By Steve Habel, Senior Editor
AUSTIN, Texas — Despite a regular season in which it did not win a Big 12 title for the first time since 2010, the Texas volleyball team is back in familiar territory: as one of the top four seeds in the NCAA tournament with a legitimate chance to produce a national champion.
The NCAA granted the Longhorns as the fourth overall seed Sunday night in the 64-team tournament. The first round begins Thursday at 16 on-campus sites across the country. Texas hosts the Austin Sub-Regional and will square off against UT-Rio Grande Valley, winner of the Western Athletic Conference, in the first round at Gregory Gym Friday at 6:30 p.m. CST.
If the Longhorns advance, they will face [s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)]either SMU, the American Athletic Conference champion, or Texas A&M, which finished tied for third in the Southeastern Conference, at 7 p.m. Saturday.
The winner of the Austin Sub-Regional will advance to host the regional semifinal Dec. 9. The NCAA “Final Four” will take place in Columbus, Ohio Dec. 15 and 17.
The Longhorns hit the postseason on a three-match win streak after losing to Kansas and Iowa State in a rocky 15-day span. Texas dropped just one set over its final three matches and played some of its best volleyball of the year.
“The last three matches have been really good,” Texas coach Jerritt Elliott said. “We’re starting to get some momentum and we’re starting to peak at the right time. Our numbers are good and we’re starting to be more patient, playing the game the way it should be played with a high level of thought process, patience and execution. Should we be able to advance next weekend, we’ll keep going.”
Texas senior setter Chloe Collins said she and her teammates are ready for the NCAA tournament.
“The past three matches we’ve played some of our best volleyball that we’ve played all season — we’re starting to gel at the right time,” Collins said. “Each week and every day in practice, we’re progressively getting better. I have a good feeling going into the tournament, just based on how we’ve been practicing and playing.”
Kansas, the Big 12 champion, was given the tournament’s fifth seed. The Longhorns and the Jayhawks, each of whom reached the national semifinals last year, split their two matches this season. If the seeds hold and upsets are avoided, the Longhorns and Kansas would play at Gregory Gym, UT’s home court, in the regional final.
Both a higher RPI (the Longhorns are ranked second; Kansas is sixth) and tougher non-conference strength of schedule pushed Texas past Kansas into the fourth seed. The Longhorns (22-4) had matches against seven teams that made the NCAA field, including Nebraska and Wisconsin; the Longhorns lost to both. Kansas (26-2) had a non-conference schedule with three teams that made the NCAA field.
Texas has been selected to host the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament 27 times and is 62-9 all-time in NCAA matches played in Austin. The Longhorns are undefeated in 29 first-round contests.
The powerful Big 10 Conference garnered the tournament’s top three seeds as Nebraska, the defending national champion, earned the top seed, followed Minnesota and Wisconsin.
The Big 10 and Pacific 12 Conference sent eight teams each to the tournament, with the Big 12 placing six squads in the postseason (Texas, Kansas, TCU, Kansas State, Baylor and Iowa State), the most since 2011.
Penn State University and Stanford are the only two teams that have earned berths to all 36 championship tournaments. Three programs are making their first appearances in the tournament: University of North Dakota, Boise State University and UT-Rio Grande Valley.
During the previous 35 years of the championship, the national title has been won by 10 schools, eight of which earned a place in this year’s bracket.
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