Wrigley Field’s Volleyball Debut: Kentucky Wins, Nebraska-Missouri Suspended

For over a century, Wrigley Field has actually been home to baseball, with generations of the best baseball gamers beautifying among the most stories locations in the sport.That altered Sunday, when the Big Ten/SEC Volleyball Challenge turned the Friendly Confines into a beach ball court for the very first time ever, as No. 3 Kentucky beat No. 13 Penn State and Nebraska was set to deal with Missouri in a doubleheader.It’s the current– and most uncommon– stop on what’s currently been a barnstorming season for No. 1 Nebraska, which has actually now played matches in an NFL arena (AT&T Stadium ), an NHL arena (T-Mobile Arena), a WNBA location (Wintrust Arena)and now an MLB ballpark, all before playing a single home match in Lincoln.

No. 3 Kentucky vs No. 13 Penn State Highlights Women’s Volleyball on FOX

Have a look at the match in between the No. 3 Kentucky Wildcats and No. 13 Penn State Nittany Lions at Wrigley Field!

Wrigley’s beach ball launching wasn’t without its own little bit of history duplicating itself.The last time the ballpark hosted a its opening night video game under the lights in 1988, rain required a hold-up and ultimately cleaned the video game out before it might end up being authorities.Sunday’s beach ball doubleheader encountered its own misstep, though this time it was the new court surface area, not

the weather condition, triggering a hold-up. Play was stopped two times throughout the Nebraska-Missouri nightcap due to a slippery playing surface area, which caused a hold-up that in some way increased the energy at the

end of the night.

Here are the leading minutes and arise from each match:

The Wildcats opened the historical night at Wrigley Field with a back-and-forth very first set that boiled down to the wire, ultimately retreating from Penn State 25-23. No group led by more than 3 points for the majority of the set, however Kentucky closed on a 4-of-5 go to seal it, striking.265 to the Nittany Lions’.190.

Outdoors player Brooklyn DeLeye ended up the set with the last 2 eliminates, both established by Kassie O’Brien, who acquired 11 helps in the opening frame alone.

Kentucky brought that momentum into the 2nd set, requiring 4 set points before closing it out 25-21. DeLeye kept rolling, including 8 more eliminates to press her overall to 12 through 2 sets.

Penn State declined to go silently. The Nittany Lions climbed up back from a 19-15 deficit with an 8-1 run in the 3rd set, and a kill from Ryla Jones– her 3rd of the set– provided PSU its very first set win in Wrigley, 25-23, preventing a repeat of in 2015’s sweep loss to the

Wildcats.

Kentucky shut the door in the 4th, controling 25-15 behind an 8-0 run that turned a tight video game into a 14-6 lead the Wildcats never ever returned. The ending up touch had a regional taste: Georgia Watson, a Huntley, Illinois native and self-described Cubs fan, notched 2 of Kentucky’s last 3 eliminates to liquidate the match in her home ballpark’s yard.Brooklyn DeLeye blazed a trail for Kentucky with 21 eliminates on a. 319 striking portion, while Morgan Gaerte included 15 eliminates and 6 blocks on a. 344 clip. Setter Kassie O’Brien managed the offense with 48 helps, and libero Molly Tuozzo anchored the back row with 19 digs and 6 helps.The win relocations Kentucky to 2-0 on the week after likewise beating UCLA on Wednesday, and to 2-1 versus ranked challengers this season, having likewise swept then-No. 6 Wisconsin at the AVCA First Serve.Penn State, which had not played a ranked group before Sunday, drops its very first ranked match of 2026 and gets a fast chance at redemption versus Depaul on Monday Sept. 7.The nightcap in between top-ranked Nebraska (4-0) and Missouri (3-1) got underway on schedule at 9 p.m. ET, however the historical first-ever outside beach ball match at Wrigley Field never ever surpassed its opening set.With Nebraska ahead 11-7, play was picked up the very first time as gamers started slipping on the outside surface area, however that was simply the start of what seemed like a fever dream.Rather than a weather condition hold-up, it was a player-safety call: coaches from both programs satisfied courtside, and teams– gamers and personnel consisted of– started wrecking the court logo designs and cleaning down the surface area to reduce slickness.Both groups did not let the hold-up stop them from absorbing their minute under the light, as the action at Wrigley Field moved from beach ball to a dance-off, to name a few activities.But the celebration needed to stop ultimately as the match was eventually suspended.A public address statement informed fans that rescheduling the match at Wrigley Field would not be possible, which a choice on how– or whether– the match continues from the point of suspension will be revealed at a later date.

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