On Saturday, December 15, 2018 at 8 pm Central Time, the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota was packed. This was because it was #7 Nebraska taking on #1 Stanford in the finals of the Women's NCAA indoor volleyball tournament.
The game was tough. The first set went to Stanford at 28-26 while Nebraska got revenge in the second set at 25-22. In the third set Stanford won at 25-16. Nebraska was not having it and won the fourth set 15-15 and causing a fifth set. the winner of that set won it 15-12 and became the national champions. That team was none other than Stanford University. Stanford had just won the 2018 NCAA women's indoor volleyball tournament by defeating Nebraska 3 sets to 2.
That game ha some impressive stats to go along with a 5 set game. The leader in kills was Nebraska's Mikaela Foecke, with 27, while Kathryn Plummer lead Stanford with 19. Stanford's Sidney Wilson lead the game in aces with a total of 4 while Mikaela Foecke nad Lexi Sun each had 1 ace for Nebraska. Stanford's Tami Alade lead the game in blocks, with 8, while Jazz Sweet lead for Nebraska, with 5. The player with the most assists was Nebraska's Nicklin Hames, with 62, while Jenna Gray lead Stanford with 57. Stanford's Morgan Hentz lead the game with the most digs, at 32, while Kenzie Maloney lead Nebraska with 17.
30 years ago was the last time the national finals for women's NCAA volleyball were in Minneapolis. at that game was Texas Longhorns student athlete Janine Gremmel. Her team beat Hawaii for the national championships. Now, 30 years later in 2018 and in the same city, her own daughter was playing. Her daughter is senior Brooke Smith, playing for Nebraska. Even though Nebraska lost the game, making it to the national finals was still a big deal.
That wraps up the 2018 NCAA women's indoor volleyball season. Stay tuned for my next blog post and until next time, Miller out
~J. Miller
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