The two-time defending champion Texas Longhorns are out of the NCAA women’s volleyball tournament, eliminated 3-1 Friday in the regional semifinals by Creighton in State College, Pennsylvania.
It wasn’t an upset in terms of seeding, as the Bluejays are the No. 2 seed and Texas is No. 3 in the Penn State regional. But Texas is a four-time national champion and one of the sport’s longtime powerhouses. Creighton has never made it to the final four but will have the chance to do so in Sunday’s regional final against No. 1 seed Penn State (ESPN, 8:30 p.m. ET). The Nittany Lions beat No. 5 Marquette 3-1 later Friday.
Sunday’s other regional final is at No. 1 Nebraska, which faces No. 2 Wisconsin (ABC, 3 p.m. ET). Friday, the Huskers defeated No. 5 Dayton 3-1, and the Badgers defeated No. 6 Texas A&M 3-2.
This is Creighton’s second appearance in a regional final; the Bluejays advanced in 2016 but were eliminated by Texas. On Friday, Creighton won its 25th match in a row, the longest active streak in Division I. Norah Sis led Creighton with 15 kills, 3 blocks and 13 digs.
Creighton men’s basketball coach Greg McDermott posted on social media that his team stopped practice to watch the clinching point of the volleyball match and to celebrate the Bluejays victory.
Texas’ quest to become the second Division I women’s volleyball team to win three NCAA titles in a row came to an end. The only school to do that is Penn State, which won four consecutive titles from 2007-10. Madisen Skinner, who has won NCAA titles at Kentucky and Texas, led the Longhorns with 23 kills Friday.
Texas won NCAA championships in 1988, 2012, 2022 and 2023, plus has gone to the NCAA final four 11 other times. The Longhorns started this season ranked No. 1 in the AVCA top 25 poll, but ran into some tough times right away, losing three of their first six matches.
In its first season in the SEC, Texas went 13-3, finishing second to league champion Kentucky. The Wildcats advanced Thursday to the Pittsburgh regional final, where they will face host Pitt, the No. 1 overall seed, Saturday (ESPN2, 5 p.m. ET) for a trip to the final four.
Saturday’s other regional final is at Louisville, where the No. 1 seed Cardinals host No. 2 Stanford (ESPN2, 7:30 p.m. ET).
The final four is in Louisville, with the semifinals on Dec. 19 at 6:30 and 9:30 p.m. ET on ESPN and the final on Dec. 22 at 3 p.m. ET on ABC.
