The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
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Mississippi State
No. 2 Volleyball preview: at Mississippi State
10.03.2025 | Volleyball
Longhorns travel to Starkville for fourth SEC match.
THE MATCHUP
Texas hits the road again for its second straight away match when it faces Mississippi State. It also marks the first time this season the Longhorns will face two back-to-back matches against unranked opponents. Sunday's match will be just the second ever meeting between the two teams with Texas holding the one win.
ONE OF TWO
Texas is one of just two teams that remain undefeated this season. With an 11-0 record, Texas is joined by No. 1 Nebraska (12-0) as the lone undefeateds in the NCAA.
CURRENT RANKED WINS
The No. 2 ranked Longhorns owned the toughest non-con schedule in the country. In the first 10 matches of the season, Texas has faced eight ranked opponents (No. 12 Creighton, No. 8 Wisconsin, No. 6 Stanford, No. 4 Louisville, No. 9 Arizona State, No. 9 TCU, No. 21 Baylor and No. 21 Missouri) and won all eight, surpassing the number of ranked wins last season.
DOUBLE SS WATCH LIST
Torrey Stafford, a 2024 AVCA First Team All-American, was named to the 2025 AVCA National Player of the Year Watch List and remains on its updated season list. Stafford was an AVCA National Player of the Year Semifinalist in 2024. Freshman Cari Spears was added to the AVCA Player of the Year watch list after her breakout start to the season with the Horns.
SPEARING THE COMPETITION
Freshman Cari Spears is lights out on offense for the Horns. Spears, in just 11 collegiate matches, has recorded 144 kills, averages 3.79 per set and is hitting .344. The NCAA and conference are on notice. Spears won the SEC Freshman of the Week three times, the SEC Player of the Week twice and was named the AVCA Player of the Week once.
ALL-SEC LONGHORNS
Torrey Stafford and Emma Halter were both named to the Preseason All-SEC First Team, tied for the second-most selections with LSU and Texas A&M. Kentucky led the league with four selections.
The Longhorns have earned 12 weekly awards after four weeks of competition:
Emma Halter - Player & Defensive Player
Torrey Stafford - Player of the Week
- Offensive Player x2
Cari Spears - Freshman of the Week x3
- Player of the Week x2
Ella Swindle - Setter of the Week
Abby Vander Wal - Freshman of the Week
AVCA LOVE
Texas has now earned two AVCA Player of the Week awards this season - Torrey Stafford (9/9) and Cari Spears (9/23) - totaling to 14 all-time. The duo join the list of nine other Longhorns to ever be awarded the AVCA honor: Demetria Sance (1998), Jill Gremmel (1999), Michelle Moriaty (2006), Destine Hooker (2007), Ashley Engle (2009), Jullian Faucette (2010), Haley Eckerman - 2x (2012, 2013) Logan Eggleston - 3x (2021, 2022) and Skylar Fields (2021).
The pair are both on the AVCA National Player of the Year watch list.
SEC LEADING
Texas leads the league in kills per set (14.92) and assists per set (13.87). Stafford ranks fifth in the league with 4.29 kills per set, while Swindle is sixth with 9.29 assists per set. Both Harvey and Ames rank in the top 10 with their attacking percents. Harvey sits fourth at .409 and Ames is seventh at .370.
FRESH FACES
The roster features five freshmen and three standout transfers. The freshmen class features Callie Krueger, Addy Gaido, Taylor Harvey - the No. 1 MB in the 2025 class, Cari Spears - 2024 Texas Gatorade Player of the Year and Abby Vander Wal - AVCA First Team HS All-American. The transfers are led by Torrey Stafford (Pitt), Ramsey Gary (Indiana) and Anja Kujundzic (VCU).
DOUBLE DOUBLE MACHINE
In just 10 matches, Torrey Stafford has already recorded six double doubles in the Burnt Orange uniform. She totaled six during the entire 2024 season and only four her freshman season at Pitt.Ella Swindle is second on the team with two in just nine matches. To compare, Madisen Skinner led the Longhorns last season with eight total.
ROAD HORNS
The Longhorns have won 53 of their last 57 road matches dating back to the 2019 season. Since the 2011 season Texas has produced a 130-23 (.850) record in true road matches, with only seven of those losses coming to unranked teams. Sunday's match will be the fourth true road match this season.
RANKED SUCCESS
UT owns a 166-62 (.728) record against ranked opponents over the last 21 seasons (2004-24) and boasts a 76-15 (.835) home mark against ranked opponents at Gregory Gymnasium and the Frank Erwin Center (3-0) during that span. The Longhorns finished 5-3 last season against ranked opponents.The Longhorns are now 1-0 against ranked opponents when playing at Moody Center in Austin, Texas.
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