NCAA Women’s Volleyball Tournament

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Harrison Kaseff, Staff Writer

The NCAA Women’s College Volleyball Tournament is taking the nation by storm. The format is similar to that of March Madness, beginning with 64 teams. The champion will be crowned on December 21st. The top 16 seeds are ranked and get the opportunity to host their first two matches, should they win their opening match. Then the top eight remaining seeds host the next match. The Final Four teams travel to Pittsburgh, a neutral court, where the champion will be crowned. 

One local player, Madeleine Gates, attends Stanford and is still in the tournament. The Stanford Cardinals will host the Utah Utes on December 13th, at 8 pm local time on ESPNU. The Cardinals entered the tournament as the third team in the nation. They are looking to repeat as champions after winning it all last year, beating Nebraska in a five set thriller. Gates joined the Cardinals as a graduate transfer from UCLA, and graduated from La Jolla High School in 2016. Nathaniel Gates, Madeleine’s younger brother, is a freshman at Stanford this year and hopes to make a similar impact on the men’s team. 

A couple students at La Jolla High have an interest in the tournament and have been keeping up to date with the ongoing matches. Junior Alex Young said, “I think it’s really cool how a bunch of different teams compete for a national championship. It shows everyone’s love for the sport.” Young is committed to play beach volleyball at the University of California Berkeley. She is looking forward to becoming a freshman at Berkeley starting in 2021. Junior Chloe Redfern added, “It’s really fun and interesting to watch. My favorite player is Morgan Hentz and she plays for Stanford.” Hentz is the starting libero for the Stanford Cardinals. La Jolla has quite a unique connection to the Women’s College Volleyball Championship.