Another deep run in the NCAA Tournament is over for the No. 1 seed Texas Longhorns (26-4) after falling to the No. 3 seed Wisconsin Badgers (28-4) in the Elite Eight on Sunday at Gregory Gymnasium in a 3-1 defeat.
Texas was consistently out of system for the entire match and struggled to consistently match Wisconsin in any area of the game even though the Horns held a statistical edge in several categories. The biggest issue was the subpar performance from junior outside hitter Torrey Stafford, who hit .132 with nine kills and four attacking errors — the Longhorns needed more from their star, outshone on her home court by Badgers standout Mimi Colyer notching a match-high 23 kills on a .309 hitting percentage.
The young Texas team struggled to find answers across the board as head coach Jerritt Elliott tried to find sparks from his bench, a failed effort.
In the first set, both teams came out swinging and stayed neck to neck attacking the net at 5-5. True freshman outside hitter Abby Vander Wal aided the Longhorns with four kills during the set, alongside fellow true freshman outside hitter Cari Spears landing three kills in the first set. Texas was able to gain a small lead as Wisconsin continued to capitalize on attacks and force errors to gain a 23-17 lead. Longhorn middle blocker Nya Bunton snagged a two kills for Texas as the match closed out with Wisconsin taking the opening set, 25-22, despite the Longhorns saving five set points.
In the second set, Wisconsin jumped out to an early 4-2 lead with Colyer snagging early kills. The Longhorns cut the lead to 11-10 by forcing attacking errors, but the Badgers stayed steady, maintaining their lead with outside hitter Grace Egan swinging strong at the net to extending the lead to 18-13. The Longhorns stayed in the match with the leadership of senior outside hitter Whitney Lauenstein tagging four late kills, but the Badges closed the second set, 25-21, having never trailed in it.
All gas in the intense third set with both teams pumping attack after attack with the Longhorns taking a 8-7 lead. While both teams stayed on each others heel’s by countering each other’s attacks until Longhorn setter Rella Binney served back-to-back aces to put Texas up 15-12. The Longhorns stood strong at the net, forcing Badger errors to close the third set, 25-20, to prolong the match, albeit only briefly.
In the fourth set, the Longhorns use the momentum from the third set and go on a 4-0 run with kills from Vander Wal and Spears. The Badgers did not lay down as they were able to for errors and counter attack with the aid of outside hitter Una Vajagic to go on a 12-4 run, putting Wisconsin up, 12-8. The Longhorns managed a 4-0 run while libero Ramsey Gary landed an ace bring the match to 18-15, but the Badgers eventually closed the fourth and final set by forcing seven Longhorn errors to end the match, 25-19.
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