Michigan volleyball team advances to Final Four for first time in program history

The unranked Wolverines upset the No. 2 Cardinal 3-1 on Sunday at the University of California Berkeley’s Haas Pavilion. Michigan dropped the opening set 25-20, but won the next three straight by the exact same score to claim the Berkeley Regional title.

The win marks the first regional championship in program history for Michigan and is the third time Michigan has eliminated a top-six ranked Stanford team from the NCAA tournament in the past six years. Michigan will play No. 3 Texas Thursday at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Ky. (7 p.m., ESPN2).

Junior outside hitter Lexi Erwin led Michigan with 23 kills and 16 digs. Erwin also led Michigan in its regional semifinal win over Michigan State on Friday night with 17 kills and was named MVP of the tournament.

“It is so exciting. The energy in the locker room after the game was insane,” Erwin said after the game. “No matter what teams throw at us, 14 people are coming at them.”

The Big Ten had four teams advance to regional finals and will send two to the Final Four after top-ranked Penn State defeated Minnesota for a regional title on Saturday in State College, Pa. The Nittany Lions play No. 6 Oregon on Thursday (9:30 p.m., ESPN2), who beat Nebraska on Saturday.

Michigan is the only unranked team in the Final Four.

“This is a group that’s really come together in the last month and a half and become one of the best teams I’ve ever been a part of,” said Michigan head coach Mark Rosen.