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The 10 greatest upsets in NCAA volleyball tournament history
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 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’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
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)
Updated Dec. 5, 2025, 11:15 p.m. MT
One step closer.
No. 2 seed Arizona State volleyball is back in the Sweet 16 for the second time in three seasons.
The Sun Devils defeated Utah State in four sets (25-15, 25-18, 22-25, 25-15) in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at Desert Financial Arena on Friday, Dec. 5.
“It was really special for me,” senior outside hitter Bailey Miller said. “I was one of the only ones last year when we got upset (in the second round), so I think going into it, all the girls just wanted to recognize all the girls who didn’t get to go to the Sweet 16 last year and took it seriously. It was really special.”
ASU’s return to the Sweet 16 offers a sweeter follow-up to last season’s second-round exit after the Sun Devils earned a hosting bid for the first two rounds. As painful as it was for coach JJ Van Niel, he chose not to let last year cloud the current success.
“I don’t reflect back,” Van Niel said. “That’s negative, but it’s just moving forward. Every year is a new shot, but last year was very painful. Mostly, because I didn’t think we played our best volleyball.”
With few players remaining from last year, Van Niel wasn’t sure how ASU’s season would go and if they’d repeat as Big 12 champions and NCAA Tournament hosts. But his team has done both and added more with a Sweet 16 berth.
“I really had no idea this year what we were going to look like,” Van Niel said. “It’s 100% a new lineup and I’m really proud of these kids because they’ve fought and they’ve scrapped. They’ve all gotten better through the year and they’ve earned this Sweet 16, it’s a really special group.”
What was key for ASU was their defense against a scrappy team that rarely went down in one swing. The Sun Devils were up to the task as they benefited from USU’s 21 attack errors.
USU’s strong offense forced ASU’s middle blockers to front the middle, exploiting their right-side players. While the middle blockers didn’t get as many kills as they did in the first round, it opened the floor for Miller, Noemie Glover and Tatum Parrott.
Miller led ASU with 18 kills on .471 hitting and two errors, a stark improvement from her first-round performance. Glover didn’t commit any errors and had 17 kills on .531 hitting. Parrott added 13 kills.
ASU was serving well again as the Aggies sided out 56.3% of the time, including less than half the time in the first set. Miller’s three aces helped ASU finish with a 7-5 advantage in service aces.
“They’re a great offensive team and their middle (blockers) were very active,” Miller said. “We haven’t really seen a lot of that, so it definitely took some adjusting. But in the end, that’s our bread and butter, being able to adjust and be ready.”
The Aggies got their first lead since early in the first set when they started with an 8-5 edge over ASU in the third set. Instead of putting them away like in the first two sets, ASU had trouble against USU’s attack.
As the third set neared the end, neither side scored twice for six consecutive points until USU got a 24-22 lead over ASU. The Aggies then scored off a bad set from ASU’s Sydney Henry.
The Aggies were strong to start the fourth set, but ASU’s 6-0 run midway through the set helped the Sun Devils gain the separation needed and eliminate them.
The Sun Devils will travel to Lexington, Kentucky, and play No. 3 Creighton in the regional hosted by No. 1 seed Kentucky, either Dec. 12 or 13.
ASU capped off an impressive season at home where it went 16-0, and only dropped eight sets in those games.
Reach the reporter at jenna.ortiz@arizonarepublic.com, as well as @jennarortiz on X.
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Olivia Babcock didn’t realize her performance during the first round of the NCAA women’s volleyball tournament gave her the Pitt record for most kills in a season. Babcock knew she met the previous record holder, Wendy Hatlestad, during alumni weekend.
Babcock recorded 13 kills during the Panthers’ 25-10, 25-17, 25-13 win Friday night at Petersen Events Center in front of a crowd of 4,240. Babcock now has 558 kills, going past the single-season record of 555 Hatlestad set in 2003.
“I was talking to her two weeks ago,” Babcock said. “That’s crazy I just met her. But I think it says a lot about how much my team trusts me to take those big rips, and it gives me the opportunity to score and get as many kills as I do.”
Everyone had a good night hitting for the top-seeded Panthers, who advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the 10th straight season.
The Panthers committed only four attack errors against UMBC (13-12) and finished with a hitting percentage of .551.
“It’s really good to start out and to remind ourselves to maintain high standards,” Babcock said. “Obviously, all of these teams have made it into the tournament because they’re an amazing team, and everyone’s going to bring their best volleyball. I think we just need to make sure that we’re playing our best, too, because, especially in these matches, we don’t wanna slip up and give away a set or a match.”
Pitt (27-4) hasn’t dropped a set in the first round since it beat VCU, 3-1, in 2017 at Penn State.
The Retrievers qualified for the tournament after winning the America East Conference for the fifth time in the past six seasons. Pitt setter Brooke Mosher, who finished with 34 assists, said the Panthers got themselves in system thanks to their good passing.
Blaire Bayless was second for the Panthers with nine kills, and Abby Emch contributed eight.
“That made it really easy for me to spread the ball around and get the middles involved,” Mosher said. “Then, I trusted my teammates to be able to put the ball away.”
Pitt lost the first point of the match after UMBC delivered on a kill by Jalynn Brown. The Panthers responded by scoring the next three points, capping the surge with an ace by Izzy Masten.
UMBC struggled to find holes in Pitt’s defense. The Retrievers hit .129 and were led by seven kills from Hannah Dobbs.
UMBC coach Kasey Crider was happy with how they played.
“We don’t have an Olivia Babcock slayer, so, bummer,” Crider said. “I’ve been to this tournament a few times as a head coach and assistant coach, and I’ve never walked away from the tournament thinking we were the best at the end until today. It still hurts, but there were no regrets.”
Pitt will take on Michigan in the second round Saturday. The Wolverines advanced by beating Xavier. The Panthers are 3-6 all-time against the Wolverines.
Pitt’s only meeting with Michigan in the NCAA Tournament came in 2018, when the Wolverines upset Pitt in five sets at Petersen Events Center.
Mosher, who previously played in the NCAA Tournament with Illinois, said she doesn’t feel any extra pressure playing as the No. 1 seed.
“I think just being in the tournament has its own weight in itself,” Mosher said. “Every game your season is on the line, which is the same no matter who you are.”
Josh Rizzo is a freelance writer.
Dec. 6, 2025, 6:03 a.m. CT
Kansas State volleyball survived and advanced, and now it will take on the No. 1 team in the country in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Wildcats and Nebraska Cornhuskers will face off at 7 p.m. in the Bob Devaney Sports Center in Lincoln, Nebraska, on Saturday, Dec. 6.
Watch K-State volleyball in NCAA Tournament
Nebraska enters the match 31-0, seeking its first championship since 2017. The Huskers cruised to a three-set win over Long Island.
K-State’s win over San Diego to advance was more dramatic. The Wildcats (18-9, 10-8 Big 12) pulled it off in five sets, while needing to win the fourth to make it possible.
What channel is Kansas State volleyball vs Nebraska on today?
- TV channel: None
- Stream:ESPN+
Kansas State volleyball vs. Nebraska will be available to stream on ESPN+.
Watch K-State volleyball in NCAA Tournament
Kansas State volleyball vs Nebraska time today
- Date: Saturday, Dec. 6
- Start time: 7 p.m. CT
Kansas State and Nebraska will begin at 7 p.m. CT on Saturday, Dec. 6.
Wyatt D. Wheeler covers Kansas State athletics for the USA TODAY Network and Topeka Capital-Journal. You can follow him on X at @WyattWheeler_, contact him at 417-371-6987 or email him at wwheeler@usatodayco.com
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – The St. Olaf College women’s track and field team turned in 13 performances that ranked on its all-time performers’ list at the season-opening M City Classic on Friday at the University of Minnesota Fieldhouse.
First years accounted for 11 of the 13 performances that ranked on St. Olaf’s all-time list at the unscored meet, which included teams from the NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), and club levels. In addition to the top-10 list performances, senior Ella Landis posted St. Olaf’s lone first-place finish at the meet by winning the one-mile run in 5:17.28.
In her first collegiate meet, first year Evangeline Sappington broke onto the program’s all-time performers’ list in both the 60-meter dash and 200-meter dash. Sappington was the top Division III finisher and was 10th overall in the 200-meter dash (26.84), while also taking second among Division III competitors and 16th overall in the 60-meter dash. Sappington’s time in the 60-meter dash ranks second on the Oles’ all-time list – just four one-hundredths of a second off the record – and her time in the 200-meter dash is fifth.
Sophomore Izzi Jaeckle clocked in with St. Olaf’s No. 4 time in the 60-meter dash by placing 17th (8.10), while first year Ellie Semple also broke onto the list in 10th with a time of 8.28 seconds to finish 27th. Sophomore Logan Paulsen moved up to seventh on the Oles’ list with a sixth-place performance in the shot put (12.48m, 40′ 11 ½”), while first year Abigal Frei cleared 3.26 meters (10′ 8 ¼”) for a No. 5 all-time result and an eighth-place finish.
First years Svea Frantzich and Claire Stein recorded St. Olaf’s No. 8 and No. 10 scores in the pentathlon by finishing seventh (3,005) and eighth (2,993), respectively. Frantzich tied for third in the long jump (5.44m, 17′ 10 ¼”) and was sixth in the 60-meter hurdles (9.47), which both ranked on St. Olaf’s all-time list. Stein also tied for third in the long jump (5.44m, 10′ 10 ¼”) to highlight her day. First year Annika Walsh was the runner-up in the high jump (1.62m, 5′ 3 ¾”) – fifth all-time – and was seventh in the 60-meter hurdles (9.48) – ninth all-time – as part of a ninth-place finish in the pentathlon (2,881).
St. Olaf will be back in action in 2026 at the Ole Opener at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 17 at Tostrud Center.
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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:
https://bwyellowjackets.cc/3MlDQcr
FloCollege On Demand Live Video:
https://bwyellowjackets.cc/3KFq6st
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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