TAMPA, Fla. >> Madison Skinner had 18 kills and a Final Four record six aces to lead defending champion Texas to a 3-1 win over Wisconsin in the semifinals of the NCAA women’s volleyball tournament tonight.

The Longhorns (27-4) advance to face top overall seed Nebraska, which swept Pittsburgh 3-0 in the other semifinal, in Sunday’s championship. Wisconsin was the only team to defeat the Cornhuskers (33-1) this season.

Skinner had three aces in an 11-0 run in the third set that broke the match open. Texas, a No. 2 seed that eliminated second overall seed Stanford in the regional final, won 25-22, 20-25, 25-13, 25-16. The Longhorns had a season-high 11 aces, while the Badgers, a No. 1 regional seed, had 11 service errors.

“We work on (serves) so much in practice and it’s a work in progress,” Skinner said. “Sometimes you get them in, sometimes you don’t, but staying aggressive regardless was my mindset tonight.”

Asjia O’Neal had 11 kills without an error and hit .688. Jenna Wenaas and Molly Phillips both had 10 kills for the Longhorns, who have three NCAA titles. Emma Halter had 19 digs, her 11th straight game with double-figure digs. Ella Swindle had 46 assists. Keonilei Akana (Kamehameha) had six digs in the win.

Skinner, who won a championship at Kentucky as a freshman when the Wildcats beat Texas 3-1, also had nine digs. After hitting .000 in the first two sets she hit over .400 in the last two, finishing at .227.

“I was just going to keep going after it,” Skinner said. “My teammates trust me and I was like, ‘Guys, I’m fine. I’m just going next on, swinging high and swinging for hands. … Kept being Maddy Skinner and it was great. My teammates were pulling for me and it was great.”

Sarah Franklin and Anna Smrek both had 13 kills for the Badgers (30-4), who beat Nebraska in the 2021 final for their only title. Wisconsin, second in the nation with a .313 hitting percent, finished at .223.

The first set was tied at 21. O’Neal had two kills and Skinner and Swindle one each for the Longhorns to hand Wisconsin its only first-set loss of the season.

The Badgers had a 7-0 run in the second set, when Texas hit .075.

Then the Longhorns took over. After taking a 5-3 lead on a Badgers’ service error, Skinner served 10-straight points, with back-to-back aces making it 15-3. Wisconsin’s next two serves were errors, the second pushing the lead to 18-5.

A 10-1 run, turning a 5-4 lead into a 15-5 lead, included three more aces by Skinner and two by O’Neal highlighted the fourth set.

Nebraska sweeps Pitt

Harper Murray had 13 kills, Bekka Alllick had 10 blocks and Nebraska continued its relentless march to an NCAA volleyball championship with a 3-0 sweep of Pittsburgh in the semifinals on Thursday night.

Nebraska advanced to its 11th championship match and will go for its sixth title on Sunday against defending champion Texas. The Longhorns defeated Wisconsin, the only team to beat the Cornhuskers this season, 3-1 in the other semifinal.

The Huskers (33-1) won 25-20, 25-23 and 25-7. Pitt (26-5), which had 22 attacking errors, lost the first set on an attack error, lost the second with a service error and the third on a net violation. Pitt’s only leads were 1-0, 3-2 and 4-2 in the first set.

The Cornhuskers, who do not have a senior on their roster, set the tone with eight blocks in the first set and hit .407 in the third to improved to 15-0 against Pitt. The last meeting was in the 2021 semifinals, won by Nebraska 3-1.

“These guys thrive in the big moments,” Nebraska coach John Cook said. “I had no idea how they’d play, such a big stage. A couple of players have been on this stage but most of our starters have not. They love the big show.”

Both teams were seeded No. 1 in their regional with Nebraska the overall No. 1 seed.

It was expected to be a defensive struggle with the Huskers (.134) and the Panthers (.138) the top team teams in the country in hitting percent defense. Nebraska finished at .245 but the Panthers, who hit at .307 for the season, finished at .137.

Merritt Beason and Ally Batenhorst both had eight kills for Nebraska. Andi Jackson had five, hitting .556, and Allick four, hitting 571. Beason also served four aces, three in the third set. Lexi Rodriguez had 14 digs and Bergen Reilly 31 assists.

Olivia Babcock, the national Freshman of the Year, had 12 kills but only hit .148 for Pitt and Torrey Stafford, another freshman, had 10, hitting .094. Rachel Fairbanks had 29 assists and nine digs. Lexis Akeo (Kamehameha) had two assists for Pitt.

The Panthers had 13 errors and hit .000 in the first set. They trailed 24-20 in the second and scored three straight before the service error. They were trailing 16-10 in the third set when Beason served three-straight aces.