of its kind, the first time they gave us this opportunity. This is my home break, where I grew up and learned to surf big waves,

Soon, well find out exactly what the road to Columbus, Ohio, looks like. The NCAA volleyball selection show will air at 9 p.m. ET Sunday on ESPNU, and some teams already have their automatic bids in hand. But there is still a lot to be decided in this last week of the regular season.Pac-12 dramaIt seems a bit hard to believe, but UCLA -- the only Pac-12 volleyball team to win a national championship in the past 10 seasons -- has not won a conference title since 1999. That could change this week, but it wont be easy.No. 7 Washington and No. 8 UCLA are atop the Pac-12 at 14-4, with No. 12 Stanford at 13-5. They are the only teams that still have a chance to claim the league title or a share of it.The schedule has worked out quite well in regard to intrigue: UCLA faces Washington in Seattle on Wednesday (10 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Network).The winner of that match moves into the drivers seat, but then both have to face in-state rivals Saturday in their regular-season finales. Washington will be at No. 25 Washington State, while UCLA will host USC. Meanwhile, Stanford finishes at home against No. 19 Oregon and Cal.The Pac-12 officially began conference play for womens volleyball in 1986. Stanford has won 14 league titles outright and shared two others. UCLA is next with six outright, but all of those came between 1986 and 1993. The Bruins shared the title in 1999 with Stanford. Washington has won three outright and shared last year with USC.Huskers look to close out strongReigning NCAA champion Nebraska is in the No. 1 spot in the AVCA poll for the sixth straight week, and the Huskers are in position to claim their second Big Ten title.Nebraska joined the conference in 2011 and won the Big Ten that year. Since then, the title has gone to Penn State (2012 and 13), Wisconsin (2014) and Minnesota (2015).The Huskers are 26-1 overall and 17-1 in the Big Ten, their only defeat coming at home to Ohio State on Oct. 1. Since that loss, the Huskers have won 14 matches in a row, losing just five sets in that stretch.The Huskers dont yet have the conference title wrapped up, though. No. 3 Wisconsin is 16-2 and No. 2 Minnesota 15-3. Nebraska plays at Minnesota on Wednesday and finishes at home Saturday against No. 18 Michigan. Wisconsin plays at Minnesota on Saturday.Jayhawks making historyThe Kansas volleyball program has been around 41 years. The Jayhawks had never won a conference title in either the old Big Eight or the current Big 12. But that changed Saturday, despite the fact that star Kelsie Payne was sidelined with an ankle injury.No. 4 Kansas beat Iowa State 3-2 and the Jayhawks celebrated clinching at least a share of the Big 12 title. The Jayhawks can win it outright Saturday when they finish the regular season at Baylor. Thats no gimme, though. The Bears are 9-5 and in third place in the Big 12.The Cyclones, now 8-6 and in fourth place, were coming off an upset against Texas the week before. That outcome greatly helped Kansas since it was the Longhorns second Big 12 loss. But Iowa State wasnt able to overcome Kansas; the Jayhawks prevailed 15-9 in the final set.No. 5 Texas, which has won or shared nine Big 12 titles, took over domination of the conference when Nebraska moved to the Big Ten in 2011. Texas had won every Big 12 title since, five in a row, until now.The Longhorns still can get a share of the championship this year, though, if they beat visiting West Virginia on Saturday and Kansas falls at Baylor. Kansas and Texas split their meetings this season, with each winning at home.Mutual respectMissouri and Florida had a five-set duel Sunday, which was exactly what you might have expected from two teams battling for the SEC title. The Tigers won the final set 15-10, after which Florida coach Mary Wise -- disappointed as she was that her Gators lost -- sought out Missouri senior Carly Kan to give her a hug and congratulations.Kan had season highs with 25 kills and 21 digs for the Tigers, who defeated the Gators in Columbia, Missouri, for the third year in a row.So heres how the SEC race sets up in the final week: No. 23 Kentucky is 15-2 and has just one conference game left: Wednesday at Tennessee on ESPNU (9 p.m. ET). No. 9 Florida and No. 22 Missouri are both 14-2, while Texas A&M (which won the SEC title last year) is 13-3.Missouri (at Georgia, vs. Tennessee), Florida (vs. Auburn, at Arkansas) and Texas A&M (vs. LSU, at Auburn) have two matches left. So its still possible that the SEC could finish in a four-way tie for first.Tournament timeWhile the Power Five conferences and a few others dont have their own volleyball tournaments, several leagues do. Heres some of the more notable conference tourney news. Winners receive an automatic berth into the NCAA tournament.Conference USA: No. 20 Western Kentucky became the first volleyball team to win three consecutive Conference USA tournament titles, defeating Rice 3-2 Sunday behind Rachel Andersons career-high 31 kills. Western Kentucky has won 21 matches in a row.Atlantic 10: No. 24 Dayton extended its winning streak to 19 by beating Saint Louis 3-2 in the Atlantic 10 final Sunday. Its the seventh time in the past eight years that the Flyers have won the conference title.Missouri Valley: Missouri State, on a 16-match winning streak, will be the top seed in this weeks six-team Missouri Valley tournament, hosted by Northern Iowa Thursday through Saturday.Big East: The four-team tournament runs Friday to Saturday in Indianapolis. No. 21 Creighton is the top seed; the Bluejays advanced to the NCAA regional semifinals last year. They are on an 18-match winning streak.Aaron Loup Jersey . -- Gus Malzahn finally had his day in Fayetteville. Ozzie Smith Jersey . According the Toronto Star, a knee injury will keep Sundin out of the lineup, which includes former teammates Gary Roberts, Darcy Tucker, Tie Domi and Curtis Joseph. http://www.padressale.com/padres-eric-hosmer-jersey/ . A lawyer for MLB, Matthew Menchel, confirmed Wednesday the league dropped its case against Biogenesis of America, its owner Anthony Bosch and several other individuals. The lawsuit had accused Biogenesis and Bosch of conspiring with players to violate their contracts by providing them with banned performance-enhancing substances. Randy Jones Jersey . Walcott is available for Saturdays home match against Southampton as Arsenal looks to extend its two-point lead at the top of the Premier League. The Gunners are currently the second highest scorers in the league but Wenger insists Walcott will add something extra to his team. Austin Hedges Padres Jersey . Artturi Lehkonen, Joni Nikko and Ville Leskinen had the other goals for Finland (1-0) while Juuse Saros stopped 28 shots. Tim Robin Johnsgard had the lone goal for Norway (0-2).On Friday afternoon, Keala Kennelly watched on the tiny screen of a borrowed cellphone as her friend and competitor Paige Alms won the Peahi Womens Challenge at Jaws, Mauis famed big-wave break, and captured the inaugural World Surf League womens Big Wave Championship.A few hours earlier, in the first heat of the womens contest, Kennelly caught the opening wave. It was the first surfed by a woman in a WSL big-wave contest, and it received the highest score of the day. On her second wave, Kennelly lost her balance navigating bumpy surf and felt the lip of a 30-foot wave crash onto her back leg. An MRI fortunately revealed no torn ligaments, but she was unable to surf in the final for which she qualified.As the first woman to tow into a wave at Teahupoo, the first woman to paddle into a wave at Nelscott Reef and the first woman to win an XXL Big Wave award in a previously male-only category, Kennelly, 38, is one of the most influential and respected women in big-wave surfing. Alms, 28, is the next generation. In 2005, she became the first woman to get barreled at Jaws, her home break and a wave shes surfed since she was 14, and was called the best female big-wave surfer by Surfline.She lived up to that billing on Friday, catching more waves than any woman in the event and surfing with confidence and poise on a windy, treacherous day at Jaws.The day after competing in this historic event, espnW caught up with both women, who were already asking, What next?espnW: What was the vibe like when you all arrived at the beach Friday morning knowing youd surf in the first WSL womens big-wave contest ?Paige Alms: Everyone was so supportive. I was so happy to see that all the girls showed up and were charging.Keala Kennelly: I was more relaxed than ever for a contest. I was Zen. Ive been living in California. I was just so happy to be in Hawaii and back in warm water. I was excited to surf anything over 4 feet. I was hyped to be able to paddle out without 60 guys in the lineup.espnW: What was it like to be out at Jaws with only women, and so few people, in the lineup?PA: Even when were free surfing at Jaws, there are usually only one or two women in the lineup. The most theres ever been at once was four or five girls. To have six of us out there in a heat with no one else in the lineup, we all felt the same way: This is awesome.If there are 60 guys in the lineup, you dont catch a lot of waves. We were all glowing and proud to be out there together. Win or lose, having an empty lineup at your home break, one of the best big waves in the world -- nothing tops that.espnW: Paige, because Maui is your home break, did you feel more pressure on you to take the win?PA: The pressure comes from within. I wanted to put on a good show and make sure we represented women well. That was the pressure for me. It wasnt about winning the contest. My friends tried to put that pressure on me. But it was about having those empty lineups, choosing the waves you want with other girls. When I won, I felt like I won for everyone.espnW: What was it like to have so many women competing at a break at which you both have been such pioneering surfers?PA: Only half the 12 girls had surfed Jaws before this contest, and the other half of us were nervous for that. I know how powerful this wave is, but not knowing is almost better. Those girls showed up and sent it. I felt pride for the girls.KK: Windy Jaws is treacherous, so my hats off to all the girls who went out and took a wave.ddddddddddddspnW: Speaking of wind, the conditions looked incredibly windy on the webcast. How bad was the wind?PA: It was very challenging. It matched the name of the contest, The Peahi Challenge. The wind was gnarlier than it looked at home. When its windy like that, it becomes really dangerous. I dont usually surf it when its windy. The risk isnt worth the reward.KK: I was excited when we left the harbor. But on the boat ride out, you can tell if the wind is going to be an issue. As the water got choppier, I could see the wind was going to be an issue, and that gets scary for me at Jaws. It becomes really dangerous because the wind gets up under the board, holds you up at the lip, doesnt let you in and releases your fins. It ups the danger so much. It was intense.espnW: Knowing that, how do you find the confidence to paddle out and make the decision that its worth the reward?PA: When the stadium is set and you know you have to go out, you go. We had a moment when I heard there would only be three of us in the final [after Kennelly, Laura Enever and Emi Erickson qualified into the final but pulled out due to injuries], and some girls asked if we should postpone the event or push it to the next stop on tour. I was like, No. We are here to surf, to do the job they invited us to do. If we didnt step to the plate, it would make womens big-wave surfing look bad.The conditions were tough, but its still the best big wave in the world, even when its windy. We are going to do it now. It was game on for all of us from that point.KK: Paige did such an amazing job and sent it. She went out there and earned her victory and carried it for the women. But Paige is a true sportswoman and she was bummed I wasnt in the final. We love and respect each other, and Paige definitely wants me out there. But she is so deserving. Paige let people know that we deserve to be there.One of the disadvantages of being backside at Jaws is you have your back to most of the wave so its difficult to see ??the oncoming section and sometimes it can creep up on you and take you out. ?????? unfortunately I didnt see the end section coming on this wave and it caught me by surprise so I had no time to brace myself for the explosion ???? and my body paid the price ??. @wsl #Peahichallenge2016 ?? by @tonyharringtonA photo posted by Keala Kennelly (@kealakennelly) onNov 12, 2016 at 11:34am PSTespnW: What do you think happens from here? Is this the first of many big-wave events for the women?PA: Thats the goal. This is the first of its kind, the first time they gave us this opportunity. This is my home break, where I grew up and learned to surf big waves, and I felt obligated to put on a show to show the world we know how to surf this wave. Thats where the pressure came from. Now that we showed that, I hope the WSL will add more events. Maybe we can talk them into having the Todos womens event. It would be rad to have an event at all the big wave stops.KK: It was an honor to compete, and I was stoked for the opportunity. Its not the way I wanted it to go down, but Im proud of the wave I rode and proud that I got the highest score. And I am excited for next year. There will be a next year. ' ' '