COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Texas and Stanford are both volleyball royalty, but theyre not the teams everyone expected to be in the last match of 2016. The Cardinal lost seven times this season; the Longhorns lost four. Neither team was ranked No. 1 at any point during the year, and neither won its conference title.Yet, you get the sense that we really will be seeing the best two teams as of right now when they meet for the national championship Saturday (9 p.m. ET, ESPN2/WatchESPN).The AVCA polls top ranking stayed in the Big Ten all season, with Nebraska being No. 1 for 12 weeks, Minnesota two weeks and Wisconsin one week. Did the grind of Big Ten play wear out NCAA tournament top seed Nebraska and No. 2 seed Minnesota? Perhaps, but whats certain is that the No. 4 Longhorns and No. 6 Cardinal definitely wore them out in Thursdays semifinals.Texas swept Nebraska, and Stanford beat Minnesota 3-1. Now, well see who has more firepower when they face each other for the 27th time in the programs history; Stanford leads the series 18-8.Each team had scares during earlier rounds this year, with Texas facing two match points against BYU in the regional semifinals and Stanford being down 2-0 to Wisconsin in the regional final. But its as if every test that the Longhorns and Cardinal faced along the way was a needed step to getting here.Stanford is the top blocking team in Division I at 3.4 per set. Texas, meanwhile, is second in hitting percentage at .311. So that right there is a very intriguing matchup. Nebraska is a strong blocking team, too, yet the Longhorns successfully challenged that in the semifinals. Stanford should provide a bigger obstacle, literally.The Cardinals size certainly was tough for Minnesota to deal with, including 6-foot-8 junior Merete Lutz, and 6-6 freshmen Kathryn Plummer and Audriana Fitzmorris. But Texas hitters Ebony Nwanebu, Paulina Prieto Cerame and Micaya White are all major threats against even the best block.Stanford will be playing in its 15th NCAA championship match; the Cardinal have won six titles, but none since 2004. For Stanford, appearing in the final four used to be about as common as the calendar changing to a new year. It has been more difficult in recent seasons, which coach John Dunning acknowledges. At the same time, he understands exactly why so much is always expected from the Cardinal.Stanford gives us the resources to have a chance to be great, Dunning said. And thats all I could ask for. Its up to us to go out and find the players who fit at Stanford and will be happy there.Weve been to 20 of the final fours, and thats a lot of success. In the last six or seven years, we havent been here as much, and yes, thats frustrating. Just because I want the program to succeed at the level that all the people who came before set the bar at. But it is harder, because there are so many good teams.Kerri Walsh Jennings, who helped lead Stanford to two NCAA titles in the 1990s, said shes thrilled to see the Cardinal playing in the national championship match for the first time since 2008.Its such an amazing program, Walsh Jennings said. It just shows the level of collegiate volleyball that Stanford has come up short the past few years. Im not surprised that they can do what theyve done with freshmen, though, because Ive seen leadership and greatness at all ages. It says something about how the freshmen feel empowered that they can do that.Stanfords rookies, including AVCA National Freshman of the Year Plummer, say the connections with the past are strong enough that they energize the current Cardinal athletes.I was reading the emails that former players sent to us, Stanford freshman setter Jenna Gray said. And the one that probably got me the most excited was from Bryn Kehoe, the setter who led them to a national championship as a freshman [in 2004]. Its crazy, because the All-Americans are up on the wall in our locker room, and now theyre talking to us.Texas has not won as many championships (two, in 1988 and 2012) nor been in as many final fours (12) as Stanford, but the Longhorns consistency in the past decade in particular has been tremendous. Texas has made the final four in eight of the past nine seasons and is playing in the final for the sixth time overall. As with Stanford, the Texas alumni have been reaching out to current Longhorns with good wishes.It just lets you take a step back, Texas senior setter Chloe Collins said, and be like, Wow, Im a part of this big university and representing them in a way that I never thought I could.The pressure that comes from that, though, perhaps got to the Longhorns at times this season.They wanted it so bad, Texas coach Jerritt Elliott said of a chance at winning a title, and they didnt know how to get it. We [coaches] were just confident in what we were doing with them.Its important to be able to create leadership within our team that is able to speak when were not in the locker room, and on the road, and those kind of things. You have to be very real with them, and you have to be honest with them.Elliott and Dunning are both in their 16th seasons at their respective schools; Dunning also coached 16 years before that at Pacific, where he won two NCAA titles to go along with his two at Stanford. Both coaches have watched how much the sport has grown and changed.Ive seen it from like the very embryo kind of stage -- at least on the college and high school scene -- through now, Dunning said. And its remarkable. It doesnt surprise me at all, the parity we have right now.In the end though, the 2016 final has come down to two programs that have, for the most part, defied parity and stayed at or near the top. Now they are back on familiar turf: playing for a championship. Cheap Air Max Wholesale . -- Arizona knocked off some quality opponents, rolled over a few overmatched ones and grinded out victories even when things didnt go so well. Air Max Shoes Online Cheap . Shot outdoors against the stunning backdrop of Banff, Alta., the networks 30-minute original production airs tonight at 8pm et/5pm pt on TSN2. The four All-Star teams will play for $100,000 in prize money during TSNs annual skins game, airing live this weekend on TSN from The Fenlands Banff Recreation Centre. http://www.airmaxsalecheap.com/ . LOUIS -- Attorneys for the St. Air Max For Sale Cheap . Ivanovic was leading 7-5, 1-0 when Hantuchova withdrew after falling 0-40 behind in the second game. The match started slowly for Ivanovic, who surrendered her first two serves as Hantuchova took a 5-3 lead. Air Max Sale Cheap . Listen to the game live on TSN Radio 1050 at 7pm et. The Raptors traded Rudy Gay, Quincy Acy and Aaron Gray to the Sacramento Kings on Monday, in exchange for Greivis Vasquez, John Salmons, Patrick Patterson and Chuck Hayes. PITTSBURGH -- Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin was critical of officiating from Sundays 24-9 win over the Cleveland Browns and said he believes the league should explore full-time officiating. NFL officials are part-time employees and often have successful jobs away from the field.I think it needs to move in that direction, and move relatively quickly, said Tomlin on Monday when asked about the idea of full-timers, which he said hes supported for years. But there are politics and so forth involved in that.After the game Sunday, Tomlin said the Steelers-Browns matchup featured questionable officiating because of some bad calls.Tomlin, who is typically not critical of officials, was asked Monday about an unnecessary roughness call on linebacker Lawrence Timmons, who flew ovver Browns quarterback Cody Kessler on a play that concussed the rookie late in the third quarter.dddddddddddd Linebacker Ryan Shazier was bringing down Kessler from behind when Timmons lunged toward Kessler. Tomlin said Timmons missed him and confirmed he disagrees with the call.The leagues standard fine for coaches criticizing officials is $15,000. Theres no official word on whether Tomlin will receive a fine.Tomlin said he hasnt yet heard from the league.I was just kind of disturbed by some of it, Tomlin said. Its a natural human response. I know those guys got a tough job. I respect the job that they have to do. But weve got tough jobs as well. ' ' '