2021 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament

2021 NCAA Women's Division I Volleyball Tournament
2021 NCAA Division I Championship
Finals site	Nationwide Arena Columbus, Ohio
Champions	Wisconsin (1st title)
Runner-up	Nebraska (10th title match)
Semifinalists	Louisville (1st Final Four) Pittsburgh (1st Final Four)
Winning coach	Kelly Sheffield (1st title)
Most outstanding player	Anna Smrek (Wisconsin)
Final Four All-Tournament Team	Dana Rettke (Wisconsin) Sydney Hilley (Wisconsin) Nicklin Hames (Nebraska) Madi Kubik (Nebraska) Anna Debeer (Louisville) Leketor Member-Meneh (Pittsburgh)
«2020  2022»

The 2021 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament began on December 2, 2021 and ended on December 18th, 2021, to determine the Division I National Champion in women's volleyball. Wisconsin won its first NCAA National Championship by defeating Big Ten rival Nebraska 3–2.^[1] The championship match was played in front of an NCAA record crowd of 18,755.^[2]

The Final Four was held at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. The national semifinals was held on December 16 and the championship match was held on December 18.^[3]

Kentucky, from the Southeastern Conference, was the defending national champion. The Wildcats were eliminated in the second round to Illinois.

The tournament saw a particularly successful run by the Atlantic Coast Conference. Louisville, having gone a perfect 28-0 in the regular season, earned the first number one overall seed in conference history. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh earned the number three seed, its first top four seed in program history. Both teams utilized their home court advantages to earn their respective first trips to the National Semifinals. Thus, the Cardinals and Panthers because the second and third semi-finalists from the conference in tournament history, and first since Florida State in 2011. Additionally, Georgia Tech also advanced to its first Regional Final since 2003, marking the first time the ACC had three Regional Finalists in one tournament.

While the ACC made history in the semifinals, the Cardinals and Panthers were joined by Wisconsin and Nebraska out of the Big Ten. Wisconsin made its third consecutive trip to the National Semifinals, and was seeking its first title. Nebraska was the only semi-finalist who has won a National Championship, doing so five times. This tournament marked the fourteenth straight year that at least one member of the Big Ten reached the semifinal.

Tournament schedule and venues[]

The first two rounds, normally referred to as the subregionals, will be played at the sites of the top 16 seeds, replicating the format done in the basketball tournaments. The regionals will be played at four non-predetermined campus sites, which will be announced on December 5.^[4]

First and Second Rounds (Subregionals)

• December 2–3
  • Gregory Gymnasium, Austin, Texas (Host: University of Texas)
  • Ferrell Center, Waco, Texas (Host: Baylor University)
  • Holloway Gymnasium, West Lafayette, Indiana (Host: Purdue University)
  • Sokol Arena, Omaha, Nebraska (Host: Creighton University)
  • O'Connell Center, Gainesville, Florida (Host: University of Florida)
• December 3–4
  • L&N Federal Credit Union Arena, Louisville, Kentucky (Host: University of Louisville)
  • Petersen Events Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (Host: University of Pittsburgh)
  • UW Field House, Madison, Wisconsin (Host: University of Wisconsin)
  • Memorial Coliseum, Lexington, Kentucky (Host: University of Kentucky)
  • O'Keefe Gymnasium, Atlanta, Georgia (Host: Georgia Institute of Technology)
  • Covelli Center, Columbus, Ohio (Host: Ohio State University)
  • Devaney Center, Lincoln, Nebraska (Host: University of Nebraska)
  • George A. Smith Fieldhouse, Provo, Utah (Host: Brigham Young University)
  • Maturi Pavilion, Minneapolis, Minnesota (Host: University of Minnesota)
  • Pauley Pavilion, Los Angeles, California (Host: University of California, Los Angeles)
  • Alaska Airlines Arena, Seattle, Washington (Host: University of Washington)

Regional Semifinals and Finals

• December 9 & 11
  • Louisville Regional, Freedom Hall (Host: University of Louisville)
  • Madison Regional, Wisconsin Field House (Host: University of Wisconsin)
  • Pittsburgh Regional, Fitzgerald Field House (Host: University of Pittsburgh)
  • Austin Regional, Gregory Gymnasium (Host: University of Texas)

National Semifinals and Championship

• December 16 & 18
  • Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio (Host: Ohio State University)

Qualifying teams[]

The following teams automatically qualified for the 2021 NCAA field by virtue of winning their conference's tournament. Unlike the 2020 tournament that consisted of only 48 teams due to COVID-19, the 2021 tournament returned to the usual format of 64 qualifying teams.

While Penn State remains as the only team to take part in all 41 tournaments, this is the first tournament appearance for Campbell, The Citadel, UIC, Mississippi State, South Alabama, and West Virginia, for a grand total of six teams.^[4]

Automatic qualifiers[]

Conference	Team	Conference Record
ACC	Louisville	18–0
America East	UMBC	12–0
American	UCF	19–1
Atlantic 10	Dayton	16–0
Atlantic Sun	Florida Gulf Coast	15–1
Big 12	Texas	15–1
Big East	Creighton	16–2
Big Sky	Northern Colorado	13–3
Big South	Campbell	14–2
Big Ten	Wisconsin	17–3
Big West	Hawai'i	18–2
Colonial	Towson	12–4
C-USA	Western Kentucky	12–0
Horizon	UIC	13–3
Ivy	Brown	13–1
MAAC	Fairfield	16–2
MAC	Ball State	17–1
MEAC	Howard	12–2
Missouri Valley	Illinois State	13–5
Mountain West	Boise State	10–8
Northeast	Sacred Heart	11–3
Ohio Valley	Southeast Missouri State	14–4
Pac-12	Washington	17–3
Patriot	Colgate	13–3
SEC	Kentucky	17–1
Southern	The Citadel	7–9
Southland	Texas A&M–Corpus Christi	13–1
SWAC	Florida A&M	14–2
Summit	South Dakota	15–3
Sun Belt	South Alabama	15–1
West Coast	BYU	18–0
WAC	Utah Valley	8–6

Tournament seeds[]

Louisville Regional Seed RPI School Conference Berth type Record 1 1 Louisville ACC Automatic 28–0 8 7 Georgia Tech ACC At–Large 23–5 9 9 Ohio State Big Ten At–Large 25–5 16 21 Florida SEC At–Large 20–8 31 Ball State MAC Automatic 25–6 173 Florida A&M SWAC Automatic 22–1 204 Howard MEAC Automatic 18–12 11 Miami (FL) ACC At–Large 24–4 35 Michigan Big Ten At–Large 18–11 28 North Carolina ACC At–Large 21–8 49 South Alabama Sun Belt Automatic 25–6 42 South Carolina SEC At–Large 14-14 29 Tennessee SEC At–Large 19–9 213 The Citadel SoCon Automatic 14–11 129 UIC Horizon Automatic 20–11 18 Western Kentucky C-USA Automatic 27–1

Madison Regional Seed RPI School Conference Berth type Record 4 4 Wisconsin Big Ten Automatic 25–3 5 5 Baylor Big 12 At–Large 20–5 12 17 Minnesota Big Ten At–Large 19–8 13 13 UCLA Pac-12 At–Large 23–5 106 Colgate Patriot Automatic 18–9 117 Fairfield MAAC Automatic 24–8 33 Florida Gulf Coast ASUN Automatic 26–5 48 Iowa State Big 12 At–Large 16–11 56 Northern Colorado Big Sky Automatic 24–6 37 Pepperdine WCC At–Large 22–5 70 South Dakota Summit Automatic 20–9 26 Stanford Pac-12 At–Large 18–10 99 Texas A&M–CC Southland Automatic 19–9 38 Texas Tech Big 12 At–Large 17–12 22 UCF AAC Automatic 26–6 36 Washington State Pac-12 At–Large 19–11

Pittsburgh Regional Seed RPI School Conference Berth type Record 3 2 Pittsburgh ACC At–Large 26–3 6 10 Purdue Big Ten At–Large 23–6 11 15 BYU WCC Automatic 28–1 14 8 Creighton Big East Automatic 30–3 90 Boise State Mountain West Automatic 24–10 40 Dayton A-10 Automatic 25–5 67 Illinois State MVC Automatic 19–13 34 Kansas Big 12 At–Large 16–11 16 Marquette Big East At–Large 26–5 54 Ole Miss SEC At–Large 21–8 23 Oregon Pac-12 At–Large 22–8 27 Penn State Big Ten At–Large 20–10 63 Towson Colonial Automatic 26–4 172 UMBC America East Automatic 19–11 20 Utah Pac-12 At–Large 21–8 76 Utah Valley WAC Automatic 16–12

Austin Regional Seed RPI School Conference Berth type Record 2 3 Texas Big 12 Automatic 24–1 7 6 Kentucky SEC Automatic 24–4 10 12 Nebraska Big Ten At–Large 21–7 15 14 Washington Pac-12 Automatic 24–4 73 Brown Ivy Automatic 20–5 94 Campbell Big South Automatic 21–9 19 Florida State ACC At–Large 19–9 57 Hawai'i Big West Automatic 21–7 30 Illinois Big Ten At–Large 20–11 47 Kansas State Big 12 At–Large 15–12 25 Mississippi State SEC At–Large 25–5 24 Rice C-USA At–Large 19–6 138 Sacred Heart NEC Automatic 19–9 39 San Diego WCC At–Large 20–7 88 Southeast Missouri State OVC Automatic 26–7 43 West Virginia Big 12 At–Large 19–9

Bracket[]

The tournament bracket was announced on November 28, 2021. Times are shown in Eastern Standard Time.

Louisville, KY Regional[]

	First Round December 2 & 3					Second Round December 3 & 4					Regional Semifinals December 9					Regional Finals December 11
	1	Louisville	3
		UIC	0
						1	Louisville	3
	Louisville, KY
							Ball State	0
		Ball State	3
		Michigan	2
											1	Louisville	3
											16	Florida	0
		South Alabama	1
		Miami (FL)	3
							Miami (FL)	0
	Gainesville, FL
						16	Florida	3
		Florida A&M	0
	16	Florida	3
																1	Louisville	3
																8	Georgia Tech	1
	9	Ohio State	3
		Howard	0
						9	Ohio State	3
	Columbus, OH
							Tennessee	1
		North Carolina	1
		Tennessee	3
											9	Ohio State	0
											8	Georgia Tech	3
		South Carolina	0
		Western Kentucky	3
							Western Kentucky	0
	Atlanta, GA
						8	Georgia Tech	3
		The Citadel	0
	8	Georgia Tech	3

Schedule[]

First Round[]

December 2, 2021 4:30 p.m. EST	Miami (FL)	3–1	South Alabama	O'Connell Center, Gainesville, Florida Attendance: 422 Referees: James Phillips, Tony Cothron, Elizabeth Smith, John Bear
	(23–25, 25–20, 29–27, 25–19) Recap

December 2, 2021 8:00 p.m. EST	(16) Florida	3–0	Florida A&M	O'Connell Center, Gainesville, Florida Attendance: 2,057 Referees: Wade Brance, Darin Clark, Robert Skidmore, Hugh Hernesman
	(25–11, 25–14, 25–8) Recap

December 3, 2021 4:00 p.m. EST	Michigan	2–3	Ball State	L&N Federal Credit Union Arena, Louisville, Kentucky Referees: Brian Hemelgarn, Marty Pruchko
	(17–25, 25–22, 18–25, 27–25, 8–15) Recap

December 3, 2021 4:30 p.m. EST	Western Kentucky	3–0	South Carolina	O'Keefe Gymansium, Atlanta, Georgia Attendance: 1,200 Referees: Michelle Prater, Morgan Shannon, Bryson Bryan-Terry, Scott Thompson
	(25–20, 25–13, 25–19) Recap

December 3, 2021 5:00 p.m. EST	Tennessee	3–1	North Carolina	Covelli Center, Columbus, Ohio Referees: Mark Prater, Jeff McKinney, Mary Gray, Drew Puckerin
	(25–20, 25–19, 24–26, 25–15) Recap

December 3, 2021 7:00 p.m. EST	(1) Louisville	3–0	UIC	L&N Federal Credit Union Arena, Louisville, Kentucky Attendance: 993 Referees: Bill Thornburgh, Donnie Goodwin
	(25–11, 25–20, 25–11) Recap

December 3, 2021 7:00 p.m. EST	(8) Georgia Tech	3–0	The Citadel	O'Keefe Gymansium, Atlanta, Georgia Attendance: 1,200 Referees: Kevin Wendelboe, Michael O'Connor, Danier Rager, Jakob Prater
	(25–21, 25–15, 28–26) Recap

December 3, 2021 7:00 p.m. EST	(9) Ohio State	3–0	Howard	Covelli Center, Columbus, Ohio Attendance: 2,787 Referees: Chuck Fleet, Josh Hall, Brian Smith, Christy Alltop
	(25–12, 25–7, 25–10) Recap

Second Round[]

December 3, 2021 7:00 p.m. EST	(16) Florida	3–0	Miami (FL)	O'Connell Center, Gainesville, Florida Attendance: 2,311 Referees: Wade Brence, Darin Clark, Hugh Hernesman, Robert Skidmore
	(25–15, 25–20, 25–16) Recap

December 4, 2021 6:00 p.m. EST	(1) Louisville	3–0	Ball State	L&N Federal Credit Union Arena, Louisville, Kentucky Attendance: 1,055 Referees: Brian Hemelgarn, Marty Prochko
	(29–27, 25–11, 25–19) Recap

December 4, 2021 6:00 p.m. EST	(9) Ohio State	3–1	Tennessee	Covelli Center, Columbus, Ohio Attendance: 2,868 Referees: Mark Prater, Josh Hall, Christy Alltop, Drew Puckerin
	(25–18, 14–25, 25–21, 25–21) Recap

December 4, 2021 7:00 p.m. EST	(8) Georgia Tech	3–0	Western Kentucky	O'Keefe Gymansium, Atlanta, Georgia Attendance: 1,200 Referees: Michelle Prater, Michael O'Connor, Scott Thompson, Bryson Bryan-Terry
	(25–21, 25–18, 25–23) Recap

Regional Semifinals[]

December 9, 2021 1:00 p.m. EST	(1) Louisville	3–0	(16) Florida	Freedom Hall, Louisville, Kentucky Attendance: 3089 Referees: Pati Rolf, Wade Dubois, Philip Ems, Henry Chen, Robyn Courchane
	(25–16, 25–22, 25–12) Recap

December 9, 2021 3:00 p.m. EST	(9) Ohio State	0–3	(8) Georgia Tech	Freedom Hall, Louisville, Kentucky Attendance: 3089 Referees: Stephen Shepherd, Robyn Courchane, Kyp Harasymowycz, Jennifer McIntosh, Wade Dubois
	(22–25, 24–26, 21–25) Recap

Regional Final[]

December 11, 2021 6:00 p.m. EST	(8) Georgia Tech	1–3	(1) Louisville	Freedom Hall, Louisville, Kentucky Attendance: 5,917
	(18–25, 25–21, 21–25, 20–25) Recap

Madison, WI Regional[]

	First Round December 2 & 3					Second Round December 3 & 4					Regional Semifinals December 9					Regional Finals December 11
	5	Baylor	3
		Texas A&M–Corpus Christi	0
						5	Baylor	3
	Waco, TX
							Washington State	0
		Northern Colorado	0
		Washington State	3
											5	Baylor	2
											12	Minnesota	3
		Iowa State	1
		Stanford	3
							Stanford	0
	Minneapolis, MN
						12	Minnesota	3
		South Dakota	0
	12	Minnesota	3
																12	Minnesota	0
																4	Wisconsin	3
	13	UCLA	3
		Fairfield	0
						13	UCLA	3
	Los Angeles, CA
							UCF	2
		Pepperdine	1
		UCF	3
											13	UCLA	0
											4	Wisconsin	3
		Florida Gulf Coast	3
		Texas Tech	2
							Florida Gulf Coast	0
	Madison, WI
						4	Wisconsin	3
		Colgate	0
	4	Wisconsin	3

Schedule[]

First Round[]

December 2, 2021 5:30 p.m. EST	Washington State	3–0	Northern Colorado	Ferrell Center, Waco, Texas Attendance: 603 Referees: Ryan MacDowell, Thang Nguyen, Jeff Peters, Pat Kekic
	(25–17, 25–15, 25–20) Recap

December 2, 2021 8:00 p.m. EST	(5) Baylor	3–0	Texas A&M–Corpus Christi	Ferrell Center, Waco, Texas Attendance: 1,004 Referees: Chad Klunk, Traci Belton, Sheri Banwart, Blaine Halberstadt
	(25–22, 25–12, 26–24) Recap

December 3, 2021 5:30 p.m. EST	Stanford	3–1	Iowa State	Maturi Pavilion, Minneapolis, Minnesota Referees: Julie Voeck, Dan Houser, Jeff Krause, Sarah Myres
	(25–19, 23–25, 25–18, 25–17) Recap

December 3, 2021 5:30 p.m. EST	Texas Tech	2–3	Florida Gulf Coast	UW Field House, Madison, Wisconsin Referees: Pati Rolf, Paul Albright, Chris Haworth, Scott Prox
	(25–14, 25–16, 23–25, 15–25, 7–15) Recap

December 3, 2021 7:30 p.m. EST	UCF	3–1	Pepperdine	Pauley Pavilion, Los Angeles, California Attendance: 518
	(25–19, 25–23, 24–26, 25–21) Recap

December 3, 2021 8:00 p.m. EST	(4) Wisconsin	3–0	Colgate	UW Field House, Madison, Wisconsin Attendance: 7,540
	(25–12, 25–15, 25–14) Recap

December 3, 2021 8:00 p.m. EST	(12) Minnesota	3–0	South Dakota	Maturi Pavilion, Minneapolis, Minnesota Attendance: 4,280 Referees: Tim Harlow, Robyn Courchane, Ted Mosre, Kelsi Jurik
	(25–19, 25–22, 25–17) Recap

December 3, 2021 10:00 p.m. EST	(13) UCLA	3–0	Fairfield	Pauley Pavilion, Los Angeles, California Attendance: 1,375
	(29–27, 25–23, 26–24) Recap

Second Round[]

December 3, 2021 8:00 p.m. EST	(5) Baylor	3–0	Washington State	Ferrell Center, Waco, Texas Attendance: 1,078 Referees: Ryan MacDowell, Thang Nguyen, Jeff Peters, Pat Kekic
	(27–25, 25–21, 25–20) Recap

December 4, 2021 7:00 p.m. EST	(4) Wisconsin	3–0	Florida Gulf Coast	UW Field House, Madison, Wisconsin Referees: Pati Rolf, Joseph Gustafson, Chris Haworth, Tracy LeVine
	(25–17, 25–20, 25–15) Recap

December 4, 2021 8:00 p.m. EST	(12) Minnesota	3–0	Stanford	Maturi Pavilion, Minneapolis, Minnesota Attendance: 4,448 Referees: Julie Voeck, Robyn Courchane, Tim Harlow, Jeff Krause
	(25–20, 25–18, 25–17) Recap

December 4, 2021 10:00 p.m. EST	(13) UCLA	3–2	UCF	Pauley Pavilion, Los Angeles, California Attendance: 1,143
	(25–27, 25–13, 19–25, 25–22, 15–7) Recap

Regional Semifinals[]

December 9, 2021 3:00 p.m. EST	(5) Baylor	2–3	(12) Minnesota	UW Field House, Madison, Wisconsin
	(28–26, 22–25, 25–20, 23–25, 10–15) Recap

December 9, 2021 5:00 p.m. EST	(13) UCLA	0–3	(4) Wisconsin	UW Field House, Madison, Wisconsin Attendance: 6,851 Referees: Wade Brence, Mara Wager, Craig Wiedel, Jeff Krause
	(16–25, 18–25, 17–25) Recap

Regional Final[]

December 11, 2021 8:00 p.m. EST	(12) Minnesota	0–3	(4) Wisconsin	UW Field House, Madison, Wisconsin Attendance: 7,540
	(18–25, 24–26, 22–25) Recap

Pittsburgh, PA Regional[]

	First Round December 2 & 3					Second Round December 3 & 4					Regional Semifinals December 9					Regional Finals December 11
	3	Pittsburgh	3
		UMBC	0
						3	Pittsburgh	3
	Pittsburgh, PA
							Penn State	1
		Towson	1
		Penn State	3
											3	Pittsburgh	3
												Kansas	0
		Oregon	0
		Kansas	3
							Kansas	3
	Omaha, NE
						14	Creighton	1
		Ole Miss	0
	14	Creighton	3
																3	Pittsburgh	3
																6	Purdue	1
	11	BYU	3
		Boise State	0
						11	BYU	3
	Provo, UT
							Utah	1
		Utah Valley	1
		Utah	3
											11	BYU	2
											6	Purdue	3
		Dayton	3
		Marquette	1
							Dayton	2
	West Lafayette, IN
						6	Purdue	3
		Illinois State	0
	6	Purdue	3

Schedule[]

First Round[]

December 2, 2021 4:30 p.m. EST	Marquette	1–3	Dayton	Holloway Gymnasium, West Lafayette, Indiana Referees: Devonie McLarty, Krystian Krzyak, Jason Marshall, Henry Chen
	(20–25, 21–25, 26–24, 23–25) Recap

December 2, 2021 5:30 p.m. EST	Oregon	0–3	Kansas	Sokol Arena, Omaha, Nebraska Referees: Bill Stanley, Christina Fiebich, Craig Wiedel, Dave Soderstrom
	(21–25, 21–25, 22–25) Recap

December 2, 2021 7:00 p.m. EST	(6) Purdue	3–0	Illinois State	Holloway Gymnasium, West Lafayette, Indiana Attendance: 2,415 Referees: Jung Park, Rod Rodriguez, Katie Bates, Jeff Morris
	(25–21, 25–17, 25–11) Recap

December 2, 2021 8:00 p.m. EST	(14) Creighton	3–0	Ole Miss	Sokol Arena, Omaha, Nebraska Attendance: 2,351 Referees: Daryl Korinek, Brett Myres, Amber Nicholson, John Sutton
	(25–21, 25–15, 25–13) Recap

December 3, 2021 4:00 p.m. EST	Penn State	3–1	Towson	Petersen Events Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Attendance: 2,203 Referees: Carla Bunner, Kurt Fulmer, David Atkinson, Shera Moxley
	(25–11, 25–27, 25–20, 25–21) Recap

December 3, 2021 6:00 p.m. EST	Utah	3–1	Utah Valley	Smith Fieldhouse, Provo, Utah Attendance: 1,100
	(25–16, 22–25, 25–19, 25–11) Recap

December 3, 2021 7:00 p.m. EST	(3) Pittsburgh	3–0	UMBC	Petersen Events Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Attendance: 2,344 Referees: Landry Homsher, Scott Thompson, Timothy Rough, Chad Oberholtzer
	(25–23, 25–13, 25–18) Recap

December 3, 2021 9:00 p.m. EST	(11) BYU	3–0	Boise State	Smith Fieldhouse, Provo, Utah Attendance: 5,340 Referees: Daphne Nelson, Ron Pelham, Kaylene Cragun, James Rees
	(25–6, 25–19, 25–10) Recap

Second Round[]

December 3, 2021 5:00 p.m. EST	(6) Purdue	3–2	Dayton	Holloway Gymnasium, West Lafayette, Indiana Attendance: 2,415 Referees: Devonie McLarty, Rod Rodriguez, Henry Chen, Jeff Morris
	(25–27, 19–25, 25–15, 25–6, 15–5) Recap

December 3, 2021 8:00 p.m. EST	(14) Creighton	1–3	Kansas	Sokol Arena, Omaha, Nebraska Attendance: 2,389 Referees: Bill Stanley, Brett Myres, Craig Wiedel, Amber Nicholson
	(13–25, 24–26, 25–19, 22–25) Recap

December 4, 2021 7:00 p.m. EST	(3) Pittsburgh	3–1	Penn State	Petersen Events Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Attendance: 2,593 Referees: Carla Bunner, Kurt Fulmer, Shera Moxley, Chad Oberholtzer
	(25–22, 23–25, 25–22, 25–23) Recap

December 4, 2021 9:00 p.m. EST	(11) BYU	3–1	Utah	Smith Fieldhouse, Provo, Utah Attendance: 4,729
	(17–25, 25–22, 25–23, 25–23) Recap

Regional Semifinals[]

December 9, 2021 1:00 p.m. EST	(3) Pittsburgh	3–0	Kansas	Fitzgerald Field House, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Attendance: 1644 Referees: Julie Voeck, Joe Gustafson, Drew Puckerin, Rachel Jensen
	(25–19, 25–21, 25–18) Recap

December 9, 2021 11:00 a.m. EST	(11) BYU	2–3	(6) Purdue	Fitzgerald Field House, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Attendance: 1479 Referees: Ryan MacDowell, Sergio Gonzalez, Shera Moxley, Michael Behrens
	(12–25, 25–16, 25–21, 13–25, 16–18) Recap

Regional Final[]

December 11, 2021 4:00 p.m. EST	(6) Purdue	1–3	(3) Pittsburgh	Fitzgerald Field House, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Attendance: 3052 Referees: Ryan MacDowell, Sergio Gonzalez, Rachel Jensen, Shera Moxley
	(20–25, 30–28, 20–25, 15–25) Recap

Austin, TX Regional[]

	First Round December 2 & 3					Second Round December 3 & 4					Regional Semifinals December 9					Regional Finals December 11
	7	Kentucky	3
		Southeast Missouri State	0
						7	Kentucky	1
	Lexington, KY
							Illinois	3
		West Virginia	1
		Illinois	3
												Illinois	0
											10	Nebraska	3
		Kansas State	0
		Florida State	3
							Florida State	0
	Lincoln, NE
						10	Nebraska	3
		Campbell	0
	10	Nebraska	3
																10	Nebraska	3
																2	Texas	1
	15	Washington	3
		Brown	0
						15	Washington	3
	Seattle, WA
							Hawaii	0
		Hawaii	3
		Mississippi State	2
											15	Washington	2
											2	Texas	3
		Rice	3
		San Diego	0
							Rice	0
	Austin, TX
						2	Texas	3
		Sacred Heart	0
	2	Texas	3

Schedule[]

First Round[]

December 2, 2021 5:00 p.m. EST	San Diego	0–3	Rice	Gregory Gymnasium, Austin, Texas Referees: April Fricke, Richard Bleau
	(20–25, 19–25, 20–25) Recap

December 2, 2021 8:00 p.m. EST	(2) Texas	3–0	Sacred Heart	Gregory Gymnasium, Austin, Texas Attendance: 3,172 Referees: Joe Lizama, Jeff Kushaney
	(25–19, 25–17, 25–19) Recap

December 3, 2021 5:00 p.m. EST	Illinois	3–1	West Virginia	Memorial Coliseum, Lexington, Kentucky
	(23–25, 25–12, 25–22, 25–20) Recap

December 3, 2021 5:30 p.m. EST	Florida State	3–0	Kansas State	Devaney Center, Lincoln, Nebraska
	(25–20, 25–16, 25–17) Recap

December 3, 2021 7:30 p.m. EST	(7) Kentucky	3–0	Southeast Missouri State	Memorial Coliseum, Lexington, Kentucky
	(25–15, 25–14, 25–19) Recap

December 3, 2021 7:30 p.m. EST	Mississippi State	2–3	Hawaii	Alaska Airlines Arena, Seattle, Washington
	(25–17, 14–25, 13–25, 25–21, 11–15) Recap

December 3, 2021 8:00 p.m. EST	(10) Nebraska	3–0	Campbell	Devaney Center, Lincoln, Nebraska
	(25–14, 25–14, 25–17) Recap

December 3, 2021 10:00 p.m. EST	(15) Washington	3–0	Brown	Alaska Airlines Arena, Seattle, Washington
	(25–15, 25–13, 25–20) Recap

Second Round[]

December 3, 2021 9:00 p.m. EST	(2) Texas	3–0	Rice	Gregory Gymnasium, Austin, Texas Attendance: 4,322 Referees: Joe Lizama, Richard Bleau
	(25–21, 25–23, 25–19) Recap

December 4, 2021 5:00 p.m. EST	(7) Kentucky	1–3	Illinois	Memorial Coliseum, Lexington, Kentucky Referees: Stephen Shepherd, Mara Wager, Shane White, Phillip Ems
	(22–25, 25–20, 10–25, 21–25) Recap

December 4, 2021 8:30 p.m. EST	(10) Nebraska	3–0	Florida State	Devaney Center, Lincoln, Nebraska Attendance: 7,955 Referees: Todd Karolczak, Wade Dubois, Mike Behrens, Ken Corum
	(25–20, 25–22, 25–17) Recap

December 4, 2021 10:00 p.m. EST	(15) Washington	3–0	Hawaii	Alaska Airlines Arena, Seattle, Washington Referees: Paula Martin, Ben Goodwin
	(25–16, 25–14, 25–13) Recap

Regional Semifinals[]

December 9, 2021 7:30 p.m. EST	Illinois	0–3	(10) Nebraska	Gregory Gymnasium, Austin, Texas Attendance: 4,488
	(12–25, 21–25, 17–25) Recap

December 9, 2021 9:30 p.m. EST	(15) Washington	2–3	(2) Texas	Gregory Gymnasium, Austin, Texas Attendance: 4,488
	(25–19, 25–20, 22–25, 9–25, 9–15) Recap

Regional Final[]

December 11, 2021 10:00 p.m. EST	(10) Nebraska	3–1	(2) Texas	Gregory Gymnasium, Austin, Texas Attendance: 5,080
	(25–19, 25–23, 23–25, 25–21) Recap

Final Four[]

	National Semifinals Nationwide Arena December 16					National Championship Nationwide Arena December 18
	1	Louisville	2
	4	Wisconsin	3
						4	Wisconsin	3
						10	Nebraska	2
	3	Pittsburgh	1
	10	Nebraska	3

National Semifinals[]

December 16, 2021 7:00 p.m. EST	(1) Louisville	2–3	(4) Wisconsin	Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio
	(23–25, 25–15, 21–25, 25–23, 9–15) Recap

December 16, 2021 9:30 p.m. EST	(3) Pittsburgh	1–3	(10) Nebraska	Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio Attendance: 16,531
	(25–16, 17–25, 20–25, 22–25) Recap

National Championship[]

December 18, 2021 7:30 pm EST	(4) Wisconsin	3–2	(10) Nebraska	Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio Attendance: 18,755 Referees: Pati Rolf, Sergio Gonzalez
	(22–25, 31–29, 25–23, 23–25, 15–12) Recap

Final Four All-Tournament Team[]

• Anna Smrek – Most Outstanding Player (Wisconsin)
• Dana Rettke (Wisconsin)
  
• Sydney Hilley (Wisconsin)
  
• Nicklin Hames (Nebraska)
  
• Madi Kubik (Nebraska)
  
• Anna Debeer (Louisville)
  
• Leketor Member-Meneh (Pittsburgh)

Media coverage[]

For the second consecutive season all matches aired on the ESPN Family of networks. Rounds 1 and 2 streamed on ESPN+ with the exception of Texas matches, which were televised by LHN.^[5] All Sweet 16 and Elite 8 matches aired on ESPNU or ESPN+.^[6] ESPN aired the national semifinals while ESPN2 aired the national championship.^[7]

Rounds 1 & 2[]

Regional Semifinals & Regional Finals[]

Semifinals & National Championship[]

Records by Conference[]

Conference	Bids	Record	Win %	R32	S16	E8	F4	CM	NC
Big Ten	8	22–7	.759	7	6	4	2	2	1
ACC	6	13–6	.684	5	3	3	2	–	–
Big 12	7	7–7	.500	3	3	1	–	–	–
Pac-12	6	7–6	.538	5	2	–	–	–	–
SEC	6	4–6	.400	3	1	–	–	–	–
West Coast	3	2–3	.400	1	1	–	–	–	–
C-USA	2	2–2	.500	2	–	–	–	–	–
American	1	1–1	.500	1	–	–	–	–	–
Atlantic 10	1	1–1	.500	1	–	–	–	–	–
Atlantic Sun	1	1–1	.500	1	–	–	–	–	–
Big East	2	1–2	.333	1	–	–	–	–	–
Big West	1	1–1	.500	1	–	–	–	–	–
MAC	1	1–1	.500	1	–	–	–	–	–
19 Others	19	0–19	.000	–	–	–	–	–	–

• The R32, S16, E8, F4, CM, and NC columns indicate how many teams from each conference were in the Round of 32 (second round), Round of 16 (third round), Quarterfinals (Elite Eight), Semi-finals (Final Four), Championship Match, and National Champion, respectively.
• The following conferences failed to place a team into the round of 32: America East, Big Sky, Big South, Colonial, Horizon, Ivy, MAAC, MEAC, Missouri Valley, Mountain West, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southern, Southland, SWAC, Summit, Sun Belt, and the WAC. The conference's records have been consolidated in the other row.

NCAA tournament record[]

The following NCAA Tournament records were broken during the 2021 tournament:

• Attendance record, championship match – 18,755^[2]

References[]