Texas volleyball earns trip to Final Four, in hunt for first national title since 2012
Determination, talent and coaching has carried the Texas volleyball team into its tenth Final Four in the past 15 seasons but it will take a confluence of those three aspects, and maybe a little bit of luck, for the Longhorns to produce their first national championship in the sport since 2012.
[Get FOUR MONTHS of Inside Texas Plus for $1!]
Texas, winners of 26 of its 27 matches this season, will get its next chance to add to its trophy case when it battles San Diego in the national semifinals on Thursday in Omaha, Neb. The winner of that match will play either Louisville or Pittsburgh for the title on Saturday.
It wouldn’t be wise to bet against the top-seeded Longhorns, who stormed into the Final Four for the 14th time in history with a four-set win over Ohio State on Dec. 10 before a boisterous record-crowd at Gregory Gym.
Texas also beat Marquette, Georgia and Fairleigh Dickinson in the NCAA Tournament, all at home, after winning its sixth straight Big 12 championship. The Longhorns were expected to be in this position and are dead set to set to be the aggressor in the hunt for another national title
“I told the team right now everybody’s equal, right?” said Texas coach Jerritt Elliott, the Big 12’s Coach of the Year. “You just gotta beat the opponent that’s in front of you. People are always hunting for us.”
“There are a few programs in the country where everybody comes in and plays their extreme best against and we are one of them. And so, you know, we’ve got to be the aggressor.”
The Longhorns are led by Logan Eggleston, who was named conference player of the year for the third straight season. Eggleston joined Haley Eckerman as the Longhorns’ only three-time Big 12 Players of the Year. Eggleston, who holds the Longhorns’ career aces record, ranks third all-time at Texas in kills, attempts and career points.
Saige Ka’aha’aina-Torres (Big 12 Setter of the Year) and Zoe Fleck (Big 12 Libero of the Year) were also honored by the conference after the Longhorns’ dominating regular season.
Eggleston was named the Austin Regional’s Most Outstanding Player after leading Texas to the win over Ohio State, racking up 20 kills, hitting .341, and adding nine digs, three blocks, two service aces and one assist.
Fellow fifth-year senior Asjia O’Neal paced the Longhorns against Ohio State with eight blocks and added seven kills, while being named to the NCAA Austin Regional All-Tournament team.
Fleck was also named to the All-Tournament team after finishing with 18 digs, two service aces and two assists.
Texas captured the AIAW National Championship in 1981 and also won NCAA Championships in 1988 and 2012, but it seems like the Longhorns have been knocking on the door every year since. Texas lost in the national championship match in 2015 to Nebraska, in 2016 to Stanford and in 2020 to Kentucky.
Getting to back to the Final Four and playing for another national title has been the focus of the 2022 Longhorns squad since it was put together with a group of returnees, newcomers and transfers in the summer.
“That was the goal, and every single day we bought into it and came in the gym ready to get better and ready to really accomplish that goal,” Eggleston said. “So it’s not a surprise to me that we’re in this position. I think that I’ve seen it every single day in the practice gym.
“But it’s it’s a priority. It’s why it’s why we came to Texas. It’s why we’re back here for our fifth years at Texas. We want to do it for each other, for our coaches, for this school, for our fans.”
