The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Georgia
No. 2 Volleyball preview: at Georgia
09.30.2025 | Volleyball
Longhorns travel to Athens for first SEC road match.
No. 2 Texas Volleyball vs. Georgia
Texas: (10-0, 2-0 SEC) | Georgia (8-4, 0-2 SEC)
Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025 - 6 pm CT
Stegeman Gym | Athens, Ga.
THE MATCHUP
Texas travels for the first time in four matches for the second week of SEC play. It also marks the first time this season the Longhorns will face two back-to-back matches against unranked opponents. The Longhorns own an 8-0 record against the Georgia Bulldogs with Wednesday's matchup being the first road match against the Bulldogs. Texas has defeated eight ranked opponents this season in its 10 matches. Georgia has faced just three ranked opponents with a 1-2 record.
CURRENT RANKED WINS
The No. 2 ranked Longhorns own 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 have won all eight. UT has surpassed the number of ranked wins this season to last season in just eight matches.
ON STAFFORD WATCH
Torrey Stafford, a 2024 AVCA First Team All-American, was named to the 2025 AVCA National Player of the Year Watch List. Stafford was an AVCA National Player of the Year Semifinalist in 2024 and was also an All-ACC First Team member. This season, Stafford has been named AVCA Player of the Week, SEC Player of the Week and SEC Offensive Player of the Week, twice. She's just the 10th-ever Longhorn to earn the AVCA weekly award.
ROAD HORNS
The Longhorns have won 52 of their last 57 road matches dating back to the 2019 season. Since the 2011 season Texas has produced a 129-23 (.849) record in true road matches, with only seven of those losses coming to unranked teams. Wednesday's match is just the third true road match for the Horns this season.
SPEARING THE COMPETITION
Freshman Cari Spears is lights out on offense for the Horns. Spears, in just 10 collegiate matches, has recorded 129 kills, averages 3.69 per set and is hitting .336. The NCAA and conference are on notice, too. Spears has 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).
FRESH FACES
The roster features five freshmen and three standout transfers. The freshmen class features Callie Krueger - Texas 6A Defensive POY, Addy Gaido - AVCA Second Team HS All-American, Taylor Harvey - the No. 1 MB in the 2025 class via VBAdrenaline, 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) - Second Team All-Big 10 with 968 digs in two seasons, and Aja Kujundzic (VCU) - Second Team All-Atlantic 10 Conference.
DOUBLE DOUBLE MACHINE
In just 10 matches, Torrey Stafford has already recorded five double doubles in the Burnt Orange uniform. She totaled six during the 2024 season and only four her freshman season at Pitt. To compare, Madisen Skinner led the Longhorns last season with eight total, while Jenna Wenaas posted five and Averi Carlson had four. Ella Swindle is second on the team with two in just nine matches.
