Texas defeats Wisconsin in 2023 DI women's volleyball semifinals
Hook 'em, Texas moves on 🥳
Texas surged in the final two sets to roll Wisconsin, 3-1 (25-22, 20-25, 25-13, 25-16).
The Longhorns aced 11 times, which is a season-best for the squad. Madisen Skinner had a career game at the service line, doubling her previous career-best of three, and Asjia O'Neal and Emma Halter both added two.
Ella Swindle's 46 assists set her pins up for greatness as four Longhorns killed in the double digits: Madisen Skinner (18), Asjia O'Neal (11), Molly Phillips (10) and Jenna Wenaas (10).
Wisconsin's block attempted to put out the Texas offensive effort, but the Longhorns contained Sarah Franklin to her season-low four-set killing performance at 13. Wisconsin additionally got out-dug 56-44, mainly at the hands of Texas libero Emma Halter.
This will be Texas' eighth national championship appearance as the Longhorns search for their second consecutive championship and fourth in program history. Texas and Nebraska have faced each other on two occasions in the national finals — 1995 and 2015 — and the Longhorns have yet to beat the Huskers on the national championship stage.
😳 11 consecutive points decide Set 3 for Texas
The Longhorns went on an 11-point run — highlighted by three Madisen Skinner aces and two Asija O'Neal kills — and nearly held Wisconsin to single digits as they stormed through the third set, 25-13.
The work of Emma Halter in the backcourt is what helped Texas' second set performance. She's dug up 17 balls so far, and the Longhorns lead the dig count 46-34. Skinner hit double figures in her kill count at 13, and the team hit .444 in the frame. We'll see if Wisconsin can find an answer to this multi-faceted team to force a fifth set in Tampa tonight.
😏
— Texas Volleyball (@TexasVolleyball)
🔙 Court defense to the rescue 🛟
Dig after dig kept this ball alive as Texas capitalized in the end. The Longhorns now lead 13-3 in the third heading into a Wisconsin timeout.
WE LOVE IT!!!!! 🤘
— Texas Volleyball (@TexasVolleyball)
🌊 Wisconsin turns the tide in second set
After killing six in the first set, Madisen Skinner didn't register a kill until the Longhorns' 13th point of the second. And taking a page out of Skinner's book, it was Wisconsin's Anna Smrek that killed six in this set, along with a block. She now ties Sarah Franklin for a match-high eight kills.
Smrek was particularly on fire when Wisconsin ran away with seven unanswered — killing thrice in that span — to notch its lead to 15-7. Texas couldn't catch the Badgers after, ultimately falling, 25-20. Wisconsin's now hitting .225 to Texas' .188 and siding out 60%.
Absolutely FILTHY 🤓
— Wisconsin Volleyball (@BadgerVB)
Today's Smart Play, presented by
🔨 Indoor attendance record shattered
The 2023 NCAA semifinals has a record-breaking 19,598 fans in attendance, making this event the most-attended indoor college volleyball matches ever.
👉🏼 Tap here for the full list of volleyball all-time attendance records
🤘🏼 Horns up in Set 1
Winning the kill count 18-11, Texas commanded the first set most of the time, not letting Wisconsin taste the lead even once. Down as many as five points, Wisconsin chased Texas until it tied the score at 20-all, and stayed hot on the Longhorns' trail until the very end. Coming up just short, the Badgers dropped the first, 25-22.
Madisen Skinner was all over the Teraflex, knocking down frontline and backline kills to reach six kills and a match-high five digs in the first stanza. The block party was bumping on both ends of the court with Asjia O'Neal, CC Crawford and Anna Smrek blocking two apiece.
Skinner threads the needle 🪡
Madisen Skinner sends this kill down the line to drop just inbounds for the Texas point. She's knocked down three on .600 hitting so far tonight.
😤😤😤 |
— Texas Volleyball (@TexasVolleyball)
🔄 Tonight's starting rotations
Following the Pitt-Nebraska match, the Wisconsin-Texas match is about to begin. Here are the starters for the second semifinal:
🤘🏼Texas
- Asjia O'Neal
- Madisen Skinner
- Emma Halter
- Ella Swindle
- Bella Bergmark
- Carissa Barnes
- Molly Phillips
🦡 Wisconsin
- Carter Booth
- Anna Smrek
- CC Crawford
- Julia Orzol
- Sarah Franklin
- MJ Hammill
- Gulce Guctekin
📺 How to watch the Badgers face the Longhorns
The second DI women's volleyball semifinal will see Wisconsin meet Texas for a spot in Sunday's national championship match. Here's how to watch:
- Date: Thursday, Dec. 14
- Time: Approximately 9:30 p.m. ET (30 minutes after first semifinal)
- Location: Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida
- TV channel: ESPN
- Live stats: Click or tap here
😏 What Thursday has in store
These two teams met on the same stage in the NCAA semifinals in the 2020-21 season, and Texas swept the No. 1 Badgers to advance to the championship. They now meet again for the 10th time in series history on the biggest stage yet for volleyball. Check out a preview below:
🦡 Wisconsin
Wisconsin has weapons pretty much everywhere in sight. AVCA First Team All-American hitter Sarah Franklin is close to notching 500 kills this season, while Julia Orzol and Gulce Guctekin do the dirty work in the back court as premiere defenders. Then you have 6-foot-9 Anna Smrek in the middle on offense and defense duty, while Carter Booth is blocking an average of 1.93 balls per set in the tournament. For the record, the Badgers are coming off a 16-block performance in a four-setter over Oregon. This team has the capacity to succeed in this year's tournament, and gauging how the Badgers fare against the swings of a loaded Texas roster will be the ultimate test.
🤘🏼 Texas
If there's a pattern to notice about any of these final four teams, it's the cliché: Defense wins championships. While Wisconsin is ranked No. 1 in the block, Texas is ranked No. 3, right behind Pitt at No. 2. AVCA First Team All-American Asjia O'Neal has spearheaded this effort for the Badgers, and seeing her and Bella Bergmark play across the net from Carter Booth and CC Crawford will be quite the show. Madisen Skinner, also a First Team All-America selection, is averaging a whopping 5.69 K/S in this tournament and will be searching for her third national championship (winning with Texas in 2022 and Kentucky in 2020-21). As the only No. 2 seed to make it to the semifinals, the Longhorns have had a lot to prove in this tournament, with the pressure of a two-peat weighing heavy. Downing No. 3 Tennessee in five sets was Texas' biggest test this tournament, which almost made its takedown of No. 1 Stanford in the quarterfinals look like a breeze.
❓ How they got here
Here are the Badgers' and Longhorns' paths to the national semifinals...
| NO. 1 Wisconsin | ROUND | NO. 2 Texas |
|---|---|---|
| Def. Jackson State, 3-0 | First | Def. Texas A&M, 3-1 |
| Def. Miami (Fla.), 3-0 | Second | Def. No. 7 SMU, 3-0 |
| Def. No. 5 Penn State, 3-1 | Regional semifinals | Def. No. 3 Tennessee, 3-2 |
| Def. No. 2 Oregon, 3-1 | Regional finals | Def. No. 1 Stanford, 3-1 |
🔢 What the stats say
Here's how the Badgers and Longhorns match up statistically.
| WisConsin | Texas | |
|---|---|---|
| 30-3 (17-3 Big Ten) | Record (Conference) | 26-4 (17-1 Big 12) |
| .313 | Hitting % | .283 |
| .146 | Opp hitting % | .185 |
| 13.1 | Assists/set | 12.5 |
| 180 | Aces | 173 |
| 14.8 | Digs/set | 13.4 |
| 3.1 | Blocks/set | 2.9 |