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Stanford’s Meghan McClure (4) hits against BYU’s Kennedy Eschenberg (24) and Lacy Haddock in the first set of a semifinal match of the NCAA Div I Women’s Volleyball Championships Thursday, in Minneapolis.
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Top-ranked Stanford advanced to the NCAA women’s volleyball championship match for the 16th time following a 25-15, 25-15, 25-18 sweep of Brigham Young on Thursday in Minneapolis.
The Cardinal (33-1) will face defending national champion Nebraska in Saturday’s final. The Huskers (29-6) rallied for a reverse sweep to take down the Fighting Illini (32-4) 22-25, 16-25, 25-23, 25-20, 15-11.
In the opening semifinal, junior hitter Kathryn Plummer had 12 kills, junior libero Morgan Hentz 20 digs and senior middle Tami Alade 14 blocks for Stanford. The Cardinal are seeking its eighth NCAA title and second in three years.
BYU (31-2), the last non-Power Five team in the tournament, hit negative .026 on the night and was outblocked 17-4. Senior hitter Roni Jones-Perry had eight kills and nine digs for the Cougars; junior setter Kiani Tuileta Moea’i (Punahou) was used as a serving specialist in all three sets but recorded no statistics.
In the second, sophomore hitter Lexi Sun had 19 kills and 12 digs, and senior hitter Mikaela Foecker 17 kills and 10 digs for Nebraska, advancing to the championship match for the third straight year. The Huskers have won five national titles.
Junior hitter Jacqueline Quade had a match-high 27 kills and 10 digs for Illinois.
The second semifinal had two coaches with Hawaii ties on the opposing benches. Former Rainbow Warrior all-American libero Alfee Reft is in his first year as an assistant for Illinois and Kamehameha graduate Jaylen Reyes, a former libero at BYU, is in his first season as an assistant for Nebraska.