The 2025 NCAA Women’s Volleyball Tournament

Story by Isabelle Flood – Editor-in-Chief/Social Media Editor

On November 30th, the official bracket for the NCAA D1 Women’s Volleyball Tournament was released. Many fans are shocked about teams selected and the overall setup of the bracket. 

   The 31 division winners get an automatic bid to the tournament, but that leaves 33 spots left. With a 64-team bracket to be filled, the NCAA D1 Women’s Volleyball Committee selects the teams they want to fill those remaining spots. This is based on four major things: their win-loss record, significant wins, RPI (Ratings Percentage Index), and KPI (Key Performance Indicators). 

   This system seems like it would be effective and make fans happy, but the inconsistency in the committee selections and the unfairness in some divisions makes some fans hesitant to support. 

   “I think most of the teams selected are good; however, with the excessive number of small conferences across Division 1 volleyball, it leaves fewer spots open for teams in the Power Four conferences, which have a much more challenging regular season schedule,” Madi Benne, senior, said. 

   The top 4 teams in the bracket are Nebraska, Pittsburgh, Kentucky, and Texas. Nebraska is the only team undefeated, which is incredibly impressive for their difficult division and many ranked opponents they have faced. 

   Nebraska may seem like the obvious winner, but college volleyball is full of upsets. Whether you have a favorite team or just enjoy the sport, this tournament will be full of entertaining volleyball and high stakes match ups. The semifinals, on December 19th, and the finals, on December 21st, will be played at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City.