Texas Sweeps Louisville To Win NCAA Women's Volleyball National Title
Take out the brooms, Austin. A sweep occurred at the CHI Health Center in Omaha, Neb. Saturday night.
The decade-long quest to return to the top ended Saturday night as Texas Longhorns defeated the Louisville Cardinals 3-0 to win the women's volleyball national championship. The Longhorns dominated two of their three sets and prevailed in the final frame, winning 25-22, 25-14 and 26-24.
“These kids have done everything right and deserve this so much,” Longhorns coach Jerritt Elliott said postgame.
The heavy favorites to win it all at the start of the tournament, the top-ranked Longhorns (28-1) coasted their way out to an early 2-0 lead. The Cardinals seized a 24-22 lead before Elliott finally elected to call a timeout.
A 22-year vet witht the program, Elliot told his players to relax and get back to fundamentals. Texas did with ease.
The Longhorns quickly tied the match at 24 apiece thanks to an Asjia O’Neal spike and an error on Louisville's front line. Logan Eggleston delivered a kill to set up match point before a spike from Keonilei Acana ended sealed the win.
Eggleston, who won AVCA National Player of the Year, finished with 19 kills and seven digs and was named the tournament's most outstanding player. Madisen Skinner, a transfer from Kentucky, recorded 12 kills while O’Neal tacked on nine. Saige Ka'aha'aina-Torres finished with a team-high 37 assists while Zoe Fleck recorded 14 digs.
Texas had been close to winning the title twice since its last victory in 2012. The Longhorns were bested by Nebraska 3-0 in 2015, Stanford 3-1 in 2016 and Kentucky 3-1 in 2021. With the victory, Texas becomes the second team since 2013 to win a national championship after entering the NCAA Tournament as the top overall seed, joining the 2018 Stanford roster.
The Longhorns started the night out strong, hitting .553 on the first set. In the second set, Texas led by as much as 12. A back-and-forth final frame gave fans doubt, but a late offensive surge ended up being the difference-maker.
“For me, I've been coaching 22 years at Texas and I think another six years or seven years at USC prior to that,” Elliott said. “I told my wife today this was the most important match I've ever coached in regards to the match I wanted to win the most because of the two women sitting beside me but also the 16 women that were battling every single day in our gym.”
Eggleston likely secured her spot as one of the greatest athletes to grace the Forty Acres thanks to the sweep. She'll finish her career with the most aces in school history and the third-most kills, along with being one of five four-time All-Americans in school history,
Becoming the first Texas player to win AVCA Player of the Year, Eggleston became the second player in program history to win the tournament's most outstanding player award, joining Bailey Webster (2012).
"To become one of the greats in any sport, you've got to win a championship," Elliott said. "And Logan did that now. So she puts herself on an extremely elite level. What she's done for this university, to take advantage of every resource possible, what she's given in every aspect ... I wouldn't be surprised if we have a statue at some point for her on campus."
Louisville, which won against rival Pitt 3-2 on Friday night to advance, was looking to become the first ACC team to win the national title. The Cardinals finished 31-3 overall.
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