NCAA Volleyball Championship Notes

NCAA Notes
-Tonight’s attendance was 17,561, which set an NCAA volleyball single-match record, besting the 17,551 from Thursday night’s semifinals. It also sets a championship match record (previous mark was 17,209 in 2006).

-This is the second consecutive year the national championship match was a sweep.

-Neither team led by more than three points in each of the first two sets. Nebraska led by five points in the third set.

-Nebraska improves to 98-30 all-time in NCAA Tournament matches. The Huskers win their fourth national title in program history to go along with their NCAA crowns in 1995, 2000 and 2006.

- Texas falls to 84-30 all-time in NCAA Tournament matches. The Longhorns take runner-up honors for the third time, joining the 1995 and 2009 teams.

-Nebraska leads the all-time series against Texas, 31-22, and snaps a five-match win streak by the Longhorns. In the NCAA Tournament, the all-time series is tied, 2-2, but Nebraska has a 2-0 mark in the finals.

-This was the second meeting between Nebraska and Texas in the NCAA Championship match. Nebraska won the 1995 title, 3-1.

-The season series between Nebraska and Texas ended in a 1-1 tie. Texas defeated Nebraska, 3-2, on Sept. 4 in Austin, Texas.

Nebraska Notes
-Nebraska wins its fourth NCAA title and first since 2006. The Huskers also won NCAA titles in 1995 and 2000, and improve to 4-3 all-time in NCAA Championship matches.

-The national title is the fourth in program history, matching UCLA for third all-time. Only Penn State (seven) and Stanford (six) have won more NCAA titles than Nebraska.

-Nebraska Head Coach John Cook improves to 3-1 in NCAA Championship matches

-Nebraska improves to 2-0 all-time against Texas in NCAA Championship matches, as the Huskers won their first national title over Texas in 1995.

-Nebraska snapped a five-match losing streak against Texas and picked up its win against the Longhorns since the 2010 season. Nebraska is now 31-22 all-time against the Longhorns, and John Cook is 18-11 in his coaching career against Texas. It is Nebraska’s first sweep of Texas since 2008

-Nebraska ends the season on 16-match win streak, its longest win streak since a 16-match streak in 2011.

-Nebraska improves to 98-30 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, as its wins and winning percentage (.766) rank second all-time among teams with at least 10 NCAA Tournament appearances

-With Nebraska’s win, a Big Ten school has won seven of the past nine years dating back to PSU’s title in 2007. In addition, Nebraska (2006, 2015) and Penn State (2007-2010, 2013-14) have combined to win eight of the last 10 NCAA titles. Nebraska was a member of the Big 12 in 2006.

-Tonight’s crowd of 17,561 eclipsed the NCAA record for largest volleyball match (17,551 in the semifinals) and for a championship match (17,209 in 2006).

-Nebraska improves to 4-1 in front of volleyball crowds of over 17,000, and has played in front of the five largest crowds in NCAA volleyball history.

-Tonight marks the first time in seven NCAA Finals appearances that Nebraska has led 2-0. In NU’s three national title wins (1995, 2000, 2006), NU had split the first two sets, while trailed 0-2 in each of the three losses (1986, 1989, 2005).

-Nebraska is now 246-0 under John Cook when hitting at least .300. Nebraska went 14-0 when hitting .300 in 2015.

-Nebraska is 28-2 when winning the first set

-Mikaela Foecke finished with a match-high 19 kills, the second-highest total of her career. Her career high was 22 kills in a five-set win at Penn State on Oct. 2. Tonight marks the fifth time this season that Foecke has totaled at least 15 kills

-Mikaela Foecke is the first freshman to be named Most Outstanding Player at the NCAA Finals since Deja McClendon (Penn State) in 2010.

-Foecke, Amber Rolfzen, Justin Wong-Orantes and Kelly Hunter were the Nebraska student-athletes named to the all-tournament team.

-Foecke had eight kills in each of the first two sets on Saturday.

-Nebraska improves to 7-4 when opponents hit over .200, as Texas hit .215 in the win.

-Justine Wong-Orantes finished with a match high 17 digs and finished the year with 555 digs to finish third on NU’s single-season list.

Texas Notes
-Texas ends the season with a 30-3 record, falling for the first time since October 28th, while also having its 12-match win streak snapped. It’s the third straight season UT has had exactly three losses and been eliminated in the Final Four.

-Texas falls to 2-3 in NCAA national title game matches, including a 1-2 mark under Jerritt Elliott.

-Texas fell to 84-30 all-time in NCAA Tournament play.

-Texas was swept for just the second time in 2015, and first time in the NCAA Tournament since the 2010 national semifinal vs. Penn State.

-Texas was represented by the All-Tournament Team by Amy Neal and Yaazie Bedart-Ghani.

- Molly McCage, Amy Neal and Kat Brooks closed their careers with the best winning percentage of any senior class in program history at .897 (113-13). The trio concluded all four seasons at the Final Four.

-Big 12 Player of the Year Amy Neal had her 24th straight match with 10 or more kills, finishing with 10. Neal added 10 digs for her 12th double-double of the fall.

-Molly McCage had one block assist and finishes with a school-record career block assist record of 459. She also closes her career with 498 career total blocks, third-most in UT history.

-Freshman Yaazie Bedart-Ghani, who entered the week with a season-high of nine kills, followed up her 15-kill semifinal vs. Minnesota with 11 kills on Saturday vs. Nebraska. Bedart-Ghani hit .545 (26-2-44) in two Final Four matches (25 kills, 2 errors, 44 swings).

-Chloe Collins had her third straight double-double, and 10th of the fall.

-Texas lost for the first time in 25 matches this fall when owning more digs than the opposition.

-Chiaka Ogbogu, who entered the match leading the Big 12 in hitting percentage (.412), was held to .000 hitting percentage (4k, 4e) in 15 swings. It was the first time all year Ogbogu has been held under .200 hitting.