LIGHT THE TOWER: Texas Volleyball tops Louisville to take home the program's fourth national title

Like a huge snowball rolling downhill pushed by gravity, momentum and an unstoppable force, the Texas volleyball team – led by the nation’s best player and the sport’s best coach – won the national championship in a dominating performance over Louisville on Saturday in Omaha, capping an unforgettable season with the trophy and tears of joy.

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It’s been a long time coming for the Longhorns, but it was worth the wait.

In the minutes after Texas rolled to a 25-22, 25-14, 26-24 victory over the talented Cardinals, coach Jerritt Elliott and his team of all-stars and role players celebrated with hugs and shouts and raised index fingers and Hook ’Em Horns while the confetti poured from the rafters of the CHI Health Center.

The national championship was Texas’ first in volleyball since 2012, its fourth overall and third NCAA title. The Longhorns were making their fourth appearance in the final match since their most recent title and first since losing in 2020.

The coronation for the Longhorns all but made up for the heartaches of close finishes in years past and justified Texas’ No. 1 ranking throughout the season. This was, as Elliott and his players told anyone who asked them over the past four and a half months, a team of destiny. A team built to be right where it finished.

“This team has just been so great all year long, so much so that there has not been one problem,” Elliott said afterward. “One through 18, everybody has given their best to be a part of this program and to try to win. I wanted this one so bad because of this group of girls.”

The match ended with Logan Eggleston, who on Friday was voted the first ever Texas player to win the AVCA National Player of the Year award, recording the final kill of her record-setting career to give the Longhorns match point. 

The championship was then clinched when Keonilei Akana ripped an ace off Louisville star outside hitter Claire Chaussee, and the celebration was on.

“This is what I dreamed up as a little kid and this is a group of people I wanted to do it with.” Eggleston said through her tears of happiness. “So I’m just beyond happy right now. I really don’t even have words.

“We’ve all committed to being here for each other every single day and sacrificed so much, so it’s great to come out on top. It just means so much. We’ve done all the work to get here, and it paid off.”

Eggleston led the Longhorns in the final with 19 kills, with Madisen Skinner adding 12 and Asjia O’Neal recording nine. Zoe Fleck tallied 14 digs and Saige Ka’aha’aina-Torres had 37 assists and nine digs. Texas had nine team blocks and outhit the Cardinals .371 to .189 for the match.

There was really no doubt from the start how this match would end, as Texas exuded confidence and backed it up with near flawless execution when it needed it the most.

Louisville scored the first three points of the match before the Longhorns countered with the next four, capped by an ace by Fleck. The first set was tied twice more, the latest at 9-9, before Texas took charge, going up 16-12 on a kill by O’Neal. The Longhorns won a long, spirited rally on a combo block by O’Neal and Molly Phillips to take a 21-18 lead.

The Cardinals saved a set point at 24-22 before a kill by Eggleston, her 10th of the game, gave Texas the first set at 25-22. Both teams played about as well as they could in the first set with the Longhorns hitting .533 with just two errors and Louisville swinging at .400 with just three.

Texas was aggressive early in set two, winning the first three points and eventually leading 15-7 after a kill by Eggleston. Louisville responded by capturing the ensuing four points to claw back to within 15-11. Another kill by Eggleston and two errors by the Cardinals got Texas back on track, and the Longhorns ran their lead to 21-12.

Two kills by Louisville slowed down the Longhorns’ march to winning the set momentarily. Texas then reeled off the final four points on a block by Ka’aha’aina-Torres, a kill by Phillips and two Cardinal errors to win the set at 25-14.

The Longhorns dominated the second set’s statistics as well, outhitting Louisville .333 to minus-.029, meaning the Cardinals has more errors (8) than kills (7) on 22 swings. 

Louisville showed the determination and moxie that allowed it to earn a berth in its first title match early in the third set, taking a 9-6 lead by blocking nearly everything Texas threw at it. But the Longhorns regained their mojo, going up 14-13 on a kill by O’Neal.

Texas was up 20-16 before the Cardinals took one last run at staying alive, scoring eight of the next 10 points to go up 24-22. The Longhorns fought off two set point to tie the set at 24 and then Eggleston ripped a kill off an attempted block to set the table for Akana’s ace to win the match and the title 26-24.

“Everyone felt so comfortable here, and we can all say that across the board,” Skinner said. “We just came in and wanted it really, really bad. And I hope you can tell that. But I’m so proud of this group and I’m so grateful to be a part of this program.”