How Texas volleyball beat Wisconsin and why the Longhorns aren't intimidated by Nebraska

TAMPA, Fla. — No matter how tall a lineup that Wisconsin rolled onto the court, it couldn’t match the size of Texas volleyball’s heart.

Fueled by a ferocious defensive effort and a balanced attack, Texas kept its hopes of a second consecutive national title alive with a 3-1 win in an NCAA women’s volleyball national semifinal Thursday night at Amalie Arena. The Longhorns will face fellow volleyball blue-blood Nebraska on Sunday afternoon.

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“It was a battle out there,” Texas coach Jerritt Elliot said. “They (Wisconsin) are a tremendous team and have so much size that presents so many problems to what you do offensively. I'm just so proud of the way that our team has been sticking together and executing at a really high level right now. You can see the confidence they have in one another and the way they're playing for each other.”

Texas (27-4) had plenty of heroes while toppling the nation’s biggest squad in Wisconsin (30-4). Libero Emma Halter painted a defensive masterpiece while racking up 19 digs and anchoring a strong passing game from the back row. Jenna Wenaas and Molly Phillips had 10 kills apiece and kept the pressure off offensive workhorse Madisen Skinner, and All-American Asjia O’Neal proved the best middle blocker on the court with 11 kills and four blocks.

O’Neal, a 6-foot-3, sixth-year senior who passed up on professional opportunities for one final run with the Horns, stood out even while matched up against 6-foot-9 Anna Smrek and 6-foot-7 Carter Booth.

“Obviously they're big up front with a big block, but we’re a big team, too, and are pretty dynamic,” O’Neal said. “But we knew that we just need to trust ourselves. We didn't want to let their size on the other side effect what we were doing, so we just kind of stuck with what's worked so far.”

Texas made the right adjustments against the Badgers

Lots of things have been working for Texas, especially since its 5-3 start to the season. Against Wisconsin, setter Ella Swindle and the offense adapted to the Badgers' big block after splitting the first two sets. Swindle, who had 46 assists, began searching for her middles more and pulled them away from the net. That made the Wisconsin block move, which opened things up for Skinner, Phillips and Wenaas on the outside.

“You have to try to isolate them one on one, so we're trying to go short sets and make sure that you're trying to eliminate what they're doing to get in front of you,” Elliott said. “Those short sets, it's hard to get in front of. Ella did a really good job of balancing the offense.”

More: Texas volleyball players Asjia O'Neal and Madisen Skinner earn AVCA All-American honors

And Skinner? The  All-American attacker didn’t reach 20 kills for the first time in five matches, but she did deliver 18 kills as well as an epic 10-point run from the service line that helped Texas win the third set and seize control of the match. Her six aces also set a new NCAA Final Four record.

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As a team, Texas fired 11 aces while disrupting the Badgers’ serve-receive game.

“I thought their serving kind of turned the tide,” Wisconsin coach Kelly Sheffield said. “I thought they were very courageous at the service line and really put a lot of pressure on our serve-receive patterns. Madisen Skinner, her serving, our passers were having to battle hard for some of those.”

Next up for Texas: top-seeded Nebraska

The Longhorns (27-4) will face Nebraska (33-1) for the third time in a national championship match Sunday. Texas dropped those two previous title matches to the Cornhuskers in 1995 and 2015, and Nebraska enters Sunday’s final as a slight favorite.

Which is fine with Halter, who didn’t look any worse for the wear after diving and rolling across the court against Wisconsin.

“We're such underdogs this year, and I kind of think we like that mentality,” she said.

Skinner said facing Nebraska’s big, red machine that swept through Pittsburgh like a John Deere S Series combine isn’t any more daunting than overcoming the team’s early struggles and returning to the national championship game.

“I think we expected it,” Skinner said. “We put in so much work, and we've tried so hard. It hasn't come easy and there's been challenges and ups and downs, but we just trust the process and trust one another and just stay committed to what we needed to do to make it to this moment.”

Sunday's NCAA championship match

Texas (27-4) vs. Nebraska (33-1), 2 p.m., ABC

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: How Texas volleyball beat Wisconsin; Nebraska championship preview