The top-seeded University of Texas (UT) Longhorns women’s volleyball team defeated the San Diego (USD) Toreros three sets to one on Thursday to earn a spot in the national championship game in Omaha, Nebraska.
As of press time, the Longhorns were keeping tabs on the national semifinals between Louisville and Pittsburgh. UT will face the winner of that matchup.
“Moving on to Saturday,” the program tweeted.
Austin NBC affiliate KXAN reported that UT dropped the first set 28-26 but proceeded to take the remaining three 25-16, 25-18, 25-20 to continue its quest for a fourth overall National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) crown in school history.
Madisen Skinner and Logan Eggleston combined for 33 kills – with Molly Phillips chipping in a season-high tying 14 – to guide the Longhorns, the station reported.
KXAN reported that Zoe Fleck recorded a match-high 21 digs while Saige Ka’aha’aina-Torres had 14 assists.
The Longhorns registered a nearly 25% hitting percentage compared to SDU’s paltry 11%, as well as edged out the latter in total number of blocks (12 to eight) and kills (59 to 45).
Citing the team’s website, Austin Journal reported that this year marked the second time ever the Longhorns went into volleyball’s version of the Big Dance as the No. 1 seed and the 13th time since 2007 UT is one of the tournament’s quartet of top seeds.
The Longhorns were essentially dominant throughout their 2022 regular season, steamrolling their way to a 22-1 overall finish that included a 15-1 showing in conference play, the publication reported.
Aside from SDU, UT also eliminated Fairleigh Dickinson, Georgia and Ohio State from the tournament, with these victories earned within the friendly confines of Gregory Gymnasium.