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The NCAA volleyball Sweet 16 started at noon ET on Friday and ended early Saturday morning. After more than 12 hours of fierce competition, the top four seeds (and regional hosts) are still alive -- but three of them had to survive major scares.No. 1 Nebraska rallied from a 2-0 hole and two match points down to win in five sets in Lincoln over Penn State. In Madison, No. 3 Wisconsin came back against Ohio State from a 2-1 hole for a five-set win in another all-Big Ten matchup.No. 4 Texas went from nearly sweeping BYU to almost getting eliminated. But the Longhorns survived a furious rally from the Cougars to win in five in Austin. By contrast, No. 2 Minnesota had it easier, needing four sets to get past Missouri in Minneapolis.Now we spin it forward with a look at Saturdays regional finals. And, yes, there is still one unseeded team alive: Creighton, which will play in its first Elite Eight match in program history.Lincoln regional: No. 1 Nebraska vs. No. 8 Washington, 4 p.m. ET, ESPNU/WatchESPNTheir semifinals couldnt have been more different. The defending champion Huskers expended so much emotion in their five-setter with Penn State, while the Huskies efficiently swept Arizona.Now comes a very familiar NCAA matchup: Nebraska and Washington have met six previous times in the postseason, all since 2005. The Huskers are 4-2, and the teams will meet in the regional final for the second year in a row. Last season, Nebraska won 3-1.The Huskers and Huskies were the regular-season champions of the two top conferences, the Big Ten and the Pac-12. Nebraska has won four NCAA titles, Washington one.Its going to be special, Washington coach Keegan Cook said. It doesnt mean we have to be heroes and play beyond ourselves. The Huskers are outstanding, but were not too shabby ourselves.Penn State coach Russ Rose said he thought the Nebraska crowd was a factor energywise in his teams loss. Crissy Jones, one of three Washington players with 11 kills Friday, said the Huskies are prepared for that.We play in front of big crowds at home, and that helps, Jones said. What we try to do is stay connected as a team and try to communicate through it.Madison regional: No. 3 Wisconsin vs. No. 6 Stanford, 6 p.m. ET, ESPNU/WatchESPNBehind 22 kills and 14 digs from freshman Molly Haggerty, the Badgers (28-4) outlasted Big Ten rival Ohio State 3-2 to advance. They will meet Stanford (24-7), which overcame gritty Florida State 3-1 to advance.The Seminoles (26-6), who upset Florida to reach the Sweet 16, nearly forced a fifth set but fell 25-23 in the fourth.The Buckeyes (22-13) won the second set and squeaked out a 31-29 third set but were unable to pull the upset that would have put them a win away from playing in the Final Four on their home floor.Senior Lauren Carlini tied her career high with 62 assists and 16 digs for the Badgers, who rallied from a 19-14 deficit in the fourth set to force a decisive fifth that they won 15-13.Stanford is 2-0 against Wisconsin, but the teams havent played since 2004, when the Cardinal won a regional final en route to their sixth -- and most recent -- NCAA title.Saturdays match will pit Big Ten Freshman of the Year Haggerty against Pac-12 Freshman of the Year Kathryn Plummer.Austin regional: No. 4 Texas vs. Creighton, 8 p.m. ET, ESPNU/WatchESPNThe Longhorns and Bluejays advanced to the regional final after each prevailed in a five-set thriller at Gregory Gymnasium. Texas is in its 11th regional final after surviving BYU, and Creighton is in its first after knocking out No. 12 Michigan.The teams have never played each other.The Bluejays (29-6) have gone the distance in all three of their NCAA tournament matches, eliminating Northern Iowa and No. 5 seed Kansas in addition to the sixth-place team from the Big Ten. Creighton has won 23 straight since losing to Nebraska 3-1 on Sept. 17.Sophomore Jaali Winters finished with 21 kills and 25 digs for the Bluejays.Texas (25-4) overcame two match points in the final set to seal the victory over 13th-seeded BYU (29-4). The Cougars themselves had rallied from two sets and two match points down.Its nice to be around a group of people that never for a second thought that we were going to lose, even though most people would believe that if youre down 12-7, you cant come back from that, said Longhorns junior Ebony Nwanebu, who posted 19 kills. Coming back from that and with all these girls, its my dream team.Texas got a career-high 70 assists from senior Chloe Collins, plus 24 kills and 20 digs from freshman Micaya White. The Longhorns have won 32 straight NCAA tournament matches inside Gregory Gym.Minneapolis regional: No. 2 Minnesota vs. No. 10 UCLA, 10 p.m. ET, ESPNU/WatchESPNThe Gophers didnt win the Big Ten, finishing a game behind Nebraska. Yet by the end of the regular season, Minnesota looked like it actually might be the best team in the country. The Gophers beat the Huskers in five sets on Nov. 23, part of Minnesotas current 13-match winning streak.Nebraska still got the top seed in the NCAA tournament, although Minnesota is actually ranked first in the AVCA poll, with the Huskers second. And while the other regional hosts -- Nebraska, Wisconsin and Texas -- all had to go five sets in the regional semifinals, the Gophers won relatively comfortably in four.The Bruins also won in four sets, but nearly got pushed to five by No. 7 seed North Carolina in the last match of a long and exciting day. However, UCLA hung on for a 28-26 win in the fourth set. Now, though, the four-time NCAA champion Bruins -- whose most recent title came in 2011 -- will have their hands full trying to beat the Gophers at home. Minnesota hasnt lost a match there the past two seasons. Thats 35 in a row at the Sports Pavilion. Henrik Lundqvist Rangers Jersey . Just not the game. Kyle Palmieri scored two straight goals in the third period to rally the Anaheim Ducks past the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2 on Tuesday night. Phil Esposito Jersey . Paul Pierce couldnt believe he missed at the end. Young scored a season-high 26 points to spark a huge effort from the leagues most productive bench, and Los Angeles beat the Brooklyn Nets 99-94 on Wednesday night after blowing a 27-point lead. http://www.rangershockeyonlineshop.com/marc-staal-hockey-jersey/ . Brandon Morrow allowed five runs on six hits over three innings. He struck out two, walked one and hit a batter. Edwin Encarnacion had a two-out, bases loaded two-RBI double in the third inning. Eddie Giacomin Jersey . Speaking Thursday on TSN 1050 Thursday, the Leafs GM also touched on the questions surrounding the teams leadership and the struggles of his big-name free-agent signing. “Its not from lack of effort from the coaching staff. Vladislav Namestnikov Rangers Jersey . But the quarterback hopes to stay involved in football after officially calling it quits Tuesday. "Id love to look at those opportunities as they arise," Pierce said in an interview from his Winnipeg eatery. MILWAUKEE -- With Ryan Braun suspended and their other sluggers injured, the Milwaukee Brewers need to find creative ways to score runs. Jeff Bianchi did just that on Sunday. Bianchi lofted a single that dropped just behind Washingtons drawn-in infield, breaking a tie and capping a five-run sixth inning in the Milwaukee Brewers 8-5 win over the Nationals. "Sometimes youre supposed to hit it where theyre not, right?" Bianchi asked rhetorically after hitting his clutch single and executing a perfect squeeze bunt to score another run. With the score tied 4-4 and runners at second and third, Bianchis soft bloop off Fernando Abad (0-3) dropped in behind second base as Anthony Rendon raced back to make a play. It allowed Khris Davis to score easily from third and Juan Francisco to just beat the throw home with a perfect slide, giving the Brewers the lead for good. "I was just able to get a pitch that I just barely got the bat on," Bianchi said. With Braun done for the season, Aramis Ramirez on the disabled list and Corey Hart out for the year with knee injuries, the soft hit by Bianchi was good enough for a Brewers team that managed only two runs in the first two games of the series. "One inning, sometimes its just one big at-bat -- you dont know whats going to turn things around," Milwaukee manager Ron Roenicke said. "We got some breaks." John Axford (5-4) allowed a home run to Adam LaRoche in the top of the sixth but nothing more to earn the win. Jim Henderson pitched the ninth for his 15th save in 18 chances. Milwaukee snapped a three-game losing streak and Roenicke hopes the comeback helps his team during its coming nine-game road trip. "I really enjoyed this," Roenicke said. "You get down, 3-0, and youre thinking the offence hasnt been scoring so its going to be a little tough. "Then you start seeing some good things happen, then a lot of good things happen and it makes you feel good, especially going on a road trip," he said. "Weve got a tough time ahead of us so hopefully this is good for their confidence. It should be." The Brewers were trailing 4-1 against Washington starter Taylor Jordan until breaking through in the sixth. Logan Schafer hit an infield single, Jean Segura ddoubled and Jonathan Lucroy walked on five pitches to load the bases with no outs.dddddddddddd. Carlos Gomez hit a sacrifice fly that scored Schafer to pull the Brewers within 4-2. Abad replaced Jordan, and pinch-hitter Davis greeted him by hitting a high chopper in front of the plate that bounced over third baseman Ryan Zimmerman for a single, scoring Segura and making it 4-3. Juan Francisco, batting .111 (3 for 27) against left-handers, was allowed to hit and doubled down the right-field line, scoring Lucroy to tie the score. Bianchi then lofted the ball over the infield for his tie-breaking single. "There was a lot of tough breaks that inning," Jordan said, acknowledging his arm was tired in the frame. "Its not like they were crushing the ball or anything. Just a couple tough breaks." Anthony Rendon opened the seventh with a homer off Mike Gonzalez, hit fifth of the year, but Washington couldnt score the rest of the way. Schafer scored from a third on a groundout by Lucroy to make it 7-5 in the bottom of the seventh. Bianchi executed a squeeze bunt in the eighth that scored Davis from third to give Milwaukee an 8-5 lead. Milwaukee starter Kyle Lohse gave up three runs, two earned, on five hits and a walk while striking out two in five innings. "It was good to see us get some of those lucky bounces," Lohse said. "The guys are battling. Thats pretty good to see out there. We could have just rolled over. We didnt do that and beat a pretty good team." The Nationals took a 3-0 lead in the second. Jayson Werth and Ian Desmond were hit by pitches, and Steve Lombardozzi singled to load the bases. Kurt Suzuki then singled to right-centre to score Werth and Desmond and make it 2-0. Jordan attempted a sacrifice bunt, but Lucroy misplayed the ball for an error, allowing Lombardozzi to score for a 3-0 lead. Notes: LaRoches homer was his second in two games and 16th this year. ... Roenicke said 3B Ramirez should return sometime during the teams road trip, which begins Monday night at San Francisco. ... Washington RHP Ross Ohlendorf was placed on the 15-day DL Sunday, retroactive to Thursday, due to right shoulder inflammation. LHP Xavier Cedeno was recalled from Triple-A Sycracuse to take his spot on the roster. ' ' '