The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
No.3 Volleyball lands five on All-SEC Teams
11.19.2025 | Volleyball
Torrey Stafford and Cari Spears lead Longhorns with All-SEC First Team honors
AUSTIN, Texas. —No. 3 Texas Volleyball's Emma Halter, Taylor Harvey, Cari Spears, Torrey Stafford and Abby Vander Wal all earned All-SEC honors presented by Allstate, the conference announced Wednesday morning. The last time the Longhorns had at least five players earning conference awards was in 2022 in the Big 12 marks the first time in UT history to name three to the All-Freshman Team.
Stafford and Spears led the Longhorns with All-SEC First Team honors after Stafford recorded a team-leading 394 kills and hit .344 to lead Texas to a 13-2 conference record. The junior averaged 4.56 kills per set this season, making up 31 percent of the Longhorns' kills in the season. Stafford has now collected five awards in her first year at Texas. She was also named to the AVCA National Player of the Year semifinalist list.
Spears became the first freshman in Texas history to earn both All-Conference First Team and All-Freshman Team since Skylar Fields in 2019. Spears put up 285 kills and averaged 3.35 kills per set for the Longhorns during the regular season. The Frisco, Texas native was also the first true freshman to be named to the AVCA National Player of the Year Watch List in two years.
Halter was named to the All-SEC Second Team after leading the team with 301 digs and 3.54 digs per set. The Indianapolis native was named the SEC Overall and Defensive Player of the Week once this season and climbed into the UT All-Time Performer list in digs at No. 10 with 1,212.
Vander Wal joined Spears on the All-Freshman Team after boasting 225 kills for the third-most on the team and averaged 2.68 kills per set in the 2025 season. Vander Wal was named SEC Co-Freshman of the Week once this season. Stafford, Spears, and Vander Wal combined for 71.3 percent of the Longhorns' total kills in the season.
Harvey was the final freshman to make the All-Freshman Team after the middle blocker registered 38 blocks and averaged 0.81 blocks per set. She added 48 kills and a .300 hitting percentage for the Longhorns after playing in just 18 of the 23 matches.
Texas led the conference with three freshmen on the All-Freshman Team.
