. Plus, second middle blocker Madison Burr won Summit League Freshman of the Year honors after recording 130 total blocks with 1.90 kills per set.

Setter Rylee Martin runs the offense with 6.47 assists per set, while excelling from behind the service line with a team-leading 38 aces on the season. You could also see Camryn Honn who has averaged 4.21 assists per set this season with 25 aces.

Back-row defense could be a problem as libero Joslyn Richardson has averaged only 2.41 digs per set with Zgonc leading the team with 2.68 digs per set. Miami’s a tough out in the first round for SDSU, but don’t be shocked if the Jackrabbits figure out a way to advance.

GEOFF EXSTROM

How to Watch Nebraska Volleyball in NCAA First & Second Rounds: Previews, Breakdowns, Streaming

Geoff Exstrom | Dec 5, 2024

How to Follow Along

Florida A&M Scout

Miami (FL) Scout

South Dakota State Scout

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