113 days ago, this strange and wonderful odyssey of a volleyball season began, with a jam-packed slate of preseason invitational matches that the NCAA humorously never fully updated on their official website. The road from that day was long and its exact path uncertain, but it inexorably reaches its conclusion tonight.
Nearly everyone in the nation were in action that day and night, with numerous teams playing more than once. Our two finalists tonight started their respective treks toward the national championship with easy three-set wins against inferior competition. Both have had their ups this season and sparing downs – Oregon perhaps more so playing in the doubtlessly stronger conference – and now tonight just one gets to walk out with that beautiful trophy that collegians of all stripes dream about.
For me, it has been an exhilarating first competitive season behind the helm of The Net Set, and I can only hope for bigger and better things still to come. My only regret has been that I did not provide more and better coverage than I did. It was a fine learning experience that will help immeasurably for next season, but rest assured I am not simply hanging up my keyboard for the next nine months after the final ball falls tonight. Volleyball is a true year-round sport, and I hope you will stick with me in further coverage of other forms in the upcoming months.
Someone must have flipped a bad switch in Bristol or something, because there were serious issues with the audio at the beginning of the broadcast. If anyone out there still listens to airwave radio (has that become a thing of the past, like land-line telephones?) it sounded like if you were trying to listen to a radio station at 1280AM while tuned in to 1260. You could still sort of make it out, but it was messy and horrible. They went to spot as soon as somebody realized it, and it was fixed when they came back (with the pre-recorded piece that got butchered played a second time). Not very professional, ESPN.
Bailey Webster got the Longhorns out to quite a strong early advantage, getting a kill on her first swing and stuffing Alaina Bergsma on the National Player of the Year’s first swing to make it 3-0. Hook ’em Horns made it 5-1 a little later with another block against Bergsma. As could be expected, they asserted themselves at the net throughout the early part of the set, putting up a lightning-quick double block of Ariana Williams on the right-side slide play to make it 8-3. Oregon called time after a hitting error on their part made it 9-3 Texas.
The block party continued out of the timeout, with Hannah Allison and Khat Bell stuffing Liz Brenner on the left side this time, to make it 11-4. On the ensuing rally, Brenner appeared for a moment to have beaten the block for once, but her swing actually hit the antenna before clearing the net, and that made it point Texas. She was not happy with the call, but replays showed it was clearly correct. After the Ducks were able to side out at 12-5, they gave the point right back with a service error, to put the ever-dangerous Haley Eckerman at the service line. Her massive jump-serve as deadly as ever, they ran out to 15-5 at Oregon’s early second timeout.
Oregon were finally able to side out and get Eckerman off the service line at 16-5, but once again gave it up with a service error to fall down 16-6. Oregon continually failed to take any points on serve, with the Longhorns getting blocks on three straight rallies, for seven in the set, to end up up 20-7. Molly McCage made a fool of me from my preview for saying there were no impact players in the middle, as she was in on all three of those blocks. A blocking error at last got the Ducks another point, as Canace Finley got her third kill on as many swings for perhaps the only highlight for the Ducks in this first set.
But Oregon just looked awful in the first set. No execution, no answer for the Texas block, and a lot of out-of-system rallies that were just cringe-inducing. They finally took a point on serve with the ace for Bergsma that made it 22-10, but it was damage long, long since done. Karch Kiraly noted that this happened with Michigan in Texas’ national semifinal, that they were soundly defeated in the first set only to be competitive in the rest of the match. And indeed, Oregon were badly outplayed by Nebraska in the first set in the regional finals before winning, but no matter what this was not how they drew up the first set this morning. Eckerman’s left-side kill, that made the flagger sort of flinch as he first started to call out and then called in, ended the first at a gruesome 25-11.
Bergsma was an astonishing 0/5/9 in the first set for a negative .555. But she got on the board on the first rally, what had to feel like a colossal monkey coming off her back. But Oregon played a terrible point on the next rally. Setter Lauren Plum accurately anticipated a dink attempt from the other side and got a nice up, but the would-be free ball from the right side by Finley landed wide. You just can’t do that, certainly not in a national championship match. With the Texas block keying on Bergsma and Brenner, Oregon were able to find some measure of success with Finley and Kat Fischer, and Plum kept feeding those hitters.
This set proceeded much more evenly, with ties at the first 5 numeral scores. Texas then took a point on serve with Eckerman, but they weren’t able to take the advantage, as a left-side kill sided the Ducks out. Oregon looked to have made some very good adjustments from the first set, as no longer did every single contact with the Texas block result in a point for the Longhorns. Indeed, often Oregon were able to use the Texas block for points of their own, by angling their shots in such a way that blocking errors were the result.
And the stalemate continued for a while, broken at last with a 3-point mini-run from Oregon to go up 12-10. This prompted Texas’ first timeout of the night. Further un-professionalism from the ESPN people after the timeout, as their graphic to detail blocks in each set showed Oregon and Penn State, rather than Texas. How can they make such stupid mistakes?
At 13-11, Bergsma took easily her best swing of the night to that point, and one of the first where it really looked like she was comfortable and the offense in-system. The result of course was an easy kill. The set became a little bit of a stalemate again at that point. At 15-13, Plum played an excellent, athletic point, by bluffing a set only to at the very last moment, after the apex of her jump, send it over with the left hand. The Texas defense was completely fooled, and the ball fell in. Bergsma got another massive swing on the ensuing rally, and at 17-13 and Texas’ timeout, Oregon had definitely arrived.
Texas came out strong out of their timeout, though, to close back within 17-16. Behind the very effective serving of the setter Hannah Allison, they ran the set even at 17, the last point coming on the Longhorns’ first (and as it happened, only) block of the set. Oregon responded well coming out of their timeout. Taking a less than optimal set from Allison, Webster’s first swing after the timeout wound up going into Bergsma and Williams’ double block. A little later, Oregon scored with a play I really don’t recall seeing once during the national semi, a quick set to the middle for Williams. And it worked, putting the Ducks up 20-17.
Back-to-back kills from Eckerman, with such impressive hops, got the Longhorns back within a point at 21-20, but the Ducks kept the set from coming even on the next rally. Sha’Dare McNeal‘s serve on 22-21 resulted in a bizarre point were Williams for Oregon and Bell for Texas were called for simultaneous net violations – Bell in fact touching the net with her foot – to replay the point. Oregon won the ensuing rally with a kill from the left side. Eckerman’s kill to make it 23-22 put her on the service line. Oregon’s reception was very good, but they could not put the ball down, leading to a long rally that ended up in Texas’ favor. The Ducks took their last timeout at the 23-23 tie.
But the timeout sure didn’t ice Eckerman, as her jump-smash was picture perfect for an ace to give the Longhorns set point. Brenner saved it with a left-side kill off the touch. Texas went straight to Webster on the ensuing rally for an easy kill to get their second set point. They went back to Webster leading 25-24, and it looked like an easier ball for the Oregon defense, but it still fell in to put the Longhorns up two sets to none.
Hitting errors really were the story of the first two sets, with Oregon tallying a whopping 15 (albeit far more in that grotesque first set) to just 3 for Texas. Adding in service errors make it 20-4 in “favor” of Oregon. Sideline reporter Maria Taylor had a very nice interview with Kerri Walsh-Jennings at halftime. Y U NO ASK ABOUT PARTNER, MARIA? 😛
Both sides kept the same rotation for set 3. There was a brief stalemate at the beginning of the set, but Texas took the lead with a run starting from 4-4. On McNeal’s serve, they ran off four straight to take the lead, before Brenner could side the Ducks out again with a very difficult shot from just inside the left antenna. Texas’ last point of the run came on another block of Bergsma, who continued to hit negative for the match.
The set continued for a short while with Texas holding a 3-point advantage amidst a series of sideouts. On the rally at 11-9, Texas appeared to have a kill with McNeal, but the ball was ruled up and the rally continued. Texas’ coach Jerritt Elliott was up and protesting. Texas eventually won the point. Replays of the as-called pancake save were inconclusive. The next two points were service aces for the Longhorns, prompting Oregon’s timeout. The Ducks came out much stronger to take three straight and close it to 14-12, prompting Texas’ timeout.
And at that point it was a stalemate again. The Ducks fortunately got Eckerman off the service line after just one rally, from 17-14 to 17-15. Webster and McCage broke the string of sideouts to put the Longhorns up four at 19-15. At 19-16, Oregon’s Fischer was called for a carry – after she attempted to kick the ball to keep it alive. You’re allowed to kick the ball, but evidently the official thought it stayed on her foot a little too long.
But the best Oregon could do was play even. Sideout volleyball is not winning volleyball, if it starts when you’re already down. Oregon took their final timeout of the night trailing 23-18, as Texas started to pour it on late. It wasn’t much longer before it was over.
#3 Texas d. #5 Oregon (25-11, 26-24, 25-19)
Congratulations to the Texas Longhorns, your 2012 NCAA national champions in women’s volleyball. Further reactions will come in a separate post, because this is all that matters right now – congratulations to the national champions.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
