Wisconsin wins the 2021 women's volleyball championship in a five-set thriller
Wisconsin and Nebraska set the all-time record for DI women's college volleyball attendance when 18,755 watched the 2021 championship game on Dec. 18 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Wisconsin won, 3-2, to capture its first national title in program history behind outstanding play by Dana Rettke and Anna Smrek. The regular season record is 16,833, which was broken on Sept. 16, 2022 as Wisconsin played Florida at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wisconsin.
Here are the five DI college volleyball games with the most attendance (through 2021). You can see all DI, DII, and DIII volleyball attendance records and averages in this .PDF.
1. 18,755: Wisconsin defeated Nebraska on Dec. 18, 2021 at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio in the NCAA final
Jamie Schwaberow | NCAA Photos
![Wisconsin celebrates is 2021 title in front of an NCAA-record 18,755 fans.]()
2. 18,516: Nebraska defeated Florida on Dec. 16, 2017 at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo. in the NCAA final
3. 18,374: Florida defeated Stanford and Nebraska defeated Penn State on Dec. 14, 2017, at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo. in the NCAA semifinals
Jamie Schwaberow | NCAA Photos
![Florida's Carli Snyder runs onto the court before the 2017 NCAA semifinals]()
4. 18,113: Stanford defeated Nebraska on Dec. 15, 2018, at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minn., in the NCAA final
5. 17,808: Stanford defeated BYU and Nebraska defeated Illinois on Dec. 13, 2018, in the NCAA semifinals at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minn.
Jamie Schwaberow | NCAA Photos
![Nebraska celebrates its victory against Illinois in the 2017 semifinals.]()
Here is the list of the top 30 most attended women's college volleyball games from the NCAA DI record book.
Scroll to the right to view the entire table.
| ATT. | WINNER | OPPONENT | SCORE | DATE | ARENA | CITY | STATE | TOURNAMENT ROUND | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18,755 | Wisconsin | Nebraska | 3-2 | Dec. 18, 2021 | Nationwide Arena | Columbus | OH | NCAA final |
| 2 | 18,516 | Nebraska | Florida | 3-1 | Dec. 16, 2017 | Sprint Center | Kansas City | MO | NCAA final |
| 3 | 18,374 | Florida | Stanford | 3-2 | Dec. 14, 2017 | Sprint Center | Kansas City | MO | NCAA semifinals |
| Nebraska | Penn St. | 3-2 | NCAA semifinals | ||||||
| 4 | 18,113 | Stanford | Nebraska | 3-2 | Dec. 15, 2018 | Target Center | Minneapolis | MN | NCAA final |
| 5 | 17,808 | Stanford | BYU | 3-0 | Dec. 13, 2018 | Target Center | Minneapolis | MN | NCAA semifinals |
| Nebraska | Illinois | 3-2 | NCAA semifinals | ||||||
| 6 | 17,561 | Nebraska | Texas | 3-0 | Dec. 19, 2015 | CHI Health Center | Omaha | NE | NCAA final |
| 7 | 17,551 | Nebraska | Kansas | 3-1 | Dec. 17, 2015 | CHI Health Center | Omaha | NE | NCAA semifinals |
| Texas | Minnesota | 3-1 | NCAA semifinals | ||||||
| 8 | 17,430 | Stanford | Texas | 3-2 | Dec. 18, 2008 | CHI Health Center | Omaha | NE | NCAA semifinals |
| Penn St. | Nebraska | 3-2 | NCAA semifinals | ||||||
| 9 | 17,345 | Stanford | Texas | 3-1 | Dec. 17, 2016 | Nationwide Arena | Columbus | OH | NCAA final |
| 10 | 17,209 | Nebraska | Stanford | 3-1 | Dec. 16, 2006 | CHI Health Center | Omaha | NE | NCAA final |
| 11 | 17,014 | Nebraska | UCLA | 3-1 | Dec. 14, 2006 | CHI Health Center | Omaha | NE | NCAA semifinals |
| Stanford | Washington | 3-0 | NCAA semifinals | ||||||
| 12 | 16,833 | Florida | Wisconsin* | 3-2 | Sept. 16, 2022 | Kohl Center | Madison | WI | |
| 13 | 16,670 | Stanford | Minnesota | 3-1 | Dec. 15, 2016 | Nationwide Arena | Columbus | OH | NCAA semifinals |
| Texas | Nebraska | 3-0 | NCAA semifinals | ||||||
| 14 | 16,531 | Wisconsin | Louisville | 3-2 | Dec. 16, 2021 | Nationwide Arena | Columbus | OH | NCAA semifinals |
| Nebraska | Pittsburgh | 3-1 | NCAA semifinals | ||||||
| 15 | 16,290 | Stanford | Wisconsin | 3-0 | Dec. 21, 2019 | PPG Paints Arena | Pittsburgh | PA | NCAA final |
| 16 | 16,448 | Texas | Oregon | 3-0 | Dec. 15, 2012 | KFC Yum! Center | Louisville | KY | NCAA final |
| 17 | 15,797 | Nebraska | Creighton* | 3-2 | Sept. 7, 2022 | CHI Health Center | Omaha | NE | |
| 18 | 15,119 | Nebraska | Florida | 3-0 | Dec. 10, 2005 | CHI Health Center | Omaha | NE | NCAA regional final |
| 19 | 14,975 | Penn St. | Washington | 3-0 | Dec. 19, 2013 | KeyArena | Seattle | WA | NCAA semifinals |
| 20 | 14,779 | Penn St. | Wisconsin | 3-1 | Dec. 21, 2013 | KeyArena | Seattle | WA | NCAA final |
| 21 | 14,661 | Stanford | Minnesota | 3-0 | Dec. 19, 2019 | PPG Paints Arena | Pittsburgh | PA | NCAA semifinals |
| Wisconsin | Baylor | 3-1 | NCAA semifinals | ||||||
| 22 | 14,489 | Nebraska | UCLA | 3-0 | Dec. 9, 2005 | CHI Health Center | Omaha | NE | NCAA regional semifinals |
| Florida | Louisville | 3-0 | NCAA regional semifinals | ||||||
| 23 | 14,299 | Penn St. | Stanford | 3-0 | Dec. 20, 2008 | CHI Health Center | Omaha | NE | NCAA final |
| 24 | 14,032 | Penn St. | California | 3-0 | Dec. 18, 2010 | Sprint Center | Kansas City | MO | NCAA final |
| 25 | 14,022 | Nebraska | *Creighton | 3-2 | Sept. 6, 2018 | CHI Health Center | Omaha | NE | |
| 26 | 13,870 | UCLA | *Nebraska | 3-2 | Sept. 13, 2009 | Bob Devaney Sports Center | Lincoln | NE | |
| 27 | 13,747 | UCLA | Illinois | 3-1 | Dec. 17, 2011 | Alamodome | San Antonio | TX | NCAA final |
| 28 | 13,631 | Penn St. | Stanford | 3-2 | Dec. 15, 2007 | Power Balance Pavilion | Sacramento | CA | NCAA final |
| 29 | 13,412 | *Nebraska | LSU | 3-0 | Sept. 12, 2008 | Bob Devaney Sports Center | Lincoln | NE | |
| 30 | 13,396 | *Nebraska | Hawaii | 3-0 | Oct. 21, 2007 | Bob Devaney Sports Center | Lincoln | NE | |
| 31 | 13,385 | Oregon | Penn St. | 3-1 | Dec. 13, 2012 | KFC Yum! Center | Louisville | KY | NCAA semifinals |
| Texas | Michigan | 3-2 | NCAA semifinals |
* Host institution.
All arenas listed under current (or most recent) name.
