The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Kentucky
No. 4 Volleyball preview: NCAA National Championship
04.23.2021 | Volleyball
Texas will play in its eighth National Championship Match against No. 2 Kentucky on Saturday night.
No. 4 Texas vs. No. 2 Kentucky
Texas: 27-1, 16-0 | Kentucky: 23-1, 19-1
Saturday, April 24, 2021 – 7 p.m.
Chi Health Center Arena | Omaha, Nebraska
Television: ESPN2
Texas all-time series vs. Kentucky: Texas leads the series, 14-3 (H: 9-1, A: 4-2, N: 1-0)
Last Texas Win: September 7, 2018 – 3-1 (25-27, 25-21, 25-18, 25-16)
The Matchup
• Texas and Kentucky have four previous meetings in the NCAA Tournament with the Longhorns holding a 3-1 lead. Each previous match has taken place in the NCAA Regionals.
• The programs last met on Sept. 7, 2018 in the American Campus Classic in Austin, with the Longhorns registering a four-set victory (3-1; 25-27, 25-21, 25-18, 25-16).
• Texas has won four-straight matches against Kentucky and is 8-1 over the last nine meetings.
• The programs met each year from 1983-1995, including two matches taking place in 1988 and 1990.
• This will be the third meeting for the programs since 1995 (2018 – Texas 3-1; 2011 – Texas 3-1).
• There have been six sweeps in the series with Texas maintaining a 5-1 advantage, while three matches have reached five sets with Texas holding a 2-1 edge.
• Both squads enter the championship final with seven-match winning streaks.
• Texas holds an NCAA Tournament mark of 18-6 against teams representing the SEC, including 10-straight victories. The Longhorns' last NCAA Tournament loss to an SEC opponent occurred against Florida in the 1994 Regional Semifinals in Gainesville, Fla.
Recapping the Tournament
• Texas registered its 10th second-round sweep, including four of the last five. The Longhorns held Wright State to a .056 hitting percentage, while recording only five attacking errors, the second-fewest in a match this season. Brooke Butler had a career-high .889 hitting percentage against Wright State and Asjia O'Neal established a career high with nine total blocks.
• In the regional semifinal against Penn State, the Longhorns recorded a season-high 70 kills and equaled the second-most assists dished out with 65. Logan Eggleston led Texas with 22 kills and added eight digs, two blocks, one service ace and one assist. Skylar Fields had a career-high 21 kills, while hitting .500 in the match. Asjia O'Neal finished with 13 kills and three blocks and also hit .500 in the match.
• In the regional final victory over Nebraska, Texas hit .336 to Nebraska's .171, the Huskers' second-lowest percentage of the season. The Longhorns registered eight service aces, tied for the third-most in a match this season. Skylar Fields finished with 18 kills on a .630 hitting percentage to go with a block and a dig. Logan Eggleston also finished with 18 kills and had five service aces, five blocks and four digs.
• In the national semifinal, Texas swept previously undefeated and top-ranked Wisconsin. Brionne Butler and Asjia O'Neal finished with 11 kills apiece, while O'Neal had three blocks and Butler added two. Both players hit over .600 in the match and helped hold Wisconsin to a .220 hitting percentage in the match, the Badgers' second-lowest mark of the season. Logan Eggleston led Texas with 17 kills, added nine digs, one block and a service ace. Skylar Fields finished with 12 kills and two digs for her third-straight double digit kill performance.
Tournament Talk
• Texas has advanced to 13 NCAA Semifinals, 24 NCAA Regional finals, and 34 NCAA Regional semifinals (round of 16) in program history.
• Texas has registered a 101-34 (.748) all-time record in 37 NCAA Tournament appearances. The Longhorns rank fourth in NCAA Division I history in NCAA Tournament wins (100) and fourth in winning percentage (.746).
• 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.
NCAA Championship Game Appearances
Last 12 years
5 — Texas
4 — Penn State
3 — Nebraska
3 — Stanford
2 — Wisconsin
NCAA Tournament Success
Last 15 Years
9 — Final Four appearances (most in nation)
14 — Elite Eight appearances (most in nation)
15 — Sweet 16 appearances (2nd-most in nation)
Final Four Appearances (Last 15 years)
9 — Texas
8 — Penn State
8 — Stanford
6 — Nebraska
Elite Eight Appearances (Last 15 years)
14 — Texas
13 — Nebraska
12 — Stanford
11 — Penn State
Sweet 16 Appearances (Last 15 years)
15 — Texas
15 — Penn State
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.
AVCA All-Americans
Texas landed five players on the AVCA All-American teams, led by first teamers Logan Eggleston and Brionne Butler. Additionally, Jhenna Gabriel was named to the third team and Skylar Fields and Asjia O'Neal received Honorable Mention All-America accolades. Eggleston and Butler are receiving their third All-American recognition, after being named a second team All-American last season and receiving honorable mention as freshmen in 2018.
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 third in the nation at a clip of .334. The duo of Brionne Butler and Asjia O'Neal are the top two hitters in the Big 12. Butler is hitting .431, while O'Neal is at a .421 clip. Additionally, Molly Phillips is hitting .347 and Skylar Fields is at .333, while Logan Eggleston is hitting .318. 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 10th nationally with 11.26 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 second in the nation in total blocks and lead the Big 12 Conference with a combined 275. Brionne Butler leads the nation with 144 total blocks, while Asjia O'Neal (109 blocks) is ranked 11th nationally and third in the Big 12 Conference and Molly Phillips (85 blocks) ranks sixth in the conference. Butler leads the Big 12 conference and is 10th nationally averaging 1.52 blocks per set. O'Neal is fifth in the conference with a 1.14 blocks per set average and Phillips ranks ninth with an average of 1.02 blocks per set. As a team, the Longhorns rank 11th in the nation with 2.81 blocks per set.
Rank and File
UT owns a 124-54 (.697) record against ranked opponents over the last 17 seasons (2004-21) 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 2020-21, Texas is 11-0 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).
13 NCAA Tournament Semifinal appearances by Texas
20 NCAA Tournament Regional matches hosted by Texas
25 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
101 NCAA Tournament wins by Texas (100-34), the fourth-best total in NCAA Division I history
