Hi guys! I didn’t get a chance to write this up properly, but I thought I should get at least a quick and dirty version out today, because the third round of play starts this afternoon!

Here’s the live bracket!

So, just the facts:

First Round Results

• #1 Penn State def. Howard, 3-1

Top-seeded PSU dropped a rather stunning set to Howard, but still got business done.

• #5 Nebraska def. Stony Brook, 3-0
• #7 Minnesota def. North Dakota, 3-0
• Michigan State def. Missouri State, 3-0
• Wisconsin def. Marquette, 3-0
• Purdue def. High Point, 3-1

Dropping a set to whatever “High Point” is, was not, you could say, a high point. (Not even sorry for that. This is why you come here.)

• Illinois def. Hawaii, 3-2

This was a quality win for Illinois, and impressive for other reasons, which will become clear in the next section.

• Colorado State def. Michigan, 3-1

If you had Michigan in last week’s “Who Goes Out First” poll, pat yourself on the back! The Wolverines fell in four and became the conference’s first casualty.

Second Round Results

• #1 Penn State def. Pittsburgh, 3-1

Apparently, PSU is doing this “drop a set” thing to add a little spice to life. Then again, Pitt is IT, so perhaps they can’t be blamed.

• #5 Nebraska def. Washington State, 3-0
• #7 Minnesota def. UNI, 3-1

Down go the Huskers’ old nemesis.

• Michigan State def. #9 Creighton, 3-1

A quality win against a quality squad and a tough 2nd round matchup, so great job Sparty!

• Wisconsin def. #14 Iowa State, 3-0
• #11 Utah def. Purdue, 3-1

And down goes another B1G squad. Utah was seeded, so this isn’t a shameful loss, but no doubt still a tough one for a Purdue squad hoping to make it to the second weekend.

• Illinois def. #8 Washington, 3-2

Damn Illinois.

Performance of the first weekend should go to the Illini, who clearly are not ready to go home yet, scrapping through two five-set matches against tough opponents. The Washington win is especially huge—UW is a veteran of the Final Four, and knocking them out in the second round is tremendous. Good job, Illini! Illinois was on the losing end of a lot of long matches this season... but it appears that it has only prepared them for such a time as this.

Third Round—Starts Today!

As far as I can tell, none of these are really televised, but your school is probably streaming the radio call, and I think ESPN3 has them as well, if you can do that.

• #1 Penn State vs. Missouri — 2 pm (ET)
• #5 Nebraska vs. Colorado — 2 pm (ET)
• #7 Minnesota vs. #10 USC — 6 pm (ET): This one could be a dandy—two quality programs from the best VB conferences in the country.
• Michigan State vs. Illinois — 4 pm (ET): Well, another Big Ten team is headed home tonight. MSU has been excellent all year, but Illinois is clearly on a mission right now. I have no idea who to pick in this one, but watch out, Sparty. This could be a really fun match.
• Wisconsin vs. #3 Stanford — 11 pm (ET): My gut tells me that the Badgers’ quest ends tonight—can they prove me wrong?

Potential Fourth Round Matches

Not trying to jinx anyone, just provide information. :) If your Big Ten team wins today, this is when they’ll play tomorrow.

• #1 PSU would take on the winner of MSU/Illinois at 8 pm (ET) on 12/9: The bracket makers are really going for the Big Ten carnage in this quarter of the bracket, aren’t they?
• #5 Nebraska would play #13 BYU or #4 Kentucky at 4 pm (ET) on 12/9
• #7 Minnesota would play #2 Florida or #15 UCLA at 6 pm (ET) on 12/9
• Wisconsin would face #6 Texas or #11 Utah at 10 pm (ET) on 12/9

So friends, things are going to get interesting this weekend! Tune in and watch!