Illinois, Nebraska volleyball advance to Final Four

Illinois and reigning national champ Nebraska advanced to the national semifinals with regional final wins Sunday.

The Illini and Huskers face off in the second semifinal Thursday (9 p.m. ET) in Minneapolis, with the victor playing the BYU-Stanford winner in the national final Saturday.

Illinois is back in the Final Four for the first time since 2011, while Nebraska is making its fourth consecutive trip.

With the Big Ten-Big Ten national semifinal, the conference is guaranteed a title match representative, meaning it can add to its impressive streak of claiming eight of the last 11 national crowns. The Huskers, who own five titles, have won two of the last three trophies.

Penn State (Stanford) and Wisconsin (Illinois) lost in the regional finals.

Here's how Illinois and Nebraska advanced to Minneapolis:

For the first time since 2011, @IlliniVBall is back in the national semifinals!#NCAAVB pic.twitter.com/DdczqezyKr

— NCAA Women's Volleyball (@NCAAVolleyball) December 8, 2018

.@Huskervball punch their ticket to Minneapolis!#NCAAVB pic.twitter.com/fty2WnM7eB

— NCAA Women's Volleyball (@NCAAVolleyball) December 9, 2018