Texas women’s volleyball lost one of its most devastating games in 2009, right here in this arena: losing in the national championship despite holding a 2-0 lead, a loss that longtime coach Jerritt Elliott still refers to as his most agonizing loss.
That unpleasant memory was replaced with a much happier one for the Longhorns and Elliott on Sunday in the first-ever NCAA volleyball championship match to air on ABC. Texas won the national championship again and accomplished a feat never before accomplished by a team in NCAA women’s volleyball history: winning consecutive titles through sweeps.
In the regional final, the national semifinals, and the final, the No. 2 seed Longhorns defeated three consecutive No. 1 seeds: Stanford, Wisconsin, and Nebraska. The Longhorns defeated Louisville in the championship game the previous year, winning 25-22, 25-14, and 25-11 on Sunday.
Texas virtually held the title of best team in the nation the entire season, all the way to the championship game. This year, Texas had a few more early setbacks, including a loss at Long Beach State in the season opener on August 25, as rookie setter Ella Swindle was still getting her bearings.
“We were really on the struggle bus at 5-3,” Elliott remarked on September 15th, following Texas’ defeat at home by Washington State. “We just asked our kids to stay with the process, trust one another, work hard. We’ve worked through a lot of ups and downs, a lot of tears, things we were trying to figure out. And magically, it just came together.”
“You think, ‘It’s destiny, it’s ours,'” Cook talked about how a team can be inspired to overcome a near-death experience. “And I think Texas experienced that. Sometimes you go through those matches that give you that whatever ‘extra’ thing is. Like, ‘Hey, doesn’t matter what happened, we’re not losing.'”
The Longhorns were once again the best team, and that was evident by Sunday. With the exception of the setter, Texas did have some important seasoned players. Asjia O’Neal, a fifth-year senior, opened the celebration with her fifth service ace of the afternoon on match point.
Madisen Skinner, who won the previous two NCAA titles after moving to Texas, helped lead Kentucky to the SEC’s first volleyball championship in the COVID-delayed 2020 tournament. This was Skinner’s third NCAA title overall. After racking up 18 kills in the semifinal match against Pittsburgh and 16 in the championship match against Nebraska, she was named the tournament’s most outstanding player. Swindle, Skinner, and O’Neal were all members of the all-tournament team.
With outstanding serving, Texas took control of the second set in front of a record 19,727 spectators at Amalie Arena, and the Longhorns never gave the Huskers a chance to respond. After a close opening set in which the Longhorns were unfazed by some disagreements with the officials, O’Neal served 10 straight points during an 11-0 run that turned the tide.
O’Neal has had two open heart surgeries. Her father, longtime NBA player Jermaine O’Neal, is her father. Other than remembering how much she had to overcome to become the player she is and when she needs extra motivation to work out, she claimed she doesn’t give her medical history much thought.
O’Neal couldn’t help but smile during the service run that ended the game.
“Volleyball is a huge game of momentum,” she stated. “During that run, I could totally feel the momentum shift to our side. We were playing with so much confidence and joy. I was smiling because I was so happy with how we were feeling. You just feel it. I felt we were going to win the match.”
Texas had 12 service aces against Nebraska after having 11 against Wisconsin in the semifinals. Cook claimed the Huskers never settled into a rhythm in large part because of this. For the game, Nebraska only managed a.013 average and nearly as many errors (19) as kills (20).
Nevertheless, the Huskers, who were participating in their 11th program championship game, are devoid of seniors. Nebraska’s 33-2 campaign was largely led by four freshmen, and the five-time national champions will be strong again the following year.
With one during the AIAW era, the Longhorns claimed their fifth national championship overall and their fourth NCAA title. The two other NCAA titles they had were in 1988 under Mick Haley (who also coached the 1981 AIAW champions) and in 2012 under Elliott. The Longhorns will play in the SEC the following season; this is their final year in the Big 12.
Though it was known by a different name in 2009, the volleyball championship was held in the same structure. Defending champion Penn State, which was in the midst of one of the greatest runs in volleyball history, fell behind 2-0 to Texas.
However, Texas was unable to secure the championship and was defeated in a reverse sweep, with the Nittany Lions winning the fifth set 16–14. Despite the loss, Destinee Hooker, one of Texas’ all-time greatest stars, finished as the championship’s most outstanding player with 34 kills in the championship game in her senior year. Elliott bore the defeat of Penn State’s 38-0 season finale for a second consecutive year until he won his first championship with the Longhorns in 2012
Texas never came close to losing its lead on Sunday, so Elliott and Longhorns supporters will always have pleasant memories of Tampa.
“It was probably one of the most epic volleyball matches of all time,” Elliott remarked of the 2009 championship match, which included Hooker and several other future Olympians. “There was a lot of sting with that. But I’m just happy for everybody that’s part of this Longhorn family.”
