Four of the top women’s volleyball teams in the nation will be in Pittsburgh this week to compete for the NCAA Division I championship, beginning Thursday at PPG Paints Arena.
Baylor, Wisconsin, Minnesota and defending champion Stanford qualified for the volleyball Final Four by advancing through the first four rounds of the tournament over the past two weekends.
All four teams were ranked among the top seven in the country by the American Volleyball Coaches Association in its most recent poll before the start of the tournament.
Baylor, which was in the regional final for the first time, defeated Washington and Wisconsin secured a berth in the national semifinals with a sweep of Nebraska. Minnesota swept Louisville, and Stanford defeated Penn State.
Two semifinal matches are scheduled for Thursday, with No. 1 Baylor (29-1) meeting No. 4 Wisconsin (26-6) at 7 p.m., followed by No. 3 Stanford (28-4) against No. 7 Minnesota (27-5) at 9:30 p.m. The national championship match is 8 p.m. Saturday.
The NCAA and hosts Duquesne, PPG Paints Arena and SportsPITTSBURGH will hold a news conference at 11 a.m. Wednesday at PPG Paints Arena.
Among the speakers will be Dan Gilman, chief of staff for Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto, Duquesne director of athletes Dave Harper and Kevin Acklin, senior vice president and general counsel for the Penguins.
