The second day of the NCAA volleyball tournament at CHI Health Center in Omaha, Neb., is in the book and the field has been trimmed from 48 teams to 16.
The remaining squads return to the court on Saturday, each only two wins away from moving into the Final Four.
Here are some key takeaways from Thursday’s action:

Bear-ly surviving
It wasn’t flawless, but it’s safe to say Baylor will take it.

Paced by the 1-2 attacking of Yossina Pressley and Lauren Harrison, tough blocking and clutch plays down the stretch, the Bears outlasted Pepperdine 25-21, 22-25, 17-25, 27-25, 15-10.

Baylor advanced to the regional semifinals and will face Nebraska, which swept Texas State. In the other half of the bracket, Texas breezed past Wright State and will take on Penn State in the regional semifinals. Penn State topped North Carolina AT&T, which advanced to the second round after Rice was removed from the tournament because of COVID-19 protocols.

Pressley had 26 kills and Harrison added 17 as the Bears defeated Pepperdine for the second time this season. They won in five sets on Feb. 28 in Waco.

Trailing 2-1 in sets and tied at 25 after squandering a 23-18 advantage, Baylor tallied the final two points to win the fourth set and force a fifth. Clark High School graduate Kara McGhee had an assisted block on the clinching point. In the fifth set, Baylor closed with a 6-1 run after Pepperdine had pulled within 10-9 to prevail. McGhee had a kill and two assisted blocks during the run.

Big, bad Big Ten
Some might — and have — argued the seedings the selection committee awarded Big Ten teams, but there’s no denying the results.

The conference, perhaps the toughest and deepest in the country, qualified six teams — Wisconsin, Minnesota, Nebraska, Purdue, Ohio State and Penn State — into the Sweet 16. To make it clear, nearly half the teams remaining reside in the Big Ten.

The road ahead, though, won’t be easy.

Penn State faces Texas, Nebraska takes on Baylor, Wisconsin meets BYU, Purdue tangles with Oregon, Minnesota plays Pittsburgh and Ohio State squares off vs. Florida.

Top performers
Yossiana Pressley, Baylor: 26 kills and .321 hitting percentage vs. Pepperdine
Caitlyn Newton, Purdue: 18 kills, 3 aces vs. High Point
Thayer Hall, Florida: 10 kills, 11 digs, 2 aces vs. Morehead State
Brooke Nuneviller, Oregon: 11 kills and 21 digs vs. Notre Dame
Claire Chaussee, Louisville: 21 kills, .541 hitting clip, 10 digs vs. San Diego
Lauren Matthews, Western Kentucky: 20 kills vs. Washington State
Kayla Lund, Pittsburgh: 15 kills, .467 hitting clip, 16 digs, 2 aces vs. Utah
Madison Lilley, Kentucky: 44 assists, 2 aces vs. UNLV
Madi Endsley, Washington: 20 kills vs. Dayton
Madi Kubik, Nebraska: 13 kills, .407 hitting percentage vs. Texas State
Jamie Peterson, Dayton: 20 kills, 13 digs, 2 blocks vs. Washington

By the numbers
.408: Top-ranked Wisconsin’s hitting percentage during its second-round win vs. Weber State. All-American middle hitter Dana Rettke, Danielle Hart and Grace Loberg each had nine kills, Molly Haggerty added eight and Devyn Robinson chipped in seven as the Badgers had 45 kills on 98 swings, committing only five hitting errors.

.889: Texas junior middle blocker Brionne Butler’s hitting clip during the Longhorns’ second-round sweep vs. Wright State. Butler had eight kills on only nine attacking attempts and committed no errors. She also had five blocks.

1,000: Career digs for Wisconsin senior libero Lauren Barnes, who reached the milestone during the second set of the Badgers’ win vs. Weber State. The 5-foot-6 Barnes, who had a match-high 19 digs, has 490 in two seasons at Wisconsin. She previously played two seasons at Minnesota before transferring.

They said it
“We were super-excited just because, obviously, we hadn’t played in three weeks. It was fun to be back out on the court with my teammates.” — Nebraska outside hitter Madi Kubik after the Cornhuskers played Texas State, their first match in 19 days

“I thought our level of focus was as good as it’s been all year. We seemed to be treating almost every point the same. It’s a big moment for our program.” — Pittsburgh coach Dan Fisher after his team defeated Utah to advance to its first Sweet 16

“Anytime you get a win in the tournament, it’s an exciting day. I’m proud of this group and I feel like they should be proud of themselves for the preparation they put in this match.” — Ohio State coach Jen Flynn Oldenburg

“Morgan Lewis was just awesome and a big-time scorer for us. Whenever you felt like the momentum might slip, she answered it for us.” — Oregon coach Matt Ulmer on the sophomore outside hitter, who had 13 kills without an error on 19 swings for a .684 hitting percentage in her first NCAA tournament match

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