2021 NCAA Division I women's volleyball tournament

2021 NCAA women's Division I volleyball tournament
2021 NCAA women's Division I volleyball tournament
	2021 NCAA Division I Championship
Finals site	Nationwide Arena; Columbus, Ohio
Champions	Wisconsin (1st title)
Runner-up	Nebraska (10th title match)
Semifinalists	Louisville (1st Final Four); Pittsburgh (1st Final Four);
Winning coach	Kelly Sheffield (1st title)
Most outstanding player	Anna Smrek (Wisconsin)
Final Four All-Tournament Team	Dana Rettke (Wisconsin) ; Sydney Hilley (Wisconsin) ; Nicklin Hames (Nebraska) ; Madi Kubik (Nebraska) ; Anna Debeer (Louisville) ; Leketor Member-Meneh (Pittsburgh)
«2020	2022»

The 2021 NCAA Division I women's volleyball tournament began on December 2, 2021, and ended on December 18, 2021, to determine the Division I National Champion in women's volleyball. Wisconsin won its first NCAA national championship by defeating Big Ten rival Nebraska 3–2.^[1] The championship match was played in front of an NCAA record crowd of 18,755.^[2]

The Final Four was held at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. The national semifinals were held on December 16 and the championship match was held on December 18.^[3]

Kentucky, from the Southeastern Conference, was the defending national champion. The Wildcats were eliminated in the second round to Illinois.

The tournament saw a particularly successful run by the Atlantic Coast Conference. Louisville, having gone a perfect 28-0 in the regular season, earned the first number one overall seed in conference history. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh earned the number three seed, its first top four seed in program history. Both teams utilized their home court advantages to earn their respective first trips to the national semifinals. Thus, the Cardinals and Panthers became the second and third semi-finalists from the conference in tournament history, and first since Florida State in 2011. Additionally, Georgia Tech also advanced to its first Regional Final since 2003, marking the first time the ACC had three Regional Finalists in one tournament.

While the ACC made history in the semifinals, the Cardinals and Panthers were joined by Wisconsin and Nebraska out of the Big Ten. Wisconsin made its third consecutive trip to the national semifinals, and was seeking its first title. Nebraska was the only semi-finalist who has won a National Championship, doing so five times. This tournament marked the fourteenth straight year that at least one member of the Big Ten reached the semifinal.

Tournament schedule and venues

The first two rounds, normally referred to as the subregionals, will be played at the sites of the top 16 seeds, replicating the format done in the basketball tournaments. The regionals will be played at four non-predetermined campus sites, which will be announced on December 5.^[4]

Louisville

Atlanta

Columbus

Gainesville

Austin

Lexington

Lincoln

Seattle

Pittsburgh

West Lafayette

Provo

Omaha

Madison

Waco

Minneapolis

Los Angeles

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2021 NCAA First and Second Round venues

First and Second Rounds (Subregionals)

December 2–3
- Gregory Gymnasium, Austin, Texas (Host: University of Texas)
- Ferrell Center, Waco, Texas (Host: Baylor University)
- Holloway Gymnasium, West Lafayette, Indiana (Host: Purdue University)
- Sokol Arena, Omaha, Nebraska (Host: Creighton University)
- O'Connell Center, Gainesville, Florida (Host: University of Florida)
December 3–4
- L&N Federal Credit Union Arena, Louisville, Kentucky (Host: University of Louisville)
- Petersen Events Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (Host: University of Pittsburgh)
- UW Field House, Madison, Wisconsin (Host: University of Wisconsin)
- Memorial Coliseum, Lexington, Kentucky (Host: University of Kentucky)
- O'Keefe Gymnasium, Atlanta, Georgia (Host: Georgia Institute of Technology)
- Covelli Center, Columbus, Ohio (Host: Ohio State University)
- Devaney Center, Lincoln, Nebraska (Host: University of Nebraska)
- George A. Smith Fieldhouse, Provo, Utah (Host: Brigham Young University)
- Maturi Pavilion, Minneapolis, Minnesota (Host: University of Minnesota)
- Pauley Pavilion, Los Angeles, California (Host: University of California, Los Angeles)
- Alaska Airlines Arena, Seattle, Washington (Host: University of Washington)

Columbus

Louisville

Austin

Pittsburgh

Madison

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2021 NCAA Regionals and Final Four

Regional semifinals and finals

December 9 & 11
- Louisville Regional, Freedom Hall (Host: University of Louisville)
- Madison Regional, Wisconsin Field House (Host: University of Wisconsin)
- Pittsburgh Regional, Fitzgerald Field House (Host: University of Pittsburgh)
- Austin Regional, Gregory Gymnasium (Host: University of Texas)

National semifinals and championship

December 16 & 18
- Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio (Host: Ohio State University)

Qualifying teams

The following teams automatically qualified for the 2021 NCAA field by virtue of winning their conference's tournament. Unlike the 2020 tournament that consisted of only 48 teams due to COVID-19, the 2021 tournament returned to the usual format of 64 qualifying teams.

While Penn State remains as the only team to take part in all 41 tournaments, this is the first tournament appearance for Campbell, The Citadel, UIC, Mississippi State, South Alabama, and West Virginia, for a grand total of six teams.^[4]

Automatic qualifiers

Conference	Team	Conference Record
ACC	Louisville	18–0
America East	UMBC	12–0
American	UCF	19–1
Atlantic 10	Dayton	16–0
Atlantic Sun	Florida Gulf Coast	15–1
Big 12	Texas	15–1
Big East	Creighton	16–2
Big Sky	Northern Colorado	13–3
Big South	Campbell	14–2
Big Ten	Wisconsin	17–3
Big West	Hawai'i	18–2
Colonial	Towson	12–4
C-USA	Western Kentucky	12–0
Horizon	UIC	13–3
Ivy	Brown	13–1
MAAC	Fairfield	16–2
MAC	Ball State	17–1
MEAC	Howard	12–2
Missouri Valley	Illinois State	13–5
Mountain West	Boise State	10–8
Northeast	Sacred Heart	11–3
Ohio Valley	Southeast Missouri State	14–4
Pac-12	Washington	17–3
Patriot	Colgate	13–3
SEC	Kentucky	17–1
Southern	The Citadel	7–9
Southland	Texas A&M–Corpus Christi	13–1
SWAC	Florida A&M	14–2
Summit	South Dakota	15–3
Sun Belt	South Alabama	15–1
West Coast	BYU	18–0
WAC	Utah Valley	8–6

Tournament seeds

Louisville Regional
Seed	RPI	School	Conference	Berth type	Record
1	1	Louisville	ACC	Automatic	28–0
8	7	Georgia Tech	ACC	At–Large	23–5
9	9	Ohio State	Big Ten	At–Large	25–5
16	21	Florida	SEC	At–Large	20–8
	31	Ball State	MAC	Automatic	25–6
	173	Florida A&M	SWAC	Automatic	22–1
	204	Howard	MEAC	Automatic	18–12
	11	Miami (FL)	ACC	At–Large	24–4
	35	Michigan	Big Ten	At–Large	18–11
	28	North Carolina	ACC	At–Large	21–8
	49	South Alabama	Sun Belt	Automatic	25–6
	42	South Carolina	SEC	At–Large	14-14
	29	Tennessee	SEC	At–Large	19–9
	213	The Citadel	SoCon	Automatic	14–11
	129	UIC	Horizon	Automatic	20–11
	18	Western Kentucky	C-USA	Automatic	27–1

Madison Regional
Seed	RPI	School	Conference	Berth type	Record
4	4	Wisconsin	Big Ten	Automatic	25–3
5	5	Baylor	Big 12	At–Large	20–5
12	17	Minnesota	Big Ten	At–Large	19–8
13	13	UCLA	Pac-12	At–Large	23–5
	106	Colgate	Patriot	Automatic	18–9
	117	Fairfield	MAAC	Automatic	24–8
	33	Florida Gulf Coast	ASUN	Automatic	26–5
	48	Iowa State	Big 12	At–Large	16–11
	56	Northern Colorado	Big Sky	Automatic	24–6
	37	Pepperdine	WCC	At–Large	22–5
	70	South Dakota	Summit	Automatic	20–9
	26	Stanford	Pac-12	At–Large	18–10
	99	Texas A&M–CC	Southland	Automatic	19–9
	38	Texas Tech	Big 12	At–Large	17–12
	22	UCF	AAC	Automatic	26–6
	36	Washington State	Pac-12	At–Large	19–11

Pittsburgh Regional
Seed	RPI	School	Conference	Berth type	Record
3	2	Pittsburgh	ACC	At–Large	26–3
6	10	Purdue	Big Ten	At–Large	23–6
11	15	BYU	WCC	Automatic	28–1
14	8	Creighton	Big East	Automatic	30–3
	90	Boise State	Mountain West	Automatic	24–10
	40	Dayton	A-10	Automatic	25–5
	67	Illinois State	MVC	Automatic	19–13
	34	Kansas	Big 12	At–Large	16–11
	16	Marquette	Big East	At–Large	26–5
	54	Ole Miss	SEC	At–Large	21–8
	23	Oregon	Pac-12	At–Large	22–8
	27	Penn State	Big Ten	At–Large	20–10
	63	Towson	Colonial	Automatic	26–4
	172	UMBC	America East	Automatic	19–11
	20	Utah	Pac-12	At–Large	21–8
	76	Utah Valley	WAC	Automatic	16–12

Austin Regional
Seed	RPI	School	Conference	Berth type	Record
2	3	Texas	Big 12	Automatic	24–1
7	6	Kentucky	SEC	Automatic	24–4
10	12	Nebraska	Big Ten	At–Large	21–7
15	14	Washington	Pac-12	Automatic	24–4
	73	Brown	Ivy	Automatic	20–5
	94	Campbell	Big South	Automatic	21–9
	19	Florida State	ACC	At–Large	19–9
	57	Hawai'i	Big West	Automatic	21–7
	30	Illinois	Big Ten	At–Large	20–11
	47	Kansas State	Big 12	At–Large	15–12
	25	Mississippi State	SEC	At–Large	25–5
	24	Rice	C-USA	At–Large	19–6
	138	Sacred Heart	NEC	Automatic	19–9
	39	San Diego	WCC	At–Large	20–7
	88	Southeast Missouri State	OVC	Automatic	26–7
	43	West Virginia	Big 12	At–Large	19–9

Bracket

The tournament bracket was announced on November 28, 2021. Times are shown in Eastern Standard Time.

Louisville, KY Regional

First round December 2 & 3			Second Round December 3 & 4			Regional semifinals December 9			Regional Finals December 11

1	Louisville	3

	UIC	0
			1	Louisville	3
Louisville, KY
				Ball State	0
	Ball State	3

	Michigan	2
						1	Louisville	3

						16	Florida	0
	South Alabama	1

	Miami (FL)	3
				Miami (FL)	0
Gainesville, FL
			16	Florida	3
	Florida A&M	0

16	Florida	3
									1	Louisville	3

									8	Georgia Tech	1
9	Ohio State	3

	Howard	0
			9	Ohio State	3
Columbus, OH
				Tennessee	1
	North Carolina	1

	Tennessee	3
						9	Ohio State	0

						8	Georgia Tech	3
	South Carolina	0

	Western Kentucky	3
				Western Kentucky	0
Atlanta, GA
			8	Georgia Tech	3
	The Citadel	0

8	Georgia Tech	3

Schedule

First round

December 2, 2021 4:30 p.m. EST	Miami (FL)	3–1	South Alabama	O'Connell Center, Gainesville, Florida Attendance: 422 Referees: James Phillips, Tony Cothron, Elizabeth Smith, John Bear
	(23–25, 25–20, 29–27, 25–19) Recap

December 2, 2021 8:00 p.m. EST	(16) Florida	3–0	Florida A&M	O'Connell Center, Gainesville, Florida Attendance: 2,057 Referees: Wade Brance, Darin Clark, Robert Skidmore, Hugh Hernesman
	(25–11, 25–14, 25–8) Recap

December 3, 2021 4:00 p.m. EST	Michigan	2–3	Ball State	L&N Federal Credit Union Arena, Louisville, Kentucky Referees: Brian Hemelgarn, Marty Pruchko
	(17–25, 25–22, 18–25, 27–25, 8–15) Recap

December 3, 2021 4:30 p.m. EST	Western Kentucky	3–0	South Carolina	O'Keefe Gymnasium, Atlanta, Georgia Attendance: 1,200 Referees: Michelle Prater, Morgan Shannon, Bryson Bryan-Terry, Scott Thompson
	(25–20, 25–13, 25–19) Recap

December 3, 2021 5:00 p.m. EST	Tennessee	3–1	North Carolina	Covelli Center, Columbus, Ohio Referees: Mark Prater, Jeff McKinney, Mary Gray, Drew Puckerin
	(25–20, 25–19, 24–26, 25–15) Recap

December 3, 2021 7:00 p.m. EST	(1) Louisville	3–0	UIC	L&N Federal Credit Union Arena, Louisville, Kentucky Attendance: 993 Referees: Bill Thornburgh, Donnie Goodwin
	(25–11, 25–20, 25–11) Recap

December 3, 2021 7:00 p.m. EST	(8) Georgia Tech	3–0	The Citadel	O'Keefe Gymnasium, Atlanta, Georgia Attendance: 1,200 Referees: Kevin Wendelboe, Michael O'Connor, Danier Rager, Jakob Prater
	(25–21, 25–15, 28–26) Recap

December 3, 2021 7:00 p.m. EST	(9) Ohio State	3–0	Howard	Covelli Center, Columbus, Ohio Attendance: 2,787 Referees: Chuck Fleet, Josh Hall, Brian Smith, Christy Alltop
	(25–12, 25–7, 25–10) Recap

Second round

December 3, 2021 7:00 p.m. EST	(16) Florida	3–0	Miami (FL)	O'Connell Center, Gainesville, Florida Attendance: 2,311 Referees: Wade Brence, Darin Clark, Hugh Hernesman, Robert Skidmore
	(25–15, 25–20, 25–16) Recap

December 4, 2021 6:00 p.m. EST	(1) Louisville	3–0	Ball State	L&N Federal Credit Union Arena, Louisville, Kentucky Attendance: 1,055 Referees: Brian Hemelgarn, Marty Prochko
	(29–27, 25–11, 25–19) Recap

December 4, 2021 6:00 p.m. EST	(9) Ohio State	3–1	Tennessee	Covelli Center, Columbus, Ohio Attendance: 2,868 Referees: Mark Prater, Josh Hall, Christy Alltop, Drew Puckerin
	(25–18, 14–25, 25–21, 25–21) Recap

December 4, 2021 7:00 p.m. EST	(8) Georgia Tech	3–0	Western Kentucky	O'Keefe Gymnasium, Atlanta, Georgia Attendance: 1,200 Referees: Michelle Prater, Michael O'Connor, Scott Thompson, Bryson Bryan-Terry
	(25–21, 25–18, 25–23) Recap

Regional semifinals

December 9, 2021 1:00 p.m. EST	(1) Louisville	3–0	(16) Florida	Freedom Hall, Louisville, Kentucky Attendance: 3089 Referees: Pati Rolf, Wade Dubois, Philip Ems, Henry Chen, Robyn Courchane
	(25–16, 25–22, 25–12) Recap

December 9, 2021 3:00 p.m. EST	(9) Ohio State	0–3	(8) Georgia Tech	Freedom Hall, Louisville, Kentucky Attendance: 3089 Referees: Stephen Shepherd, Robyn Courchane, Kyp Harasymowycz, Jennifer McIntosh, Wade Dubois
	(22–25, 24–26, 21–25) Recap

Regional final

December 11, 2021 6:00 p.m. EST	(8) Georgia Tech	1–3	(1) Louisville	Freedom Hall, Louisville, Kentucky Attendance: 5,917
	(18–25, 25–21, 21–25, 20–25) Recap

Madison, WI Regional

First round December 2 & 3			Second Round December 3 & 4			Regional semifinals December 9			Regional Finals December 11

5	Baylor	3

	Texas A&M–Corpus Christi	0
			5	Baylor	3
Waco, TX
				Washington State	0
	Northern Colorado	0

	Washington State	3
						5	Baylor	2

						12	Minnesota	3
	Iowa State	1

	Stanford	3
				Stanford	0
Minneapolis, MN
			12	Minnesota	3
	South Dakota	0

12	Minnesota	3
									12	Minnesota	0

									4	Wisconsin	3
13	UCLA	3

	Fairfield	0
			13	UCLA	3
Los Angeles, CA
				UCF	2
	Pepperdine	1

	UCF	3
						13	UCLA	0

						4	Wisconsin	3
	Florida Gulf Coast	3

	Texas Tech	2
				Florida Gulf Coast	0
Madison, WI
			4	Wisconsin	3
	Colgate	0

4	Wisconsin	3

Schedule

First round

December 2, 2021 5:30 p.m. EST	Washington State	3–0	Northern Colorado	Ferrell Center, Waco, Texas Attendance: 603 Referees: Ryan MacDowell, Thang Nguyen, Jeff Peters, Pat Kekic
	(25–17, 25–15, 25–20) Recap

December 2, 2021 8:00 p.m. EST	(5) Baylor	3–0	Texas A&M–Corpus Christi	Ferrell Center, Waco, Texas Attendance: 1,004 Referees: Chad Klunk, Traci Belton, Sheri Banwart, Blaine Halberstadt
	(25–22, 25–12, 26–24) Recap

December 3, 2021 5:30 p.m. EST	Stanford	3–1	Iowa State	Maturi Pavilion, Minneapolis, Minnesota Referees: Julie Voeck, Dan Houser, Jeff Krause, Sarah Myres
	(25–19, 23–25, 25–18, 25–17) Recap

December 3, 2021 5:30 p.m. EST	Texas Tech	2–3	Florida Gulf Coast	UW Field House, Madison, Wisconsin Referees: Pati Rolf, Paul Albright, Chris Haworth, Scott Prox
	(25–14, 25–16, 23–25, 15–25, 7–15) Recap

December 3, 2021 7:30 p.m. EST	UCF	3–1	Pepperdine	Pauley Pavilion, Los Angeles, California Attendance: 518
	(25–19, 25–23, 24–26, 25–21) Recap

December 3, 2021 8:00 p.m. EST	(4) Wisconsin	3–0	Colgate	UW Field House, Madison, Wisconsin Attendance: 7,540
	(25–12, 25–15, 25–14) Recap

December 3, 2021 8:00 p.m. EST	(12) Minnesota	3–0	South Dakota	Maturi Pavilion, Minneapolis, Minnesota Attendance: 4,280 Referees: Tim Harlow, Robyn Courchane, Ted Mosre, Kelsi Jurik
	(25–19, 25–22, 25–17) Recap

December 3, 2021 10:00 p.m. EST	(13) UCLA	3–0	Fairfield	Pauley Pavilion, Los Angeles, California Attendance: 1,375
	(29–27, 25–23, 26–24) Recap

Second round

December 3, 2021 8:00 p.m. EST	(5) Baylor	3–0	Washington State	Ferrell Center, Waco, Texas Attendance: 1,078 Referees: Ryan MacDowell, Thang Nguyen, Jeff Peters, Pat Kekic
	(27–25, 25–21, 25–20) Recap

December 4, 2021 7:00 p.m. EST	(4) Wisconsin	3–0	Florida Gulf Coast	UW Field House, Madison, Wisconsin Referees: Pati Rolf, Joseph Gustafson, Chris Haworth, Tracy LeVine
	(25–17, 25–20, 25–15) Recap

December 4, 2021 8:00 p.m. EST	(12) Minnesota	3–0	Stanford	Maturi Pavilion, Minneapolis, Minnesota Attendance: 4,448 Referees: Julie Voeck, Robyn Courchane, Tim Harlow, Jeff Krause
	(25–20, 25–18, 25–17) Recap

December 4, 2021 10:00 p.m. EST	(13) UCLA	3–2	UCF	Pauley Pavilion, Los Angeles, California Attendance: 1,143
	(25–27, 25–13, 19–25, 25–22, 15–7) Recap

Regional semifinals

December 9, 2021 3:00 p.m. EST	(5) Baylor	2–3	(12) Minnesota	UW Field House, Madison, Wisconsin
	(28–26, 22–25, 25–20, 23–25, 10–15) Recap

December 9, 2021 5:00 p.m. EST	(13) UCLA	0–3	(4) Wisconsin	UW Field House, Madison, Wisconsin Attendance: 6,851 Referees: Wade Brence, Mara Wager, Craig Wiedel, Jeff Krause
	(16–25, 18–25, 17–25) Recap

Regional final

December 11, 2021 8:00 p.m. EST	(12) Minnesota	0–3	(4) Wisconsin	UW Field House, Madison, Wisconsin Attendance: 7,540
	(18–25, 24–26, 22–25) Recap

Pittsburgh, PA Regional

First round December 2 & 3			Second Round December 3 & 4			Regional semifinals December 9			Regional Finals December 11

3	Pittsburgh	3

	UMBC	0
			3	Pittsburgh	3
Pittsburgh, PA
				Penn State	1
	Towson	1

	Penn State	3
						3	Pittsburgh	3

							Kansas	0
	Oregon	0

	Kansas	3
				Kansas	3
Omaha, NE
			14	Creighton	1
	Ole Miss	0

14	Creighton	3
									3	Pittsburgh	3

									6	Purdue	1
11	BYU	3

	Boise State	0
			11	BYU	3
Provo, UT
				Utah	1
	Utah Valley	1

	Utah	3
						11	BYU	2

						6	Purdue	3
	Dayton	3

	Marquette	1
				Dayton	2
West Lafayette, IN
			6	Purdue	3
	Illinois State	0

6	Purdue	3

Schedule

First round

December 2, 2021 4:30 p.m. EST	Marquette	1–3	Dayton	Holloway Gymnasium, West Lafayette, Indiana Referees: Devonie McLarty, Krystian Krzyak, Jason Marshall, Henry Chen
	(20–25, 21–25, 26–24, 23–25) Recap

December 2, 2021 5:30 p.m. EST	Oregon	0–3	Kansas	Sokol Arena, Omaha, Nebraska Referees: Bill Stanley, Christina Fiebich, Craig Wiedel, Dave Soderstrom
	(21–25, 21–25, 22–25) Recap

December 2, 2021 7:00 p.m. EST	(6) Purdue	3–0	Illinois State	Holloway Gymnasium, West Lafayette, Indiana Attendance: 2,415 Referees: Jung Park, Rod Rodriguez, Katie Bates, Jeff Morris
	(25–21, 25–17, 25–11) Recap

December 2, 2021 8:00 p.m. EST	(14) Creighton	3–0	Ole Miss	Sokol Arena, Omaha, Nebraska Attendance: 2,351 Referees: Daryl Korinek, Brett Myres, Amber Nicholson, John Sutton
	(25–21, 25–15, 25–13) Recap

December 3, 2021 4:00 p.m. EST	Penn State	3–1	Towson	Petersen Events Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Attendance: 2,203 Referees: Carla Bunner, Kurt Fulmer, David Atkinson, Shera Moxley
	(25–11, 25–27, 25–20, 25–21) Recap

December 3, 2021 6:00 p.m. EST	Utah	3–1	Utah Valley	Smith Fieldhouse, Provo, Utah Attendance: 1,100
	(25–16, 22–25, 25–19, 25–11) Recap

December 3, 2021 7:00 p.m. EST	(3) Pittsburgh	3–0	UMBC	Petersen Events Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Attendance: 2,344 Referees: Landry Homsher, Scott Thompson, Timothy Rough, Chad Oberholtzer
	(25–23, 25–13, 25–18) Recap

December 3, 2021 9:00 p.m. EST	(11) BYU	3–0	Boise State	Smith Fieldhouse, Provo, Utah Attendance: 5,340 Referees: Daphne Nelson, Ron Pelham, Kaylene Cragun, James Rees
	(25–6, 25–19, 25–10) Recap

Second round

December 3, 2021 5:00 p.m. EST	(6) Purdue	3–2	Dayton	Holloway Gymnasium, West Lafayette, Indiana Attendance: 2,415 Referees: Devonie McLarty, Rod Rodriguez, Henry Chen, Jeff Morris
	(25–27, 19–25, 25–15, 25–6, 15–5) Recap

December 3, 2021 8:00 p.m. EST	(14) Creighton	1–3	Kansas	Sokol Arena, Omaha, Nebraska Attendance: 2,389 Referees: Bill Stanley, Brett Myres, Craig Wiedel, Amber Nicholson
	(13–25, 24–26, 25–19, 22–25) Recap

December 4, 2021 7:00 p.m. EST	(3) Pittsburgh	3–1	Penn State	Petersen Events Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Attendance: 2,593 Referees: Carla Bunner, Kurt Fulmer, Shera Moxley, Chad Oberholtzer
	(25–22, 23–25, 25–22, 25–23) Recap

December 4, 2021 9:00 p.m. EST	(11) BYU	3–1	Utah	Smith Fieldhouse, Provo, Utah Attendance: 4,729
	(17–25, 25–22, 25–23, 25–23) Recap

Regional semifinals

December 9, 2021 1:00 p.m. EST	(3) Pittsburgh	3–0	Kansas	Fitzgerald Field House, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Attendance: 1644 Referees: Julie Voeck, Joe Gustafson, Drew Puckerin, Rachel Jensen
	(25–19, 25–21, 25–18) Recap

December 9, 2021 11:00 a.m. EST	(11) BYU	2–3	(6) Purdue	Fitzgerald Field House, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Attendance: 1479 Referees: Ryan MacDowell, Sergio Gonzalez, Shera Moxley, Michael Behrens
	(12–25, 25–16, 25–21, 13–25, 16–18) Recap

Regional final

December 11, 2021 4:00 p.m. EST	(6) Purdue	1–3	(3) Pittsburgh	Fitzgerald Field House, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Attendance: 3052 Referees: Ryan MacDowell, Sergio Gonzalez, Rachel Jensen, Shera Moxley
	(20–25, 30–28, 20–25, 15–25) Recap

Austin, TX Regional

First round December 2 & 3			Second Round December 3 & 4			Regional semifinals December 9			Regional Finals December 11

7	Kentucky	3

	Southeast Missouri State	0
			7	Kentucky	1
Lexington, KY
				Illinois	3
	West Virginia	1

	Illinois	3
							Illinois	0

						10	Nebraska	3
	Kansas State	0

	Florida State	3
				Florida State	0
Lincoln, NE
			10	Nebraska	3
	Campbell	0

10	Nebraska	3
									10	Nebraska	3

									2	Texas	1
15	Washington	3

	Brown	0
			15	Washington	3
Seattle, WA
				Hawaii	0
	Hawaii	3

	Mississippi State	2
						15	Washington	2

						2	Texas	3
	Rice	3

	San Diego	0
				Rice	0
Austin, TX
			2	Texas	3
	Sacred Heart	0

2	Texas	3

Schedule

First round

December 2, 2021 5:00 p.m. EST	San Diego	0–3	Rice	Gregory Gymnasium, Austin, Texas Referees: April Fricke, Richard Bleau
	(20–25, 19–25, 20–25) Recap

December 2, 2021 8:00 p.m. EST	(2) Texas	3–0	Sacred Heart	Gregory Gymnasium, Austin, Texas Attendance: 3,172 Referees: Joe Lizama, Jeff Kushaney
	(25–19, 25–17, 25–19) Recap

December 3, 2021 5:00 p.m. EST	Illinois	3–1	West Virginia	Memorial Coliseum, Lexington, Kentucky
	(23–25, 25–12, 25–22, 25–20) Recap

December 3, 2021 5:30 p.m. EST	Florida State	3–0	Kansas State	Devaney Center, Lincoln, Nebraska
	(25–20, 25–16, 25–17) Recap

December 3, 2021 7:30 p.m. EST	(7) Kentucky	3–0	Southeast Missouri State	Memorial Coliseum, Lexington, Kentucky
	(25–15, 25–14, 25–19) Recap

December 3, 2021 7:30 p.m. EST	Mississippi State	2–3	Hawaii	Alaska Airlines Arena, Seattle, Washington
	(25–17, 14–25, 13–25, 25–21, 11–15) Recap

December 3, 2021 8:00 p.m. EST	(10) Nebraska	3–0	Campbell	Devaney Center, Lincoln, Nebraska
	(25–14, 25–14, 25–17) Recap

December 3, 2021 10:00 p.m. EST	(15) Washington	3–0	Brown	Alaska Airlines Arena, Seattle, Washington
	(25–15, 25–13, 25–20) Recap

Second round

December 3, 2021 9:00 p.m. EST	(2) Texas	3–0	Rice	Gregory Gymnasium, Austin, Texas Attendance: 4,322 Referees: Joe Lizama, Richard Bleau
	(25–21, 25–23, 25–19) Recap

December 4, 2021 5:00 p.m. EST	(7) Kentucky	1–3	Illinois	Memorial Coliseum, Lexington, Kentucky Referees: Stephen Shepherd, Mara Wager, Shane White, Phillip Ems
	(22–25, 25–20, 10–25, 21–25) Recap

December 4, 2021 8:30 p.m. EST	(10) Nebraska	3–0	Florida State	Devaney Center, Lincoln, Nebraska Attendance: 7,955 Referees: Todd Karolczak, Wade Dubois, Mike Behrens, Ken Corum
	(25–20, 25–22, 25–17) Recap

December 4, 2021 10:00 p.m. EST	(15) Washington	3–0	Hawaii	Alaska Airlines Arena, Seattle, Washington Referees: Paula Martin, Ben Goodwin
	(25–16, 25–14, 25–13) Recap

Regional semifinals

December 9, 2021 7:30 p.m. EST	Illinois	0–3	(10) Nebraska	Gregory Gymnasium, Austin, Texas Attendance: 4,488
	(12–25, 21–25, 17–25) Recap

December 9, 2021 9:30 p.m. EST	(15) Washington	2–3	(2) Texas	Gregory Gymnasium, Austin, Texas Attendance: 4,488
	(25–19, 25–20, 22–25, 9–25, 9–15) Recap

Regional final

December 11, 2021 10:00 p.m. EST	(10) Nebraska	3–1	(2) Texas	Gregory Gymnasium, Austin, Texas Attendance: 5,080
	(25–19, 25–23, 23–25, 25–21) Recap

Final Four

National semifinals Nationwide Arena December 16			National Championship Nationwide Arena December 18

1	Louisville	2

4	Wisconsin	3
			4	Wisconsin	3

			10	Nebraska	2
3	Pittsburgh	1

10	Nebraska	3

National semifinals

December 16, 2021 7:00 p.m. EST	(1) Louisville	2–3	(4) Wisconsin	Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio
	(23–25, 25–15, 21–25, 25–23, 9–15) Recap

December 16, 2021 9:30 p.m. EST	(3) Pittsburgh	1–3	(10) Nebraska	Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio Attendance: 16,531
	(25–16, 17–25, 20–25, 22–25) Recap

National championship

December 18, 2021 7:30 pm EST	(4) Wisconsin	3–2	(10) Nebraska	Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio Attendance: 18,755 Referees: Pati Rolf, Sergio Gonzalez
	(22–25, 31–29, 25–23, 23–25, 15–12) Recap

Final Four All-Tournament Team

Anna Smrek – Most Outstanding Player (Wisconsin)
Dana Rettke (Wisconsin)
Sydney Hilley (Wisconsin)
Nicklin Hames (Nebraska)
Madi Kubik (Nebraska)
Anna Debeer (Louisville)
Leketor Member-Meneh (Pittsburgh)

Media coverage

For the second consecutive season all matches aired on the ESPN Family of networks. Rounds 1 and 2 streamed on ESPN+ with the exception of Texas matches, which were televised by LHN.^[5] All Sweet 16 and Elite 8 matches aired on ESPNU or ESPN+.^[6] ESPN aired the national semifinals while ESPN2 aired the national championship.^[7]

Rounds 1 & 2

Atlanta: Andy Demetra and Kele Eveland
Austin: Paul Sunderland and Salima Rockwell
Columbus: Brendan Gulick and Greg Franke (Fri); Luke Maloney and Hanna Williford (Sat)
Gainesville: Tom Collett
Lexington: Dick Gabriel and Kathy DeBoer
Lincoln: Larry Punteney and Kathi Wieskamp
Louisville: Sean Moth and Patty Dennison Norton
Los Angeles: Darren Preston

Madison: Chris Vosters and Liz Tortorello Nelson
Minneapolis: Johnny Kahner and Meredith Uram
Omaha: Jake Eisenberg and Shannon Smolinski
Pittsburgh: Jason Earle and Amanda Silay
Provo: Jarom Jordan and Amy Gant
Seattle: Jason Dorow
Waco: Lincoln Rose, Katie Smith (Thurs), and Adam Johnson (Fri)
West Lafayette: Cory Palm and Alex Brophy

Regional semifinals & Regional Finals

Austin: Paul Sunderland and Salima Rockwell
Louisville: Eric Frede and Katie George

Madison: Courtney Lyle and Karch Kiraly
Pittsburgh: Alex Loeb and Missy Whittemore

Semifinals & National Championship

Paul Sunderland, Salima Rockwell, and Christine Williamson

Records by Conference

Conference	Bids	Record	Win %	R32	S16	E8	F4	CM	NC
Big Ten	8	22–7	.759	7	6	4	2	2	1
ACC	6	13–6	.684	5	3	3	2	–	–
Big 12	7	7–7	.500	3	3	1	–	–	–
Pac-12	6	7–6	.538	5	2	–	–	–	–
SEC	6	4–6	.400	3	1	–	–	–	–
West Coast	3	2–3	.400	1	1	–	–	–	–
C-USA	2	2–2	.500	2	–	–	–	–	–
American	1	1–1	.500	1	–	–	–	–	–
Atlantic 10	1	1–1	.500	1	–	–	–	–	–
Atlantic Sun	1	1–1	.500	1	–	–	–	–	–
Big East	2	1–2	.333	1	–	–	–	–	–
Big West	1	1–1	.500	1	–	–	–	–	–
MAC	1	1–1	.500	1	–	–	–	–	–
19 Others	19	0–19	.000	–	–	–	–	–	–

The R32, S16, E8, F4, CM, and NC columns indicate how many teams from each conference were in the Round of 32 (second round), Round of 16 (third round), quarterfinals (Elite Eight), Semi-finals (Final Four), Championship Match, and National Champion, respectively.
The following conferences failed to place a team into the round of 32: America East, Big Sky, Big South, Colonial, Horizon, Ivy, MAAC, MEAC, Missouri Valley, Mountain West, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southern, Southland, SWAC, Summit, Sun Belt, and the WAC. The conference's records have been consolidated in the other row.

NCAA tournament record

The following NCAA Tournament records were broken during the 2021 tournament:

Attendance record, championship match – 18,755^[2]

References

^ "Badger Volleyball Wins National Championship". December 19, 2021.
^ ^a ^b "Badger volleyball wins national championship over Nebraska".
^ "Women's college volleyball championship: Future dates and sites".
^ ^a ^b "2021 NCAA DI women's volleyball championship selections announced". NCAA.com. NCAA & Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. November 28, 2021.
^ "ESPN to Carry Every First and Second Round Match of 2021 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship, Dec. 2-4". ESPN Press Room. ESPN. December 2021. Retrieved December 1, 2021.
^ "NCAA Women's Volleyball Regional semifinals and finals Set for ESPN Networks, December 9 & 11". ESPN Press Room. ESPN. December 7, 2021. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
^ "NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament Presented by Buick: Semifinals and championship Live on ESPN and ESPN2, December 16 & 18". ESPN Press Room. ESPN. December 15, 2021. Retrieved December 15, 2021.

[1] "Badger Volleyball Wins National Championship". December 19, 2021.

[record-2] "Badger volleyball wins national championship over Nebraska".

[3] "Women's college volleyball championship: Future dates and sites".

[2021_Tournament-4] "2021 NCAA DI women's volleyball championship selections announced". NCAA.com. NCAA & Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. November 28, 2021.

[5] "ESPN to Carry Every First and Second Round Match of 2021 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship, Dec. 2-4". ESPN Press Room. ESPN. December 2021. Retrieved December 1, 2021.

[6] "NCAA Women's Volleyball Regional semifinals and finals Set for ESPN Networks, December 9 & 11". ESPN Press Room. ESPN. December 7, 2021. Retrieved December 7, 2021.

[7] "NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament Presented by Buick: Semifinals and championship Live on ESPN and ESPN2, December 16 & 18". ESPN Press Room. ESPN. December 15, 2021. Retrieved December 15, 2021.

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