Jake AdamsLouisville Courier Journal
One more.
Louisville women's volleyball was a single win away from making history. A victory Saturday over national powerhouse and No. 1 overall seed Texas in the NCAA championship match at 8 p.m. in CHI Health Center Arena would have the Cardinals the first women's team in university history to win a national championship, the first Atlantic Coast Conference team to win in volleyball and make coach Dani Busboom Kelly the first female head coach to lead a team to a title.
They've already made history as the first group in program history to make it to this stage.
No pressure.
But it wasn't meant to be. Texas claimed its third title in program history, absolutely dominating the ACC champions 3-0. Here's the recap:
So, so close!Texas hammers Louisville for NCAA volleyball tournament championship, ending Cards' run at history
'Unreal. And overdue':Why it matters if Louisville's Dani Busboom Kelly wins NCAA title
Hero's journey:How Phekran 'PK' Kong went from 'lazy recruit' to Louisville volleyball's Final Four hero
Bookmark this page and refresh for the latest updates, highlights and scores from the national championship:
Louisville vs Texas volleyball NCAA tournament score, live updates, highlights
When, where will Louisville volleyball face Texas in the NCAA Tournament?
The Cardinals will take on the Longhorns on Saturday at CHI Health Center in Omaha, Nebraska. The game is scheduled to start at 8 p.m. ET.
What channel is Louisville volleyball vs. Texas on?
The title match will be televised on ESPN2.
How to livestream Louisville vs. Texas in NCAA Volleyball Tournament?
Fans can stream the game on the ESPN+ app, Hulu or Fubo. Fans can livestream the game for free by signing up for a free one-week trial with the platforms.
Anna De-Bomb:How Assumption's Anna DeBeer is behind Louisville volleyball return to the Final Four
How did Louisville Cardinals volleyball get to the national championship?
Led by Busboom Kelly, Louisville (31-2, 17-1 ACC) won the ACC title during the regular season with its only losses against Ohio State and Pittsburgh, two other Elite Eight teams. The Cardinals swept Samford, Purdue and then Baylor in the first three rounds of the NCAA Tournament before being pushed to the brink in matches against Oregon on Saturday and Pittsburgh in the Final Four, winning both 3-2.
Claire Chaussee was nearly unstoppable Thursday night, recording 25 kills against the Panthers while Anna DeBeer (15) and Aiko Jones (12) also reached double figures. And then there was Phekran "PK" Kong, who had a masterful 11 blocks (two solo), including four in a five-point run in the fifth set that put the Cardinals in command for good.
Chaussee leads U of L with 440 kills (3.8 kills per set), Raquel Lazaro has 1,124 assists from her setter spot and Jones leads the team with 44 aces. On defense, Amaya Tillman has a team-best 164 total blocks and Elena Scott has 461 digs. Assumption grad DeBeer's hot streak continued Thursday, and she has three straight matches with double-digit kills (43 in total).
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How did Texas Longhorns volleyball get to the national championship?
Led by coach Jerritt Elliott in his 22nd year in charge, Texas (27-1, 15-0 Big 12) won the conference outright by three games. The Longhorns' only loss this season came Oct. 19 against Iowa State 3-2. Since then, they've won 14 straight and have not been taking to five sets. UT went 4-0 to start the season against three Top 15-teams, beating Ohio State twice before knocking out Minnesota and Stanford. During the NCAA Tournament the Longhorns rolled through Fairleigh Dickinson and Georgia 3-0 each, then knocked off ranked foes Marquette, Ohio State (for a third time) and San Diego 3-1.
Outside hitter Madisen Skinner — a transfer from Kentucky who helped the Wildcats to the 2020 national championship with a then-career-high 19 kills ... against the Longhorns — dominated the Toreros in Thursday's other Final Four matchup with 17 kills (.394 attack percentage), four digs and three blocks. And Logan Eggleston, the three-time Big 12 Player of the Year, chipped in 16 kills, nine digs, five blocks and an ace.
The Longhorns offense runs through its outside hitters. Eggleston leads a potent and dangerous attack with 388 kills (4.2 per set), while Skinner has 332 (3.7). Saige Ka'aha'aina-Torres quarterbacks the offense with 1,063 assists, and Logan leads UT with 42 aces. On defense, middle back Asjia O'Neal leads with 114 total blocks while Zeo Fleck has a team-leading 428 digs.
Golden: This is Texas volleyball — tough, gritty, powerful, talented and super, super deep
Follow assistant sports editor Jake Adams on Twitter @jakeadams520 or email him at jadams@gannett.com
