In May, ESPN announced a women’s volleyball Showdown at the Net Tournament with 32 teams — 16 from the ACC, and 16 from the SEC. The tournament took place Sept. 9-10, and despite a close battle, the ACC came out on top, winning 9-7.
The tournament kicked off in Clemson, and Clemson took on Georgia for the first of 16 matches. The Tigers came out on top, winning 3-1 to remain undefeated. This put the Tigers at 6-0, and with three more matches throughout the week, Clemson is now 9-0 for the first time since head coach Jackie Simpson Kirr took over. Clemson and Boston College currently stand at the top of the ACC as the only teams with a 9-0 record.
There were a few upsets throughout the tournament, including No. 21 Georgia Tech losing to an unranked Tennessee. However, the ACC was also able to upset some teams, which allowed the conference to secure the win.
North Carolina was previously unranked, but heading into the tournament, the Tar Heels managed to snag the No. 25 spot and had to take on No. 11 Florida. Due to some coaching changes in the offseason and the Gators’ starting outside hitter entering the transfer portal, the team has yet to find its footing. The Tar Heels managed to pull off a 3-0 win against the Gators and are looking to move up in this week’s polls.
No. 10 SMU had high expectations with ACC Setter of the Week, Averi Carlson, and ACC Offensive Player of the Week, Malaya Jones. Still, it was a tossup on how they would perform against No. 8 Texas A&M.
The Mustangs secured a 3-0 win against the Aggies, proving once again just how dominant the ACC can be.
Two of the most anticipated matches of the week came from this tournament, with No. 7 Pittsburgh taking on No. 3 Kentucky, and No. 4 Louisville taking on No. 2 Texas.
Pittsburgh put on a dominant performance against its fellow top-10 opponent, winning 3-0 against the Wildcats. The Panthers are on a seven-game win streak despite starting the season 0-2.
Louisville traveled to Texas to face the Longhorns on a neutral site in Fort Worth, Texas. The Cardinals put up a tough fight against Texas, taking them to five sets. However, due to the Longhorns’ SEC Offensive Player of the Week, Torrey Stafford, and SEC Freshman of the Week, Cari Spears, Louisville was not able to pull off the upset.
Other ACC teams that helped pull off the win included Boston College and Miami, which were victorious in five sets over their SEC opponents. No. 5 Stanford won in four sets over No. 23 Missouri, and Cal closed the tournament with a win over Vanderbilt.
