The University of Texas women’s volleyball team was looking good at last weekend’s Nike Big Four Classic tournament. Four top teams competed in this two-day event in Austin: University of Florida, Stanford, Penn State, and hometown favorite UT.

Gregory Hall was filled to capacity for Saturday’s match, which pitted UT against last year’s #2 team, Penn State. Before the match began, there was a short ceremony to unfurl UT’s 2012 National Championship banner and raise it to the rafters alongside other team honors.

Saturday’s exciting match went to five sets and lasted almost three hours. But UT finally prevailed, winning 3-2 over Penn State. I enjoyed watching seniors Sarah Palmer (16) and Hannah Allison (12). And junior Haley Eckerman’s (10) power serves are amazing!

UT played against this year’s #2 team, Stanford, in the Sunday afternoon match. This match attracted a good-sized crowd as well, but not as many as the previous day. UT won this match too, beating Stanford 3-1.

I must say that the student fans are very supportive of the UT volleyball team. They proudly display their burnt orange, yell out “Point, Texas!” as appropriate, and boisterously try to hex the opposing team’s serves.