The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Penn State
No. 4 Volleyball preview: NCAA Regional
04.17.2021 | Volleyball
Texas and Penn State will square off in the regional semifinals on Sunday at 4 p.m.
No. 4 Texas vs. No. 13 Penn State
Texas: 24-1, 16-0 | Penn State: 10-5, 9-5
Sunday, April 18, 2021 – 4 p.m.
Chi Health Center Arena | Omaha, Nebraska
Television: ESPNU
Texas all-time series vs. Penn State: Texas trails the series, 8-11 (H: 1-3, A: 0-5, N: 7-3)
Last Texas Win: September 7, 2013 – 3-2 (25-27, 25-17, 13-25, 25-21, 15-10)
The Matchup
• Texas trails the all-time series with Penn State, 8-11, and holds a neutral court advantage, 7-3.
• This will be the third NCAA Tournament meeting for the storied programs with Penn State winning the previous two, including a five-set thriller in the 2009 NCAA Championship.
• First meeting for the two programs since the 2013 Nike Volleyball Big Four Classic in Austin. In that match, the sixth-ranked Longhorns rallied to a 3-2 (25-27, 25-17, 13-25, 25-21, 15-10) win over No. 1 Penn State in front of a then-record 4,373 fans at Gregory Gym.
• Texas has won two of the last three meetings.
• Texas will be making its 15th-straight NCAA Regional Semifinal appearance, the second-longest active streak. Penn State holds the longest active streak and will be making its 18th consecutive appearance.
• Transfer Morgan O'Brien, a two-time Defensive Player of the Week at Illinois, will be playing against a Big Ten opponent for the first time since arriving at Texas.
Recapping Round Two
Texas registered its 10th second-round sweep, including four of the last five. The Longhorns held Wright State to a .056 hitting percentage, while Texas recorded only five attacking errors, the second-fewest in a match this season. Brionne Butler had a career-high .889 hitting percentage against Wright State and Asjia O'Neal established a career high with nine total blocks.
Tournament talk
• Texas has advanced to 12 NCAA Semifinals, 24 NCAA Regional finals, and 34 NCAA Regional semifinals (round of 16) in program history.
• Texas has registered a 98-34 (.742) all-time record in 37 NCAA Tournament appearances. The Longhorns rank fourth in NCAA Division I history in NCAA Tournament wins (98) and fourth in winning percentage (.742).
• UT also ranks sixth all-time in NCAA Tournament appearances (37). Texas advanced to 18-consecutive NCAA Tournaments (1982-99) and is now on a streak of 17-consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances (2004-20).
• The Longhorns have won a total of three National Championships in program history. UT captured the AIAW National Championship in 1981 and also won NCAA Championships in 1988 and 2012.
Championship Pedigree
After clinching the 2020 Big 12 title, the Longhorns have now won 26 conference championships, including 13 Big 12 titles and 13 Southwest Conference Championships. The 2020 title is the fourth-straight Big 12 Championship for the Longhorns, who have won or shared nine of the last 10 league championships and 12 of the previous 14.
All-Big 12 Volleyball Accolades
Logan Eggleston was named the Big 12 Conference Player of the Year, while Jhenna Gabriel was named the league's Setter of the Year. Head coach Jerritt Elliott was named Big 12 Coach of the Year for the seventh time in his career. Seven total Longhorn players landed on the All-Big 12 teams, as Eggleston and Gabriel were joined by Brionne Butler, Skylar Fields and Asjia O'Neal on the first team. Molly Phillips was a second-team honoree and Nalani Iosia landed on the All-Rookie team. Eggleston is the Longhorns' 12th Player of the Year honoree. Eggleston, Butler, Fields and O'Neal were unanimous All-Big 12 selections.
Most Efficient Team in The Nation
As a team in 2019, Texas hit .325 on the season, to lead the nation. That mark was also tied for fourth-best in Longhorn history, matching the percentage hit in 2012. So far during the 2020-21 season, Texas is fourth in the nation at a clip of .335. The trio of Brionne Butler, Asjia O'Neal and Molly Phillips are the top three hitters in the Big 12. Butler is hitting .427, while O'Neal is at a .404 clip and Phillips is hitting .372. Logan Eggleston is hitting at a clip of .331, while Skylar Fields is hitting .319. All five of those players rank in the top seven in hitting in the Big 12.
Sharing the Wealth
With five attackers hitting at a very high level, the Longhorns have managed to create a balanced offensive attack. Setter Jhenna Gabriel has been a big part of that, leading the Big 12 and ranking 16th nationally with 11.03 assists per set. Twice this season she has set a career high with 58 assists in a match. Gabriel's 58 assists at Oklahoma on Sept. 25 are third-most in a four-set match this season.
Block Party
The Longhorns rank fourth in the nation in total blocks and second in the Big 12 Conference with a combined 250.5. Brionne Butler leads the nation with 133 total blocks, while Asjia O'Neal (96 blocks) is ranked 16th nationally and fourth in the Big 12 Conference and Molly Phillips (75 blocks) ranks sixth in the conference. Butler leads the Big 12 conference and is seventh nationally averaging 1.58 blocks per set. O'Neal is fifth in the conference with a 1.13 blocks per set average and Phillips ranks ninth with an average of 1.04 blocks per set.
Rank and File
UT owns a 121-54 (.691) record against ranked opponents over the last 17 seasons (2004-20) and boasts a 57-12 (.826) home mark against ranked opponents at Gregory Gymnasium (54-12) and the Frank Erwin Center (3-0) during that span. In the 2020-21 season, Texas is 8-0 against ranked opponents and 3-0 against them at home.
By The Numbers
0 NCAA Tournament First Round losses. Texas is a perfect 33-0 in NCAA Tournament First Round play.
2 Number of schools to go undefeated in sets throughout an entire NCAA Championship Tournament. Texas accomplished this feat first in 1988, completing the perfect run with a 3-0 sweep of Hawaii in the Championship to win its first NCAA title. Washington compiled 18 straight wins in games en route to the 2005 title.
3 Number of schools outside of California to claim the NCAA National Championship title. Texas first accomplished this feat in 1988, followed by Nebraska (1995, 2000, 2006, 2015, 2017) and Penn State (1999, 2007-10, 2013-14).
12 NCAA Tournament Semifinal appearances by Texas
20 NCAA Tournament Regional matches hosted by Texas
24 NCAA Tournament Regional Championship appearances by Texas
34 NCAA Tournament Regional Semifinal appearances by Texas
37 NCAA Tournament appearances by Texas, the seventh-best total in NCAA Division I history
98 NCAA Tournament wins by Texas (97-34), the fourth-best total in NCAA Division I history
