Texas Volleyball won its fourth national championship with a 3-0 win over the University of Louisville on Saturday night at the CHI Health Center in Omaha, Nebraska.
The Longhorns swept the Cardinals in three sets, 25-22, 25-14, and 26-24, to finish the season with a 28-1 record and become just the second No.1 overall seed to win the title in the last decade.
The win gave Texas its first national title since 2012 after losing its last three appearances in the finals.
“These kids have done everything right and deserve this so much,” head coach Jerritt Elliot remarked after the match. “As a coach, when you manage teams, there’s a lot of problems sometimes. This team, I didn’t have one the entire season. Everybody gave; they were committed to the process.”
American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) National Player of the Year Logan Eggleston was named the tournament’s Most Oustanding Player (MOP).
“This is the group of people I wanted to do it with, and this is how I wanted to end my career,” Eggleston told reporters. “This is what I’ve dreamed of since I was a little kid. I’m beyond happy. We’re a family.”
Eggleston, Madisen Skinner, Saige Ka’aha’aina-Torres, and Asjia O’Neal were all named to the all-tournament team.
Texas won six straight matches during its tournament, defeating Fairleigh Dickinson University, Georgia, Marquette, Ohio State, the University of San Diego, and Louisville. The Longhorns spent most of the season as the No. 1-ranked team in the country, and their only loss came on the road against Iowa State on October 19.
Louisville was making its first championship appearance in program history and was the first championship game representative from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). The Cardinals were one of four No.1 seeds in the bracket and swept their first three tournament matches. They finish the season 31-3.
