Despite a blistering hot start against No.1-seeded University of Texas at Austin, AU fell to the University of Texas Longhorns 3-1 in Lincoln, Neb. to end the Eagles’ season.
AU made history by being the first team in program history to win a match in the NCAA tournament. The Eagles also tied a program record of 34 wins during their season.
After winning a tight first set, AU’s offense faltered against Texas’s defense and service as the Longhorns snapped AU’s 16-game winning streak.
“[The Longhorns’] block certainly developed,” AU head coach Barry Goldberg said in post-game conference. “They blocked us on a couple balls early, but they just made it tough to get kills.”
The Longhorns’ (26-2, 16-0, Big 12) serves also became a problem for the Eagles (34-3, 15-1, PL), who were unable to get good passes off of Texas’s serves.
“We didn’t do a good job serving,” junior outside hitter Monika Smidova said. “Our serving got a little weaker. On the other hand, [the Longhorns] started serving tougher. They could predict where my serve was going – to the outside or left side. We didn’t really hit the ball well in the middle in the second game.”
The Eagles came out swinging to open the game, taking the first three points of the set. Though the Longhorns were able to tie the set at 4-4 and at 18-18, the Eagles pulled away each time and reached set point when they were ahead 24-22. Texas tied the game 24-24, but the Eagles secured the first set win on consecutive errors by the Longhorns.
The Longhorns responded by dominating the Eagles in the second and third sets. The Eagles looked full of energy in the first set, but frustration settled in as the Longhorns gained double-digit advantages over the Eagles. AU fell to Texas 25-14 and 25-16 in consecutive games.
Texas appeared to be in control of the fourth set as well as they gained an 11-6 lead over the Eagles. However, the Eagles responded with a 6-2 run that put them just one point behind the Longhorns, forcing a Texas timeout. AU was able to stay within two points of Texas until the Longhorns went on a 5-1 run that Texas up 22-17 and eventually led to its 25-20 win.
The Eagles had an average hitting percentage of .138 compared to the Longhorns’ .324 hitting percentage.
Smidova notched a double-double for Eagles with 36 assists and 13 digs. Senior outside hitter Juliana Crum led AU with 20 digs, as junior outside hitter Kristyna Lindovska earned a team-high 11 kills. Junior libero Megan Rosburg added 10 digs to the Eagles’ effort.
