BTN.com staff, December 11, 2012

The Big Ten landed two schools in the Final Four of the 2012 NCAA women's volleyball tournament, as Michigan takes on No. 3 seed Texas at 7 p.m. ET before top seed and Big Ten champion Penn State faces No. 5 seed Oregon at 9 p.m.

In the video preview in this post, BTN's Kara Lentz and Michelle McMahon take a close look at both Big Ten squads. Here's a great place to track Thursday's events live: NCAA.com's interactive tournament bracket.

For Penn State, it owns a 1-1 all-time record against the Ducks, who beat the Nittany Lions to open the 2011 season and snap the team's 94 consecutive home match winning streak. Penn State (33-2) advanced to the national semis with wins over Binghamton (3-0), Bowling Green (3-0), No. 16 Kentucky (3-0) and No. 8 Minnesota (3-1). The Ducks (29-4) defeated Northern Colorado (3-0), Dayton (3-0), BYU (3-1) and Big Ten power Nebraska (3-1) to advance to this match. This is Oregon's first ever appearance in the NCAA National Semifinals. Read more at GoPSUsports.com.

Michigan (27-11) advanced to the national semifinals for the first time ever with wins over Tennessee (3-2), Louisville (3-1), Michigan State (3-0) and No. 2 Stanford (3-1). Texas (27-4) beat No. 6 USC in three sets to advance to this match. Read more at MGoBlue.com.

Both semifinals – as well as Saturday's championship at 7 p.m. ET – air on ESPN2.

Here's a look at Penn State's season to date:

Date Location Result  
Dec 08, 2012 West Lafayette, Ind. Penn State 3, Minnesota 1 (25-19,19-25,26-24,25-18) Box score
Dec 07, 2012 West Lafayette, Ind. Penn State 3, Kentucky 0 (25-18,25-21,25-12) Box score
Dec 01, 2012 University Park, Pa. Penn State 3, Bowling Green 0 (25-15,25-12,25-15) Box score
Nov 30, 2012 University Park, Pa. Penn State 3, Binghamton 0 (25-11,25-3,25-9) Box score
Nov 24, 2012 University Park, Pa. Penn State 3, Michigan State 0 (25-13,25-21,25-15) Box score
Nov 21, 2012 University Park, Pa. Penn State 3, Ohio State 0 (25-18,25-16,25-14) Box score
Nov 17, 2012 West Lafayette, Ind. Penn State 3, Purdue 1 (25-16,22-25,25-19,25-21) Box score
Nov 16, 2012 Bloomington, Ind. Penn State 3, Indiana 0 (25-12,25-18,25-22) Box score
Nov 10, 2012 University Park, Pa. Penn State 3, Northwestern 0 (25-16,25-16,25-16) Box score
Nov 08, 2012 University Park, Pa. Penn State 3, Illinois 0 (25-17,25-17,25-14) Box score
Nov 04, 2012 University Park, Pa. Penn State 3, Wisconsin 0 (25-20,25-15,25-22) Box score
Nov 02, 2012 University Park, Pa. Penn State 3, Minnesota 1 (25-21,25-19,23-25,25-21) Box score
Oct 28, 2012 Lincoln, Nebraska Nebraska 3, Penn State 2 (12-25,32-30,19-25,25-23,15-10) Box score
Oct 24, 2012 Iowa City, Iowa Penn State 3, Iowa 0 (25-15,25-19,25-15) Box score
Oct 20, 2012 Ann Arbor, Mich. Penn State 3, Michigan 2 (25-19,25-18,21-25,22-25,15-10) Box score
Oct 17, 2012 Columbus, Ohio Penn State 3, Ohio State 0 (25-21,25-19,25-22) Box score
Oct 13, 2012 University Park, Pa. Penn State 3, Indiana 1 (22-25,25-19,25-16,25-21) Box score
Oct 12, 2012 University Park, Pa. Penn State 3, Purdue 0 (25-19,25-16,25-16) Box score
Oct 06, 2012 Champaign, Ill. Penn State 3, Illinois 2 (23-25,25-18,25-21,24-26,18-16) Box score
Oct 05, 2012 Evanston, Ill. Penn State 3, Northwestern 0 (25-23,25-18,25-23) Box score
Sep 29, 2012 Minneapolis, MN Penn State 3, Minnesota 0 (25-23,25-8,25-20) Box score
Sep 28, 2012 Madison, Wis. Penn State 3, Wisconsin 0 (25-19,25-21,25-7) Box score
Sep 22, 2012 University Park, Pa. Penn State 3, Iowa 1 (25-20,25-21,27-29,25-14) Box score
Sep 19, 2012 University Park, Pa. Penn State 3, Nebraska 1 (23-25,28-26,25-17,26-24) Box score
Sep 15, 2012 University Park, Pa. Penn State 3, Eastern Illinois 0 (25-14,25-14,25-16) Box score
Sep 15, 2012 University Park, Pa. Penn State 3, Duquesne 0 (25-16,25-16,25-16) Box score
Sep 14, 2012 University Park, Pa. Penn State 3, Portland 0 (25-9,25-13,25-12) Box score
Sep 09, 2012 Evergreen Park, Ill. Penn State 3, UIC 0 (25-17,25-18,25-17) Box score
Sep 08, 2012 Evergreen Park, Ill. Oregon State 3, Penn State 2 (17-25,25-17,11-25,25-17,15-12) Box score
Sep 07, 2012 Evergreen Park, Ill. Penn State 3, DePaul 0 (25-17,25-12,25-17) Box score
Sep 01, 2012 University Park, Pa. Penn State 3, Texas 0 (25-22,25-21,25-22) Box score
Aug 31, 2012 University Park, Pa. Penn State 3, Stanford 2 (25-13,25-27,25-23,23-25,15-13) Box score
Aug 25, 2012 Louisville, KY Penn State 3, LOUISVILLE 0 (25-20,25-17,25-18) Box score
Aug 25, 2012 Louisville, KY Penn State 3, WKU 0 (25-10,25-22,25-22) Box score
Aug 24, 2012 Louisville, KY Penn State 3, MOREHEAD ST 0 (25-18,25-15,25-14) Box score

And here's a look at Michigan's season, too.

Date Match
12/8/2012 Michigan 3, #2 Stanford 1 (NCAA Tournament Regional Final)
12/7/2012 Michigan 3, Michigan State 0 (NCAA Tournament Regional Semifinals)
11/30/2012 Michigan 3, #9 Louisville 1 (NCAA Tournament Second Round)
11/29/2012 Michigan 3, Tennessee 2 (NCAA Tournament First Round)
11/23/2012 Michigan 3, #14 Ohio State 1
11/21/2012 Michigan 3, Michigan State 0
11/17/2012 Illinois 3, Michigan 1
11/16/2012 Northwestern 3, Michigan 1
11/10/2012 Michigan 3, #10 Minnesota 0
11/9/2012 Michigan 3, Wisconsin 0
11/3/2012 Michigan 3, Iowa 0
11/2/2012 Michigan 3, #4 Nebraska 2
10/27/2012 Michigan 3, Indiana 0
10/26/2012 #21 Purdue 3, Michigan 0
10/20/2012 #1 Penn State 3, Michigan 2
10/17/2012 Michigan State 3, Michigan 0
10/13/2012 Michigan 3, Northwestern 0
10/10/2012 Michigan 3, #22 Illinois 0
10/7/2012 Wisconsin 3, Michigan 0
10/3/2012 #10 Minnesota 3, Michigan 1
9/30/2012 #6 Nebraska 3, Michigan 1
9/28/2012 Michigan 3, Iowa 0
9/22/2012 #17 Purdue 3, Michigan 2
9/21/2012 Michigan 3, Indiana 1
9/15/2012 #22 Michigan 3, Duke 2 (Coke/Michigan Invitational)
9/14/2012 Western Kentucky 3, #22 Michigan 2 (Coke/Michigan Invitational)
9/14/2012 #22 Michigan 3, Eastern Michigan 0 (Coke/Michigan Invitational)
9/8/2012 #23 Michigan 3, #25 Northern Iowa 1 (Marquette Golden Eagle Classic)
9/8/2012 #23 Michigan 3, Eastern Illinois 0 (Marquette Golden Eagle Classic)
9/7/2012 Marquette 3, #23 Michigan 1 (Marquette Golden Eagle Classic)
9/7/2012 #23 Michigan 3, Wake Forest 0 (Marquette Golden Eagle Classic)
9/1/2012 #22 Michigan 3, Arkansas 2 (adidas/Michigan Challenge)
9/1/2012 #22 Michigan 3, UMBC 0 (adidas/Michigan Challenge)
8/31/2012 #22 Michigan 3, Central Michigan 0 (adidas/Michigan Challenge)
8/25/2012 #23 Michigan 3, Missouri 0 (Tiger Invitational)
8/25/2012 #23 Michigan 3, Virginia Tech 2 (Tiger Invitational)
8/24/2012 #23 Michigan 3, North Florida 1 (Tiger Invitational)
8/24/2012 #23 Michigan 3, Nicholls State 0 (Tiger Invitational)