Volleyball game between the Texas Longhorns and Wisconsin Badgers at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida on December 14, 2023. (Photo: Ralph Arvesen from September 28, 2023)
No. 5 Texas Volleyball defeated No. 2 Wisconsin in four sets, 25-22, 20-25, 25-13, 25-16, on Thursday in the NCAA National Semifinal at Amalie Arena. The Longhorns (27-4) advance to their 10th National Championship match and will face No. 1 Nebraska on Sunday at 2 p.m. CT.
Texas was dominant from the service line, serving 11 aces and keeping the Badgers off balance all night. Madisen Skinner was especially dominant, with a career-high six aces. Skinner also led the team with 18 kills and also finished with nine digs.
Asjia O'Neal had a great match, finishing with 11 kills on just 16 swings for a .688 hitting percentage. She also led the team with four blocks and had two digs and two aces. Molly Phillips and Jenna Wenaas each finished with 10 kills, while Wenaas had five digs as well
Emma Halter was tremendous on the back line, with 19 digs, seven assists and two aces. Ella Swindle had 46 assists to go along with five digs, four kills, two blocks and one service ace.
The teams had a very close start to the match and were tied 12-12 before the Longhorns used 5-0 run to take a 17-12 lead. The Badgers went on a 6-1 run later in the set to tie it up 20-all but Texas finished strong and won it 25-22. Skinner led the way with six kills, while Wenaas added five kills in the set.
Wisconsin evened the match up at one set apiece with a 25-20 win in the second set. The Badgers had five blocks in the set and held the Longhorns to just a .075 hitting percentage.
Early in the third set, the Longhorns put together a dominant 11-0 run to grab a huge 15-3 lead. Skinner was at the service line for the majority of the run, serving 10 straight points with three aces. The Longhorns hit .444 in the set and cruised to a 25-13 win to retake the lead in the match.
Texas used another huge run in the fourth set, rolling for a 10-1 run to go up 15-5. With that huge lead, the Longhorns rolled to a 25-16 win to close out the match. (Source: UT Athletics)
University of Texas Volleyball
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Photos by Ralph Arvesen
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