Nebraska and Texas will meet in the NCAA volleyball national championship game

The GIST: Last night’s semifinals saw overall No. 1–seed Nebraska and defending champ No. 2 Texas dig out spots on Sunday’s championship court. Here’s how it went down.

No. 1 Nebraska Cornhuskers silence the No. 1 Pittsburgh Panthers: Turns out, third time’s not the charm for the Panthers, who fell in the NCAA semis for the third straight year. The Huskers’ brick-wall block party and back-court defense quieted Pitt’s typically stellar attack to log their first semifinal sweep since 2005. Must be the juice.

No. 2 Texas Longhorns hook the No. 1 Wisconsin Badgers: After splitting the first two sets, it was all bad news for the Badgers — Texas posted an 11-point run in the third set, ultimately outscoring Wisconsin a whopping 50–29 in the final two sets to win 3-1. Plus, the Longhorns’ star outside hitter Madi Skinner’s six aces set the NCAA Final Four single-game record.

Sunday’s ’ship, 3 p.m. ET (ABC): Neither Nebraska nor Texas are strangers to the spotlight — this marks the Huskers’ 11th and Longhorns’ ninth title game appearances. But while Texas owns the all-time head-to-head record, Nebraska scored the last dub, taking down the Longhorns in 2021’s Elite Eight.

• Whether the defending champs or the season’s best record-holders hoist hardware, expect an instant classic.