The Final 16 teams of the 2025 NCAA Volleyball Tournament have been eliminated. But countless serious questions remain as we head into the tournament’s Final Four in Kansas City. Can No. 1 overall seed Nebraska remain undefeated and claim the program’s sixth national title? Can Pitt reach the Final Four for the fifth consecutive time? Will SEC champion Kentucky return to the Final Four for the first time since winning its first national championship in 2020? Is Texas’ young team ready to make money ahead of schedule?
Here are 10 (okay, 11) players who will play major roles in answering those questions and more.
Olivia Babcock, Pitt: If the volleyball gods could issue a warning for the stretch run of the NCAA Tournament, it would go something like this: “Don’t take your eyes off Olivia Babcock, or else…” Arguably the most dynamic player in the college game, the 6-foot-4 Babcock is averaging 5.9 points per set and 5.1 kills for a team that is looking to return to the Final Four for the fifth consecutive time. The ACC Player of the Year had more than 40 kills in two matches from her opposite hitter position this season. With springy feet and a powerful arm from behind the front row, back row and service line, Babcock, the 2024 AVCA Player of the Year, is magic in motion. Stay away at your own risk.
Ella Swindle, Texas: Surrounded by strangers early in the season, the Longhorns’ junior setter holds the keys to a powerful Texas attack. The 6-foot-3 Swindle led Texas to a national title in 2023, but then played a backup role a year ago when Texas lost to Creighton in the regional semifinals. This year, he has 898 assists – mostly to hitters he never played with before the season. Texas’ top three hitters are Pitt transfer Torrey Stafford (488 kills) and freshmen Carrie Spears (338 kills) and Abby Vander Wal (268 kills), and Swindle is hitting offensively at a .316 clip, tied for third best in the country.
Rebekah Ellick, Nebraska: The top-seeded Cornhuskers take the court with a choose-your-poison approach. Every attacker around Big Ten Player and Setter of the Year Bergen Reilly could be finished (see: Andy Jackson, Taylor Landfair, Harper Murray). Every defender on the court can dig (see: Lainey Choboy, Olivia Mauch, Teraya Sigler). Among the balanced giants of volleyball, Alec stands out for her passion. Make no mistake: Ellick, a 6-foot-4 senior middle blocker, is having the best statistical season of her career, hitting .437 with 235 kills (eighth best in the country but seven slots below fellow middle blocker Jackson). But nothing motivates the No. 1 overall seed more than the roar of Alek after a block or kill on an opponent’s overpass. The Huskers will be tested. And when they are, they’ll turn to Alec for inspiration.
Brookewa DeHudson, Kentucky: Don’t Google him. It’s impossible to pick one Kentucky superstar over another hitter. Brooklyn Deeley and Eva Hudson are both He Well, so we combined them in one place. DeLeye was the SEC Player of the Year in 2024. Hudson, in his first year with the Wildcats after transferring from Purdue, is the SEC Player of the Year in 2025. The 6-foot-2 DeLeye has 495 kills on the season and is averaging 4.7 kills per set. The 6-foot-1 Hudson has 482 kills and is averaging 4.6 kills per set. slow down one? Perhaps. stop both? Almost impossible. Together they are the most lethal pair of pin hitters in the tournament and are the engine driving Kentucky to its second national title.
Chloé Chicoine, Louisville: Now we’re seeing that rarest of sights in the latter half of the NCAA Tournament: a 5-foot-10-inch outside hitter. Chicoín, a transfer-portal in addition to the reigning national runner-up, brings his impressive vertical leap and spirited play from Purdue to Louisville. She comes into the regional semi-finals with her spirits high. Chicoine crushed a season-high 28 kills in a five-set win over Marquette in the second round. He leads the Cardinals in kills with 387 and is second in assists with 332.
Mimi Collier, Wisconsin: Two words: immediately. Crime. The 6-foot-3 senior outside hitter and Oregon transfer was a unanimous All-Big Ten selection in her first season with the Badgers. How could she not be? Collier averaged 5.32 kills per set, tops among the remaining players in the tournament, and hit .340. She spent her free time getting 220 digs and 67 blocks. With standout setter Charlie Fuerbringer healthy and back on the court, the Badgers bring an offense that can cause problems for anyone and everyone.
Avery Carlson, SMU: The 5-foot-11 setter starred for two seasons at Baylor, then started at Texas, then led the U.S. U23 national team to a gold medal at the Pan American Cup, and now she anchors a high-powered Mustangs attack. The ACC Setter of the Year runs an offense that hits .316, which is tied for third best in the country (tied with Texas). She has developed a quick and deadly relationship with fellow transfer from Colorado State Malaya Jones (503 kills). She also has a strong block total with 85 on the season.
Noemi Glover, Arizona State: Since transferring from Oregon before the season, the Sun Devils’ opposite hitter had exactly one match in which she did not produce double-digit kills – but even in that match she hit .444. The 6-foot-2 Glover has 406 kills, 108 blocks and 80 digs. Fun Fact: His father, La’Roi Glover, played 13 seasons in the NFL and was a six-time Pro Bowler.
Elia Rubin, Stanford: The senior and four-year Cardinal starter has become synonymous with Stanford volleyball over the past four seasons. She brings home multiple awards – AVCA All-America, All-ACC, All-Pac 12 – and 1,607 career kills in the regional semifinals. This season, she leads the second-seeded Cardinal in kills (378) and aces (45) and is second in digs (296). The only thing Rubin hasn’t done in his Stanford career is play in the Final Four.
Logan Lednicki, Texas A&M: The 6-foot-3 opposite hitter is as steady as they come. She has been playing for the Aggies for four consecutive seasons, and she is ready to make a splash in her final NCAA Tournament. In her first two tournament games, she has achieved 39 kills at a .429 hitting percentage and is averaging 6.21 points per set. The AVCA Player of the Year semifinalist also plays some average defense — she has 83 blocks and 275 digs this season, both of which rank second among the Aggies.
