The first weekend of the NCAA volleyball tournament provided its share of upsets, but the top four seeds advanced without much drama. So No. 1 Nebraska, No. 2 Minnesota, No. 3 Wisconsin and No. 4 Texas get to be hosts for the regional semifinals and finals on Friday and Saturday. Heres a look at what weve seen so far, and what may be in store.Can anybody beat the home teams?This year the NCAA went away from predetermined sites for the regionals, which had been the format since 2003, and opted to have the highest remaining seed in each region host. Its safe to say the top four project as overwhelming favorites to advance to the final four in Columbus, Ohio, on Dec. 15 and 17.Why? Their combined record at home this season is 59-3.Minnesota was 15-0 at the Sports Pavilion both this season and in 2015. The Golden Gophers havent lost at home since falling on Oct. 22, 2014, to Nebraska in five sets.Wisconsin is 13-1 at UW Field House this season; its home loss was to Minnesota on Oct. 12. Meanwhile, the Badgers handed Texas -- 15-1 at home -- its only defeat at Gregory Gymnasium this year, on Sept. 18. Texas has lost at home only eight times since 2007.Defending NCAA champion Nebraska is 16-1 this year in the Devaney Center, falling only to Ohio State on Oct. 1.A big part of these teams success is their fan support. Nebraska leads the nation in average attendance at home matches (8,199), with Wisconsin third (5,915), Minnesota fourth (4,766) and Texas ninth (2,250).Theyre always great, Nebraska libero Justine Wong-Orantes said of the Huskers faithful. But I think I felt it more now that its tournament time. They know when were struggling and when we need to be picked up.Lincoln regional: Morning madnessNobody shows up like Nebraska fans. But for the semifinal, theyll need to do it on a weekday morning. With all the regionals being held in the Central time zone, somebody has to go early. Turns out it will be the match between two enormous heavyweights in the sport.The four-time champion Huskers will face seven-time champ Penn State at 11 a.m. CT Friday. What a way to start the regional semifinals.The Big Ten-champion Huskers swept both their early-round foes, New Hampshire and TCU, and the program now has 100 victories all time in the NCAA tournament. The Huskers beat the No. 16 seed Nittany Lions twice this season, although the match at Penn State went five sets.Nebraska leads their series 18-10 and has won five of the last six meetings. Penn State, at 24-9, has its most losses since 1987, when the Nittany Lions went 27-9 and lost in the NCAA tournaments first round.While one semifinal is an all-Big Ten affair, the other matches two Pac-12 teams. Conference champion Washington, the No. 8 seed led by league player of the year Courtney Schwan, beat Arizona in both their regular-season meetings. But the Wildcats, despite losing four of their last six matches in the regular season, are coming off an upset of No. 9 seed Michigan State.Arizona, at 20-14, has the most losses of any team in the Sweet 16. But the Wildcats made it this far, and thats what matters.Austin regional: Giants and sleepersConsistency remains the Longhorns hallmark, even if this season cost coach Jerritt Elliott some shut-eye.This season hasnt been as easy as seasons past -- Ive lost a lot more sleep, he said about trying to solve some of Texas supposed shortcomings. Still, here is Texas in the Sweet 16 for the 11th consecutive season. The Longhorns have made the final four seven of the last eight years.The problem, though, has come in finishing the job. For all their success, the Longhorns have just two NCAA titles: in 1988 and 2012. Theyve had a few stinging upsets in recent years, including 2014, when they lost to BYU in the national semifinals.Now Texas will face the No. 13 seed Cougars in the regional semis. The Longhorns are 65-9 in NCAA matches played in Austin, Texas.The Longhorns didnt win the Big 12 title this season; Kansas did. But that ended up being the highlight of the Jayhawks season, as the No. 5 seeds were upset in the second round by Creighton. The Bluejays, who are in their second consecutive Sweet 16, won two five-set matches to get here.Creighton will take on No. 12 seed Michigan. Of the six Big Ten teams still in the tournament, the Wolverines are the only one in this regional.Madison regional: Unseeded but still kickingWhile Wisconsin and No. 6 Stanford breezed into the Sweet 16, their opponents, Ohio State and Florida State, had to grind through five-set matches to advance.Ohio State outlasted No. 14 seed Kansas State 17-15 in the fifth behind Taylor Hughes second triple-double of the season (41 assists, 15 digs, 14 kills). The Buckeyes are two matches away from playing in the final four in their hometown, but Wisconsin -- which swept Ohio State in both their Big Ten matches this season -- is a daunting roadblock.Wisconsin was especially impressive in its second-round sweep of Washington State, holding the Cougars to zero hitting percentage in the final two sets. Coach Kelly Sheffield said of his Badgers, I think our team just keeps getting better and better.In the other semifinal, six-time NCAA champ Stanford meets Florida State for the first time. The Cardinal swept Denver and Boise State in the first two rounds and have won 13 of their last 14 matches.Rookies are leading the way for Stanford, including Pac-12 freshman of the year Kathryn Plummer. Stanford is the top blocking team in the nation but must be wary of Florida State, which rallied from a deep hole to stun No. 11 seed Florida in one of the most dramatic matches of the tournament. The Gators were just two points away from a sweep, but the Seminoles came back and took the fifth set 15-12.We were in it to win a national championship and we had the talent to do so, Florida libero Caroline Knop said after the loss. Unfortunately, tonight we werent tough enough.Minneapolis regional: A little bit of everythingFour different conferences are represented at Minnesota. The Big Tens Gophers, who have made four trips to the final four, will take on SEC co-champion Missouri, which got some revenge against Purdue with a 3-1 victory in the second round. The Tigers were 35-0 in 2013 before falling to the Boilermakers in the second round.No. 15 seed Missouri is in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2010 and has never made the final four.I really thought that for us to have a shot, we were going to have to play really clean, Tigers coach Wayne Kreklow said. We talked a lot about that: staying aggressive but being smart.The Tigers will need more of that against Minnesota, which is led by Big Ten player of the year Sarah Wilhite and setter of the year Samantha Seliger-Swenson. The Gophers swept North Dakota and Hawaii, the latter match impacted when Big West player of the year Nikki Taylor, a senior, was lost three points in with an ankle injury.In the other semifinal, North Carolina is seeking to make its second regional final in the past three years. But the ACC-champion Tar Heels have not faced a Pac-12 team this season. They play the Pac-12s UCLA, which has won four NCAA titles, the most recent in 2011. 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That gave fans outside Joe Louis Arena another chance to ask for autographs from the 19-year-old whose stardom in the NHL has arrived earlier than most expected. WASHINGTON -- The final buzzer sounded, and Marylands players stormed the court to celebrate an improbable win over neighboring Georgetown.It didnt matter that it was only the second game of the season, or that neither team was ranked. The Terrapins had just erased a nine-point deficit over the span of 2 1/2 minutes, and it was time to revel in the moment.We just kept fighting, said Maryland guard Melo Trimble, who capped a 22-point performance by sinking two free throws with 7.6 seconds remaining in a 76-75 victory Tuesday night.Georgetown led 68-59 with 2:21 to go before the Terrapins used a game-ending 17-7 run.We beat a great team tonight, Maryland coach Mark Turgeon said. Except for fouling, we really guarded well.Maryland (2-0) limited the Hoyas (1-1) to 16 field goals but was outscored 37-17 at the foul line. The Terps won despite going 7 for 27 from beyond the arc and being whistled for 32 fouls.It was 75-72 when Trimble scored on a drive to get Maryland within a point. Tre Campbell then stepped out of bounds for the Hoyas after being pressured in the back court.This is how crazy basketball is: Im yelling foul at the top of my lungs, and he steps out of bounds, Turgeon said. We were very fortunate tonight.Trimble was subsequently fouled while receiving the long inbound pass, made both foul shots, and Terps freshman Kevin Huerter blocked a driving shot by Jagan Mosely just before the final buzzer.While the Terrapins celebrated, the Hoyas somberly trudged off the court.We have to grow. We have to get better. We have to learn from our mistakes, coach John Thompson III said. Just too many mental errors down at the end.L.J. Peak scored 19 of his 22 points in the second half for Georgetown and Rodney Pryor added 14.ddddddddddddTHE RIVALRY RENEWEDMaryland beat the Hoyas 75-71 last season and, with this victory, leads the series 38-27. This marked the first time Georgetown hosted Maryland since the 1993-94 season, even though the schools are only 20 miles apart.FAB FRESHMENMaryland received a huge contribution from its first-year players. In addition to getting a huge defensive play from Huerter, the Terps got 17 points from Justin Jackson and 11 from Anthony Cowan, including four free throws in the final 19 seconds.MELO SHINESTrimble scored 22 points in Marylands opener, an unimpressive 62-56 win over American that dropped the Terrapins out of the top 25.Maryland needed every one of his 22 points against Georgetown.Hes an outstanding player, Thompson said. He did what good players do -- he made plays.BIG PICTUREMaryland: The Terps showed vast improvement from their disappointing showing against American, providing evidence that this freshman-laden team will get better as the season progresses.Georgetown: The Hoyas received an ideal tune-up for the rigorous, physical play that lies ahead in the Big East. Georgetowns 37 for 42 showing at the foul line showed it knows how to take advantage of an overly aggressive defense. They do, however, need work at closing games.UP NEXTMaryland resumes play Thursday night at home against St. Marys (Md.) College, a Division III school that competes in the Capital Athletic Conference.Georgetown faces visiting Arkansas State on Thursday night at McDonough Arena, the teams on-campus facility. ' ' '