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The third-seeded Stanford Cardinal women’s volleyball team will meet the seventh-seeded Minnesota Golden Gophers in the national semifinals on Thursday at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh.
The game is scheduled to start at 9:30 p.m. ET and will be televised on ESPN. If you don’t have cable, you can watch a live stream of the game on your computer, phone, Roku, Fire TV Stick, or other streaming device via one of the following cable-free, live-TV streaming services:
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AT&T TV Now
AT&T TV Now (formerly DirecTV Now) offers six different channel bundles. They range from 45 to 125 live TV channels, and they all include ESPN and ESPN2. The “Plus” and “Max” bundles come with a free seven-day trial:
Once signed up for AT&T TV Now, you can watch a live stream of Stanford vs Minnesota on your computer via the AT&T TV Now website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, or other compatible streaming device via the AT&T TV app. You can also watch the game on the ESPN app if you sign in using your AT&T TV Now credentials.
If you can’t watch live, AT&T TV Now — no matter what channel package you choose — comes with included cloud DVR.
Sling TV
Sling TV’s “Sling Orange” package comes with 32 channels, including ESPN and ESPN2. It costs $25 for the first month ($35 per month after that), which makes Sling by far the cheapest streaming service with the ESPN channels if you plan on keeping it long term:
Or, as part of a special deal that Sling is currently offering, you can get a free Amazon Fire TV Stick if you prepay for two months:
Once signed up for Sling TV, you can watch Stanford vs Minnesota live on your computer via the Sling TV website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, or other streaming device via the Sling TV app.
If you can’t watch live, you can get 50 hours of cloud DVR storage for an additional $5 per month.
Hulu With Live TV
ESPN and ESPN2 are included in Hulu With Live TV, which comes with 60-plus live TV channels and Hulu’s extensive on-demand library of TV shows and movies:
Once signed up for Hulu With Live TV, you can watch a live stream of Stanford vs Minnesota on your computer via the Hulu website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Echo Show, or other streaming device via the Hulu app. You can also watch the game on the ESPN app if you sign in using your Hulu credentials.
If you can’t watch live, Hulu With Live TV comes with 50 hours of cloud DVR space, as well as the option to upgrade to “Enhanced Cloud DVR,” which gives you 200 hours of space and the ability to fast-forward through commercials.
Stanford vs Minnesota Volleyball Final Four Preview
The Cardinal have won a record eight national titles, and they’re seeking their fourth consecutive trip to the finals, having won it all in 2016 and 2017.
On Saturday, they swept the 11th-seeded Penn State Nittany Lions 3-0 to reach their 23rd semifinals in the national tournament’s 38th installment.
“The senior class has been incredible,” Cardinal head coach Kevin Hambly said after the victory, according to Palo Alto Online. “What stands out to me is their preparation, leadership and competitiveness. It’s been fun to be part of it for three years.”
He added: “Players had a remarkable night offensively. The way we all played and some of the numbers we put up were outstanding.”
Cardinal senior outside hitter Kathryn Plummer, the national player of the year in 2017 and 2018, struck a match-high 24 kills with just 2 errors for a .512 hitting percentage in her last match at Stanford’s Maples Pavilion, which hosted the Palo Alto Regional.
“Our senior class talked before the game about how we wanted to go out with a bang,” Plummer said, per Palo Alto Online. “To have the last game at Maples be the Elite Eight going onto the national championships, is amazing. It’s really special because that’s the best unit we had, coming back, taking the lead and sustaining pressure. It was a great feeling to go out with that win.”
The Cardinal are 28-4. They went 18-2 in conference play en route to their third consecutive Pac-12 title. The Gophers dealt them their first defeat of the year, securing a 3-1 victory in State College, PA, in the Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge.
Stanford committed a season-worst 29 errors in the loss.
“I’m sure both teams have probably evolved,” Gophers head coach Hugh McCutcheon said, according to the St. Paul Pioneer Press, “but at some point, there has to be a fundamental belief that you can win the match and if you’ve never beaten a team, it’s probably hard to believe that. But if you have, well then, maybe you think it’s possible.”
The Gophers are 27-5 overall, having gone 17-3 in Big Ten play.
They swept the unseeded Louisville Cardinals 3-0 on Saturday to emerge from the Austin Regional. Like the two teams left on the other side of the bracket, the first-seeded Baylor Lady Bears and the fourth-seeded Wisconsin Badgers, the Gophers are seeking their first national title.
“I feel like we’ve been an underdog most of the season,” McCutcheon said. “We’ve had injuries, we’ve had all kinds of stuff we’ve been trying to manage. This has been a remarkable group, and they’ve dealt with all of that really well.”