Thriving Texas plays Nebraska for NCAA title in “an iconic matchup”

By Joey Johnston for VolleyballMag.com

TAMPA — Normally, there’s tremendous pressure on a defending national champion. Nerves can be frayed. Expectations must be managed.

But the Texas Longhorns are loose, smiling and eager.

Who saw it coming?

Following Thursday night’s four-set victory against No. 3 Wisconsin in the NCAA Tournament’s national semifinals at Amalie Arena, the seventh-seeded Longhorns (27-4) will play for back-to-back national titles when they face top-seeded Nebraska Cornhuskers (33-1) in Sunday’s 3 p.m. Eastern finale on ABC-TV.

Texas coach Jerritt Elliott, with an extra off-day — this is the first time the national championship is not decided on Saturday — will have plenty of time to ponder the matchup with Nebraska.

Thursday night — actually Friday morning in the post-midnight interview — Elliott already began building up the Texas-Nebraska showdown.

“It’s an iconic matchup,’’ Elliott said. “It’s great for the sport. I think both social media and both fan bases will be pumping this up.

“There’s such a rich tradition of alumni, All-Americans, people who have won national championships on both…