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)

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)

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

Honorable mention upsets:

2019: Cincinnati over No. 6 Pittsburgh (second round) 

1995: Michigan State over Hawaii (regional final)

2005: Santa Clara over No. 4 Arizona (regional final)

2005: No. 15 Tennessee over No. 2 Penn State (regional semis)

2006: Middle Tennessee State over Louisville (first round)

2010: No. 16 Purdue over No. 1 Florida (regional semis)

2010: Tulsa over No. 13 LSU (first round)

2010: Washington beat No. 2 Nebraska (regional semis)

2013: Purdue over No. 4 Missouri (second round)

2014: Arkansas Little-Rock beat No. 16 Kansas (first round)

2025: Cal Poly over No. 4 Southern California (second round)

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The UCLA women’s volleyball team suffered a four-set defeat to No. 1-seed Kentucky in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday night inside Historic Memorial Coliseum.
 
Set scores were 28-30, 16-25, 30-28, 17-25.
 
In a hotly contested matchup featuring two extended deuce sets, UCLA (19-13) was unable to withstand the offensive firepower of Kentucky (27-2). The Wildcats hit an impressive .400 as a team, powered by standout performances from Brooklyn Deleye (30 kills) and Eva Hudson (27 kills).
 
In her final appearance in the Blue and Gold, Cheridyn Leverette rose to the occasion with a team-high 22 kills at a .294 clip. She closes her Bruin career ranked 24th on UCLA’s all-time kills list, cementing her legacy as one of the program’s most consistent offensive threats.
 
Marianna Singletary added 15 kills and two blocks, while Eliana Urzua chipped in 11 kills to give UCLA three attackers in double figures. Setter Kate Duffey orchestrated the offense with 50 assists, her fourth straight match reaching that mark, falling just one dig shy of a double-double.
 
 At libero, Lola Schumacher anchored the defense with 20 digs, her fourth consecutive 20-dig effort.
 
After the teams battled to 14-14 in the third frame, neither side led by more than two points as the teams traded blows. Singletary hammered a from the middle before Leverette found some seams on the pin, but Kentucky would nudge ahead 23-21, forcing a UCLA timeout. However, the Bruins regrouped and fought off two set points with clutch swings from Leverette and Urzua. 
 
The drama escalated into deuce territory. UCLA earned its first set point at 26-25 after a Singletary kill, only to see Kentucky erase it with a quick side-out. The Bruins pressed again, forcing another set point at 28-27, but the Wildcats answered once more. Finally, Leverette delivered the decisive blow, her 16th kill of the night, slamming down the ball to seal a 30-28 victory.
 
In the opening set, UCLA jumped out to a 5-1 lead behind Leverette’s serving run, but Kentucky quickly answered with consecutive scoring bursts to seize momentum. The Bruins rallied late, forcing three set points at 23-22, 26-25, and 28-27, but the Wildcats closed on a decisive 3-0 run to take the opener, 30-28. Singletary tallied seven kills in the frame, with Leverette adding six.
 
UCLA briefly held a 5-4 edge in the second frame, but Kentucky’s 6-1 surge swung control. Leverette reached double-digit kills by the media timeout, yet a seven-point run pushed the Wildcats ahead 21-12 en route to a 25-16 win.
 
Singletary’s back-to-back aces helped UCLA tie the score at 5-5, but Kentucky’s balanced attack proved too much. The Wildcats pulled away 25-17 to clinch the match and advance to the round of 16.
 

NORMAN — The Oklahoma men’s and women’s track and field team closed out the OU Winter Field Fest on Friday night at the Mosier Indoor Facility, highlighted by 12 individual event wins.

Floyd Whitaker kicked off the meet with a personal-best jump of 16.40m (53’9.75″) to win the event title and mark No. 6 in the OU history books.

In the men’s weight throw, Brendon See tossed a personal-best 21.05m (69’0.75″), claiming the event title and moving his name up to No. 2 in OU history.

During her debut with the Sooners, Jacelyn Neighbors secured the women’s pole vault title, clearing 19.15m (62’10”).

In her first collegiate track meet, former OU volleyball player Hannah Pfiffner put up a stellar performance, clearing 1.79m (5’6.5″) in the women’s high jump, good for a personal best and tied for No. 7 in OU history.

Kennedy Clarke found success in the women’s weight throw with her mark of 19.15m (62’10”).

Breaking into OU’s top-ten performance list at No. 5, newcomer Kennedy Stringfellow marked 7.77m (25’6″) for the men’s long jump title.

OU’s Tucker Smith claimed the men’s shot put title with his toss of 18.65m (61’2.25″).

Sophomore Samuel Toili finished first in the men’s 60m dash with his personal-best time of 6.81. Newcomer Morgan Little stood out in her first performance for the Sooners, claiming the women’s 60m dash title and staking her name at No. 4 in the OU history books.

In her collegiate debut, freshman Kassidi Watkins claimed the women’s long jump title, marking 6.18m (20’3.5″).

Redshirt-freshman Tyley Dotson nailed a 15.20m (49’10.5″) in the women’s shot put, earning the event title.

Closing out the night, Trey Bartholomew cleared 6.18m (20’3.5″) in men’s high jump, earning himself the event title and moving his name up to No. 3 in the OU record book. Junior Tyson Ritz also etched himself into the history book at No. 9 with his clearance of 2.18m (7’1.75″).

The Sooners collected 26 more personal bests for a total of 34 on the day.

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Following the completion of the Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener on Dec. 6, Oklahoma returns to action on January 16 at home, hosting the Owen Hewett Invitational.

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For more information on Oklahoma Track & Field, follow the Sooners on Twitter and Instagram (@OU_Track) and like Oklahoma Sooners Track & Field and Cross Country on Facebook.
 

PITTSBURGH – The Pitt volleyball team (27-4, 18-2 ACC) swept UMBC (13-12, 7-3 Big East) 25-10, 25-17, 25-13 on Friday night at the Petersen Events Center. The Panthers set a program NCAA Tournament record with a .518 hitting percentage, and Olivia Babcock broke the single-season program kills record with her 546th of the year, surpassing Wendy Hatlestad’s mark from 2003. With the sweep, Pitt advanced to its 10th straight NCAA Tournament Round of 32.

Pitt opened the first set by building a 15-8 lead heading into the media timeout. UMBC used both timeouts during the next four-point run, sparked by kills from Abbey Emch, Marina Pezelj and Blaire Bayless. Babcock then delivered a 4-0 service run to secure the 25-10 win.

The second set followed a similar script, as the Panthers once again held a 15-8 advantage at the media timeout. UMBC called a timeout at 18-9 after kills from Bre Kelley and Bayless, but Pitt maintained control and closed out the frame, 25-17, on a Retriever hitting error.

The third set was tied 5-5 before Pitt surged ahead with a 7-2 run behind Brooke Mosher’s efficient, balanced distribution. UMBC called timeout at 17-9 in an effort to slow the momentum, but the Panthers continued to roll, taking the set 25-13 and completing the sweep.

Pitt returns tomorrow to face Michigan (22-10, 11-9 Big Ten) in the NCAA Tournament Round of 32 at 7 p.m. The match will stream on ESPN+.

ALLENDALE, Mich. – The Kalamazoo College men’s and women’s track and field teams opened indoor season Friday at the GVSU Holiday Open. The competition marked the Hornets’ first track and field meet of any kind since 1980 for men’s, 1981 for women’s, and the first indoor competition since 1939 (men only).

Drew Abbott was the first competitor for Kalamazoo, finishing No. 10 overall and as the top Division III runner in the men’s one-mile run open field at 4:26.08.

In the men’s 400-meter dash, Bram Derksen posted a 53.87-second time, and Elliott Anderson ran his 400m in 55.33.

Allison Mayer became the Hornets’ first official women’s indoor track competitor by running a 10:54.84 3000m. Maya Alkema ran the 5000m in 18:37.56.

On the men’s side in the 5000m, Jack Schneider ran at a time of 15:56.47 and John Lonsway finished at 16:49.87.

Kalamazoo men’s and women’s indoor track and field will travel to Trine for the Sean Brady Invitational after the holiday break on Jan. 17, 2026.

 

LINCOLN, Neb. —

Related coverage in the video above

Nebraska volleyball hosted LIU in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

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Bergen Reilly to Andi Jackson and Nebraska was up 6-2.

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Jackson would later bump Nebraska’s lead to 15-9.

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A kill from Taylor Landfair ended set 1, giving Nebraska the 25-11 set victory.

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Rebekah Allick on the block, and it’s 3-0 Huskers in set 2.

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Allick and Jackson were leading the Huskers by the end of set 2. Nebraska defeated LIU 25-15 in the second set.

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A 4-0 run for the Huskers kicked things off in set 3.

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Nebraska was dominating LIU in set 3.

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Allick claimed match point for Nebraska.

The Huskers got the 25-17 set win and the sweep over LIU.

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The Huskers will face Kansas State in the second round of the tournament on Saturday at 7 p.m.

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