Not their best hitter. That would be Roni Jones-Perry, who is a lock for 1st Team All-American and a NPOY candidate. Their 2nd best hitter, McKenna Miller is the one who tore her ACL. BYU was undefeated until they dropped a match to Loyola Marymount right at the end of the regular season. That was enough to drop them to the #4 seed, but getting that last regional hosting spot is huge for them because they have an amazing crowd and are tough to beat in Provo. The match tomorrow with Texas will be fascinating, but I'd consider BYU the favorite to win that at home.
In addition to Jones-Perry, BYU's setter and libero are also very special players.
Didn't know you were a volleyballer, Plebe. All of the regional finals tomorrow should be very intriguing...I'll chime in my thoughts/predictions:
BYU/Texas, I'm probably looking forward to this one the most . Texas looks light years better with Gabriel setting instead of Shook. Texas is always physical but now that players are getting set well their physicality is at another level. Bedart-Ghani hit a couple balls today that could've put dents in the floor. BYU is really really good at libero/setter (Haddock-Eppich IMO is the best least talked about player in the country)/OH with RJP. They have really physical middles too and will be at home which gives them a big edge. Wish both Hamson and Miller were healthy, but I think they have the horses to beat Texas. I think BYU in 4 or 5. They just don't lose at home.
Wisconsin/Illinois should be another great one. The split head to head this year and both teams are playing really good volleyball right now. Hard to predict a winner but I think Badgers win this if they get good production from Loberg/Haggerty/Duello. Rettke is the best middle in the nation and Williams is playing her best volleyball right now, so it'll come down to how their pin hitters terminate.
Penn State/Stanford...scary matchup for Stanford IMO. Penn State has very athletic hitters and a good (albeit annoying) libero in White. Weiskircher is a little all of the place but she's a good leader and probably a better setter than I give her credit for. Stanford, particularly Kathryn Plummer, is not playing its best volleyball right now. These are the 2 more storied programs in NCAA history, and Russ Rose consistently beat Stanford in the tournament, granted Stanford has different staff now. Stanford won early in the year but Penn State might be primed for revenge. At the end of the day, I think Plummer makes or breaks Stanford tomorrow. I'd bet on her rather than against her.
Last matchup for Nebraska/Oregon should also be great if Oregon brings its A game. Stone and Stivrins are probably the 2 most dynamic slide hitters in the country, both just soar off one foot in the air, especially Stone. Nebraska is a ridiculously good defensive team and they're playing great volleyball right now. Mikaela Foecke has to be one of the best big game players in the country, and I don't see them losing to Oregon. Hugely important for Nebraska will be the effectiveness of Lexi Sun. When she's on, she is fantastic to watch. When she's off, she can rack up errors in a hurry and be a liability. It seems they've stopped going to Sweet very much and have been feeding more sets to Sun and Stivrins. They need to be effective to knock off a very good Oregon team.
