ESPN said it will carry every match during the NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship on its linear and streaming platforms.
The tournament starts December 5, with the first and second rounds carried on ESPN+. Regional matches start December 12 on ABC, ESPN and ESPN2. The semifinal will appear on ESPN on December 19 and the championship match airs on ABC December 22. The championship match also aired on ABC last year. All matches will stream on ESPN+
The carriage of the matches highlights increased interest in women’s athletics and the potential of volleyball as a television sport. ESPN said that this season was its biggest women’s college volleyball season ever, with 635M minutes watched across 38 matches, on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU. A match between Nebraska and Louisvill on September 23 drew 684,000 viewers on ABC, making it the most-watch match ever.
ESPN’s coverage will feature The Fifth Set, a volleyball whip-around show available on ESPN+. Sam Gore will host the show, joined by analysts Anne Marie Anderson, Nicole Branagh, Jennifer Hoffman and Paul Sunderland.
Matches will be held on the campuses of the top 16 seeds in the tournament. Those teams are: Pittsburgh, Nebraska, Penn State, Louisville, Stanford, Wisconsin, Creighton, SMU, Kentucky, Texas, Kansas, Arizona State, Purdue, Baylor, Utah and Oregon. Reigning national champ Texas is looking for a three-peat.
The year, the network is launching the ESPN Volleyball Championship Challenge. Fans who fill out brackets and pick the National Champion will be entered in a drawing to win $10,000 in prizes. Fans can complete and enter brackets until shortly before the start of the tournament’s first match.
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