Just a few more weeks of conference play for college volleyball, but triple the amount of excitement. There are a lot of huge matchups packed into these next few weeks.
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Here are the top volleyball matchups in week 12:
1. Wisconsin vs. Minnesota | Thursday, Nov. 14, 9 p.m. ET on Big Ten Network
This a rematch this season between two top 10 teams, and on top of that, they are tied on top of the Big Ten standings at 13-1. It’ll be a big one. Wisconsin was perfect in the Big Ten, and quite frankly, on a roll. They beat Minnesota, Nebraska, and Penn State, but they were just upset by Ohio State 3-1 last week. Minnesota played Ohio State too, and swept them.
Earlier in the season, when Wisconsin and Minnesota played each other, the Badgers took down the Gophers in three-straight sets. Wisconsin held Minnesota to a .188 hitting percentage in a strong defensive showing. But then also, put on a stellar offensive display. Dana Rettke had 16 kills on an even .500 hitting percentage and Molly Haggerty had 12 kills.
For the Gophers, Stephanie Samedy is usually putting up the big numbers but in their latest matchup, three players had double-digit kills in front of Samedy. Airi Miybabe had 11 kills, Adanna Rollins had 11 kills, and Alexis Hart had 10. So you might see a pretty balanced offense for the Gophers.
Last time they played they were in Madison, but this one will be on Minnesota’s home court. Let's see who takes the front-row seat in the Big Ten.
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2. BYU vs. San Diego | Friday, Nov. 15, 10 p.m. ET on WCC Network
BYU sits on top of the West Coast Conference, but San Diego beat them the first time around this season. But here is what makes it intriguing: the Cougars haven’t lost to a conference opponent twice in a season since 2011. And guess who it was that achieved the season sweep then? San Diego. Most years, BYU and San Diego split the series. We will see what happens this time around. In their last matchup this season, sophomore outside hitter Madelyn Robinson let the way for BYU with a career-high 18 kills on .341 hitting. But San Diego prevailed in the five-setter, and four players put up double-digit kills.
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3. USC vs. Stanford | Friday, Nov. 15, 9 p.m. ET on Pac-12 Network
Stanford has a few re-matches this week and their star outside hitter Kathryn Plummer is back in action after returning from injury. A few weeks back, Stanford was swept by UCLA and pushed to five sets by USC. This week, they play them both again. USC upset Washington right after the Stanford matchup, and pushed Utah to five. Khalia Lanier put up 73 kills in their last two outings. She had more than 30 kills three times in four matches. For the Cardinal, like I said, Plummer is back. She had 15 kills on an impressive .636 hitting in their latest matchup. So we’ve got two offensive threats going head to head in a rematch this week.
