Longtime foes Nebraska, Texas meet again for volleyball title

No. 1 Nebraska and second-seeded Texas will be in lofty, albeit familiar, territory when they square off on Sunday afternoon in the title match of NCAA Women's Volleyball Championships in Tampa.

If followers and fans of volleyball were looking for a signature matchup in the sport, they certainly got their wish. The teams will meet in the postseason for the seventh time since 2009 and for the third time in a national championship match.

The Cornhuskers have been victorious in the title matches, in 1995 and 2015. Nebraska won the last meeting between the teams in the 2021 NCAA Austin Regional Final.

The Longhorns, the defending NCAA champs, are making their 10th national championship appearance and seventh in the last 15 seasons. They have won four national titles in program history.

The Cornhuskers earned a berth in their 11th all-time NCAA Final and fifth time in the past nine seasons. Nebraska has captured championships five times, most recently in 2017.

"It is hard to be good for a long period of time," said Nebraska coach John Cook, the AVCA national coach of the year. "Sometimes it's easy -- you get to a Final Four or you win a conference championship -- but to do it year after year after year, it is a lot of work, and it is hard.

"I think it's one of the best accomplishments a program can have. You look at Nebraska volleyball and Texas, both have been very consistent in each year."

Nebraska (33-1) rolled into the title match with a three-set win over Pittsburgh on Thursday. Freshman Harper Murray recorded a match-high 13 kills on 33 swings in the semifinal, while Bekka Allick had 10 blocks for the Cornhuskers and Lexi Rodriguez recorded a match-high 10 digs.

"I tried to remind everyone to take it all in and enjoy it," Rodriguez said of the Cornhuskers' attitude for Sunday's final. "There's going to be nerves, and there's going to be pressure, but just having fun, playing for each other, leave it all on the court, and just play fearless."

Texas (27-4) dismantled favored Wisconsin (the only team to beat the Cornhuskers) in four sets on Thursday and were especially dominant in the final two sets.

Madisen Skinner finished with 18 kills and a career-high six service aces to lead Texas, while Asjia O'Neal added 11 kills and four blocks, and Jenna Wenaas and Molly Phillips produced 10 kills each. Ella Swindle distributed 46 assists and Emma Halter had a game-high 19 digs for the Longhorns.

O'Neal kept to the one-match-at-time mantra that has carried the Longhorns through what was expected to be a rebuilding season.

"I do know that there's that long-term rivalry there with Nebraska," she said. "But a game's a game for me. Regardless of who's on the other side, I'm going to come out and be fiery and aggressive and be the player that I am. It's just kind of a little cherry on top that it is a rival, but it should be a really fun game."

An NCAA Tournament record crowd of 19,598 attended Thursday's two semifinal matches, and Nebraska played before over 92,000 fans in a match on August contested in Memorial Stadium in Lincoln.