NCAA Ladies
December 17, 2023
TAMPA — You’ll have forgotten, however within the AVCA preseason high 25 that got here out final August, Texas was No. 1.
Sure, those self same Longhorns who then went and misplaced their first match, in 4, at Lengthy Seashore State on a day when famous person center Asjia O’Neal didn’t play.
Texas, seeded No. 7, was 5-3 on September 15 after shedding in 4 to Washington State.
Which may as nicely be historical historical past, as a result of the Longhorns (27-4) misplaced simply as soon as once more, an out-of-character sweep at Kansas State. Since then, they’ve received 9 in a row, together with 5 on this NCAA Match, most not too long ago knocking out third-seeded Wisconsin in Thursday’s NCAA Division I Volleyball Championship nationwide semifinals.
In that very same preseason ballot, Nebraska was tied for fifth with Louisville.
Ultimately, after all, Nebraska, now 33-1, moved into the highest spot and stayed there. The Huskers, accordingly, have been the No. 1 seed within the NCAA Match. Their solely loss was a late-season sweep at Wisconsin. They’ve received six in a row, which incorporates shedding only one set of their 5 NCAA tourney victories.
And right here we’re.
Crimson-hot Texas, the runaway winner within the Huge 12, vs. THE staff to beat, the Huge Ten champion.
It’s all there for the sporting world to see at 3 p.m. Jap Sunday on ABC, the primary time the NCAA last goes to be seen on broadcast community TV, capping a season during which attendance TV-ratings data have frequently been blown away.
Inform your non-volleyball mates. Inform them to placed on ABC and simply take pleasure in what guarantees to be a unbelievable sporting occasion with extra story line and sub plots than may be imagined.
Listed below are a number of:
THE THIRD TIME: Nebraska and Texas will play for the title for the third time. In 1995, Nebraska beat Teas in 4. In 2015, Nebraska swept Texas. For that matter, Nebraska has 5 titles, the final in 2017. Texas has received three, together with final season.
As Texas coach Jerritt Elliott stated,”It’s a particular second to have the ability to have a Texas-Nebraska sport on ABC on nationwide tv to actually blow it out of the park.”
ABOUT THOSE FRESHMEN: The variety of children on this match has been a well-liked news-conference query this week, however allow us to not neglect that in 2016, Stanford received all of it with 4 freshmen main the way in which, outdoors Kathryn Plummer, setter Jenna Grey, libero Morgan Hentz and proper facet Audriana Fitzmorris.
Regardless of which staff wins, it will likely be accomplish that with a freshman setter, for Texas Ella Swindle and for Nebraska Bergen Reilly. Swindle is a 6-foot-3 product of Columbia, Missouri, and is on the Huge 12 all-rookie staff. Reilly, probably the most extremely touted recruits, is from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and made the AVCA second All-American staff.
“Me and Ella have performed collectively within the USA gymnasium,” Reilly stated. “We obtained to be good mates. She’s a fantastic setter. So it will likely be a superb take a look at for us.”
Additionally, Nebraska freshman outdoors Harper Murray made the AVCA third staff.
“(Mikaela) Foecke was freshman of the yr once we received it in ’15,” Nebraska coach John Cook dinner stated. “Anna (Smrek) from Wisconsin was MVP of the ultimate 4 as a freshman (in 2021).
“You guys have all been speaking about it, however these freshmen can are available in, and so they can play. So I don’t suppose it’s that huge a deal. I believe it’s simply the way in which faculty volleyball goes now.”
STATS: There are many them, however these are those that matter essentially the most.
Texas is No. 14 in hitting proportion, .282, whereas Nebraska is No. 18 at .278.
Conversely, Nebraska is No. 1 in opponent hitting proportion, 135. Texas is 73rd, with opponents hitting .186.
In blocks per set, Texas is No. 3 (2.89), Nebraska No. 17 (2.70).
X FACTORS: That is arbitrary, however listed below are two to think about, and in the event that they go off, their groups can be in good condition.
Nebraska freshman center Andi Jackson had 16 kills with two errors in 25 assaults in her final three matches to go along with 13 blocks.
Texas senior proper facet Molly Phillips has 30 kills with simply three errors in 63 swings in her final 4 matches to go along with 12 blocks.
On the opposite facet, each outdoors hitters, Jenna Wenaas for Texas and Ally Batenhorst for Nebraska, had the flexibility to get chilly. In her final 4 matches, Wenaas has hit .421, .044, .271 and .091. In her final 5 matches, Batenhorst has hit .136, 1.36, .280, 063 and .190.
HISTORY: Texas swept Louisville for the 2022 nationwide title.
Simply 12 applications have received for the reason that NCAA started holding ladies’s volleyball championships in 1981: Stanford (9 instances), Penn State (7), Nebraska (5), UCLA (4), Hawai’i (3), Lengthy Seashore State (3), USC (3), Texas (3), Pacific (2), Kentucky (1), Wisconsin (1) and Washington (1).