Nebraska had a very important volleyball match against Penn State last week in its final regular-season match, but the pressure wasn’t overwhelming.
The Huskers could finish no better than second place in the conference. And Nebraska already had done enough to qualify for the NCAA Tournament since about, oh, late October.
Pressure was what the Harvard volleyball team faced Nov. 20. One match, the Ivy League Playoff, determined whether the Crimson would make the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history.
Harvard and Princeton tied atop the league standings with 10-4 records, forcing the one-match playoff.