Quest for elusive title about to get rougher
AUSTIN — The best collegiate volleyball player in the country grinned at a question that, by now, felt familiar.
Of course Logan Eggleston broke a sweat during top-seeded Texas’ sweep of Georgia in the NCAA tournament’s second round. But like so many of their other lopsided wins during this near-perfect season, the Longhorns’ 25-14, 25-16, 25-15, rout of the Bulldogs looked effortless.
And Eggleston’s expected dominance was again met with a sort of “well, of course” reaction from the fans and media members who saw it live at Gregory Gym.
“We definitely had to work hard to do what we did tonight,” Eggleston said last Friday, trying to sell it with a sheepish smile. “So yes, we definitely broke a sweat. I’m still sweating right now.”
To illustrate the point, Eggleston casually wiped her brow despite a lack of glistening evidence that the senior outside hitter had, in fact, perspired after hitting .389 with nine kills and a career-high-tying five service aces against Georgia.
Regardless of how difficult it was or wasn’t for Eggleston and the Longhorns (24-1) to advance to
NCAA regional round for the 17th straight season, it’s only going to get tougher from this point on.
Texas will face No. 16 Marquette (29-3) in the Austin Regional semifinals Thursday afternoon at Gregory Gym after No. 8 Minnesota and No. 10 Ohio State finish their 11 a.m. match. If the Longhorns win, they will face either the Buckeyes or Golden Gophers in Saturday’s regional final.
“We came to this program to do great things, so it’s really cool to continue on with that tradition,” Eggleston said. “To get there again, it’s definitely always a challenge. But it’s really exciting to make it into the Sweet 16 again.”
There’s just one thing missing from Eggleston’s
trove of awards and accolades: an NCAA title.
Since winning the 2012 national championship, the Longhorns have reached the regional final seven times and finished as runner-up once (2020). Big 12 player of the year Eggleston, setter of the year Saige Ka’aha’ainatorres, libero of the year Zoe Fleck and the rest of coach Jerritt Elliott’s immensely talented team have their hearts set on ending that streak.
“It’s not something easy to do,” Ka’aha’ainatorres said last Friday. “This program is so special, and we all work super hard to be able to be in this position. So to get here for another year in a row is super awesome. It’s nice to celebrate (the Sweet 16) it but we also have to get back to work.”
Texas doesn’t need any additional help. Still, spending the first two weeks of the NCAA tournament in front of adoring ear-splitting crowds at Gregory Gym has provided the Longhorns with another psychological edge.
Over the last 13 seasons, Texas has produced a 19512 (.942) record in home matches. This year, the program ranked fifth nationally with a program record average attendance of 4,291.
“It will be loud and rocking,” Marquette coach Ryan Theis said, per the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “We do the best we can to simulate it. But there’s nothing like it. We can’t really experience it until we’re there. So we’ll get into it and hopefully start with excitement versus nervousness.”
Few teams have been able to truly push Texas this season.
Iowa State stunned the Longhorns Oct. 19 with a five-set win in Ames, Iowa. Baylor put up a fierce fight in the Big 12 title game, though Texas still won in four sets. Of the rest, only Kansas was able to make it to a fifth set against the Longhorns, and that happened way back on Sept. 21.
Marquette has dominated its schedule, too. But not in the manner
Texas has. Same goes for Ohio State (21-9) and Minnesota (22-8), both of which lost to Texas in August.
Remarkable Texas teams have fallen short before. But perhaps none as talented as this year’s group, one led by Eggleston and determined to finish the job this time around.
“The joy that I saw in their eyes coming to practice and their energy, that’s made me really happy,” Elliott said. “How locked-in they’ve been, you know, we didn’t have any real letdowns at all. It shows me that there’s an enthusiasm to go get this and that they’re determined to try to win one game at a time.”