The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Nebraska
No. 4 Volleyball preview: NCAA Semifinal
12.13.2016 | Volleyball
The Longhorns will face No. 1 Nebraska in the Final Four on Thursday night in Columbus, Ohio.
Match 31: No. 4 Texas (26-4, 14-2 Big 12) at No. 1 Nebraska (31-2, 18-2 Big 10)
All-time Series vs. Nebraska: Texas trails, 32-21 (H: 13-10; A: 6-18; N: 2-3)
Last Texas win: September 4, 2015 (3-2)
Last Nebraska win: August 27, 2016 (3-0)
When: Thursday, Dec. 15, 2016, 8:30 p.m. CT
Where: Nationwide Arena (18,500); Columbus, Ohio
Television: ESPN, Karch Kiraly and Paul Sunderland on the call, Holly Rowe on the sideline
Notes:
• Texas is making its fifth-straight NCAA Semifinal appearance and 12th all-time ... Head Coach Jerritt Elliott has made eight Final Four appearances in 16 seasons ... UT has appeared in eight of the last nine Final Fours (2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016) ... Texas is 5-6 all-time in the NCAA Semifinal match ... the Longhorns are now 87-30 (.744) all-time in NCAA Tournament matches.
• Texas defeated UTRGV, SMU, BYU and Creighton in the first four matches of the NCAA Tournament. Freshman Micaya White has led the Longhorns in kills with 56 (4.00/set), hitting .324 and service aces with six (0.43/set) and has the team's second-highest mark with 50 kills (3.57/set). Junior Ebony Nwanebu has 54 kills (3.86), hitting .467 and senior Paulina Prieto Cerame has 48 kills (3.43/set), hitting .283 and 10 blocks (0.71/set). Junior Cat McCoy has led Texas in digs with 62 (4.43/set) and sophomore Yaazie Bedart-Ghani has led in blocks with 17 (1.21/set), also posting 28 kills (2.00/set), hitting .522.
• Texas and Nebraska have met six times in the past four seasons, with the Longhorns holding a 4-2 advantage ... Two of those meeting have been in the NCAA Tournament (2015 - NU won in title game, 2013 - UT won in Regional Final) ... the Huskers own the last two matchups, breaking a five-match winning streak from the Longhorns.
Media Availability quotes
Head Coach Jerritt Elliott
OPENING STATEMENT: We're really excited to be going to the Final Four for the fifth straight year. I think it's eight out of nine and just a tribute to our seniors and our leadership and their commitment to getting this team playing the best volleyball at the right time of the season. Obviously, we feel honored about it and we'll get organized this week for Nebraska.
On the challenge of facing Nebraska: Yeah, they're really good. They're obviously the number one team in the country for a reason. They're so steady on the ball control side; their first contact is really good, they serve receive and their serving – that's where their strengths are. They're able to start out with a high percentage because of that and they're just a quality team behind the block as well. Obviously very well-coached and disciplined.
On how hard it's been over the years, to continue the streak of Final Four appearances: Every time we do it I'm honored and I always say it's going to be my last one. But as our staff talks about, we can never rest and it obviously just puts a bit more pressure on us to find the right kind of athlete that fits the mold here at Texas and the right kind of leadership to be able to grow this program to continue to be sustained at a high level. You can do it once or twice to be able to do it over a period of time is the impressive thing for me.
On the team playing its best over the last seven matches or so: Our seniors, I told them about a month ago that we felt like we had two out of the three combinations to open the safe, we just need to keep our energy up and keep going. I think the loss to Iowa State… I'm hoping it's a good thing to have lost to Iowa State at the end of the year because the last time we did we won the national championship. We were a lot more relaxed after that, I think we kind of viewed the game a little bit differently, became a little bit more aggressive with our approach to the game and we were the one that was kind of starting to be aggressive from the very first point as opposed to just waiting around and seeing how the other team would respond to us. But the chemistry has been very, very good, the energy from our seniors has been great and everybody has a lot of confidence.
On the challenge of facing good teams such as Nebraska and heading into the tournament: I talked to our team every year. You sometimes need a ball to bounce one certain way or a certain thing to happen. These are the kind of things that can be a catalyst for you. The most impressive thing about the win against BYU was the way that we responded the following night. Emotional, tears after we beat BYU, disbelief that we were able to come back from 11-5 and then coming back and competing the way that we did and playing at a high level was what made me really proud as a coach.
Senior Chloe Collins
On how the team has been playing well and improving over the last few matches: I think it started more in practice, just the way we are communicating with each other. We're building that bond and then we've gone on the past month and a half so far, we've been playing some of best volleyball together because of what we've done in practice, building that trust and chemistry. I think it's been an ongoing battle with us. Right now it's been clicking at the right time, we're gelling, we're making eye contact and doing things before that we hadn't been doing in the past that are helping us play better together.
On agreeing with Jerritt on him saying that she had the best setting matches of her career over the past weekend: I do agree with Jerritt. I can say that after I went home after both matches, all I could say was "wow." I felt like I contributed to the team the way that I know I should have and was a leader and did my job. And I think that statistically and just coming out with the W is always nice. Just being confident in myself, our team confidence is always very good too.
On being a senior and her growth as a person and a leader: When I first came in as a freshman, I just wanted to compete for a starting spot. When I was here, Hannah Allison was a senior setter and for me, she was just a great role model with her work ethic and her leadership. I learned a lot of things from her to know that anything can happen at any moment. And just to know that I've developed every single year and being able to contribute as a senior the way I have is really just amazing. It is amazing to know that I have a role and know what my role is and contribute to the team to build my team and make my teammates better around me. Just learning that from my freshman year until my senior year now is awesome and to be able to go to another Final Four is even better to compete for a championship.
On the season being like a blur: There are definitely a lot of high moments and it's what people don't see, like practices and the obstacles that we face during that time and the crying in the coach's office, intangible things that people don't really see and building that sense of character has really made an impact.
On excitement or relief at going to the final four for the team's fifth consecutive time: I'm going to say it's been a little bit of both. Definitely more excitement though. I don't know what collegiate team doesn't want to be in the Final Four and for us, we always have that goal. We wanted to win the Big 12, but now our goal is to win it all. Just having the opportunity to be here is just great. To know that we can compete and that we are just playing some of our best volleyball is just awesome.
