Peaking Texas, dominant Nebraska clash in high-powered NCAA volleyball championship match

TAMPA, Fla.  — Two of the nation’s preeminent programs will meet for the NCAA Division I women’s volleyball national championship Sunday when No. 5 Texas (27-4) meets No. 1 Nebraska (33-1) Sunday at Amalie Arena (2 p.m., ABC). Texas is seeking its fifth national title while trying to become the first repeat champion since Stanford in 2018 and 2019, and Nebraska hopes to claim its sixth title:

Here’s what you need to know about the matchup:

Rivalry renewed for title match

A certain level of animosity toward all things burnt orange was one reason Nebraska skipped out of the Big 12 and joined the Big Ten in 2011, but that conference switch didn’t cool off the rivalry. The teams have met five times in the NCAA Tournament since then, with Texas winning three of those matches. Nebraska won the last meeting between the teams, handing Texas its last NCAA Tournament loss in a 2021 regional final at Gregory Gymnasium. Overall, Nebraska leads the series 33-24 and has won the two previous meetings in a national championship game in 1995 and 2015.    

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Digging the decades of coaching

Nebraska’s John Cook and Texas’ Jerritt Elliott have each been at their respective schools for more than two decades, and they’ve each compiled an impressive résumé. In 24 seasons at Nebraska, Cook has 13 conference championships, 11 Final Four appearances and four national championships while compiling a 688-99 record. He was announced as the 2023 Division I coach of the year during the annual American Volleyball Coaches Association banquet this week in Tampa. In his 23 years at Texas, Elliott also has 11 Final Four appearances while reaching seven title games and winning two championships. Overall, Elliott has a 587-114 record at Texas.

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Wisconsin coach says match could be ‘all-time great’

Wisconsin coach Kelly Sheffield knows plenty about both Nebraska and Texas, considering his team split a pair of games with the Cornhuskers in Big Ten play and fell to Texas 3-1 in Thursday’s national semifinal. He said the title showdown “is going to be an all-time great match. Whether you’re a volleyball fan or not, if you’re just a sport fan, you’d be nuts not to watch it. Both teams are just complete teams, and both teams have gotten a lot better as the season’s gone on. If you’re asking me who do I think is going to win, I can’t even tell you. Here’s what I know: Both teams are playing their best volleyball right now. Nebraska has been rolling through the season and Texas, with their backs against the wall, they haven’t flinched. I remember seeing (Texas) earlier this year. They were a totally different team. They’ve really, really grown together. It should be a great match.”

Texas vs. Nebraska prediction

Texas. Top-ranked Nebraska has arguably the greatest freshman class in college volleyball history, but the Longhorns are peaking at the perfect time with back-to-back 3-1 wins over top seeds Stanford and Wisconsin.