Tag: College volleyball

No. 7 Texas Falls to Rival Texas A&M in Five-Set Heartbreaker

The Texas Longhorns’ 79-match home conference win streak ended in a thrilling five-set loss to Texas A&M, marking their first SEC defeat.

The No. 7 Texas Longhorns saw their nine-match winning streak snapped in dramatic fashion Wednesday night, falling to Texas A&M in a thrilling five-set match at Gregory Gymnasium.

The 27-25, 14-25, 25-23, 21-25, 16-18 loss marked Texas’ first conference defeat of the season and ended their remarkable 79-match home conference win streak. It was also the Aggies’ first victory over the Longhorns since 2010.

Madisen Skinner led the charge for the Longhorns, tallying a season-high 22 kills while hitting .415. Reagan Rutherford added 13 kills and four blocks on a .375 clip, but despite their efforts, the Aggies outlasted Texas in a roller-coaster final set.

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The Longhorns started strong, pulling off a dramatic 27-25 first set win, thanks in part to five blocks and three aces from Jenna Kahahawai. Texas A&M bounced back in dominant fashion, claiming the second set 25-14 to even the match. Texas responded with a hard-fought 25-23 victory in the third set, but A&M took control in the fourth, winning 25-21 and forcing a decisive fifth set.

The fifth set proved to be a nail-biter, with the teams trading runs in a back-and-forth battle. Texas had three match points but couldn’t close the deal, and the Aggies finished the match on a 3-0 run to pull off the upset.

While many will be quick to rant about the mistakes or blown opportunities—the coaching staff knows what went wrong. I just hope this loss serves as a wake-up call. This team has too much talent to let a setback like this derail their season. It’s tough to see the 79-match home conference win streak come to an end, especially at the hands of the Aggies. But hopefully, this will light a fire under them moving forward.

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With the loss, Texas falls to 12-4 overall and 7-1 in SEC play. The Longhorns will look to regroup quickly as they host Missouri at Gregory Gym on November 1.

Wisconsin volleyball dips once more in AVCA Ranking after back-to-back wins

Wisconsin volleyball dips once more in AVCA Ranking after back-to-back wins

Despite winning back-to-back contests, Wisconsin volleyball slid to No. 8 on the latest edition of the AVCA Rankings.

Wisconsin, who entered the 2024 slate with the No. 3 in the 2024 Preseason American Volleyball Coaches Association hierarchy, most recently dipped to No. 6 in the national polls after dropping its first three bouts to No. 4 Louisville, No. 6 Texas and No. 2 Stanford.

UW has bounced back during the past week, however, with victories over Texas Christian University and Baylor during the Big Ten/Big 12 Challenge.

Wisconsin now owns a 2-3 record to begin the season. The Kelly Sheffield-led team compiled a remarkable 30-4 overall record in 2023, which likely prompted voters to keep this year’s squad inside the top 10.

The 3-0 Pittsburgh Panthers now own the top spot in this week’s rankings, followed by Stanford, Penn State, Louisville and Nebraska respectively

Wisconsin superstar Sarah Franklin still holds the lead for kills among all Badgers with 100, followed by co-captain Devyn Robinson with 61. Freshman Charlie Fuerbringer has totaled 218 assists through five games, 209 more than any other Badger.

UW’s most notable matches are slated against #24 Marquette on Sept. 17, #18 Minnesota on Sept. 25, #12 Oregon on Oct. 18 and #8 Purdue on Oct. 26. Any wins outside the top-25 will likely keep Wisconsin within the same tier of the AVCA’s pecking order come next week.

Wisconsin volleyball announces 2024 team captains

Wisconsin volleyball announces 2024 team captains

Wisconsin volleyball program announced its 2024 team captains on Monday.

Fifth-year middle blocker Devyn Robinson, fifth-year outside hitter Sarah Franklin and senior outside hitter Julia Orzol will serve as UW’s leaders ahead of its 2024 campaign.

Robinson, who notched her 1000th career kill a season ago, appeared in 31 matches and 110 sets for UW in 2023. The Ankeny, Iowa native also ranked third on the team with 2.43 kills per set and managed 0.92 blocks and 0.39 digs per set. The output earned her a spot on the 2023 NCAA Regional All-Tournament Team and Second-Team All-Big Ten team.

Franklin, the 2023 AVCA National Player of the Year, Northeast Region Player of the Year and Big Ten Player of the Year, enters her fifth year of eligibility after two seasons with both the Badgers and Michigan State Spartans.

The 6-foot-4 superstar captained UW with 4.15 kills per set (No. 5 in the Big Ten), posted double-figure kills in 28 matches and was responsible for 0.53 blocks and 0.18 service aces per set. The spectacular season showing even landed her an ESPY nomination for the Best Women’s Collegiate Athlete category.

Orzol, the 2021 Big Ten Freshman of the Year and 2023 NCAA Regional All-Tournament selection, will aim to replicate her stellar 2023 season. She led the team with 3.46 digs per set and accounted for a team-best 0.31 service aces per set.

The Badgers recently landed at No. 3 spot in the 2024 Preseason American Volleyball Coaches Association top 25 rankings this week after a 30-4 mark last year. All three athletes represented Wisconsin during its NCAA Final Four run last year, and they enter this fall with realistic championship aspirations.

No. 5 Texas Volleyball advances to Final Four after defeating Stanford

Madisen Skinner was named the Stanford Regional Most Outstanding Player in Texas’ 3-1 victory on Saturday.

The Texas Volleyball team has secured a spot in the NCAA Final Four after a hard fought victory over No. 2 Stanford on their home court. The match took place during the Stanford regionals and was an intense battle, with both teams going back and forth.

However, Texas ultimately emerged with a 3-1 victory behind the valiant efforts of Madisen Skinner.

On Saturday, Skinner was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Stanford Regional after an impressive match where she finished with 24 kills, the highest of any player on both teams.

This win is a testament to the resiliency of the entire Texas Volleyball team, and they will be a formidable contender in the upcoming Final Four when they face Wisconsin on Dec. 14.

Social media reacts as Texas volleyball wins the national championship

Texas is back on top of the college volleyball world.

Nothing was going to stand in the way of Texas volleyball from the national championship on Saturday night. The inspired performance left no doubt about who was the best team in college volleyball.

The Longhorns swept the Lousiville Cardinals en route to the program’s third national title and first since 2012. Texas had fallen short in the finals in their previous three championship appearances. This time around Texas made sure it was different.

Texas faced adversity at the end of the third set after going down 24-22. They then rattled off four straight points to seal the deal and clinch the title.

National player of the year Logan Eggleston was sensational in this matchup. She recorded 19 kills to pace the Horns’ attack. Eggleston’s legendary college career ends with a national championship.

Texas getting back to the top of the college volleyball world sparked tons of excitement on social media. Here are some of Twitter’s best reactions to Texas’ national championship win.