The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
#6 Creighton
No. 13 Volleyball preview: NCAA State College Regional
12.11.2024 | Volleyball
The Longhorns will face Creighton on Friday at 12 p.m. CT at Rec Hall.
No. 13 Texas Volleyball vs. No. 6 Creighton
Texas: 20-6 | Creighton: 31-2
Friday, Dec. 13 – 12 p.m. CT
Rec Hall | State College, Penn.
NCAA Regional Schedule
Dec. 13 – 12 p.m. CT – #13 Texas vs. #6 Creighton
Dec. 13 – 2:30 p.m. CT – #2 Penn State vs. Marquette
Dec. 15 – 7:30 p.m. CT – TBD
THE MATCHUPS
Texas and Creighton meet for just the second time ever and the first time since 2016. The only other match between the Longhorns and Bluejays was also in the postseason, in the 2016 NCAA Austin Regional Final at Gregory Gymnasium. Texas swept Creighton in that match to advance to the NCAA Final Four.
NCAA TOURNAMENT TALK
Texas is making its 19th-consecutive NCAA Regional Semifinal ("Sweet 16") appearance, the longest active streak in the country. This is the program's 41st NCAA Tournament appearance and the Longhorns have a 118-36 all-time record in the NCAA Tournament. In 35 previous Regional Semifinal appearances, Texas has advanced to 28 NCAA Regional Finals, 15 NCAA Semifinals and 10 National Championship matches. The Longhorns have won a total of five National Championships in program history. UT captured the AIAW National Championship in 1981 and also won NCAA Championships in 1988, 2012, 2022 and 2023.
ALL-SEC LONGHORNS
Madisen Skinner and Marianna Singletary were both named to the All-SEC First Team to lead a group of four Longhorns honored on the All-SEC teams in their first season in the league. In addition to Skinner and Singletary, Reagan Rutherford was named to the All-SEC Second Team and Ayden Ames was named to the All-Freshman Team.
TOUGH SCHEDULE
The SEC has proven to be among the elite conferences in NCAA Volleyball with five teams advancing to the NCAA Regionals, tied with the Big Ten for the most of any conference. The Longhorns faced a tough road during the regular season and played a total of 16 matches against teams that made the NCAA Tournament, including nine SEC programs. The SEC joined the ACC and Big Ten to lead all conferences with nine teams selected to the postseason tournament.
CONSISTENT SUCCESS
Texas has been the model of consistency for well over a decade now, being the only Division I volleyball program to have ended each of the last 18 seasons ranked in the top 10. The Longhorns have also finished in the top 5 in 15 of the last 18 seasons, including 11-straight years from 2008-18. Texas also has the nation's longest active streak of NCAA Regional Semifinal ("Sweet 16") appearances with 19-straight. Of the last 19 regional semifinal appearances, the Longhorns have advanced to 18 NCAA Regional Finals, 12 National Semifinals and eight National Championship matches.
WINNING STREAKS
Texas played extremely well for a long stretch of the season, winning nine-consecutive matches including the first seven SEC matches. During that winning streak, Texas hit .300 and averaged 14.13 kills per set, 13.07 assists per set and 2.82 blocks per set. The Longhorns then had a tough stretch with three-straight five-set losses. Following that tough stretch, Texas has now won it's last eight-consecutive matches with a .349 hitting percentage during those matches. During the current winning streak, Madisen Skinner has been incredible with 6.05 kills per set and a .422 hitting percentage.
SEC ERA UNDERWAY
Texas Volleyball embarked on a new era in the SEC and came just short of winning the conference title in the program's first season. The Longhorns have a long history of conference dominance with 29 all-time league championships, including 16 Big 12 titles and 13 Southwest Conference Championships. The Longhorns' 2023 league title was a record seventh-straight Big 12 Championship, who won or shared 12 of the last 13 league championships and 15 of the previous 17. Texas departed the Big 12 Conference having won more league championships than any other program.
ATTENDANCE
The Longhorns extended their sell-out streak to 42-straight matches dating back to the 2022 season and rank sixth-nationally this season with an average attendance of 4,393 in 14 matches. Texas ranked fifth last season with an average attendance of 4,495 in 16 home matches. The Longhorns sold out all 16 home matches in 2023 and finished the 2022 season with 12-straight sellouts at Gregory Gym. In the 2022 NCAA Regional Final against Ohio State, Texas set a Gregory Gym attendance record with a crowd of 5,344.
SINGLETARY'S DOMINANT STRETCH
Middle blocker Marianna Singletary put together a dominant stretch of matches in October and was named the SEC Defensive Player of the Week for three-consecutive weeks. Singletary was also named the league's Player of the Week in two of those three weeks. For the season she has 134 total blocks and ranks 13th in the nation with 1.44 blocks per set. She also has 178 kills and a .357 hitting percentage for the season.
SENIOR SKINNER
Madisen Skinner cemented herself as one of the best players in the country last season and is among the top returning players in 2024. With over 1,800 career kills, Skinner ranks 12th in career kills amongst active players in Division I. A three-time National Champion and the 2023 VolleyballMag.com National Player of the Year, Skinner is in her final season of college volleyball in 2024. Last season, Skinner ranked sixth nationally with 4.80 kills per set and seventh with 547 total kills. Her 547 kills were the third-most ever by a Longhorn player and the most since Mira Topic (593) in 2004. Skinner stepped up her play in the postseason, averaging 5.43 kills per set with a .316 hitting percentage and was named the NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player.
RANKINGS
Texas, who was picked first in the SEC Coaches' Poll, is one of four SEC teams in the top-25 as Kentucky checks in at No. 12, Florida is ranked 18th and Missouri is 24th. In non-conference play, Texas faced four nationally ranked teams – Wisconsin, Minnesota, Stanford and Baylor. Texas began the 2024 season as the No. 1 ranked team in the AVCA Preseason Coaches' Poll for the fifth time (2013, 2017, 2021, 2023, 2024). The Longhorns appeared in the top four of the AVCA preseason poll for the 18th-consecutive season and were ranked in the top two spots for the 11th time in the last 18 seasons.
RANK AND FILE
UT owns a 159-61 (.723) record against ranked opponents over the last 21 seasons (2004-24) and boasts a 72-15 (.828) home mark against ranked opponents at Gregory Gymnasium (69-15) and the Frank Erwin Center (3-0) during that span. The Longhorns went 14-2 last season against ranked opponents.
ROAD WARRIORS
The Longhorns have won 49 of their last 54 road matches dating back to the 2019 season. Since the 2011 season Texas has produced a 129-23 (.849) record in true road matches, with only seven of those losses coming to unranked teams.
MBU
For more than two decades under head coach Jerritt Elliott, the Longhorns have had a legacy of All-American middle blockers starting with Leticia Armstrong (2003-08) and Brandy Magee (2003-07) before continuing on with Lauren Paolini (2005-08), Rachael Adams (2008-11), Khat Bell (2011-14), Molly McCage (2012-15), Chiaka Ogbogu (2013-17), Brionne Butler (2017-21) and Asjia O'Neal (2019-23). These nine All-American middle blockers earned a total of 25 All-America honors dating back to 2005.
MBU CONTINUED...
Following the graduation of All-American Asjia O'Neal, a pair of young players are prepared to carry on the legacy of great middles blockers at Texas. Ayden Ames is the Longhorns' first starting true freshman middle blocker since Chiaka Ogbogu in 2013. Redshirt sophomore Marianna Singletary is having a breakout season and has been named SEC Defensive Player of the Week three times. The Longhorns finished third nationally with 2.89 blocks per set last season, with double-digit blocks in 21 of the 32 matches last season.
