The AVP volleyball league intensified on Saturday as the Chicago Open featured an exciting day of matches, setting the stage for the semifinals. A notable incident during the tournament involved a double red card issued to players Chase Budinger and Trevor Crabb.
In the upcoming semifinal matchups, fourth-seeded Budinger and Miles Evans will face third-seeded Taylor Crabb and Taylor Sander, while ninth-seeded Tim Bomgren and Troy Field take on second-seeded Andy Benesh and Miles Partain. The women’s side sees top-seeded duo Taryn Kloth and Kristen Nuss challenge second-seeded Kelly Cheng and Sara Hughes in a clash of American Olympians. Additionally, sixth-seeded Rodriguez, who was a teammate of Kloth and Nuss at LSU, will play against third-seeded Canadian Olympians Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson.
In a red-card confrontation, Budinger and Evans triumphed over Crabb and Theo Brunner with a score of 19-21, 22-20, 15-12, advancing them to the contenders bracket, where they were later defeated by Bomgren and Field.
Viewers can catch the semifinals live on BallyLIVE, with the finals airing on CW.
In NCAA women’s volleyball, a significant day unfolds in Milwaukee featuring a high-profile matchup between No. 1 Texas and No. 3 Wisconsin at 11:30 a.m. Central on Fox, followed by No. 18 Minnesota against No. 5 Stanford at 2 p.m. on FS1. Unlike college football, where results can be lopsided, NCAA volleyball showcases competitive matchups.
Notable results from Saturday include California, now part of the ACC, defeating San Francisco in a five-set match with standout performances from Maggie Li, who contributed 24 kills. California also swept Portland State to maintain a 3-0 record. Florida State achieved a .324 hitting percentage in a sweep of UC Santa Barbara, with Arkansas transfer Taylor Head delivering 15 kills. Meanwhile, Boston College recorded a .385 hitting percentage to sweep Iona, and Miami achieved .417 in their victory over Colorado, led by Grace Lopez with 12 kills and eight aces. No. 4 Pitt continued their strong performance with a .351 hitting percentage in a sweep of Long Beach State.