The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
5-0,0-0SEC
Louisville
4-1,0-0ACC
No. 2 Volleyball downs No. 4 Louisville, 3-2, to improve to 5-0
09.10.2025 | Volleyball
Torrey Stafford registers fourth double-double in five matches.
FORT WORTH, Texas – No. 2 Texas Volleyball improved to 5-0 off another gutsy performance after taking down No. 4 Louisville, 3-2, (23-25, 25-16, 21-25, 25-22, 16-14) at the Shriners Children's Showdown at the Net. Torrey Stafford led the team with her fourth double-double in five matches off 20 kills and 18 digs along with three aces.
The freshmen Cari Spears and Abby Vander Wal also tallied career-high double digit kills with 16 and 14, respectively. Junior setter Ella Swindle surpassed 1,500 career assists after registering 37 on the night, Stafford now has over 500 career digs and Emma Halter reached over 300 assists in her career.
The 5-0 start by the Longhorns marks the third time in head coach Jerritt Elliott's career the Horns have beaten four ranked teams within its first five matches (2009, 2022, and 2025).
Set One: Texas dropped the first set for the second time this season, 25-23. Louisville got off to a 5-0 lead and finished the set with the final three points. Both teams recorded 16 kills apiece, but Louisville's .292 attack percentage and three blocks allowed them to take the early lead off eight Longhorn attack errors.
Set Two: The Longhorns evened the match at one (25-16), holding Louisville to a negative .061 attack percentage and just seven kills. The Longhorns combined for eight blocks led by Nya Bunton's three. She finished the match with a career high nine.
Set Three: The third set was all about the long scoring runs. Louisville took the 20-16 lead off a seven-point run, but the Longhorns were able to pull it to 24-22 off four-straight points. The Cardinal held Texas to its lowest attack percentage (.053) of the match and took the 2-1 lead with a 21-25 set win.
Set Four: Texas rallied again in the fourth (25-22) behind Spears' five kills. Sophomore middle blocker added three of her six blocks in the fourth to keep Louisville to just 11 kills.
Set Five: Louisville's quick start in the fifth was settled down by a five-point run by the Horns to even the set at 12. Texas would take four of the final six points to take the match (16-14).
Longhorns are set to host No. 9 Arizona State on Sunday, Sept. 14 at 2 pm for its first home match in Gregory Gym.
