Come Saturday, the University of Wisconsin and Minnesota volleyball teams could be playing each other for a National Championship.
First, they’ll both have to win tonight in the Final Four.
The fifth-ranked, fourth-seeded Badgers (26-6) have the toughest test, taking on No. 1 Baylor (29-1), at 6 p.m. on ESPN.
After that, the Gophers (27-5), ranked and seeded seventh, will play Stanford (28-4), which is ranked and seeded third. The championship is at 7 p.m. Saturday on ESPN2.
The Badgers lost to Baylor earlier this season in the midst of its worst stretch.
The 3-1 loss to Baylor came in the midst of a 2-4 slump. Since, however, the Badgers have gone 22-2, losing only to unranked Ohio State 3-1 and No. 8 Penn State 3-2. Both games were on the road.
The Gophers beat the Cardinal 3-1 (27-25, 27-25, 23-25, 25-20) back on Sept. 14.
In the tournament so far, Wisconsin has swept every team.
Baylor’s only loss this season came 3-0 to then-ranked No. 4 Texas back on Oct. 23. In the tourney, the Bears have won their past two matches 3-1 over 16th-seeded Purdue and No. 8 Washington.