The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
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Texas A&M
No. 8 Volleyball preview: at Texas A&M
09.26.2024 | Volleyball
The Longhorns embark on a new era with their first SEC match at Texas A&M on Friday.
No. 8 Texas Volleyball at Texas A&M
Texas: 5-3 | Texas A&M: 9-1
Friday, Sept. 27 – 6:30 p.m.
Reed Arena | College Station, Texas
Television: SEC Network+
THE MATCHUPS
The Longhorns renew the rivalry with Texas A&M this week as members of the SEC. The teams met last season in the NCAA First Round with Texas winning 3-1. This will be the first regular season match between the rivals since the 2021 season and the first as conference foes since 2011. Texas leads the all-time series with Texas A&M, 76-23, including a 25-13 mark in College Station.
SEC ERA BEGINS
Texas is set to embark on a new era with its first ever SEC matches. The Longhorns have a long history of conference dominance with 29 all-time conference championships, including 16 Big 12 titles and 13 Southwest Conference Championships. The 2023 title was a record seventh-straight Big 12 Championship for the Longhorns, 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. Over 41 seasons of conference affiliation, Texas has produced a 562-88 (.865) record in league matches.
THE 5-3 START
The Longhorns hold a 5-3 record at the conclusion of non-conference play, which is the same record they had at this point last season. The team's third loss also came on Sept. 15 in both the 2023 and 2024 seasons. After picking up their third loss last season, the Longhorns went on to win 13-consecutive matches before taking their fourth and final loss in early November. Texas ended last season by winning their final 10 matches on the way to the National Championship. The 2012 National Championship team also picked up three losses during non-conference play.
REIGNING NATIONAL CHAMPIONS
The Longhorns entered the season as the back-to-back National Champions after sweeping Nebraska in the 2023 title match in Tampa, Fla. Texas returns five starters from the title-winning team, including NCAA Final Four All-Tournament team members Madisen Skinner, Ella Swindle and Emma Halter. The 2023 National Championship was the program's fifth after winning the AIAW title in 1981 and NCAA titles in 1988, 2012 and 2022.
NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE YEAR WATCH LIST
The Longhorn duo of Reagan Rutherford and Madisen Skinner were both named to the inaugural AVCA Division I National Player of the Year watch list. The pair are recognized among 36 players from 21 schools on the watch list. The list will be narrowed down in November, and the committee can add players not from the original group of 36 to the November list. The last step is revealing the names of the finalists, which will be released before the AVCA Convention. Then, the 2024 AVCA Player of the Year will be announced on Friday, Dec. 20, in Louisville, KY, during the Convention.
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. She has also been extremely consistent, posting 35-consecutive matches with double-digit kills. 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.
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 spent each of the last 225 AVCA polls ranked in the top 10, while the last time Texas was not ranked in the top 10 was Oct. 11, 2010. 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 18-straight. Of the last 18 regional semifinal appearances, the Longhorns have advanced to 17 NCAA Regional Finals, 11 National Semifinals and seven National Championship matches.
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 15th and Tennessee is tied for 20th. In non-conference play, Texas has already 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.
PRESEASON AWARDS
Madisen Skinner led a group of four Longhorns named to the Preseason Volleyball All-SEC Team, joining Emma Halter, Ella Swindle and Kentucky transfer Reagan Rutherford. The Longhorns were also selected as the preseason favorite in the SEC Preseason Coaches Poll, marking the 14th- consecutive season that Texas began the season as preseason conference favorites.
RANK AND FILE
UT owns a 156-61 (.719) record against ranked opponents over the last 21 seasons (2004-24) and boasts a 71-15 (.826) home mark against ranked opponents at Gregory Gymnasium (68-15) and the Frank Erwin Center (3-0) during that span. The Longhorns went 14-2 last season against ranked opponents.
HOME COURT ADVANTAGE
A large part of the Longhorns consistent success over the last 15 years has come down to winning at home. Over the last 15 seasons, Texas has produced a 215-15 (.935) record in home matches. In that same span, the Longhorns have gone 114-1 in home league matches. The Longhorns' only home conference loss since 2010 came against Oklahoma on Oct. 25, 2014. Texas has won 76-straight home league matches, dating back to the 2014 season. During that streak, the Longhorns have had 58 sweeps and only dropped a total of 23 sets.
ATTENDANCE
The Longhorns have extended their sell-out streak to 32-straight matches dating back to the 2022 season. Texas ranked fifth nationally 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.
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 trio of young players are prepared to carry on the legacy of great middles blockers at Texas. Ayden Ames is expected to be the Longhorns' first starting true freshman middle since Chiaka Ogbogu in 2013. Redshirt sophomore Marianna Singletary and redshirt freshman Nya Bunton will also play big roles this season. 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.
WINNERS WIN
In just her first two seasons at Texas, Emma Halter played in all 61 matches during her career and won back-to-back National Championships. As a freshman in 2022, Halter was a defensive specialist and averaged 1.29 digs per set with 21 assists and 12 service aces. Last season Halter was the Longhorns' libero in every match and averaged 3.87 digs per set and added 141 assists and 38 aces. Halter also had maybe her best performance on the biggest stage, as she had 19 digs, seven assists and two aces in the NCAA Semifinal win over Wisconsin.
FIRST YEAR SETTER
Ella Swindle made history in 2024, becoming just the third true freshman setter ever to lead her team to a National Championship and the first since 2016. In the title match against Nebraska, Swindle did it all with 21 assists, seven digs, five kills, two service aces and a block. For the season, Swindle averaged 9.54 assists per set and added 92 total blocks, 227 digs, 96 kills and 30 aces. She was named the AVCA Southwest Region Freshman of the Year and landed on the Big 12 All-Rookie team.
