Huskers, Longhorns Set for Regional Final Showdown

The 10th-seeded Nebraska volleyball team (24-7) plays in its 10th straight NCAA Regional Final this Saturday, Dec. 11, facing No. 2 seed Texas (27-1) at Gregory Gym in Austin, Texas. First serve is set for 9 p.m. on ESPNU with Paul Sunderland handling play-by-play duties and Salima Rockwell providing color commentary.
 
This week's action will be carried on Huskers Radio Network with the NU radio team of John Baylor and Lauren Cook West. Baylor is in his 28th season handling play-by-play duties for the Husker volleyball program, and West, a former All-America setter at NU, will provide color commentary for the sixth straight year.
 
Huskers Radio Network will carry the matches on HRN radio affiliates, including 107.3 FM in Lincoln and AM 590 in Omaha. A live audio stream will be available at Huskers.com and on the Huskers app.
 
Tourney Time
• Nebraska was selected as the No. 10 overall seed for its 40th straight NCAA Tournament appearance -- second most in NCAA history, behind only Penn State (41).
• NU improved to 31-6 all-time in NCAA Regional Semifinal matches Thursday night. The Huskers are 15-15 all-time in NCAA Regional Finals.
• Nebraska's 31 appearances in a Regional Final are the most in NCAA history, two more than Stanford (29). The Huskers' streak of 10 consecutive NCAA Regional Finals is the longest active streak in the country, six more than Wisconsin (4).
• John Cook has led Nebraska to an NCAA Regional appearance in 21 of his 22 seasons. The Huskers have advanced to a Regional Final 18 times in the previous 21 years under Cook.
• A win over Texas would secure Nebraska a trip to the NCAA Semifinal for the 16th time in program history and the fifth time in the last seven seasons.
• Cook's Husker teams have qualified for the Final Four nine times in his previous 21 years. Should NU earn its 10th NCAA Semifinal appearance under Cook, he would join Penn State's Russ Rose (13), UCLA's Andy Banachowski (11) and Stanford's Don Shaw (10) as the only coaches in NCAA history to lead a school to at least 10 NCAA Semifinals.
• Nebraska is 121-34 all-time in the NCAA Tournament. The Huskers rank second in NCAA history in postseason wins and winning percentage (.781).
• Nebraska (155) and Stanford (164) are the only programs in NCAA history to play 150 NCAA Tournament matches.
• NU is 44-27 on the road or on a neutral court in the NCAA Tournament.
• Cook is 88-22 in his NCAA Tournament career, including a 80-17 record as Nebraska's head coach.
• Cook's .825 postseason winning percentage at Nebraska is the top mark in NCAA history among any coach with at least 20 NCAA Tournament matches at one school.
 
Quick Hits
• Nebraska carries a four-match win streak into Saturday's match and looks to avenge a 3-1 loss to Texas in last season's NCAA Regional Final.
• Prior to Thursday's Regional Semifinal, Nebraska last played in Austin at the VERT Challenge, Sept. 4-5, 2015. The Huskers fell 3-2 to Texas and defeated Oregon 3-2 that year.
• This weekend is a return to her home state for Houston product Ally Batenhorst. Born in Nebraska but raised in Texas, she is the 11th Husker player all-time to come from the Lone Star State.
• Nebraska finished as Big Ten runner-up this season.
• NU is one of a nation-leading eight Big Ten teams to qualify for the 2021 NCAA Tournament field and is one of six conference teams to have qualified for an NCAA Regional this weekend. Four conference teams remain in contention: Nebraska, Wisconsin, Purdue and Minnesota.
• The Huskers won the Big Ten's most recent national title (2017).
• Nebraska leads the country with an average home attendance of 8,185 this season at the Devaney Center.
• Nebraska was the last unbeaten team in Big Ten play this year. Its 10-0 start was their second-best since joining the conference in 2011.
 
Scouting the Texas Longhorns
Texas is 27-1 on the season after rallying for a 3-2 win over No. 15 Washington in a reverse sweep Thursday night, advancing to UT's 15th Regional Final in the last 16 years. The Longhorns outhit the Huskies .346 to .211 and outblocked them 12-9. Logan Eggleston led the way with 20 kills on .441 hitting and added 13 digs and six blocks for a double-double. Skylar Fields also had 15 kills.
 
The victory preserved the Longhorns' nine-game win streak. UT is a perfect 17-0 at home this season.
 
Texas leads the country in hitting percentage (.347) and is second for aces per set (2.23), 22nd for blocks per set (2.57) and 30th for aces per set (12.74). The Longhorns have held opponents to .164 hitting this season.
 
Head coach Jerritt Elliott is in his 21st year at Texas with a record of 533-108 and his 23rd year overall with a career mark of 583-120.
 
Noting the Series: vs. Texas
Nebraska leads the all-time series with Texas 32-24, including 18-13 in the John Cook era. The Longhorns have won the last two matchups in the series -- 3-0 in the NCAA Semifinal in Columbus, Ohio, on Dec. 15, 2016 and 3-1 in last year's NCAA Regional Final in Omaha on April 19, 2021.
 
NU's last win over Texas was a 3-0 sweep on Aug. 27, 2016 in the VERT Challenge in Eugene, Ore. The Huskers' last win over UT in Austin was a 3-1 decision in Big 12 play on Oct. 2, 2010.
 
All-time, Nebraska is 2-4 against Texas in the NCAA Tournament. The Huskers' last tournament win over UT was the 2015 national championship match -- a sweep in Omaha. Current volunteer assistant coach Kelly Hunter was a sophomore on that team, helping the Huskers to their fourth NCAA title.
 
NEBRASKA VS. TEXAS IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
               Season -- Result (Round) -- Location
               1995 -- W, 3-1 (NCAA Championship) -- Amherst, Mass.
               2009 -- L, 3-1 (Regional Final) -- Omaha, Neb.
               2013 -- L, 3-0 (Regional Final) -- Lincoln, Neb.
               2015 -- W, 3-0 (NCAA Championship) -- Omaha, Neb.
               2016 -- L, 3-0 (NCAA Semifinal) -- Columbus, Ohio
               2020 -- L, 3-1 (Regional Semifinal) -- Omaha, Neb.
 
Up Next
With a win over Texas on Saturday, Nebraska advances to an NCAA Semifinal on Thursday, Dec. 16 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. The first semifinal match is set for 6 p.m. CT, and the second is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. CT. Both will be televised on ESPN.