A year ago Iowa State delivered the only defeat of Texas during the Longhorns’ National Championship season. This year, #5 Texas secured their seventh consecutive Big 12 Championship title last night with a solid win over the Cyclones.
While the match went four sets, Texas’ offense was well-rounded and productive. Led by an impressive 22-kill night from Madisen Skinner, the junior was supported by Jenna Wenaas who earned 15 kills. The trio of Asjia O’Neal, Molly Phillips and Bella Bergmark not only contributed a total of 20 kills but collectively made 17 blocks. This strong defense, which also included 69 digs, limited the Cyclones offense to a hitting percentage of 0.123.
While the Longhorns have secured their Big 12 crown, they still have two matches before the NCAA Tournament which will dictate their seed and if Austin could be a host site. The national picture of the top teams continues to shuffle with Nebraska (25-0) holding undefeated at #1, but with Wisconsin’s (23-2) loss to Penn State last week, the Badgers have fallen to #3 while Stanford (22-3) has slid into #2. #4 Louisville is still ahead of the Longhorns, but the Cardinals still face #9 Georgia Tech who defeated them earlier this season. Finally, #1 Nebraska and #3 Wisconsin will faceoff again on November 24th but on the Badgers turf this round.
Catch Texas Volleyball’s next match versus UCF on Saturday at 1PM on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.
