Texas swept Nebraska on Sunday to win its second consecutive NCAA women’s volleyball championship. Here’s what you need to know:
- The Longhorns (28-4) completed their postseason run with victories against three of the four top seeds, punctuated by a 25-22, 25-14, 25-11 victory against the No. 1-ranked Huskers, who lost for the second time this year in 35 matches. Senior outside hitter Madisen Skinner led all attackers with 16 kills.
- Precise serving by Texas rattled Nebraska and took the Huskers out of their offensive system throughout the match. The Longhorns produced a championship-match record 12 aces, including four by All-American middle blocker Asjia O’Neal during an 11-0 run in the second set after Nebraska led 10-7.
- Texas coach Jerritt Elliott was hit with a red card late in the first set after arguing with officials that Nebraska played out of rotation. A point awarded to the Huskers evened the score at 25-22, but the Longhorns answered with a 3-0 run to close the set and maintained momentum from there.
What did Sunday mean for Texas and volleyball?
Texas stamped itself again as the best program nationally after beating Stanford, Wisconsin and Nebraska to repeat as champion. The Longhorns dropped just one match after losing three of their first eight in September.
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Texas beat Nebraska for the first time in three championship meetings and won their fourth title overall.
Skinner, the top performer in the NCAA Tournament, earned her third national championship win. She transferred to Texas last year after helping Kentucky to a title in the 2020 season.
The match Sunday was televised by ABC, the first national network broadcast of an NCAA women’s volleyball championship. The sport experienced growth and increased interest in 2023, ignited by Nebraska’s record-setting event in Lincoln on Aug. 30 which attracted a crowd of 92,003 at the school’s football stadium.
(Photo: David Buono / Getty Images)
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