Throughout this year’s collegiate volleyball season, all 64 division 1 teams competed for the top spot in the championship. This year’s NCAA Volleyball Championship was a hit with the final four: Pittsburgh, Wisconsin, Nebraska and Texas competing in Tampa to claim the title.
On Friday December 15 ,the first playoff match was Pitt vs. Nebraska with Nebraska coming out with the win in a three set intense match. Right after the match, Wisconsin and Texas played in a 4 four set match with Texas winning 3-1. Therefore, those fierce matches left the final two, Nebraska vs. Texas on Sunday, December 18.
The Nebraska vs. Texas NCAA championship game was a long and strenuous sweep. This match was the very first NCAA volleyball game that was streamed on ABC. In the first set of the match, player Asia Oneal received a yellow card when she “turned to the opposite side of the net” to celebrate a block she had. Many became confused about this because they think that competition and fierceness should be celebrated in women’s sports.
Sophomore Leila Manan shares, “I believe that it wasn’t reasonable because in other sports you can celebrate towards the other team, so I think it should be allowed for volleyball also.”
The players all had an amazing performance, but some in particular stood out during the match. Manan quotes, “Some key players I saw from Texas were Madisen Skinner, Emma Halter and Asjia O’Neal. These 3 players did an amazing job with keeping the team’s energy up and carrying their team’s offense and defense to win the championship.” Skinner and Halter are outside hitters, while O’Neal is a middle hitter. Texas stood out from the crowd because of their hustle during the game. The team had outstanding energy that helped keep them motivated throughout the nerve wracking match.
Sophomore Ivana Kusi explains, “ I thought Nebraska was going to win because they’re an underdog team and they had a lot of young players who worked really hard the whole season. They also had done better than Texas this season record wise.” Nebraska had a record of 32-1, while Texas had a record of 24-4. This made the Nebraska team’s chances of winning higher than Texas’s.
Overall, this match was a very exciting and nail-biting game that left many fans in shock of the results. In the coming years, college volleyball is on the rise with new recruits, transfers, and more that will bring attention and viewers to this amazing sport.
