With the 2024 women's volleyball season here, NCAA Digital's Michella Chester and BTN's Emily Ehman collaborated on a to discuss everything surrounding the upcoming season.
One of the topics the two covered was which four teams may end up reaching the NCAA tournament national semifinals in late December.
Here are their picks for the squads they believe will meet up in Louisville in less than four months.
Chester's & Ehman's first pick — Texas
Before even discussing the semifinals, Chester and Ehman both agreed that a three-peat was possible for the Longhorns.
Coming off back-to-back championships, it would etch Texas in the history books by winning its third straight title — the first since Penn State's four-peat that ended in 2010. It would be the second-ever in DI women's volleyball history — and 2023 NCAA tournament most outstanding player Madi Skinner's fourth national championship in college.
Ehman's biggest question for the Longhorns was the middle after losing Asjia O'Neal. However, Texas did reload by adding freshman Ayden Ames, the 2023 Texas Gatorade Volleyball Player of the Year, and brought more support to right side with Kentucky's Reagan Rutherford.
Chester mentioned how excited she was to see Baylor's Averi Carlson being mixed in at setter with Ella Swindle and the addition of Nebraska’s Whitney Lauenstein.
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Chester's & Ehman's second pick — Nebraska
Another no-doubter is Nebraska. Chester and Ehman agreed that Texas and Nebraska were "in a league of their own."
The Huskers were the overall No. 1 seed in the 2023 NCAA tournament but fell short and got swept by Texas in the national championship. That should be enough motivation for Nebraska to make it over the hump this season.
Nebraska was one of the country's youngest teams last year — and had no seniors on the roster. This time around, the Huskers bring back nearly their entire core, and Chester jokingly argued that they have too many offensive options with the additions of Minnesota’s Taylor Landfair and San Diego’s Leyla Blackwell.
Ehman doubled down, adding that Nebraska's all-around talent will make them elite, especially with the return of outside hitter Lindsay Krause, whose 2023 season was cut short due to an ankle injury in October.
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Chester's & Ehman's third pick — Wisconsin
Chester and Ehman couldn't go against Wisconsin, adding them into the Texas-Nebraska category of pulling themselves away from the pack.
The Badgers return most of their core from 2023, including 2023 AVCA National Player of the Year Sarah Franklin.
The Badgers’ biggest offseason question was at setter, having no returning setters on the 2024 roster. However, Ehman reassured that the position was in good hands after the program added freshman Charlie Fuerbringer, the No. 1-ranked high school setter nationally by PrepVolleyball, into the mix.
Although it might take the freshman some time to adjust, with the pieces around her and how good of player she already is, Ehman doesn't think she'll have many setbacks. Chester correlated it to Nebraska's Bergen Reilly role last year, being able to fit in perfectly with the elite talent around her.
Wisconsin was already knocking on the national title door last year, losing to Texas in the semifinals.
Chester's fourth pick — Florida
Chester struggled to pick against Pitt here, but she felt there was a lot of excitement around Florida.
The Gators looked like an elite team last year, cracking the top five before a domino effect of injuries, including 2022 AVCA Southeast Freshman of the Year setter Alexis Stucky going down. With so many injuries, Florida struggled to find their rhythm as the season continued.
Fast forward to 2024, with Stucky and company back, the Gators have a chance to prove they are a strong group again.
The fire underneath them might be enough to push the Gators to their first semifinal since 2017.
Ehman's fourth pick — Louisville
The Cardinals have been in the semifinal conversation for years. And with this year's semifinal taking place in their city, Ehman believes it could give them the extra edge to knock off another top team.
Louisville brings back their entire core outside of opposite Aiko Jones, including top names like Anna DeBeer, Elena Scott, Elle Glock, Phekran Kong and more.
The combination of talent and location makes Louisville an intriguing team to watch.
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