No. 4 Texas volleyball swept Texas Tech at home in its final Big 12 regular season matchup on Saturday afternoon.
Texas scored two immediate points as the crowd chanted “We! Are! Texas!” following the introduction of the Longhorns and the recognition of the senior players, Bella Bergmark, Asjia O’Neal, Carissa Barnes and Molly Phillips. The team’s chemistry was evident as the Longhorns worked together seamlessly to score right out of the gate. Even with the Longhorns having a young team this year, the freshmen are able to communicate with the seniors on the court.
“I think it’s part of the culture,” said Texas head coach Jerritt Elliott. “The seniors have to invest in the freshman. … The other night Asjia (O’Neal) had the younger players over at her house for dinner.”
Texas’ tight-knit team started every set strong. There were moments when the score was close or tied, but the Longhorns rarely fell behind the Raiders. At the end of the sets, Texas had no issues finishing what they started.
“We knew coming into this year that everyone was going to want to beat us. … We had an even bigger target on our backs,” O’Neal said.
O’Neal’s kills proved to be a problem for the Red Raiders as the first set moved along. With crucial blocks made by senior Molly Phillips and saves made by junior Madisen Skinner and sophomore Emma Halter, the Raiders drifted behind. However, it remained close throughout with Texas Tech trailing closely behind Texas up until a time-out on the court.
Texas Tech called a time-out on the court when they were seven points behind Texas, the Raiders came back to score twice before eventually falling to Texas in the first set, 25-17.
In the second set, Texas was able to get a fast lead by blocking at the net which proved in the first set to be difficult for the Raiders to work against. Texas Tech was also not able to make saves in the same way Texas can, which allowed for players like redshirt freshman Marianna Singletary to shine.
After a tense back and forth with impressive saves from both sides, Singletary scored a kill against the Raiders.
Ending the second set, redshirt freshman Kenna Miller had a block that the Raiders hit out of bounds, a mistake that cost Tech several points throughout the set.
Texas came out on top in the third set with a kill from Phillips starting a scoring streak for Texas, but as the set carried on, mistakes from Texas caused them to give up a few points. In the end, those were points Texas could afford to lose, as the score of the final set was 25-14.
“It’s everyone’s game that they have circled on their calendar,” Elliott said. “We get everybody’s best shot.”
The Longhorns secured their final regular season Big 12 title after their win against Iowa State, but celebrated both the championship title and the team’s seniors after this game. O’Neal celebrated her sixth consecutive Big 12 title.
The Longhorns now move on to the first round of the NCAA Tournament and will know their tournament seeding tomorrow.
“I’m really excited for the girls next year,” O’Neal said about Texas’ transition to the SEC. “It’ll be high-level volleyball, so it’ll be a fun transition.”
