THE ROAD TO THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP FINISHED EXACTLY THE WAY THE Texas volleyball team planned. Their journey began with a successful, yet somewhat rocky start, which eventually led to progressive improvement, before culminating in a dominating victory over Oregon in the final match. The victory left little doubt as to who was the No. 1 team in the country.
After fighting back from a 2-1 deficit against Michigan in the Final Four, the Longhorns easily claimed the crown in the championship match with a 3-0 victory over the Ducks (25-11, 26-24, 25-19). The last NCAA national title for the Longhorns came in 1988 after a 3-0 victory over Hawaii.
“It means the world,” senior Sha’Dare McNeal said. “Being a senior and winning my last college game and the national title is awesome. It means everything to me.”
On selection Sunday, Texas was selected as …
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the No. 3 overall see behind No. 1 Penn State and No. 2 Stanford. The drawing was a favorable one for the Longhorns. As the No. 3 seed, the team avoided a match against a talented Penn State team who was looking for their fifth national title in six seasons.
As one of the top 16 seeds, the Longhorns gained the opportunity to play at home for the first two rounds.
In the round of 64, the Longhorns faced Colgate University. The match was an easy one, with the team defeating the Raiders in three sets.
During that match, the Longhorns posted a hitting clip of .543 while holding Colgate to a clip of .042. Texas had 51 kills and seven errors. Colgate’s four points in the first set were the fewest points allowed in school history, in a non-fifth set.
With 32 teams left, the Longhorns faced Texas A&M in front of a record crowd at Gregory Gym. Head coach Jerritt Elliott credited the crowd for their role in helping the Longhorns cruise to a 3-1 victory over the Aggies. The Longhorns hit .389 with 58 kills and 14 errors.
Texas met Florida in the Sweet Sixteen, an opponent the team played earlier in the season. Despite sweeping the Gators in August, the Longhorns were wary of the much-improved Florida team.
But Texas took the court ready to play and handed the Gators another sweep. The women recorded 40 kills and 11 errors with a .290 hitting clip. Errors killed the Gators, who turned in 23 errors with a .173 hitting clip and 42 kills.
“If you haven’t played Texas, you don’t know how physical they are, or the contact points at which Bailey Webster hits at, or how physical McNeal is on the slide,” Florida head coach Mary Wise said. “Most teams can’t simulate that. You almost have to see it live to believe it.”
The Longhorns moved on to the Elite Eight, where they faced USC. Led by a deep bench with impressive height, the Women of Troy could dominate any opponent. In addition, head coach Mick Haley — who served as Texas’ head coach when the team claimed the national title in 1988 — had already guided USC to two national championships.
Backed again by a loud crowd, the Longhorns took control of the game early on and pulled off another sweep. Texas hit .424 while USC hit .243. The Longhorns had 50 kills and eight errors.
“Texas earns a high mark here,” Haley said. “If they continue to play like this, they could win.”
The win catapulted the Longhorns to their eighth Final Four trip to face a Michigan team that had just knocked off No. 2 Stanford.
Michigan stood as the Longhorns biggest post season challenge. Despite the difficulties, the Longhorns defeated the Wolverines, 3-2. The Wolverines were error prone, coming out with 30 errors to 61 kills and a .158 hitting clip. The Texas defense posted 14.5 blocks.
Texas typically stays one step ahead of their competition to win the second set. However, more often than desired, the Longhorns succumb to fatigue, dropping the set and forcing four to five sets to close out the match.
Against Michigan, the Longhorns cruised to an easy 25-11 victory in the first set. The team hit .469 while holding the Wolverines to an impressive .000 hitting clip. They also had 16 kills and only one error to Michigan’s seven kills and seven errors. The Texas defense contributed 4.5 blocks in set one alone. At one point, the Longhorns pushed to a 23-9 lead.
Michigan jumped to early lead in sets two and three while keeping an average margin of about two or three points, before finally achieving the set points to claim a 2-1 advantage. Combined, the Longhorns had 29 kills and 10 errors, while the Wolverines had 36 kills and nine errors. Michigan barely edged out Texas.
With the game on the line, the Longhorns came out in the fourth set ready to play. The team looked dominate once again in a 25-12 victory which evened the match at 2-2, forcing a fifth set. Texas hit .455 in the fourth set while holding Michigan to .026. Errors made the difference. The Wolverines had a staggering 10 errors to only one committed by the Longhorns.
Texas came out swinging in the final frame, jumping to a quick 4-0 lead. Although the Wolverines fought back and tied the set at eight apiece, the Texas offense kept attacking to push the match to 15-11. The Longhorns hit .300 with nine kills and three errors. Webster had four kills in the 15-point set and hit .500. The Texas defense also recorded three blocks. Michigan only held the Longhorns to four and two point margins in sets two and three. The team lost those two sets on personal errors and a lack of focus.
Nevertheless, Texas earned their position in the championship match.
The match started out with a red-carpet entrance for the Longhorns, who entered the Yum! Center with looks of determination. They didn’t let the pomp and circumstance distract them from their goal, especially after years of disappointment.
Texas came out strong in the first set, leaving many to worry about an unpredictable second set. The offense posted a quick 15-5 lead which featured a series of Oregon errors. Haley Eckerman claimed the set point off a kill from setter Hannah Allison.
In set one, the Longhorns hit .400 while holding Oregon to negative hitting at -.083. The Ducks committed 12 errors with only nine kills, while the Longhorns had 11 kills and only one error. Blocking played a big part in the match as well — Texas recorded seven blocks in the first set alone.
The second set started out slow for Texas and Oregon maintained their lead for most of the set. A service ace by Eckerman brought up set point but a kill by Oregon forced the set to extra points. Back-to-back kills by Webster ended the set at 26-24, giving the Longhorns the 2-0 advantage.
The stats were even between the two teams, with Texas hitting .515 and Oregon hitting .462. Both teams had minimal errors with the Longhorns claiming 19 kills to Oregon’s 21.
The third set was close until a kill by Allison brought the score to 17-14. Texas extended their lead to 20-16, thanks to several errors by Oregon. A block by Allison and sophomore Khat Bell ended the match, leading to an eruption from a Texas crowd that had doubled since the match against Michigan.
Texas hit .381 in set three with 13 kills, one error, and seven team blocks. The Ducks hit .205 with 16 kills and a costly eight errors. For the match, the Longhorns turned in a .438 hitting clip with four errors and 43 kills with an impressive 15 blocks. Oregon hit .202 with 46 kills with 23 errors and only one block.
After the block, the Longhorns collapsed on the court in tears, realizing they just claimed the national title. Elliott, in a rare show of emotion, jumped out of his seat with tears in his eyes and began hugging everyone around him.
“[Webster] made me a promise we were going to win,” Elliott said after receiving a back-breaking hug from his outside hitter.
Webster led the team with 14 kills against Oregon and a .500 hitting clip, with Eckerman right behind contributing 12 kills and a .400 hitting clip. Freshman Molly McCage had a season-high eight blocks.
The .438 hitting clip posted by the Longhorns in the championship match was a NCAA finals record for three-set matches. Texas hit a combined .360 in the games against Michigan and Oregon, setting another record.
Officials crowned Webster as the Most Outstanding Tournament Player.
“She was hitting .500 [against Oregon]. The entire tournament she was phenomenal,” Elliott said. “She’s an unbelievable young lady that has grown so much. I love having players where you can make a difference in their life.”
Webster, Allison, Eckerman, and McNeal all earned a spot in the 2012 All-Tournament team for their performances.
Though the season is barely over, many are already looking forward to a trip to Seattle, Wash. — the site of next year’s Final Four. Thanks to a talented young team, this is only the beginning.
“To me, getting to the [national championship] is one of the hardest things to do in sports. And to get there four out of five seasons says a lot about where our program is,” Elliott said. “I’m sure with us winning tonight, a lot of 10 to 12 years old will start bumping the ball back and forth, and hopefully become future Longhorns.”
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