Texas beats Gophers in 4 sets, goes to NCAA volleyball final

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) Amy Neal had a career-high 25 kills and Texas broke open a close match in the fourth set to beat Minnesota in the NCAA volleyball semifinals Thursday night.

The third-seeded Longhorns (30-2) will play No. 4 Nebraska in the championship match Saturday night. Nebraska beat No. 9 Kansas in four sets in the second semifinal.

The No. 2 Gophers (30-5) hung with Texas until the end. Neither team led by four points until the 156th rally of the match. There were 44 ties and 10 lead changes as Texas won 26-24, 27-25, 23-25, 25-21.

Neal, the Big 12 player of the year, took a career-high 67 swings from the left side and hit only .194 because Minnesota's Hannah Tapp and Molly Lohman set up an effective block against her.