COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Dec. 17, 2023) – Texas served a record 12 aces as it swept top-seeded Nebraska 3-0 (25-22, 25-14, 25-11) to win its second straight NCAA Women’s Division I National Championship on Sunday at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla.
Texas finishes the season 28-4 and with its fourth national title. Nebraska finishes 33-2.
Sunday’s attendance of 19,727 was the largest crowd ever to attend an indoor NCAA Volleyball match, breaking the record that was set Thursday at the semifinals.
Texas outside hitter Madi Skinner was named Most Outstanding Player after leading all scorers with 19 points on 16 kills, two aces and one block.
“We had all the confidence in the world (going into the match),” Skinner told ABC. “I’ll say it until I die. We just are peaking right now. We had so much trust and believed in one another.”
Texas led Nebraska in kills (38-20), blocks (8-7) and dominated the aces, 12-2, setting a championship match record. Even when Texas’s serves weren’t aces, they stymied Nebraska, which finished with a .013 hitting efficiency.
Texas outside hitter Jenna Wenaas scored 11 points on nine kills and four block assists.
Middle blocker Asjia O’Neal, a member of the U.S. Women’s National Team totaled 10.5 points on four kills, five aces and three block assists. Four of O’Neal’s aces were consecutive during a 10-point serving run in the second set that took Texas from an 8-10 deficit to an 18-10 lead.
“It was crazy. I was kind of in disbelief for a second,” O’Neal told NBC about the run.
“Texas played great,” Nebraska Head Coach John Cook said. “They had a level of serving we haven’t seen all year, and it really impacted us and our momentum and our confidence. And then everything just started going their way. And they got all the momentum, and we could never get it back.”
Setter Ella Swindle finished with seven and a half points on five kills, two aces and a block assist. She set the Longhorns to a .264 hitting efficiency.
Middle Bella Bergmark scored five points on three kills and four block assists. Opposite Molly Phillips scored on one kill and two block assists. Libero Emma Halter was credited with nine digs.
Outside hitter Harper Murray led the Cornhuskers with 10.5 points on seven kills, two aces and three block assists. Middle Andi Jackson added six points on four kills, a solo block and two block assists.
Middle Bekka Allick scored five points on three kills and four block assists. Opposite Merritt Beason added four points on three kills and two block assists.
Outside hitter Ally Batenhorst scored on two kills and one block assist. Setter Bergen Reilly finished with a kill and a block assist.