NCAA Women
December 17, 2023
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…
