The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Tennessee
No. 2 Volleyball preview: No. 17 Tennessee
10.07.2025 | Volleyball
Longhorns host their ninth ranked opponent of the season.
No. 2 Texas Volleyball vs. No. 17 Tennessee
Texas: (12-0, 4-0 SEC) | Tennessee (12-1, 3-0 SEC)
Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2025 - 6:30 pm CT | SEC Network+
Gregory Gym | Austin, Texas
THE MATCHUP
Longhorns return to Gregory Gym on Wednesday for a showdown against No. 17 Tennessee for its fifth SEC match. Texas owns a 12-1 series lead against the Volunteers and have won the last 10 matches, including a sweep last season at home. Wednesday's match will be the ninth ranked matchup for the Horns this season.
ONE OF TWO
Texas is one of two teams that remain undefeated this season. With an 12-0 record, Texas is joined by No. 1 Nebraska (14-0) as the lone undefeateds in the NCAA. As of Oct. 6, Texas holds the highest-ranked RPI in the NCAA over Nebraska.
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 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 (5).
DOUBLE 'S' 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 addition list after her breakout start to the season with the Horns.
SPEARING THE COMPETITION
Freshman Cari Spears has recorded 154 kills, averages 3.76 per set and is hitting .337 in her first 12 collegiate starts. Spears has won the SEC Freshman of the Week four 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 13 weekly awards after five weeks of competition:
Emma Halter - Player & Defensive Player
Torrey Stafford - Player of the Week
- Offensive Player x2
Cari Spears - Freshman of the Week x4
- 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).
LEADING LONGHORNS
Texas leads the nation in kills per set (14.90) and assists per set (13.85). Stafford ranks 29th in the country with 4.34 kills per set and fifth in the conference. Texas has at least one player in the top-10 in each of the main six categories.
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 12 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 three in just 11 matches. To compare, Madisen Skinner led the Longhorns last season with eight total.
HAWAII TO THE FORTY
Since 2007, the Longhorns roster has seen eight student-athletes see the court by way of Hawaii to the Forty Acres: Sydney Yogi - 2008-2011, Sarah Palmer 2010-2013, Kat Brooks - 2012-2015, Jhenna Gabriel - 2018-2021, Saige Ka'aha'aina-Torres - 2021-22, Keonilei Akana - 2022-24, Devin Kahahawai - 2022-present and Rella Binney- 2024-present).
RANKINGS
Texas enters the seventh week of competition ranked No. 2 in the AVCA / Taraflex National Rankings. The Longhorns began the 2025 season as the No. 5 ranked team in the AVCA Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Longhorns have been ranked in both the top five in 19 of the past 21 seasons and the top 10 in 20 of the last 21 preseason rankings. Texas, who was picked second in the SEC Coaches' Poll, is one of six SEC teams in the top-25 as Kentucky is ranked No. 3, Texas A&M stays at No. 9, Tennessee also moved up to No. 17, and Missouri dropped to No. 25.
ROAD HORNS
The Longhorns have won 55 of their last 57 road matches dating back to the 2019 season. Since the 2011 season Texas has produced a 131-23 (.851) record in true road matches, with only seven of those losses coming to unranked teams.
GRAB THOSE TICKETS NOW!
The Longhorns extended their sell-out streak to 46-straight matches dating back to the 2022 season and rank fourth-nationally this season with an average attendance of 5,293 in five matches. Texas ranked seventh last season with an average attendance of 4,393 in 14 home matches. The Longhorns sold out all 14 home matches in 2024. In the 2022 NCAA Regional Final against Ohio State, Texas set a Gregory Gym attendance record with a crowd of 5,344. Texas set a new attendance record when they hosted Stanford at Moody Center at 10,899.
SO FROSH
The Longhorns have seen three freshmen (Harvey, Spears, Vander Wal) break into the rotation in their debut season. Cari Spears has started all 12 matches for Texas on the rightside, while Abby Vander Wal (OH) and Taylor Spears (MB) have entered competition as dynamic hitters on offense. Spears alone has recorded 25.2% of the team's kills. Combined, they have totaled 49.9% of the Texas offense and 54 of the 84.5 blocks.
SUCCESS AT THE TOP
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 19 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.
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.
NEW ERA ON THE FORTY
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 championships and 15 of the last 17. Texas departed the Big 12 Conference having won more league championships than any other program.
MIDDLE BLOCKER U
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. Sophomore Ayden Ames became the Longhorns' first starting true freshman middle blocker since Chiaka Ogbogu in 2013. 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.Taylor Harvey joins Ames as a true freshman starting as the middle blocker in six of the last 10 matches. Nya Bunton has also started five of the 12 matches this season. The three have totaled 75 of the teams blocks.
