Texas vs Nebraska (Regional Final) | Women Volleyball April 19,2021

advantage when you've got stevens out there available on the slide so impressive to see them win in straight sets without her but with her on the floor this is a different team [Applause] so we will see her out there how will texas respond texas is balanced they have a lot of weapons too both sides of the net multiple weapons this should be one heck of a match and jenna gabriel will immediately push it outside to logan eggleston got a really nice pass there from texas in order to stay in system and that is going to be a key piece of this matchup can texas hang in terms of their ball control lexi sun will get the first swing from nebraska and it's molly phillips back-to-back kills for texas of course we do want to mention you saw lauren stevens rotate out but she will be out there back when her rotation comes [Applause] [Music] up [Applause] there's a smart swing by jazz sweet there at the right pin for nebraska that was a bang bang play right off of the passers platform into the lap of nicklin haynes and it's a very fast ball behind maybe faster than they expected jazz suite doesn't try to do too much with it keeps it inbounds and it's a texas blocking error there sprays one out of bounds nebraska had to get past baylor to make it to this point and they handled it pretty easily with a win in straight sets and jared elliott or excuse me nebraska john cook said that he was most proud of how they played for each other that made such a difference especially when their star lauren stivers was not available will put it in the middle for kayla kathy the other middle for nebraska the power tip from kayla kathy with a little extra power behind it as she throws that one to the floor coach cook said that they have not played a team so physical as a baylor when they played baylor going all the way back to ohio state well they certainly probably haven't played a team as physical as texas all season long and right now early on nebraska matching that physicality i would imagine too that that matchup with baylor helps them get ready for another physical team like texas especially since they just played yesterday yeah absolutely drawing two teams there out of the lone star state baylor first and i think as you said that's great preparation for if you are able to advance what lies right around the corner one of the most physical teams in all of college volleyball the longhorns overpass and texas loved it logan eggleston threw that overpass down all starts at the service line we know what a great serving team nebraska is we know how they can control matches from the service line there is a tall order today as texas tries to match that and peterson there created that overpass with a great serve ames will go to the outside with cubic it'll be a set from josiah [Applause] maddie cubic again [Applause] jazz sweet wow that was a tough shot to make [Applause] and finally asia o'neil gets the point that is a taste of what's to come between these two teams and that's a taste of asia o'neil because she didn't get a full swing on that slide play she uses the off speed to go for a kill but they will continue to feed her behind the setter that one foot take off behind the setter she's absolutely deadly texas is coming off a 3-1 win over penn state jared elliot said they really gave that first set away they came out pretty strong and then penn state responded but he loved their resilience in that set and now you see lauren stifrings on the floor as she rotates in for nebraska creates an overpass asia o'neil says yes [Music] eggleston with a whole lot of power coming from the big 12 player of the year absolutely slams this one through the block and into the lap of lexi sun realize interesting story and that lexi sun spin spent a year at texas before transferring to nebraska really shocked the volleyball world and it was logan eggleston who graduated high school early to come and really fill those shoes big shoes to fill but logan edwardson has certainly done that i would say so the big 12 player of the year averaging four and a half kills per set she had 22 kills yesterday against penn state [Applause] [Music] haynes behind her to jazz sweet jazz suite has been a staple in this nebraska lineup over the years however this season some limited playing time and she was really challenged on the right side early in the year not playing her best volleyball and coach cook said she has earned that position back with some really great play here down the stretch seven kills yesterday and a block for nebraska touch off of that yes asia o'neil has been the go-to [Music] there she is right there seven in white and again no surprise it's a kill and it comes on a slide o'neal three for three no attacking errors tight pass again nicholas haynes has to go up and get it out of the net and she does for maddie cubic that's a great piece of setting right there by nicholan haynes because she's the ball is so tight that when she goes up she draws the blocker there as a front row player they think they're going to have to defend her and look at that goes right above the net to make a play on the ball but brianne butler has to stay home to defend the setter first [Music] ames has been the starting setter since she arrived on campus out of maryville tennessee back row attack from eggleston boom [Applause] eggleston will take plenty of swings over the course of this match she was above 60 yesterday and wow she is so powerful even times yesterday when we saw eggleston take a swing and not get a kill she never got frustrated and that was key to her going on in that match and getting those 22 [Music] [Applause] [Music] kills haley densberger in to serve a defensive specialist for nebraska point texas butler right down the middle such a threat and i like the fact that texas early on is making an effort to establish the middle because we said there's going to be a lot on the plate of logan eggleston and then of course opposite her in the front row right now is schuyler fields who's also going to take a lot of rips at the ball if they can get their middles involved early very talented middles that they have it's going to open those pins up a little bit and they're going to be even harder to defend [Applause] you'll see it with a tough serve to get nebraska out of system right side swing from molly phillips they let it go [Applause] coach said molly phillips is able to play several positions for them just a really high iq volleyball player she knows what shot to use and when to use it she's a key piece of the puzzle for them because with her on the floor they're five deep in terms of attackers you have to defend at every position against texas and they have some key subs too so if one of those attackers isn't working out they can roll somebody in off the bench through the block for nebraska lexi sun coach cook said coming into this tournament the challenge for lexi was to play at a high level every night night in and night out and she has answered the call wow what a start here with that big swing from lexi sun this is the first time that these two teams are meeting since 2016 so the first time lexi sun is facing her former team texas [Applause] oh brian butler tried to cut it on a little bit of an angle too wide point nebraska [Applause] [Music] tell you what it doesn't go the way texas wants it to but if you're nebraska you're thinking about that swing wow what a dominant presence in the middle brianne butler you always have to keep an eye on her and there she is getting a block over of the right hitter texas not able to control the first pass however it goes over so quickly that nicklin hayes has to sprint all the way in from the service line to be there to make a play on the ball and i don't think they're quite able to get as much out of that free ball as they would have liked i don't know if a free ball can ever work in your favor but i guess that one worked in texas favor and that was logan edelson on that last play on the block it'll be a service error that gives the serve back to nebraska and lexi sun sun was one of those players that stepped up big time for nebraska too led them against baylor yesterday with 12 kills hit 345 and her serving game was on a career-high five aces for sun guys how unusual this is we told you lexi sun was the number one recruit in the nation so highly sought after and she went to texas and then in a move that kind of shocked the entire volleyball world transferred after just one season [Applause] cubic finishes the point go ahead you know and it was so shocking i remember seeing on social media her bringing in this big uh dessert to coach john cook saying here i am i'm coming to nebraska here's a here's a nice sweet surprise and i think we were all a little shocked so i'm just curious you know it's like a bad breakup with a boyfriend or a girlfriend first time you see them it's always a little weird but i think she's playing well so far [Applause] yeah she has been doing well looks pretty composed so far and that's a good sign for tech for nebraska [Applause] huskers have scored three straight points [Applause] eggleston on the back set from nalani ocea and just a heavy ball realize as you mentioned courtney they're not even coming from her center a back set out of the backcourt from a defensive specialist by the way who lays a pretty nice ball up there you see a well done but what about the finish by eggleston eggleston looks locked in no attacking errors five kills jazz sweet can swing it too here's a look at what jazz sweet brings to the court that ability to use all of the court to her advantage she has a wide cone of shots a wide range moves the ball around really well has worked so hard it's taken her since august to get to this point where she is playing some outstanding volleyball for nebraska but hey it's paying off moved over to that right pen oh asia o'neil on the slide and you almost get nervous just watching because you know it's dangerous absolutely and she's gone for a kill twice now just on tip shots off to that slide you can see nebraska defense really has their heels dug in and so they're ready to defend that thinking they have to dig some really hard shots and it hasn't quite been there for her yet but because of her prior success and the scouting report the tip shot is working for [Applause] out of the back row explodes logan eggleston and texas is the first to 15 points set number one winner was that he and his team played yesterday and john cook said you know texas even has more athletes than baylor will have to be creative offensively to work around them and score points because of all the different weapons they have and there's an ace for texas [Applause] the first ace of the match here being registered by texas not nebraska that's a little different as we typically see nebraska with the ones with so much magic from behind the service line i thought it was interesting coach elliot of texas said you know if i thought i needed to get my team's attention in this tournament i should have it now we're playing to nebraska on basically their home court she said the good news is we are focused that's for sure yeah here in omaha not far at length from lincoln at all and we have seen red in the stands all afternoon texas though despite the home crowd if you will on a 4-0 run here in the opening set we played at 25. [Applause] sets up lauren stivrens and that is her first kill in the tournament [Applause] here it is it's a great find and it's a great choice of sets because she doesn't come right at asia o'neil she sets a quick set there between the middle and the outside splitting the block and creating a good look there for lauren's difference a two-time all-american hits 473 on the season you need a point you go to the slide you go to asia o'neil absolutely it is like money in the bank she's coming off of a match courtney where she had 13 kills on 20 swings hit 500 in that match against penn state so she is primed and ready to go every reason to be feeling confident [Applause] an all big 12 first team selection second in the big 12 and hit percentage oh almost dug up by sydney peterson but a great tough shot to dig down the line by maddie kubick maddie cubic playing in all six rotations for nebraska as well as lexi sun opposite her the other side hitter much like logan eggleston for texas so we've got three really great six rotation outside hitters they are asked to do a lot for their teams respectively all three of these ladies pass for their teams not to mention the number of swings that they take pushing it out to the left pin and to skyler field we saw her with a career-high 21 kills yesterday surprising to learn maybe not but she is the only player besides logan eggleston to have 20 or more kills in a match this season it's only happened once and that was yesterday and skyler field's just a sophomore what a talent she is and moving over to that left pin and there it is we've seen it from asia o'neil several times this slide and we see it from stevens but it looks like they're calling this point for texas all the officials the two lines judges are coming over to talk about this with our up official ryan mcdowell and they will give the point to nebraska [Applause] [Music] not too much resistance from the texas players here which makes me think that perhaps they know that is the right call now jared elliott won't pull that challenge card each team does have three challenges if we go to a fifth set you'll get an additional challenge [Applause] none used so far [Applause] molly phillips another sophomore on this texas roster and not the traditional slide of a middle blocker who really chases it down but molly phillips playing on the right side for texas as a former middle blocker is comfortable off one foot and you'll notice there her approach to that particular ball was a one foot takeoff so a little different look for her it makes her very versatile there in right front for the longhorns yeah growing up she played outside hitter middle blocker and right side in club so came to texas with that experience which is so valuable and there's jazz sweet [Applause] oh yeah an ace for nicholan haynes wow this is a difficult ball to pass [Applause] just sinks as it crosses over the net dies there in right front you see the pump of the fist from nicklin haims realize this is a nebraska team who puts a whole lot of emphasis on training their servers yeah there is no choice in the nebraska gym if you don't serve well and pass well you're probably not gonna be on the court so they spend a lot of time on that and they're encouraged to spend a lot of time on that outside of practice another phillips kill there for texas not a more traditional two foot takeoff showing off her versatility over there unfortunately they follow it with a service error lexi sun put nebraska on a nice little run the last time she was behind the service line [Applause] jenna gabriel goes to eggleston logan eggleston that's her seventh kill no errors and actually you should really credit age o'neill for that one because asia o'neil who's been behind the center behind the center behind the center that time when there was a right front attacker they set her out in front of the setter so you're seeing her ability to go behind and in front she gets such a good swing that it creates a free ball and then eggleston is the one who capitalizes on the free ball but she texas was put into a good position by that swing from o'neill initially [Applause] texas has improved so much and then asia o'neil steps up and gets the block and jenna gabriel there's that brentwood high school program with barbara campbell as the head coach won three state championships and had that experience of winning so to bring that in and bring this skill set in to texas and then want to work on it every day that's what's been impressive [Applause] wow maddie cubic we said maybe an error moments ago when she swaying into that block of asia o'neil when you've got jenna gabriel in right front no error on that swing whatsoever she's very aware of the matchup that time just drills one down the line first to 15 wins excuse me first to 25 wins it [Applause] eggleston long point for nebraska that's just attacking error yeah and you see the response from eggleston no problem guys you know she's looking at her team the confidence that she's playing with right now and for good reason she's got the game to back it up and texas will take a timeout here up 23 21 going to 25 and you have to win by two winners moves on to the semi-final where they will face either wisconsin or florida that match gonna start approximately sick back side to jazz sweet blocked [Music] set point texas and that is why this texas team is so dangerous they take big swing after big swing but then look at this it looks like asia o'neil might be in trouble in terms of closing that block and it doesn't matter because you've just got logan eggleston out there at the left pin taking care of business they are so good at the net and now eggleston will serve for the set lauren stiveron swipes it off the block second set point for texas texas brings jenna gabriel right back every once in a while they'll do a quick defensive sub to get a bigger blocker across the front row i think basketball the offensive defensive sub but jenna gable jenna gabriel right back out there hoping that she can set them up for one final kill in this first set there's kayla akana skyler fields punches it to the ground and the first set will go to texas 25 22. texas swinging with authority lexi sun trying to keep nebraska in this one but too much of the longhorns and logan eggleston with a monster block when they take the first set over the last 27 matches they are 22 and 1. [Applause] brianne butler and texas has to be ready because you know that nebraska is going to make a push absolutely but i like the start here from texas it was a great serve that didn't give nebraska a good first look and because of that serve from yosea that entire point texas was in the driver's seat they were in control of that entire rally another again nebraska out of system free ball back to texas and nicklin excuse me jenna gabriel in the back row so that's going to be a point for nebraska a couple serves there early from texas to make nebraska uncomfortable that was a really good start and we'll see if nebraska can return the favor they absolutely did not make texas look uncomfortable in that first set allowed texas to stay in the system and take some huge thumps at the ball [Applause] an ace for nicholan haynes that's her second one that'll do it for making the opponent uncomfortable nicklin haines yeah her parents watching in the stands how about back to back you see us strung a couple together there for texas and nicholan haynes says anything you can do i can do better steps back with a couple aces [Music] and you just see that focus on her face she's not just going back there dropping balls and bounds she is serving with purpose texas handles that one much better and allows them to go to breon butler in the middle and jenna gabriel there really nice choice that she's floating off the net not afraid to just raise the height of that set to the middle it doesn't have to be a super fast tempo ball in order to take advantage of your talent in the middle as your setter has drawn off the net just raise the height a little bit and continue to take advantage of those athletes in the middle hate to see that service error though there that is now five service errors for texas [Applause] and lexi sun steps back a career-high five service aces yesterday so it doesn't get any easier if you're trying to pass except if she goes long and that one close enough though that it took some good communication on the part of the longhorns there to call that ball out so important that as the off passer you stay engaged in what's happening you're the only one that can let your teammate know if that ball is traveling in or out it's so important to let those balls out of bounds go james throws it back to sweep eggleston right at kinsey knuckles tell you what yo sia just continues to impress me she's 12 in white across the back court there for texas she's the one that put a couple nice serves in play but how about the defensive transition digs just placing it right in the hands of jenna gabriel i mean i feel like she was one of the mvps yesterday we saw her setting with her hands she was digging balls she has a great serve huge contributions for texas as nebraska gets a point let's check in with holly well guys during one of those last timeouts it was really great jenna gabriel the setter for texas came over and was like patting nilani us ios on the button was like great serves back there your passes are great like they love what's happening in that back row and you talk about it they're just all really clicking and firing on the right cylinders right now yeah yosiya has done a fantastic job [Music] [Applause] another back set from josiah are you kidding me oh how did nebraska keep that going texas thought that ball was down they had stopped playing and obviously the lesson here is play through the whistle but they were just absolutely convinced that that ball was down here's another beautiful back set from yosea texas celebrating and just looks of confusion for the longhorns as they were really convinced that rally was over jared elliott does not challenge this though just a couple of subs in for texas and now logan eggleston behind the service line tied at five so texas does get that point [Applause] that hit the antenna yeah the ball traveling outside the antenna i'm not sure that a right-handed player even has a good look at that but because jazz suite is left-handed she's still able to make a play on it but the ball just too far past the antenna out of the setter's hands and as she tries to cut it back across court it looked like she hit the ball into the antenna which if she did antenna is out of bounds and that would be a point to texas [Music] fields was the blocker up there for texas so i don't know if there's a question as to whether it hit the block and then the antenna perhaps is what nebraska believes happened there [Music] and nebraska is going to use one of their challenges on this play first watching it i thought it went the attack went into the antenna before oh oh that's schuyler female tyler fields yeah and skylar fields hits this antenna first before the ball arrives wow it looks like a blocking mistake perhaps but what a great look at the action at the net and the height above the net that skyler feels so much penetration as those hands are over there awaiting that swing of jazz sweet yeah this call should be overturned though and the point should go nebraska's way as jazz sweet you could see her on that replay her hand hit the antenna before the ball did [Music] [Applause] [Music] daphne nelson is our down official so is it point nebraska nebraska will have two challenges left unless we go to a fifth set each team will get an additional [Music] challenge [Music] okay akana back in behind the service line texas took the opening set 25-22 winner gets either wisconsin or florida [Applause] asia o'neil off of the block and again jenna gabriel just doing a great job of using her her hitters no matter where that passes on the floor she's not getting shy not getting hesitant and going with a faster tempo ball even if it's a a one and a half style tempo it doesn't have to be the fastest tempo but she's finding ways to keep all of those front row players involved there's this different slide can texas recover [Applause] free ball back to the longhorns gabriel the fields to the back row and we're just seeing so many swings right now from texas going untouched by a nebraska block it just feels like a free net right now for the longhorns there is a huge gap in that block and it's because it's a free boss situation nebraska not often has to send a free ball over the net against texas that's a tall order to defend a free ball a 3-1 run for texas to take this lead [Applause] free ball back eggleston out of the back row and i think she was over the line yes it is a back row attack you have to take off all the way behind that three meter line and you see the communication there between eggleston and gabriel because really for gabriel you want to place it to where she really has to fly and come get it that's going to be eggleston at her best i think what happened there eggleston expecting the ball right down the middle and she had to come into right front to get it so her footing was just a little off no worries you can push it out to schuyler fields and she'll get the job done you know we've been saying throughout this tournament there's just some x factors on each team in order to make a deep push you've got your players that have consistently been your best statistically all season and then you're going to see a few rise to the occasion in the tournament i think that that can be said of schuyler fields what a tournament she's having the stiveron slide there it is and it results in a kill we're tied at eight maybe just a little rusty after missing that last match but they're certainly starting to find a rhythm four kills for stiveron's 429 not too bad though [Applause] east nebraska nebraska with a one-point lead and three nebraska points this set have come from aces two from nicklin haines and now one here from haley densberger densberger one of three players left in the tournament with national championship rings they of course are all on nebraska's side [Applause] [Music] phillips evens things up at nine and just when you sort of get preoccupied thinking about skyler fields out there at the left pin oh yeah don't forget about molly phillips over there on the right side this is just a five-headed monster for texas coming at you that sounds terrifying missy it is right now if you're on the other side of the net [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] flexi sun good up from morgan o'brien [Applause] and eggleston is long [Applause] you mentioned earlier courtney her demeanor she never looks down so consistent so calm and wow to be in a position where you have to take so many out of system looks you've really got to have that demeanor about you and i'll tell you what eggleston just wears her role really well for this team [Applause] molly phillips is wide looks like phillips just got a little bit ahead of that set or the set was a little higher than she expected almost like she beat the ball to the spot had to wait on it just awkward timing [Applause] there service error just the second service error by nebraska still a one point lead for the huskers she's been so good serving that short right front area and that's exactly where she was going for it [Applause] that's a tough serve too by o'brien [Music] [Applause] asia o'neal seven kills hitting over 600 but courtney you're so right it was such a nice serve there by o'brien to start things off that the first swing from nebraska was very defendable when you put a tough serve in play you create a first swing that's very defendable and then texas is able to transition tied up for the eighth time here in set two [Applause] good up from hames oh good for lexi sun because that was tight yeah not a lot of options there for lexi sun but what we saw from her yesterday was such smart at a system play using the tip using the off speed really well look how she comes in turns on it and pushes it off the block out of bounds that's elite play from lexi sun and then follows that with an ace doing all she can here to try to create some cushion for nebraska in this second set lexi sun said yesterday nebraska just tried to focus on their serve pass she said when it was a little shaky at first she couldn't get a kill down she switched her focus to the serve pass game and that really steadied her and then of course she went on to have those career high five aces they get a lift call on texas logan eglson of course as the floor captain is going to ask for an explanation here but it is a judgment call that cannot be overturned [Applause] they get asia o'neil bringing that arm around when the ball got stuck between her and the net what do you think missy a lift i i i don't know i think maybe i would have let that go i feel like they've kind of let him play this tournament and i i don't know that i've seen balls like that called previously in this tournament our second regional final of the day winner moves on to the national semifinals and nebraska is up 15 to 11 here in the second set trying to even up this match first to 15 the corn huskers and prior to that time out we heard a little roar from the crowd courtney little hometown crowd here in omaha nebraska not far from lincoln at all asia o'neil though has been perfect on the afternoon eight kills no errors [Music] wow primarily behind the setter but we have seen her with a swing in front as well and yet she's really matching nebraska in terms of that slide play what everyone expects from nebraska right now it's asia o'neil who's really got the slide going and on asia o'neil goes up there and gets the block texas is within two o'neill and eggleston that's a block that i wouldn't want to run into i gotta tell you and i'll tell you that's one thing about o'neill is that when she hasn't had huge offensive numbers she's such a consistent part of the block for texas service error for texas that's service error number six coach elliott said after that penn state match that you know fans and people will voice frustration over the missed serves but he said it doesn't cause me any worry you know he says we have absolutely got to put tough balls in play in order to have point scoring opportunities and so he's really challenging his team from the service line and he realizes that along with that there will be some errors yeah they have had 10 or more service errors in 12 matches they had 11 yesterday still got the win that's the most important thing maddie cubic on the outside for nebraska really big transition from cubic and throughout that rally i kind of have my eyes on steven's courtney just watch her in transition is she her normal self is she 100 is she available for every swing is she able to get on and off the net like usual still looking like the fantastic volleyball player that she is but i'm not convinced she's quite 100 we'll keep an eye on her that's number 26 in the black jersey in the middle of the net for nebraska that's a tight set in jazz sweet swinging with every intention of trying to wipe the ball off high off blockers hands nebraska thought jazz had it but the motion is out of bounds and it'll be a point to texas [Music] service error again for texas that is number seven [Applause] and you realize in order to serve tough there are going to be some errors however i think you got to make sure at all costs you avoid the back-to-back the multiple errors you don't want to go too long without putting a ball in play giving your chance your team a chance to really hold serve there [Music] eggleston out of the back row [Applause] skyler fields off of that nebraska block texas within three and skylar fields just really growing up before our eyes in this ncaa tournament as a sophomore you know i think everyone looks to logan eggleston for that leadership for that go-to player but wow skyler fields is just becoming such an outstanding player in her own right ranked ranked by some outlets as the number one recruit in 2019 was the region freshman of the year last season what do you think about her swinging on the left pin this season oh i like it because the game is naturally designed to get more opportunities from the left side the angles of the game and the way it works and she's such a phenomenal dynamic athlete that i think that's where you gotta have her in order to be able to feed her enough balls [Music] [Applause] this is fields again dug up by knuckles cubic out of the back row and she's got that line shot down wow you really see her using the entire court and as a sophomore just so impressive a sophomore who as you were just alluding to courtney is playing on the left side for the first time so something that coach told us one of the ways in which she had elevated her game is that she was starting to learn how to work the court and we're getting a good look at that right here yeah last four matches she's hitting 458. maddie cubic leading nebraska with eight kills [Applause] it's been a quiet eight for maddie cubic just going about her business this one not so quiet this is a thunderous rip from out of the back court for maddie cubic as they show us their back court offense as well eight kills for cubic hitting 286 nebraska is hitting 318 in this set but then you look over the net texas is hitting 346. skylar fields has a lot to do with that and the fact that you've got brianne butler right there on a perfect pass you must defend butler first and then you're trying to release to the outside but the speed of that outside set it's just impossible to catch up with because once you hold long enough to defend butler all of a sudden skylar fields is on top of you yeah brienne butler we talked about that yesterday only six kills but she demands so much attention from the defense it opens up those pins and that's another reason she's valuable it won't show up on the stat sheet at least not under her line [Applause] lucia had been a key server for texas in this one putting some tough balls in play so that's going to hurt the longhorns as that one sails just long four service errors for texas in its last five serves look how shallow texas is in serve receive really just daring nebraska to serve him deep they've been keeping an eye on nicola haynes though that short serve has gotten him a couple of times [Applause] and you rotate through skyler fields moves over for logan eggleston the big 12 player of the year and that's what jared elliot said he said we are balanced in every position we can score points in every rotation and that is what we have seen from texas here today can nebraska match that typically they're very balanced and have the ability to score points in every rotation as well [Music] james goes after it and texas called for blocking the set point nebraska asia o'neil over the net and credit credit nicklin hayes for putting herself in position to make a play on that ball so that she's able to get that call because the nebraska setter is there at the net has the ability to make a play on that ball age o'neill has to let her have that opportunity can't reach over and make a play on it until it crosses the plane of the net john cook told us we want the ball in nicklin haynes's hands because she just makes things happen whether it's a tight set or the perfect pass where she can set it up she just gets this nebraska team going and now they're two points away from taking set two and finally able to stop the asia o'neil slide plate was maddie cubic up there in left front she's having such a solid day for nebraska offensively leading the way and that's a huge block right there to slow texas down nebraska has looked pretty good in this cubics one of those players too just a sophomore and they're working on every aspect of her game john cook told us they want her to be a kelsey robinson like player where she has that all-around skill set robinson an all-american a member of the national team now but to have that skill set for every aspect of the game it's extremely valuable and cubic is working so hard to get there and if you're an outside for nebraska i think it feels really attainable because they have such great models you mentioned kelsey robinson jordan larson players who have gone before them and really paved the way kayla kathy with one hand and it's set point nebraska kathy with some hang time there gabriel goes behind her to molly phillips second set point for nebraska that time an attacker in right front you're not as likely to see asia and you'll go behind on the slide there they run her right down the middle to draw some attention and that opens things up for phillips this is sydney peterson they still get a swing off by sweet [Applause] eggleston gets after it lexi sun out of the back row set number two goes to nebraska only four kills so far for alex and eggleston is the only player with double figure kills on either side into the middle is kayla kathy but you know who has had an impact offensively for nebraska has been maddie cubic and her numbers are way up from the percentage that she hit yesterday against baylor she had such an uncharacteristic start yesterday for baylor remember this is a team that took the floor without stiffens they looked slightly rattled she had four errors early in that match because of that she stayed in negative numbers with eight kills nine errors but how about today already hitting above 250 and not only with the high efficiency but she's carrying the load offensively as she leads the corn huskers and kills eight kills for cubic there are four other players for nebraska that have four kills each great serve 11 points off of lexi's son serve for nebraska today wow those are huge numbers to start to score that many points in this rotation and it's not just because of great play at the net it has a lot to do with the balls that she's putting in bounds making texas uncomfortable we said that was the key lexi's son was a big piece of that there goes cubic it was touched such a smart swing by cubic make it nine kills now the only player in this match in double digit kills right now is eggleston with 11. cubic at nine just one swing away from double digits looking so strong hitting over 300. [Music] massive swing from eggleston nicholan haynes saved it and she does it again back to back [Music] tip this time james is there [Applause] and it was long oh you hate to see that one fall out of bands after the fantastic defensive play of nicholan haynes back there and right back as she's just taking some bullets and keeping the cornhuskers in that long rally [Applause] [Music] kathy a little further off to the net and texas is going to win the block and for a quick ball it just felt slowly developing she just floated over there in front of the setter felt like the defense knew what was coming just not really able to take advantage of the speed of that set offensively she has been really good for nebraska in this tournament she can certainly help them defensively jazz sweden gets the big touch on that one as kathy closed it and you just heard there was a different sound off of that block because of the force that eggleston brings i'll tell you the harder you hit it sometimes the harder it comes back at you and that's the case there all kinds of power from eggleston but jazz sweet lined up perfectly on that one it drops in you see it pulled up at the last minute she thought it was going out [Music] [Applause] yeah you see a purpose purposefully lets this one go she's fully convinced that this one is out of bounds she could have made a play on the ball you see the swipe as eggleston is going for a look off hands and yocia motioning out of bounds she really thinks this one was out oh it's in that one is touch they have had so much success on the slide why is that hard to defend i'll tell you just when you've got asia o'neil and she does such a good job of being patient here and so this the ball is set and then she's literally chasing that ball down and if it's set correctly she can really cut it off at any point so she could take it down the line she could swing back cross court angle and it just becomes really hard to know where to set that block up and she elevates so well that she sees the court as well how about the elevation on the block from asia o'neil that time she's such a complete middle courtney you know we'll talk about our offense and she comes out with a block we'll talk about her blocking she comes out with a kill and that's not the case for all the middles three straight points have tied this match an ace from eggleston wow and with eggleston's length doesn't it just feel like she's contacting this ball it's such a high point i feel like with the jump and the high contact look at this the ball is traveling downward as it comes over the net that's an incredibly tough serve [Applause] wow back to back when we talk about attacking from the service line this is a literal attack from the sword from the service line courtney it feels like she is just hitting balls at you straight points for texas here in set number three [Music] and eggleston had found some success back-to-back points for texas off of her serve eggleston really doing it all courtney here we are in set three she has taken 42 swings already the next closest player is for nebraska that's maddie cubic with 27. oh to the corner did you see that placement on the serve kayla akana this is not by happen chance i mean these players put so much work into perfecting these serves and i mean talk about placement free ball james just laid out for it and texas will get the point what an effort though from nebraska [Music] really like the little tricky shot by skylar fields not just because of the shot but because of the timing she knows that the nebraska defense was on the run to make a play on that ball so challenge those players who have not yet quite made it back into their defensive base position talk about being aware of what's happening across the net really smart play from fields good pass from knuckles they can go to cubicle [Applause] that looked a lot like that logan eggleston swing that we saw earlier deep into that left back corner because they swing so high such a high contact point they're literally going over the block when they contact the ball i don't think they were asking like that when they thought maybe that one was out of bounds and did you see jenna gabriel she lays her arms out for the bump set and then just slides on the court yeah [Applause] sun with a tip out of the back row counter with logan eggleston out of the back matty cubic she's in double figures now with 10 kills [Applause] and of course nebraska liking that matchup as they have cubic against the front row setter and they're going to get the most out of that match up matty cubic does a good job there one for the seam of the block with taller blocker next to that smaller setter oh gabriel up they got it up attacking error though is going to give it to texas we want to let you know if you're looking for college football live you can see it over on espnu right now we have got the regional final here between texas and nebraska [Applause] regional final of course courtney being that round of eight so realize only eight left to actually make it seven as the one has already punched their ticket that one would be washington who beat pitt in five sets earlier today oh when your setter gets a kill that is big time no one likes it more than nichola names she is excited about that one [Applause] she is such a fiery setter i really thought she was gonna turn and hit that one into the angle but look at the placement right down the line from nicklin hayes huge celebration from her teammates [Music] she is such a smart player has run this offense for nebraska her entire career [Applause] and that will be texas's point nicholas a pretty special player holly well that's right she came in and she was the first freshman ever to start at setter for nebraska that's like a little bit of pressure on your shoulders with all of the great tradition and attention that this program gets i don't know if she had more pressure or starting quarterback at nebraska but she has run this offense to perfection her coach john cook said she just gets better and better there's no learning curve available in the big ten she's been under pressure her whole life and she's handled it very well she comes from a really great volleyball background her mom christine and her dad jason who are in the stands right now they run a club k2 volleyball in knoxville tennessee christine played volleyball at oregon state was a member of the australian national team and the coach at webb school where nicklin played so there was no choice but to be a great volleyball player and john cook feels strongly that nicklin's gonna be a coach someday trying to coach up this team right now from out on the court courtney beniccio sia causing all sorts of trouble again for texas from the service line as you've watched college volleyball over the years i feel like uh nebraska sort of wrote this manual in terms of being tough from the service line and now every other team has followed suit and they're having to defend their own strength that swing from kathy ends a 3-0 run for texas we are at least playing four sets in this regional final even at a set of peace and haim steps back to serve brian butler watch out watch out there it is when the pass is there it just looks so easy sometimes it is for breon butler for the rest of us is not exactly [Music] asia o'neil at the net just dominance up there she's got five blocks alexison doesn't pass that ball well and so she's the recipient of an at a system bump set and i think the frustration from the bad pass she tries to take a big rip at it just not a smart swing [Applause] good pass they go to kathy it's been the difference texas was struggling with their passing in set two it allowed nebraska to win and now texas serving tough and keeping nebraska out of system that's why whenever you ask a volleyball coach oh coach what are your keys to facing name your opponent well we have to win the serve pass battle that's the first answer every time and it's the right answer every time taking a look at the numbers courtney here i see that lauren stevens still not in double digits in terms of attempts only nine attempts were in the third set that's well below her she was questionable coming into this match officially nebraska says she is day to day with an undisclosed injury we did not see her yesterday but she has played in every set today [Music] [Applause] during the recovery because she was getting more oxygen she felt like a new person like she was driving a new car her body got a new engine [Applause] [Music] nine kills hitting 571 with six blocks and texas trying to take a two to one lead in the match [Applause] and it's out all because of asia o'neil yeah once again really nice job there by texas handling that serve from kinsey knuckles and as you said it's the attack of asia o'neal that gave texas the upper hand there in that one neither team is hitting for a great percentage in this set but nebraska is in the negative at 0.80 negative 080. [Music] skyler fields second texas longhorn in double figures with 10. and that one felt like a change up courtney she got there a little early the set was late but what a great job she just gathering herself on the floor and then jumping so that she still has the ability to take a swing at that ball not a full swing but just great placement texas five points away from taking the set another ace for eggleston that's her fourth wow eggleston another ace and interestingly i think we thought we'd see the huge offensive numbers in this one the 20 plus kills but some some of the most damage in this match so far has come from the service line it's been those players who have been able to create streaks from the service line which is something that eggleston has done and she does here again another fantastic serve just so incredible this serve is coming at you from a different angle she's got a jump float so she goes up and gets it her arm is extended and literally this ball is traveling over the net and downward at the passers and it's got some movement on it nebraska having all sorts of trouble with this serve another overpass and skylar fields turns it into points look missy be lucky that we're not there because i was at texas's regional last year and i made selima rockwell try to pass logan eggleston's serve it didn't go well [Applause] i i would consider it success if i just got out of the way in time let alone trying to pass it okay made some great tv though [Applause] not a service error but hey it's so much success off of that serve that one's okay absolutely [Applause] texas two points away from taking set [Music] three [Applause] [Applause] cubic and logan eggleston with the diving dig some space for skylar fields the power of logan eggleston so well documented but as you pointed out there how about the sprawling dig out of middle back for logan eggleston don't forget she is a magnificent six rotation player in her own right set point texas [Applause] [Music] [Applause] that ball was touched second set point here for the longhorns for maddie cubic make it 11 kills now she continues to be the leader for nebraska but all of a sudden skyler fields leading texas with 13 kills and that's because of that great serve run that we saw from eggleston and skyler fields will finish it off her 14th kill does it texas takes a two to one lead in this match a spot in the semi-finals on the line here in her the huge numbers but it's been because of the help that she's getting it's allowing jenna gabriel to spread the sets around and really it's because texas has been so good with eggleston in the back row because of her serve and there's lauren stiverns a piece we haven't seen too often today but a piece that can be crucial for nebraska she has played in the entirety of this match we knew that she was questionable coming in but that is just her 10th attempt and so we will see how sparingly they use lauren's difference here or if they start to go to her a little bit more she hits 473 on the season so if they do go to her good chance she's getting a kill that will be a kill for texas you see is like having a second setter out there on the floor she had a much better angle at that ball than jenna gabriel and so i love the communication between the two of them she's not afraid to call gabriel off and gabriel lets her have it she doesn't have this ego like i have to set that ball you're in a better position step in let it go really like the communication between those two just watching her those last two days you've got a lot of confidence in her so i'm sure jenna gabriel sees that every day in their gym and early in set four already two balls to lauren stevens and she's converted here interesting [Applause] maybe something nebraska talked about in between those sets nebraska has to win this set to extend the match [Applause] [Music] another kill make it 13. she is right behind skylar fields who's leading the way with 14 skylar fields by the way with those 14 kills has yet to have an error courtney she's hitting 700 huge day for the outsides for texas [Applause] take two even better than the first texas team so physical which of course results into such aggressive play at the net if it's even close to an overpass you better be ducking texas didn't make it this far in the tournament last season they were the number two overall seed and were upset in the regional semifinal by louisville as lauren stevens gets the swing courtney another interesting fact the three previous times that the national semifinals and championship have been in omaha nebraska has been a part of that of that round of four there at the end those national semifinals and so they're try of course this entire tournament is in omaha but they are trying to stay alive until that final remaining four teams john cook has been there before it would be their 16th semi-final appearance the first since 2018 but they've got to win this set and the fifth set to get there [Applause] kayla kathy showing that she can attack behind the setter too mata cubic nails that pass and it's an important one because they needed to get logan eggleston off the service line but john cook called kayla kathy a side out machine and you see it there that time behind not necessarily what you would expect from kathy who is really good in front but certainly has that ability to go behind as well kathy started her career at missouri four seasons with the missouri tigers redshirted a couple of those before coming to nebraska [Music] and lexi sun working on the other pin [Applause] with this big physical team of texas you really have to work the ball from antenna to antenna to hope to have any advantage against that big block and so just moments ago we saw kathy behind now lexi sun out at the opposite pin hoping to create some space in the block [Music] did we mention schuyler fields doesn't have an error yet make it 15. it kills it without an error for the sophomore there it is is this like a perfect game if we mention it or people at home wow i don't know i hadn't thought of it i'm going to be quiet now [Music] [Applause] fields looks pretty good though holly well you know this is her second straight match that she's been spectacular she had 21 kills against penn state in their last match yesterday and she hit 500 it's so funny watching her i'm right behind her and when you see her arm angle the ball just drops like a rock i mean it's almost impossible to block and defend at the nap yeah and it's been really tough for nebraska to do anything with it today with those 15 kills hitting 7 14. [Applause] yeah and holly is so right i mean with the jump that you get from skylar fields there are balls that literally go untouched she is above the block it is just an angle that you uh a lot of teams can't recreate that in their gym they can't prepare for the likes of skylar fields [Music] [Applause] brianne butler behind the setter interesting that was the lexi sun serve there and i thought lexi really helped nebraska make a move in set too with what she did from behind the service line and then in set three it was eggleston of texas who really put her team in the driver's seat with what she did from behind the service line and here in this four set neither one of them had been able to go on the run on a run back there yet nebraska way out of system the serving works for texas we saw them turn it on in that last set an extended huddle there for nebraska as jenna gabriel waits to put the ball into play and you can literally see some of those nebraska players taking a deep breath here the excitement of having fans in the stands obviously they were all looking forward to that but is there any added pressure on nebraska we've said that they're the home team that that could be a benefit but could there also be some pressure there for the cornhuskers [Applause] [Music] [Applause] oh lexi sun from the back row and you hear those fans holly what is it like in the arena with fans especially with nebraska playing it's awesome i mean even though they look so spread out and it doesn't look like there's a lot on tv it is loud in here it is electric and um the thing that's got to get happening though is these fans have got to get back on their feet there are too many nebraska fans sitting down there haven't been extended long points for nebraska where they get up and they get rowdy because when they were doing that nebraska was going on a roll yeah i almost forgot what it was like to play with a home court advantage [Applause] maybe the fans forgot how to cheer yeah you can hear him now though [Applause] nebraska back on top getting lucky to play the whole tournament here in omaha not far from lincoln nebraska at all a short commute for this year's ncaa tournament and it's an ace for knuckles drops one in there a short serve right over the net they do not intend for molly phillips to be in the serve receive but she was forced to try to make a play on that ball and it doesn't go well for texas this set and the next set to advance [Applause] texas hitting 364 here in the current set but not to be outdone nebraska at 400 in this set that's a big number [Applause] and a centerline violation on texas how about that 5-0 run for the corn huskers and all on the serve of kenzie knuckles you have said it courtney that on both of these teams it's not just one server it's all six servers in the rotation when they step back there to play at this high of a level they know they have to be a threat and right now it's kinsey knuckles with the knuckleball having her way an ace for knuckles nebraska has nine aces she has two during this service run and the longer you're able to stay back there courtney the more comfortable you get the more confident you get the harder the serve is coming at the opponent sports difference just set jazz sweet my goodness and with fans in the stands texas really needs to do everything they can to slow nebraska down seems like nebraska have only been playing in the winter yeah texas playing those two full seasons it's been crazy to watch and just a new challenge for all these coaches to navigate and i wonder too what it's going to look like when we start playing volleyball in the fall again after having this tournament here in april [Applause] nebraska trying to force the middle a little bit there and brianne butler stays home right where she needs to be able to take care of business against stevens that time yeah in terms of that grueling big 12 schedule asia o'neil said earlier this week you know it's time she said we've been playing since august we have sacrificed a lot and so many coaches have echoed that sentiment for these players to have been in season during this covet era all season one how much they have sacrificed to finally be at this moment logan eccleston embryon butler at the net with the block texas with ten team blocks compared to five for nebraska texas trailing by two if they win this set they're moving on maddie cubic they needed that they did they needed that pass with this with josiah back there at the service line and then they needed cubic to come through and she did just that you wanted to get yosia off of the service line that is a huge swing from cubic she is leading the way 14 kills now for nebraska service error [Applause] nebraska hasn't had too many of those today that's just their third [Applause] wow that's impressive to only have three errors at this point the match with the performance they've had from the service line i've seen teams only have three errors but not create the sort of pressure that nebraska has been able to create [Applause] an ace for texas and morgan o'brien we've talked about the importance of service pressure and for sure if you're wearing the libero jersey it is a big part of what you bring to the squad and secondary setting has become a big part of the libro position passing always has been defense always has been but now these players are expected to be great secondary setters and great servers as well it's gonna be another texas block up there controlling the net right down the middle for lexi sun they choose not to go to the stubborn slide that they typically use quite a bit cinder behind to draw some attention of course they've got the attacker cubic out at the left pin and they try to open up the middle of the court but really nice blocking right there and staying home being really disciplined by texas so nebraska has to call a timeout first time we have been tied since it was eight all texas is getting contributions from everyone and again skyler fields with some big numbers today 16 kills hitting 625. okay she does have one error now but she has 16 kills to show for it more than anyone else in this match the sophomore having really an all tournament type of performance here in omaha she has just been huge for the longhorns had that career high yesterday following it up with 16 kills here texas has scored three straight they're on a six to one run to tie this game up holly mentioned that skylar fields hit 500 yesterday i guess she wasn't happy with that courtney because she elevates her game if you if you didn't know if it was possible from what you saw from her yesterday even better numbers right now well the nba is on espn tonight for a special edition double header 7 30 eastern warriors versus the 76ers and then at 10 eastern the jazz versus the lakers coverage begins with steven a's pregame sportscenter at seven [Music] [Applause] this will not be our last volleyball match of the day we will have two more matches for you over on espnu wisconsin and florida on deck we've got to finish up this battle though between texas and nebraska eggleston to the back row and that's where we've seen the elevation of both logalston excuse me eggleston and skyler fields just the way that they are able to elevate and go up and over the block the athleticism the power when they're in system this texas team is incredibly dangerous lexi's son out of the back row ties it back up and how do you avoid that big texas block well hey maybe try some offense from the back court give your players some room to swing when you've got those huge texas defenders right in front of you i like the choice there by nicholan haynes john cook told us that they would have to be more creative offensively because of the number of athletes that texas has ecclestone with the open hand shot that time nice use of the off speed and she just tosses it right into the middle of the court catches that nebraska defense watching and john cook isn't happy about something but we will play on i think maybe the contact there from eggleston he thought was a little questionable but i feel like we've seen a lot of the power tip and you know the use of the throw throughout the tournament backside to stiveron's dug up but it's an overpass and a net violation on texas [Music] [Applause] if you're nebraska you'd really like to turn this error into two points good dig on eggleston by akana [Applause] take two though when she gets a second look that's really difficult to stop wow great use of the court the first time she's able to swing straight down the line that ball is dug and look here second time through the seam splits the defenders just great volleyball by eggleston oh i like the look of the follow through there beautiful texas is hitting 421 in this set and they get an ace from eggleston she's tied her career high absolutely no surprise who is at the service line right now when you hear ace that's a full stat line 18 kills five blocks five aces that one long and i'm not sure if nebraska called that ball out of bounds or if they just got lucky if no one made a play on it and it is just long [Applause] haims is a really good server too she has had success today this would be a great opportunity here for nebraska and i think we might have a challenge on this yes jared elliot has used a challenge the original call was that that was a service error my initial response was in agreement with the officials courtney so i'll be curious to get another look at that it also is an opportunity though for texas to gather up together and chat because they don't have any more timeouts remaining and that ball is out yeah absolutely i think maybe this challenge is just sort of a little time out texas knowing that uh if they go to a fifth they will receive another challenge [Applause] that's just the first one that texas has used yeah they've got they've got challenges to burn so daphne nelson does confirm that call for us it is out to point nebraska [Applause] with nicklin haynes serving [Applause] [Music] peterson handled it nicely asia o'neal even though it ricocheted off the block it went out of bounds absolutely the block is where it needs to be they do the right thing they turn their hands back in bounds but just too much on that one from asia o'neil that travels all the way off the blockers hands out of bounds so texas makes a substitution naomi cabello comes in number 24 in that white jersey gonna give them some height here and right front see if she can get involved in the block bumps eggleston in the back row maddie cubic takes care of it for lexi's son and nebraska is in the net texas will be the first to 20. and lexi sun just looks stunned she does not think that she was into the net on that play yeah her shoulder hits the net when she comes down [Applause] back [Applause] brian butler ricocheted off of knuckles [Music] [Applause] there's cubit tooling the block wow are you kidding me knuckles steps in there and takes a huge shot and then it's lexie sun out of middle back with a big dig and they finally get a chance offensively and we just said cuba coming to the front row wow she makes it pay off a must-win set for nebraska skylar fields that's just nice 17th kill [Applause] she's now trailing logan eggleston by just one kill and if you're coach elliot you gotta love the fact that it's two players on your own team who are battling for the lead and kills in this one overpass brian butler lives for it [Applause] [Music] notice an overpass that's created by this texas serve that has really come out and gone toe to toe with the nebraska serve and absolutely held their own [Applause] brian butler [Applause] [Music] match point texas [Applause] service error second match point for texas lauren stevens back in across the front row [Applause] [Music] she's so dangerous [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] breon butler locked [Music] stiffens an immediate impact as she just smothers this ball from breon butler third match point for texas [Applause] [Applause] jenna gabriel goes out to fields there it is texas is moving on a four set win for texas they take down nebraska and we will see them in the national semifinals nebraska will not for the first time play in a national semifinal in omaha instead

Channel: Amie Amie

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Id: 3rLgkuNX6A4

Length: 94min 34sec (5674 seconds)

Published: Mon Apr 19 2021