NEWS » Nieuwenhuis hit into the first row of seats in right-centre to ti

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. Yeezy Boost Originali . -- Catcher Brett Hayes has agreed to a $630,000, one-year contract with the Kansas City Royals, avoiding salary arbitration. Adidas NMD R1 Uomo . SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. http://www.scarpeyeezyitalia.it/adidas-nmd-r2.html . -- Team after team passed on Andre Ellington in the draft. Yeezy Boost 550 .J. -- Josh Cribbs was in the Pro Bowl in February and out of a job six months later. Yeezy Boost 350 Originali . LOUIS -- The New Orleans Saints looked like a team playing out the string. PITTSBURGH -- Jordy Mercer knows the routine. He figured it was time he experienced it for himself. The Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman singled up the middle off Gonzalez Germen with two outs in the 11th inning to send teammate Andrew McCutchen sprinting home with the winning run in a 3-2 victory over the New York Mets on Friday night. Mercer celebrated the first walkoff hit of his career and the sixth of Pittsburghs stunning season by flipping his bat in the air and then running for safety. "You make them chase you down because you know youre going to get punished afterward, punched and stuff," Mercer said. "Its all worth it in the end, though." McCutchen led off the 11th with a walk, stole second and then easily beat the throw home from centre fielder Juan Lagares to end the Mets four-game winning streak. The Pirates stayed one game behind St. Louis in the tight NL Central race. Vin Mazzaro (5-2) retired all three batters he faced to earn the victory. Starling Marte had two of Pittsburghs six hits, and Pedro Alvarez added his 24th home run. Mets All-Star David Wright had two hits and extended his hitting streak to 12 games. He had an RBI single but also flied out with two runners on to end the New York 10th. Kirk Nieuwenhuis hit his third homer of the season for New York. Germen (0-1) got only two outs in his first inning in the majors and took the loss. He struck out Alvarez and Gaby Sanchez with McCutchen on second before Mercers grounder slipped by shortstop Omar Quintanilla and into the outfield. "He made some great pitches, too," Mets manager Terry Collins said of Germen. "The 3-1 pitch to Gaby Sanchez was about as (gutsy) of a pitch that youll ever see." The game carried a little more heat than usual between one team in the midst of a pennant race and another rebuilding. Wright, the starting NL All-Star third baseman and Home Run Derby captain, added Alvarez to the NLs derby roster on Thursday after Colorados Carlos Gonzalez pulled out because of a hand injury. Still, Wrights perceived initial snub of Alvarez wasnt forgotten by Pirates fans. He was booed lustily before each at bat, even though he and Alvarez -- who will make his All-Star debut -- exchanged a handshake and a brief chat before the national anthem. "Theyre knowledgeable fans, they know whats going on and its cool that theyre upset and passionate about it," Wright said. "It made for a nice atmosphere." Alvarez wasted little time celebrating. One batter after Jose Tabata reached on an infield single in the bottom of the first, Alvarez hit the first pitch he saw from Jeremy Hefner into the New York bullpen in centre field.dddddddddddd. He trotted past Wright without looking up as the seventh sellout crowd of the season roared. Alvarez, a New York native, dismissed any sense of payback with his blast. He considers Wright a friend and would rather focus on his breakout season. "I just try to hit the pitch where its pitched, and just trying to make good contact and really not worry about trying to put too much on the ball," he said. "You cant really control the home runs. I try my best to make good contact wherever the ball is." Hefner settled down and retired 14 straight after Alvarezs homer, needing just 78 pitches to get through seven innings. He allowed three hits and struck out three without issuing a walk. "Last year and even at the beginning of this year I would have folded or given up more runs or whatever the case may be," Hefner said. "Ive been able to bounce back, turn the page and give quality outings after giving up some runs early." It marked the eighth straight start in which Hefner gave up two earned runs or fewer, the longest streak by a Mets pitcher since Johan Santana did it over 13 starts between 2008 and 2009. Pittsburghs Charlie Morton gave up two runs, six hits, and a walk with four strikeouts in his longest start since returning from elbow surgery last month. Morton rolled through five innings before Wright delivered an RBI single in the sixth. Mortons only real mistake came on a 2-0 fastball that Nieuwenhuis hit into the first row of seats in right-centre to tie it at 2. NOTES: New York right-hander Carlos Torres (0-1, 0.51 ERA) makes his first major league start in nearly three years on Saturday when he fills in for ace Matt Harvey, who is dealing with a blister on his right index finger and an innings limit. Collins says Torres could earn a regular spot in the rotation. The 30-year-old Torres has allowed just one run in 10 relief appearances since being called up from Triple-A in mid-June. A.J. Burnett (4-6, 3.05 ERA) starts for the Pirates. ... Pittsburgh wont send rookie RHP Gerrit Cole to Triple-A Indianapolis during the All-Star break. Cole is 4-2 with a 3.68 ERA since making his debut on June 11. The right-hander started on Tuesday, and the Pirates will let him have a few days off during the break rather than have him make a spot start in Indianapolis to stay on his routine. ... The Pirates acquired minor league infielder Russ Canzler from Baltimore for RHP Tim Alderson. To make room on the 40-man roster, the Pirates moved RHP James McDonald (shoulder) to the 60-day disabled list. ' ' '