National Championship bound: No. 4 Texas sweeps No. 1 Wisconsin in an upset victory

The Texas Longhorns are one win away from claiming their fourth national championship in volleyball after sweeping the No. 1 seed Wisconsin Badgers.

No. 4 Texas and Wisconsin jostled back and forth in the first set before the Badgers took a 20-16 lead, the largest of the game at that point for either team.

It wasn’t enough.

Three kills from Logan Eggleston plus another from Skylar Fields and Asjia O’Neal highlighted a Texas comeback to win set one.

The Horns continued that momentum in the second set, never trailing the undefeated Badgers, and led by as much as eight points before closing out Wisconsin 25-19.

However, Wisconsin gave Texas a hard fight in the third set. The Longhorns held on to a five-point lead throughout the majority of the set, including 17-13 at one point, but the Badgers climbed back to take a 20-19 lead thanks in part to incredible play from Molly Haggerty.

With both teams tied at 23, Brionne Butler gave Texas a crucial lead, and then Logan Eggleston sent Texas to the championship match.

Eggleston had herself a game, finishing with 17 kills and nine digs while Skylar Fields finished with 12 kills. Brionne Butler and Asija O’Neal were right behind Fields with 11 kills each.

Jhenna Gabriel did her thing in the middle, recording 42 assists with eight digs. Nalani Iosia was also critical to the Horns defensive success, accumulating 12 digs with Morgan O’Brien adding nine digs to help weather the Wisconsin attack.

The Longhorns victory marks their third win in just five days (four wins in eight days), with those W’s coming against No. 13 Penn State, No. 5 Nebraska, and of course No. 1 Wisconsin.

Now, Coach Elliott and Texas will turn their eyes on No. 2 Kentucky. The two teams are set to play on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. Central on ESPN2 for the title.