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How the Ski Business Got Too Big for Its Boots

Published

11 months ago

January 12, 2025

How the Ski Business Got Too Big for Its Boots

More StoriesThis is what happens when companies don’t have to compete for labor. Thanks to industry agglomeration, ski-resort workers have only a small number of potential employers, making it harder to switch jobs if they don’t like the way a particular resort treats them. And supervisors can afford to be high-handed. During my tenure, for example, instructors would sometimes have shifts added to their schedule without permission; at other times, they would have shifts canceled after arriving at work—meaning that they’d driven to the mountain only to get sent home without pay.For now, however, what’s on offer to skiers is governed by the unfortunate logic of mountains and monopolies. America has only so many ski areas, and as long as they’re controlled by a couple of conglomerates, the whole experience will continue to go downhill.Naturally, this strategy has worked well for both Vail and Alterra. Vail’s revenues have increased by 50 percent since my brief spell with the company in 2017. Alterra, a smaller company, is privately held and does not disclose its financials. But Big Ski’s business model works well enough at Alterra’s scale that, last year, it purchased a new ski area in Colorado for more than 0 million.For those unfamiliar with the industry, the union’s decision may have seemed puzzling. People who work on skis tend to love skiing, so why would they want to stop? They’re called ski bums, after all, not ski laborers. But for anyone who has been employed by Vail—and navigated the housing crises that plague resort communities—the union’s pleas are entirely comprehensible. The Park City strike illustrates just how distorted the American ski business has become, both for workers and for visitors. Central to the malaise is one trend: monopolization.As a result, skiers tend to buy either Vail’s Epic Pass or Alterra’s Ikon Pass, season tickets that, depending on category, afford varying levels of access to a selection of the companies’ resorts (and, particularly for Ikon, of affiliated ones). These passes offer a better deal than day tickets; in some circumstances, they give better value than the season passes of earlier eras. But they also represent an intricate form of price discrimination filled with disadvantages. Skiers must purchase them before the winter begins. Many of the passes come with restrictions. And, as a lump sum, they’re hardly cheap: The Epic “Northeast Value Pass,” for example, is about 0, and has blackout dates on Vail’s marquee northeastern-U.S. properties. Only the full Epic Pass, priced at roughly ,000, is limit free.The system has not worked as well for staff, who remain underpaid. Vail set its minimum wage at in March 2022, after facing staffing shortages and an earlier strike threat by ski patrollers. But that hourly figure is set against the extremely high cost of living in resort towns: In Park City, the median monthly rent is ,500, which is about what a Vail minimum-wage employee makes working full-time. Meanwhile, Vail’s charity arm continues to brag about helping staff with “hardship relief.”How a Strongman Made Himself Look WeakThis article originally misapplied a male pronoun to Quinn Graves. In fact, Graves is a woman who uses female pronouns.This new economic model means that visitors have fewer affordable ways to hit the slopes—especially if they ski only on an occasional basis. For instance, newbies may find themselves obliged to buy season passes just to spend a few days learning how to ski. The season-pass imperative also forces skiers of all levels to commit to one of two ecosystems, Epic or Ikon. This constrains people’s choice of where to ski, and makes planning trips with friends harder. What it does allow is conglomerates to keep people ensconced at company properties, buying overpriced food, lodging, and equipment.Support for this project was provided by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.At the Park City resort, Vail owns a formidable collection of lodges and rental properties, but none of it was allocated to employees in my time. In 2022, the company began working with a separate development to help lease out discounted units for 441 of its staffers—but Vail has hundreds more employees at the resort, so those dormitories and apartments are nowhere near enough to make a very expensive town remotely affordable for most workers. In fact, according to a 2023 University of Utah study, only 12 percent of the community’s workforce live in Park City itself. This housing crisis is one of the main factors behind the strike. To help explain the picketing, Quinn Graves, one of the union’s officials, told New York magazine that most of her colleagues don’t live locally.That video came to mind last month when I heard that, starting December 27, Park City’s ski patrollers were going on strike to demand higher wages and better treatment. “We are asking all of you to show your support by halting spending at Vail Resorts properties for the duration of this strike,” the union said in an Instagram post. “Do not use Vail-owned rental shops or retail stores. Do not stay in Vail-owned hotels.”Most of the visitors who fly in to ski at Park City probably do not think much about these issues. They are, after all, there for a vacation, not for field research on economic injustice. But this season, they’ve had plenty of opportunity to ponder that: Because most of the resort closed during the patrollers’ strike, visitors had to wait in freezing lines for hours for brief runs down the few slopes Vail managed to keep open with supervisors and patrollers drafted from other mountains. Many of these guests, sick of Park City’s high costs, came down on the side of the strikers. Online, angry customers blasted Vail for refusing to give staff a raise. One person filed a lawsuit against the company in which he bemoaned how ski-ticket prices have risen “exponentially” over the past 10 years. In person, guests chanted “Pay your employees” while waiting to get on lifts.On January 8, the company listened. It struck a deal to increase average pay for patrollers by an hour and offer better leave policies. “This contract is more than just a win for our team,” Seth Dromgoole, the union’s lead negotiator, said in a statement. “It’s a groundbreaking success in the ski and mountain worker industry.” Other Park City employees, including instructors, have similarly cheered, hoping that the bump will eventually extend to them.For much of skiing’s history, mountains were locally owned and operated. But over the past few decades, that has changed. In the 1990s, ski resorts began buying other ski resorts. Private-equity firms got in on the act. Soon, these conglomerates were gobbling up one another, creating a small clique of businesses that had control over the industry. Independent mountains still dot the country, but most major resorts now are either owned by or associated with one of two giant corporations: Vail and Alterra.The Democrats’ Senate Nightmare Is Only Beginning

In 2016, I was hired to teach skiing at the Park City resort, in Utah. The ultimate fun job: For one winter, I would get paid to do and share my favorite activity.

Updated at 2:08 p.m. ET on January 12, 2025

About the Author

Daniel Block

Daniel Block is a senior editor at Foreign Affairs.

The outcome may encourage other ski-resort workers to organize. The idea of unionizing was bandied about by ski-school workers when I was there, and labor-organization rates have spiked at ski areas. The rationale is compelling: To get a fair deal in the face of corporate consolidation, workers may have to consolidate themselves.This consolidation is perhaps the main reason the sticker price of skiing, never cheap, has become exorbitant. With fewer competitors, Vail and Alterra have been free to jack up prices. In 2000, when Mount Snow (where I learned to ski) was owned by a smaller company, the cost of a day pass was about in today’s dollars. Today, the Vail-owned resort charges approximately 0. The pricing at Park City is even steeper. Twenty-five years ago, you could get a three-day ticket for 8 in today’s dollars. Now you’re paying 0.But I soon realized that although the piste conditions might be great, the working conditions were poor. An early clue was a training video that Vail Resorts, Park City’s owner, showed to employees. It bragged about how the company’s charity organization was helping local residents. The only problem: One of the charity cases was a Vail employee. In other words, the company was obliviously broadcasting how underpaid its own workers were.

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Catch Saturday’s Basketball and Indoor Track and Field Action

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47 minutes ago

December 6, 2025

Your Sports Nation

BEREA, Ohio – Fans can follow or watch Saturday’s Baldwin Wallace University basketball and indoor track and field action via live results, statistics or video.

The men’s and women’s indoor track and field teams open the 2025-26 season when it travels to Cleveland to compete in the Spartan Alumni Holiday Classic hosted by Case Western Reserve University inside the Veale Convocation, Recreation and Athletic Center at 11:00 a.m.

Live Results:

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FloCollege On Demand Live Video:

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The men’s basketball team travels to New Concord for the first game of a men’s and women’s Ohio Athletic Conference and Hoops for Hunger Food Drive doubleheader against Muskingum University on Performance Court inside the Anne C. Steele Center at 1:00 p.m. Fans can receive free admission to the game with a donation of canned food, a non-perishable item, or a monetary contribution.

Tickets:

https://bwyellowjackets.cc/3WGuwll

Live Statistics:

https://bwyellowjackets.cc/493Gehq

FloCollege On Demand Live Video:

https://flosports.link/47hSw2V

The No. 21 nationally ranked women’s basketball team travels to New Concord for the second game of a women’s and men’s Ohio Athletic Conference and Hoops for Hunger Food Drive doubleheader against Muskingum University on Performance Court inside the Anne C. Steele Center at 4:00 p.m. Fans can receive free admission to the game with a donation of canned food, a non-perishable item, or a monetary contribution.

Tickets:

https://bwyellowjackets.cc/3WGuwll

Live Statistics:

https://bwyellowjackets.cc/49Ist7Q

FloCollege On Demand Live Video:

https://flosports.link/4qu1Fyr

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2025 DII women’s volleyball championship: Bracket, schedule, scores

Published

1 hour ago

December 6, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Here’s everything you need to know leading up to the first round of the 2025 DII women’s volleyball championship.

The championship bracket was revealed during a selection show on Monday, Nov. 24, live streamed here on NCAA.com. Twenty-three teams earned automatic qualification, with the remaining 41 teams selected at-large by the Division II Women’s Volleyball Committee. Teams from each of the eight regional sites received initial seeds Nos. 1-8.

🏆 Watch live: 2025 DII women’s volleyball championship rounds

2025 DII women’s volleyball championship bracket

Click or tap here for the 2025 interactive bracket

2025 NCAA DII women’s volleyball schedule

Regionals: Dec. 4-6
Quarterfinals: Thursday, Dec. 11
Semifinals: Friday, Dec. 12
National Championship: Saturday, Dec. 13

Selection show: 7:30 p.m. ET on Monday, November 24
Regionals: Dec. 4-6
- Thursday, Dec. 4
  - No. 3 Indiana (Pennsylvania) 3, No. 6 Fairmont State 0
  - No. 3 Anderson (South Carolina) 3, No. 6 Augusta 1
  - No. 3 Lynn 3, No. 6 UAH 2
  - No. 6 Washburn 3, No. 3 Wayne State (Nebraska) 0
  - No. 3 Mercy 3, No. 6 Molloy 2
  - No. 2 East Stroudsburg 3, No. 7 Charleston (West Virginia) 0
  - No. 3 Ferris State 3, No. 6 Quincy 2
  - No. 2 Lenoir-Rhyne 3, No. 7 Lander 1
  - No. 7 Colorado Sch. of Mines 3, No. 2 UCCS 2
  - No. 3 Fresno Pacific 3, No. 6 Western Washington 0
  - No. 2 Barry 3, No. 7 Eckerd 0
  - No. 2 Concordia-St. Paul 3, No. 7 Central Oklahoma 0
  - No. 7 Holy Family 3, No. 2 Adelphi 2
  - No. 7 Rockhurst 3, No. 2 Ohio Dominican 0
  - No. 3 Angelo State 3, No. 6 Lubbock Christian 1
  - No. 5 Flagler 3, No. 4 Carson-Newman 1
  - No. 1 Gannon 3, No. 8 Fayetteville State 0
  - No. 7 Central Washington 3, No. 2 Simon Fraser 2
  - No. 1 Tampa 3, No. 8 Spring Hill 0
  - No. 8 UIndy 3, No. 1 Missouri-State Louis 2
  - No. 4 St. Cloud St. 3, No. 5 Missouri Western 1
  - No. 1 Bentley 3, No. 8 Bridgeport 1
  - No. 1 MSU Denver 3, No. 8 Colorado Mesa 0
  - No. 4 Pitt.-Johnstown 4, No. 5 Shepherd 0
  - No. 4 West Florida 3, No. 5 Palm Beach Atl. 2
  - No. 1 Wingate 3, No. 8 Emmanuel (Georgia) 1
  - No. 1 Point Loma 3, No. 8 CSUSB 2
  - No. 1 Nebraska-Kearney 3, No. 8 Oklahoma Baptist 2
  - No. 5 Post 3, No. 4 American Int’l 1
  - No. 5 Findlay 3, No. 4 Wayne State (Michigan) 2
  - No. 4 West Tex. A&M 3, No. 5 CSU Pueblo 1
  - No. 5 Alas. Fairbanks 3, No. 4 Alas. Anchorage 0
- Friday, Dec. 5
  - No. 2 Barry 3, No. 3 Lynn 0
  - No. 3 Indiana (PA) 3, No. 2 East Stroudsburg 1
  - No. 3 Anderson (SC) 3, No. 2 Lenoir-Rhyne 1
  - No. 3 Mercy 3, No. 7 Holy Family 1
  - No. 2 Concordia-St. Paul 3, No. 6 Washburn 0
  - No. 3 Ferris State 3, No. 7 Rockhurst 0
  - No. 3 Angelo State 3, No. 7 Colorado Sch. of Mines 0
  - No. 1 Bentley 3, No. 5 Post 1
  - No. 3 Fresno Pacific 3, No. 7 Central Washington 2
  - No. 1 Gannon 3, No. 4 Pitt.-Johnstown 1
  - No. 1 Tampa 3, No. 4 West Florida 1
  - No. 1 Wingate 3, No. 5 Flagler 1
  - No. 8 UIndy 3, No. 5 Findlay 1
  - No. 4 St. Cloud State 3, No. 1 Nebraska-Kearney 1
  - No. 1 MSU Denver 3, No. 4 West Tex. A&M 1
  - No. 1 Point Loma 3, No. 5 Alas. Fairbanks 1

NCAA DII women’s volleyball championship history

Here is the full list of champions and runners-up since 1981:

Year	Champion (Record)	Coach	Score	Runner-Up	Site
2024	Lynn (33-3)	Adam Milewski	3-2	San Francisco St.	Sioux Falls, SD
2023	Cal State LA (24-10)	Juan Figueroa	3-1	West Texas A&M	Moon Township, PA
2022	West Texas A&M (33-4)	Kendra Potts	3-1	Concordia-St. Paul	Seattle, Wash.
2021	Tampa (34-2)	Chris Catanach	3-0	Washburn	Tampa, FL.
2020	Canceled due to Covid-19	—	—	—	—
2019	Cal State San Bernardino (33-0)	Kim Cherniss	3-1	Nebraska-Kearney	Denver, Co.
2018	Tampa (33-4)	Chris Catanach	3-2	Western Washington	Pittsburgh, Pa.
2017	Concordia-St. Paul (34-3)	Brady Starkey	3-0	Florida Southern	Pensacola, Fla.
2016	Concordia-St. Paul (32-4)	Brady Starkey	3-0	Alaska Anchorage	Sioux Falls, S.D.
2015	Wheeling Jesuit (39-4)	Christy Benner	3-0	Palm Beach Atlantic	Tampa, Fla.
2014	Tampa (33-1)	Chris Catanach	3-0	S’west Minnesota State	Louisville, Ky.
2013	Concordia-St. Paul (35-3)	Brady Starkey	3-0	BYU-Hawaii	Cedar Rapids, Iowa
2012	Concordia-St. Paul (34-4)	Brady Starkey	3-2	Tampa	Pensacola, Fla.
2011	Concordia-St. Paul (34-2)	Brady Starkey	3-0	Cal State San Bernardino	Cal State San Bernardino
2010	Concordia-St. Paul (32-4)	Brady Starkey	3-1	Tampa	Louisville, Ky.
2009	Concordia-St. Paul (37-0)	Brady Starkey	3-0	West Texas A&M	Concordia-St. Paul
2008	Concordia-St. Paul (37-1)	Brady Starkey	3-2	Cal State San Bernardino	Concordia-St. Paul
2007	Concordia-St. Paul (36-4)	Brady Starkey	3-1	Western Washington	Washburn
2006	Tampa (35-1)	Chris Catanach	3-1	North Alabama	West Florida
2005	Grand Valley State (32-1)	Deanne Scanlon	3-1	Nebraska-Kearney	Nebraska-Kearney
2004	Barry (34-1)	Dave Nichols	3-1	Truman	Barry
2003	North Alabama (33-7)	Matt Peck	3-0	Concordia-St. Paul	Cal State San Bernardino
2002	BYU-Hawaii (27-2)	Wilfred Navalta	3-0	Truman	West Texas A&M
2001	Barry (32-2)	Dave Nichols	3-0	South Dakota State	Grand Valley State
2000	Hawaii Pacific (28-0)	Tita Ahuna	3-0	Augustana (S.D.)	Augustana (S.D.)
1999	BYU-Hawaii (30-2)	Wilfred Navalta	3-0	Tampa	Battle Creek, Mich.
1998	Hawaii Pacific (31-5)	Tita Ahuna	3-1	North Dakota State	Kissimmee, Fla.
1997	West Texas A&M (37-1)	Debbie Hendricks	3-2	Barry	Cal State Bakersfield
1996	Nebraska-Omaha (35-2)	Rose Shires	3-2	Tampa	Central Missouri
1995	Barry (34-2)	Leonid Yelin	3-1	Northern Michigan	Barry
1994	Northern Michigan (32-4)	Mark Rosen	3-1	Cal State Bakersfield	Cal State Bakersfield
1993	Northern Michigan (38-1)	Jim Moore	3-1	Cal State Bakersfield	Northern Michigan
1992	Portland State (36-1)	Jeff Mozzochi	3-2	Northern Michigan	Portland State
1991	West Texas A&M (36-2)	Jim Giacomazzi	3-0	Portland State	West Texas A&M
1990	West Texas A&M (38-1)	Kim Hudson	3-0	North Dakota State	Cal State Bakersfield
1989	Cal State Bakersfield (21-15)	David Rubio	3-0	Sacramento State	Cal State Bakersfield
1988	Portland State (36-5)	Jeff Mozzochi	3-0	Cal State Northridge	North Dakota State
1987	Cal State Northridge (35-6)	Walt Ker	3-2	Central Missouri	Nebraska-Omaha
1986	UC Riverside (29-7)	Sue Gozansky	3-0	Cal State Northridge	Sacramento State
1985	Portland State (36-5)	Jeff Mozzochi	3-1	Cal State Northridge	Portland State
1984	Portland State (33-4)	Jeff Mozzochi	3-0	Cal State Northridge	Portland State
1983	Cal State Northridge (30- 6)	Walt Ker	3-2	Portland State	Florida Southern
1982	UC Riverside (31-5)	Sue Gozansky	3-0	Cal State Northridge	Cal State Northridge
1981	Sacramento State (28-6)	Debby Colbery	3-0	Lewis	UC Riverside

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Cal Poly Stuns USC and Advances to Seventh Sweet-16 in Program History

Published

1 hour ago

December 6, 2025

Your Sports Nation

LOS ANGELES — After months of preparation, Cal Poly’s historic Friday night culminated in a stunning five-set upset of fourth-seeded USC (25-19, 25-20, 20-25, 14-25, 15-7), shattering every perfect bracket along the way.

The unseeded Mustangs (27-7) not only advanced to the NCAA Round of 16 for the first time since 2007, the seventh such appearance in program history, but also became the only team in the bracket to defeat two seeded opponents ranked lower than No. 6. Cal Poly’s last deep runs came in 2007, 1989, ‘87, ‘85, ‘84, and ‘82.

In a departure from their typical all-court offense, the Mustangs leaned on their pin hitters to secure a second straight ranked victory. Leading the charge was Emma Fredrick, who delivered a statement double-double with match-highs of 17 kills and 17 digs. Kendall Beshear and Annabelle Thalken followed with 12 kills apiece, with Beshear adding a pair of aces.

Freshman middle Charlotte Kelly anchored the net with a career-high seven block assists, part of a 10-block team effort that quieted USC’s top-50 offense to a .237 hitting percentage. Beshear (14 digs) and setter Emme Bullis (44 assists, 12 digs) also recorded double-doubles, helping limit USC’s top hitters, Leah Ford and London Wijay, to 19 kills on 55 swings.

Cal Poly stormed through the opening set behind relentless blocking, forcing an early USC timeout at 11-6. Despite a late Trojan push to narrow the gap to 22-18, a Caroline Walters timeout steadied the Mustangs, who closed out the frame 25-19.

USC responded by edging ahead 15-13 at the second-set media timeout. But after 13 ties and five lead changes, Cal Poly surged late with a 21-18 advantage and never looked back, taking the set 25-20.

The Women of Troy rallied in the third, building their largest lead at 17-12 and holding on to win 25-20. Momentum carried into the fourth, where USC raced ahead to claim it 25-14 and force a deciding fifth set.

In the tiebreaker, Cal Poly’s second of the tournament, the Mustangs broke a 3-3 deadlock with a commanding 12-4 run, sealing the match and their spot in the Third Round.

Now, one of the finest teams in program history, and a standout in recent mid-major volleyball, travels to Lexington to face No. 1 seed and regional host Kentucky.

The NCAA will announce date and time details Saturday evening. Until then, San Luis Obispo’s humble Mustangs have plenty to celebrate.

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No. 8-seed Penn State women’s volleyball defeats USF, advances to second round of NCAA Tournament | Penn State Volleyball News

Published

2 hours ago

December 6, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Penn State was in the Lone Star State on Friday, taking on South Florida in the first round of the NCAA tournament. The teams met in Austin at the Gregory Gymnasium, home of the Texas Longhorns women’s volleyball team.

This wasn’t the first time the Nittany Lions and the Bulls have met; however, it was their first time in tournament play, but the blue and white have a 3-0 record over USF.

Penn State took out the Bulls 3-1 after a tight match with challenges and back-and-forth play to thank for that.

Middle blocker Maggie Mendelson opened up the scoring for the Nittany Lions, and right-side hitter Kennedy Martin went up over the net to make it two.

Outside hitter Maria Clara Andrade got the Bulls their first point of the night and USF’s first point in NCAA tournament play since its last appearance in 2003.

USF kept good coverage in the first set to keep the Nittany Lions at a distance, as well as landing kill after kill, which put it ahead of the Nittany Lions 15-10 halfway through the first set.

The blue and white came back with a crucial ace by libero Gillian Grimes, and Martin sent kills through USF’s defense, which tied the Nittany Lions 16-16. Setter Addie Lyon backed up Grimes and made good digs that kept the ball in play, which allowed the Nittany Lions to get to set point and take the first set 25-23.

Andrade kept the Nittany Lions on their toes, and she was there to give the blue and white a back-and-forth first set.

The second set started off strong for USF with outside hitter Addy Brus adding two kills to the Bulls’ score, both landing in the center of the Nittany Lions’ side of the court. Middle blocker Iyanna Garvin continued to get up over the net, as well, and Laila Ivey delivered a housed block, which shut down Penn State and kept a lead.

A crucial point that would close the gap between USF and Penn State was called a service error on Brus, but after it was challenged by the Bulls, the point was given to them as an ace. This put USF 15-10 halfway through the second set.

The Bulls reached set point 24-12 and took the second set 25-12.

The third set saw the blue and white take control by capitalizing on USF’s errors, getting it ahead of the Bulls. Outside hitter Caroline Jurevicius had a strong kill that gave the Nittany Lions some wiggle room, but that was closed by Ivey with a kill of her own.

Lyon kept racking up assists and setting up her offense for multiple kills to keep up with USF, which led halfway through the third set 16-14.

The Nittany Lions tied with the Bulls, 18-18, after an attack error by Brus. The point was challenged by USF, but the call remained the same after further review.

Penn State reached set point after the point was challenged by USF. Penn State took the third set 25-21.

Penn State continued its string of errors early in the fourth set, which the Bulls used to get a lead early on. Outside hitter Emmi Sellman delivered an important ace that closed a previously narrow gap between the Nittany Lions and the Bulls, and a kill by Jurevicius as well as an attack error by Andrade, tied the teams 10-10.

Penn State advanced to match point after it pulled away late in the fourth set, and took the fourth set 25-19, winning the match and moving on in the NCAA tournament.

Up next

Penn State will face the winner of No. 1-seed Texas and Florida A&M at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in Austin, Texas.

MORE VOLLEYBALL COVERAGE

5 Penn State women's volleyball players to watch in NCAA Tournament

No. 25 Penn State closed their regular season with a 3-1 win on the road, against Iowa last …

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Huskers Sweep LIU to Open NCAA Tournament – University of Nebraska

Published

2 hours ago

December 6, 2025

Your Sports Nation

LINCOLN, Neb. – The No. 1 Nebraska volleyball team began its NCAA Tournament with a 25-11, 25-15, 25-17 sweep of Long Island University on Friday night in front of a crowd of 8,656 at John Cook Arena at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.

Nebraska improved to 31-0 on the season and hit .476, a postseason school record in the rally-scoring era. LIU (20-9) was held to .094 hitting, the 14th time this season Nebraska has held an opponent under .100.

Andi Jackson had 10 kills and five blocks and hit. 833. Jackson’s .833 hitting percentage was a postseason school record. Rebekah Allick added 10 kills on .750 hitting, which would rank No. 3 in postseason school history. Before Saturday, no Husker had ever hit .750 or better in a three-set NCAA Tournament match.

Harper Murray and Taylor Landfair each had seven kills, and Virginia Adriano recorded six. Bergen Reilly posted 39 assists and 11 digs for her ninth double-double of the season.

The Huskers had a 47-24 advantage in kills, 10-2 in blocks, 5-1 in aces and 39-25 in digs. Olivia Mauch tied Reilly for the team high in digs with 11.

Set 1: The Huskers got hot with a 4-0 run that made it 13-7. Allick had a kill, and Jackson had a block with Adriano and a kill during Mauch’s service run. Murray and Jackson added kills to put the Big Red up 15-9 and start a 7-0 run. Landfair, Jackson and Murray all had kills, and Murray served two aces during the run. NU closed out the set, 25-11, with kills by Jackson, Allick and Landfair and a block by Landfair and Allick. NU hit .615 and held LIU to .034.

Set 2: Sigler started the set with an ace, and Murray and Allick had kills around an Allick block for a 4-0 lead. Adriano added two kills and a block with Allick, who also had a kill, as the Huskers went up 15-7 at the media break. NU remained on top, and back-to-back aces by Reilly gave NU a 23-12 advantage. Allick added two kills as the Huskers won 25-15.

Set 3: The Huskers got off to a 7-1 start with two kills and two blocks by Jackson. The Huskers continued their onslaught with kills from Allick and Sigler for a 15-5 lead. Skyler Pierce hammered a kill to make it 18-6. Manaia Ogbechie tallied two kills, and Reilly and Allick each notched one for a 23-12 Husker lead. NU finished off the sweep, 25-17.

Up Next: The Huskers will play Kansas State in the second round on Saturday at 7 p.m. at John Cook Arena at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. The Wildcats defeated San Diego, 3-2, in the first round on Friday.

Notes
• Nebraska’s .476 hitting percentage is a new Nebraska NCAA Tournament record in the rally-scoring era. The previous mark of .467 was set by the 2008 squad against UAB.
• Andi Jackson hit .833 on the night. That mark surpassed NU’s previous NCAA Tournament all-time record, which had been held by Cecilia Hall, who hit .824 at Washington in the 2014 NCAA Tournament.
• Jackson and fellow middle blocker Rebekah Allick combined for 20 kills on just 24 swings. Jackson hit .833 and Allick hit .750. Before tonight, no Husker had ever hit .750 or better in a three-set NCAA Tournament match.
• With her four blocks on the night, Rebekah Allick now has 80 career postseason blocks. That puts her at fifth in Nebraska history, passing Jenny Kropp (1998-2001) who had 78 postseason blocks.
• Nebraska officially made its 44th NCAA Tournament appearance. The Huskers rank second all-time in NCAA Tournament appearances and consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances (44).
• With the win, Nebraska improved to 135-38 all-time in the NCAA Tournament. The Huskers rank second in NCAA history in postseason wins and winning percentage (.780).
• The win was Nebraska’s 31st consecutive victory, which ties for the third-longest winning streak in the NCAA era.
• Nebraska improved to 38-1 all-time in first-round NCAA Tournament matches. The Huskers have won their last 37 first-round matches dating back to 1984.
• The Huskers improved to 88-7 all-time in home NCAA Tournament matches, including a 33-2 record at the Devaney Center.
• Nebraska has won 27 consecutive home matches in the NCAA Tournament, a school record.
• Overall, Nebraska has won 61 consecutive home matches dating back to Dec. 1, 2022. That ranks as the sixth-longest streak in NCAA Division I history and the third-longest streak in Husker history.
• The Huskers improved to 63-1 all-time against unranked opponents in the NCAA.
• Dani Busboom Kelly won her first NCAA Tournament match as Nebraska’s head coach. She is 1-0 in the postseason as Nebraska’s head coach and 23-8 overall as a head coach. Busboom Kelly posted an 11-3 record as a player from 2003-06 and a 19-4 record as a Husker assistant from 2012-16.
• Nebraska is 105-2 all-time in the NCAA Tournament when taking a 2-0 lead.
• Nebraska is 89-0 this season in sets when reaching 20 points first.
• Nebraska has hit above .300 in 21 of its last 22 matches.
• Nebraska hit above .400 for the eighth time this season. That ties the 2005 team for the most matches hitting above .400 in the rally-scoring era (2001-present).

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The 10 greatest upsets in NCAA volleyball tournament history

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2 hours ago

December 6, 2025

Your Sports Nation

In the 2019 NCAA DI women’s volleyball tournament, there were two pretty big upsets with Cincinnati taking down No. 6 Pittsburgh (No. 1 in RPI) and Louisville defeating No. 2 seed Texas in a five-set showdown. We gathered and ranked what we think are 10 of the greatest upsets in the history of the tournament since its inception in 1981.

For this list, we considered each team’s RPI entering the NCAA tournament, the conferences each team came from, the location of the upset and whether or not they received an at-large or an automatic bid.

10. 2007: Sacramento State over Minnesota (first round)

In the final year of six straight Big Sky championships and NCAA tournament bids, Sacramento State pulled off the biggest upset of the 2007 tournament when it beat at-large Big Ten team Minnesota in four sets.

In the final RPI rankings of the season, Minnesota finished 31st and Sacramento State finished 55th. We can only assume that gap was much greater on selection day. Regardless, a Big Ten team getting beat in the first round by a team from the Big Sky was unprecedented. The Big Sky hasn’t advanced in the tournament since the 2007 Hornets, who lost to No. 1 Stanford in the second round.

9. 2000: Southeast Missouri State beat North Carolina (first round)

North Carolina might not have been a national seed, but as the automatic bid from the ACC, losing in the first round to the Ohio Valley champion is shocking. Now, the Redhawks were undefeated in the OVC that year, but were 6-8 in the nonconference season.

RPI rankings do not exist from 2000 in the NCAA’s archive, so we weren’t able to compare their actual rankings at the time of the upset. The Redhawks lost to No. 14 Florida in the next round.

8. 2002: Temple beat No. 12 overall seed Penn State (second round)

Can you imagine Penn State losing on its home court in the second round of the tournament today? Me neither. But in 2002 — six years before Penn State would win the first of four straight national championships — the A-10 champs rolled out of Rec Hall with the upset of the tournament.

To date, it is Temple’s only trip to the regional semifinals. The Owls have not made it to the NCAA tournament since 2002.

WATCH: Every ace from the 2019 volleyball semifinals and finals

7. 2013: American beat No. 16 Duke (second round)

Any time a national seed gets beat in the first weekend, it’s an upset. When it comes to an automatic bid in straight sets, it’s a bit more shocking. Especially when considering this American team upset Georgia in the first round before beating the Blue Devils to advance to the regional semifinals.

Ranked 45th in RPI to start the tournament to Duke’s No. 12 RPI ranking, American provided the biggest surprise of the first weekend and the only time a national seed has lost to a team from the Patriot League. The Eagles, who won 34 games that year, also took a set from No. 1 Texas before losing in the next round.

6. 2019: Louisville over No. 2 Texas (third round)

Louisville pulled off an upset of No. 2-seeded Texas to advance to the program’s first appearance in the final eight of the tournament. Texas was a strong favorite going in. The Longhorns sported very strong offensive numbers and held the No. 1 spot for a good portion of the second half of the regular season. The thing about Texas this season was that no one had beaten them at Gregory Gymnasium. Their crowd was unmatched. Many predictions had Texas cruising through to the national semifinals.

Louisville took the first two sets 25-22 before losing the next two. But the Cardinals finished off the upset with a 15-12 win in the fifth set. The Cardinal were led by a career-best 23 kills from redshirt freshman Aiko Jones. This win was the biggest upset of the 2019 volleyball tournament. Following the win, the Cardinals fell to Minnesota.

5. 2014: BYU beat No. 2 Texas (national semifinal)

There have been just a handful of teams that have made it to the national semifinals as an unseeded team. But only BYU made it to the national championship match after beating the second-ranked Longhorns in four sets.

The Cougars also beat No. 11 Arizona, No. 6 Florida State and No. 16 Nebraska to make it to the semifinals. They would fall to Penn State in the title match, but their run is still remembered well four years later. Most didn’t give BYU a chance against Texas, which entered the match with two losses.

4. 2011: Kansas State beat No. 2 Nebraska (second round)

Winners of the Big Ten in its first year as a member, Nebraska was a hot pick to win the national championship. But Big 12 at-large selection Kansas State wanted to give a proper farewell gift to its former conference opponent.

No. 2 seeds get upset in the tournament, no doubt. It just rarely happens in the first weekend, to Nebraska, in front of about 8,000 people in Lincoln. Kansas State was 26th in RPI entering the tournament, so the Wildcats were a solid team. This was just a game that stopped the volleyball world still.

3. 2015: American beat Kentucky (first round)

American Athletics

American volleyball owns two of the best upsets in tournament history

Yes, American was still good after its 2013 run, and it pulled off a more shocking upset against Kentucky, which was 21st in RPI. The Eagles were 77th despite an undefeated Patriot League season.

It seems that when American pulls off these upsets, the match isn’t ever in doubt. It swept the Wildcats before losing to Ohio State in straight sets in the second round. Kentucky was 21-9 that season.

2. 2012: Michigan beat No. 2 Stanford (regional final)

Like 2014 BYU, Michigan is one of the unseeded teams to advance to the national semifinals. Both runs were incredible, but this one was a greater upset for it came basically on the road — in California — against the No. 1 RPI team, Stanford. Michigan was 31st in RPI.

The Wolverines had lost 11 times in the regular season, but when it came to the tournament, they were unstoppable, knocking off the Cardinal in four sets.

1. 2010: Missouri beat No. 5 Northern Iowa (first round)

Missouri Athletics
Missouri's win against Northern Iowa in 2010 is still the greatest upset in NCAA volleyball tournament history

Missouri’s win against Northern Iowa in 2010 is the only time a team seeded in the top-10 lost in the first round.

This is still the highest seed to lose in the first round since teams were seeded 1-16 beginning in 2000, so naturally it had to be the top upset in tournament history.

At 30-2 and an RPI ranking of fourth, some felt the Panthers were deserving of a top-four seed. Nonetheless, the Missouri Valley champs couldn’t defend home court in the first match of the tournament against a Missouri team that snuck into the tournament. Missouri went on to lose in the regional semifinals to No. 12 Duke, but this result is about as close as volleyball has come to the basketball equivalent of a double-digit seed knocking off a No. 1 seed.

WATCH: Kerri Walsh’s Stanford volleyball highlights