NCAA Women
December 14, 2023
TAMPA — Madisen Skinner hit and served Wisconsin out of Amalie Arena and Texas into the national title match.
The junior outside hitter was spectacular Thursday on the biggest stage, the NCAA Division I Volleyball Championship national semifinals. She not only had 18 kills, but six aces as part of two remarkable runs in a 25-22, 20-25, 25-13, 25-16 victory.
It vaulted the seventh-seeded defending national champions into a 3 p.m. Eastern Sunday final against top-seeded Nebraska. The Huskers swept Pittsburgh in the earlier semifinal.
What’s more, the two matches were played before a crowd of 19,598, the largest ever for an indoor NCAA volleyball match.
Big 12-champion Texas improved to 27-4 with its ninth win in a row.
Third-seeded Wisconsin, which finished second to Nebraska in the Big Ten, saw its season end 30-4.
Skinner, who won an NCAA title as a freshman at Kentucky and then another last year with Texas, had those 18 kills, hit .227, and had an assist, nine digs and a season-high six of the 11 Texas aces. Skinner’s previous best was three aces in a match, although she led the Longhorns with 38 entering the match.
Asjia O’Neal had…
