Will Texas Longhorns Be Able to Defend Their 2022 NCAA Volleyball Title as They Face Wisconsin in the Semis?

The NCAA Women’s Volleyball has reached the national semi-final stage and made the competition scorching hot. While almost every candidate is a strong contender for the championship, the Texas Longhorns enter the semis as the defending champions.

The Texas Longhorns are going strong so far, but now face the toughest teams in the bracket. While their semi-final match is against the ferocious Wisconsin Badgers, they’ll potentially face the mighty Nebraska Huskers in the finals if they advance. Will the defending champions of 2022 be able to take the trophy home in 2023 as well?

Facing the 2021 champs and the 2023 mountains

The Texas Longhorns finished their regular season campaign with a staunch record of 22-4. While this allowed them to win the Big Twelve Championship, it pales in comparison to the records of its adversaries. The Nebraska Huskers won the Big Ten Championship after their 27th consecutive victory and finished their regular season with a 28-1 record. Moreover, the Badgers ended their regular season with a 26-3 record.While both these Big Ten teams are tough opponents (Wisconsin and Texas), Texas recently defeated one of the biggest NCAA teams as well. In fact, it overcame its perennial nemesis and the most successful NCAA women’s volleyball program in the quarterfinals, the Stanford Cardinal.

This story of domination even continued for Nebraska and Wisconsin, but Texas’ ride hasn’t been as smooth. While the Texas Longhorns almost got eliminated by Tennessee in the regional finals, Nebraska and Wisconsin never let any match go beyond the fourth set. 

Although the Texas Longhorns are the defending champs, the Wisconsin Badgers are also looking forward to restoring their 2021 glory. The 2023 mountains, the Nebraska Huskers, are also getting better with each performance, and are also enjoying the benefits of being the number one seed. 

Why will the Texas Longhorns lift the trophy this year?

The Texas Longhorns advanced to the semifinals after defeating their arch-rivals Stanford in the national quarter-finals. Stanford brags the highest number of NCAA women’s volleyball championships, with nine victories under its belt. The Stanford Cardinal had eliminated Texas several times in the last decade from the championship run. 

In fact, they were the reason why Texas could only win two championships since 2008, despite making it to the semis 10 times in this duration. But, the Texas Longhorns have knocked them out of the contest. Moreover, while Texas didn’t have a clean postseason record last season, they won the finals against a staunch lineup of Louisville with a ravishing clean sweep. 

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Thus, it’s not just the Texas Longhorns who will be in survival mode. As the semifinals of NCAA Women’s Volleyball soon commence, the Texas Longhorns will be ready to take on the Wisconsin Badgers, and the Nebraska Huskers as well. Will Texas be able to repeat their 2022 magic in 2023 as well?

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