meetings and numerous talks. And the fact that he stuck by us and believed in us, I think it means a lot. Because in the beginning we were: ‘Oh, you’re a young group; Oh, you’re this.’ And we proved to everybody that we really were a good team.” Texas had to be very good against Michigan in the semifinals after falling down 2-1 in sets. The Wolverines were making a surprise trip to the semifinals after starting the 64-team tournament unseeded. Mark Rosen’s troops caught fire at the right time and parlayed tournament wins over Tennes- see, Louisville, Michigan State and Stanford into a puncher’s chance in Kentucky. Michigan outside hitter Lexi Erwin
(Spring, Texas) took the gloves en route to 26 kills in a phenomenal 87 swings, but it wasn’t enough. Down 12-10 in the deciding fifth set, Texas libero Hannah Allison came up with three big digs on Erwin in one rally to help save the Longhorns’ season. “I told my assistants that the semifinal match can often be much more difficult to win than the championship,” Elliott said. “I knew how well Michigan was playing, and I was worried we might see them earlier in the tournament.”
The other semifinal was also not devoid of drama. Penn State was back in the semifi- nals after a one-year hiatus (the Nittany Li- ons won four straight titles from 2007-2010) and captured the first set against Oregon in head coach Russ Rose’s trademark business- like fashion.
BOMBS AWAY: Sha’Dare McNeal takes aim for Texas. (Photo courtesy: Jim Sigmon)
“She has a tremendous amount of talent but continues to work so hard,” Elliot said. “She hits the ball at such a high point, but she is smart enough to also move the ball around, which makes her so difficult to defend.” Webster had an eye on her coach when the Longhorns started to pull away in the third set of the championship match. After the final point dropped, she ran like a blitz- ing linebacker and jumped on her coach in jubilation. “She’s been telling me all year long: ‘Coach, I’m coming for you.’ We talked about it a little bit when we were up late in (set) three,” Elliott said. “She looked and kind of got tears and she goes: ‘I’m coming after you, coach.’ She made me a promise
48 | VOLLEYBALLUSA we were going to win.”
All the players really wanted this title to reward their coach’s belief in them – through the injuries, disappointments and exhaustion. Webster and Bell had both battled back from serious ACL injuries. Webster, who floated like a butterfly and stung like a bee in Muhammad Ali’s hometown, served as the spokesman for the close-knit team. “I think it means a lot to him, especially the fact that I’ve been here for four years with Shaw (McNeal), and he’s believed in us every single time,” she said. “And he never gave up on us. And I think every year we have great girls coming in and out of Texas, and every time he’s just like: ‘We have something special, guys. We can do this.’ And I’ve been there for numerous
Oregon raced to a 20-10 lead in the sec- ond set behind Bergsma, Liz Brenner (Port- land, Ore,) and Katherine Fischer (Los Altos, Calif.) as Nittany Lion setter Micha Hancock went down with an injury during the stretch. But things started to unravel for Oregon as Hancock returned to the court. Penn State’s Ariel Scott (Ridgewood, N.J.) had a pair of swings to put Penn State up 2-0, but Jim Moore’s Ducks survived the barrage and a non-call on one set point to hold on and enter the break 1-1. The 30-28 set was the most dramatic of the weekend, and Fischer had seven kills alone in that set.
The loss also spoiled a homecoming for
Penn State’s Deja McClendon (Louisville, Ky.), who was one of the stars on the Nittany Lions’ 2010 title team.
The weekend and the season, however, ultimately belonged to Texas. Elliott said there was still some celebrating to do before plans for a title defense were mapped out. “I am just so happy for all the alumni and administration who played a role in this championship,” he said. One thing was certain. Around the
women’s volleyball program in Austin, goril- las were definitely an endangered species.
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