No. 3 Texas Volleyball took down No. 1 Wisconsin in straight sets, 26-24, 25-19, 25-23, at the CHI Health Center Arena on Thursday night to advance to the program's fifth National Championship Match appearance since 2009. (Photo: UT Athletics)
The Longhorns (27-1) used a dominant night from middle blockers Brionne Butler and Asjia O'Neal to beat the previously undefeated and top-seeded Badgers. Butler and O'Neal each finished with 11 kills apiece, while O'Neal had three blocks and Butler added two. Both players hit over .600 in the match and helped hold Wisconsin to a .220 hitting percentage in the match.
Logan Eggleston led Texas with 17 kills, added nine digs, one block and a service ace. Skylar Fields finished with 12 kills and two digs for her third-straight double digit kill performance. Jhenna Gabriel dished out 42 assists and had eight digs and one block. Nalani Iosia led the team with 12 digs and added four assists and two service aces. Morgan O'Brien and Sydney Petersen each added nine digs.
Texas trailed 20-16 in the first set before rallying to take a win it. Feeding off of the first set win, the Longhorns led from start to finish in the second and cruised to a 25-19 win. The Longhorns came out on fire in the final set, jumping out to a big lead and holding it most of the way. Wisconsin made it close at the end of the third set but Texas ended the match on a 4-1 run to complete the sweep.
Texas will play No. 2 Kentucky in the National Championship on Saturday, April 24 at 7 p.m. The match will be broadcast on ESPN2.
