Nebraska vs. Texas: What you need to know for the NCAA volleyball final

TAMPA — You may have forgotten, but in the AVCA preseason top 25 that came out last August, Texas was No. 1.

Yes, those same Longhorns who then went and lost their first match, in four, at Long Beach State on a day when superstar middle Asjia O’Neal did not play.

Texas, seeded No. 7, was 5-3 on September 15 after losing in four to Washington State.

That might as well be ancient history, because the Longhorns (27-4) lost just once again, an out-of-character sweep at Kansas State. Since then, they’ve won nine in a row, including five in this NCAA Tournament, most recently knocking out third-seeded Wisconsin in Thursday’s NCAA Division I Volleyball Championship national semifinals.

In that same preseason poll, Nebraska was tied for fifth with Louisville.

Eventually, of course, Nebraska, now 33-1, moved into the top spot and stayed there. The Huskers, accordingly, were the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Their only loss was a late-season sweep at Wisconsin. They’ve won six in a row, which includes losing just one set in their five NCAA tourney victories.

And here we are.

Red-hot Texas, the runaway winner in the Big 12, vs. THE team to beat, the Big Ten champion. 

It’s all there for the sporting world to see at 3 p.m. Eastern Sunday on ABC, the first time the NCAA final is going to be seen on broadcast network TV, capping a season in which attendance TV-ratings records have continually been blown away.

Tell your non-volleyball friends. Tell them to put on ABC and just enjoy what promises to be a fantastic sporting event with more story line and sub plots than can be imagined.

Here are a few:

THE THIRD TIME: Nebraska and Texas will play for the title for the third time. In 1995, Nebraska beat Teas in four. In 2015, Nebraska swept Texas. For that matter, Nebraska has five titles, the last in 2017. Texas has won three, including last season.

As Texas coach Jerritt Elliott said,”It’s a special moment to be able to have a Texas-Nebraska game on ABC on national television to really blow it out of the park.”

ABOUT THOSE FRESHMEN: The number of youngsters in this tournament has been a popular news-conference question this week, but let us not forget that in 2016, Stanford won it all with four freshmen leading the way, outside Kathryn Plummer, setter Jenna Gray, libero Morgan Hentz and right side Audriana Fitzmorris.

No matter which team wins, it will be do so 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 Big 12 all-rookie team. Reilly, one of the most highly touted recruits, is from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and made the AVCA second All-American team. 

“Me and Ella have played together in the USA gym,” Reilly said. “We got to be good friends. She’s a great setter. So it will be a good test for us.”

Also, Nebraska freshman outside Harper Murray made the AVCA third team.

“(Mikaela) Foecke was freshman of the year when we won it in ’15,” Nebraska coach John Cook said. “Anna (Smrek) from Wisconsin was MVP of the final four as a freshman (in 2021).
“You guys have all been talking about it, but these freshmen can come in, and they can play. So I don’t think it’s that big a deal. I think it’s just the way college volleyball is going now.”

STATS: There are lots of them, but these are the ones that matter the most.

Texas is No. 14 in hitting percentage, .282, while Nebraska is No. 18 at .278.

Conversely, Nebraska is No. 1 in opponent hitting percentage, 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: This is arbitrary, but here are two to consider, and if they go off, their teams will be in good shape. 

Nebraska freshman middle Andi Jackson had 16 kills with two errors in 25 attacks in her last three matches to go with 13 blocks. 

Texas senior right side Molly Phillips has 30 kills with just three errors in 63 swings in her last four matches to go with 12 blocks.

On the other side, both outside hitters, Jenna Wenaas for Texas and Ally Batenhorst for Nebraska, had the ability to get cold. In her last four matches, Wenaas has hit .421, .044, .271 and .091. In her last five matches, Batenhorst has hit .136, 1.36, .280, 063 and .190.

HISTORY: Texas swept Louisville for the 2022 national title. 

Just 12 programs have won since the NCAA began holding women’s volleyball championships in 1981: Stanford (9 times), Penn State (7), Nebraska (5), UCLA (4), Hawai’i (3), Long Beach State (3), USC (3), Texas (3), Pacific (2), Kentucky (1), Wisconsin (1) and Washington (1).

Nebraska vs. Texas: What you need to know for the NCAA volleyball final Volleyballmag.com.