Big 12 champion Texas (30-3) suffered a 3-0 (25-23, 25-23, 25-21) loss to fourth-seeded Nebraska (32-4) in the 2015 Division I Volleyball National Championship Saturday night at the CenturyLink Center in Omaha, Nebraska.
The runner-up finish comes in Texas’ fifth championship match appearance (1988, 1995, 2009, 2012) as the Longhorns were appearing in their seventh Final Four in the last eight seasons. After winning the title in 1988 and 2012, this is UT’s third runner-up finish.
The attendance of 17,561 set an NCAA volleyball single-match record, besting the 17,551 from Thursday night’s semifinals. It also set a championship match record (previous mark was 17,209 in 2006).
The loss snapped a 12-match winning streak by the Longhorns and marked the first sweep for Texas in the NCAA Tournament since the 2010 national semifinal vs. Penn State.
Big 12 Player of the Year Amy Neal had her 24th straight match with 10 or more kills, finishing with 10. Neal added 10 digs for her 12th double-double of the fall.
Molly McCage had one block assist and finishes with a school-record career block assist record of 459. She also closes her career with 498 career total blocks, third-most in UT history.
Freshman Yaazie Bedart-Ghani, who entered the week with a season-high of nine kills, followed up her 15-kill semifinal vs. Minnesota with 11 kills. Bedart-Ghani hit .545 (26-2-44) in two Final Four matches (25 kills, 2 errors, 44 swings).
Neal and Bedart Ghani along with Kansas’ Kelsie Payne earn All-Tournament Team honors.
UT used a 3-1 win over second-seeded Minnesota in the national semifinal on Thursday to advance to its second title match in the past four years. The Longhorns also picked up wins over Fairfield (first round), Purdue (second round), 14th-seeded UCLA (regional semifinal) and 11th-seeded Florida (regional final).
The Big 12 posted a collective 10-5 mark in a postseason that included five teams. With two teams in the national semifinals, it marked the second time in league history that multiple members advanced to the Final Four as Kansas made its deepest run in program history.
Texas was ranked in the top five all season and claimed its fifth-straight Big 12 title this year, finishing the conference season with a 15-1 record. The Longhorns are led by head coach Jerritt Elliott, who is in his 15th season at Texas and the senior class of Kat Brooks, Neal and McCage who represent the winningest class in Texas volleyball history. The Longhorns led the nation with five AVCA All-America selections this season.
BIG 12 ON NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Kelsie Payne, So., RS, Kansas
Amy Neal, Sr., OH, Texas
Yaazie Bedart-Ghani, Fr., OH, Texas
TEXAS IN THE 2015 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Saturday, Dec. 19
No. 4 Nebraska 3, No. 3 Texas 0
NATIONAL SEMIFINAL
Thursday, Dec. 17
No. 3 Texas 3, No. 2 Minnesota 1
REGIONAL FINAL
Saturday, Dec. 12
No. 3 Texas 3, No. 11 Florida 2
REGIONAL SEMIFINAL
Friday, Dec. 11
No. 3 Texas 3, No. 14 UCLA
SECOND ROUND
Friday, Dec. 4
No. 3 Texas 3, Purdue 1
FIRST ROUND
Thursday, Dec. 3
No. 3 Texas 3, Fairfield 0