The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Louisville
No. 2 Volleyball preview: vs. No. 4 Louisville
09.09.2025 | Volleyball
Longhorns travel to Fort Worth for the Showdown at the Net.
No. 2 Texas Volleyball vs. No. 4 Louisville
Texas: 4-0 | Louisville 4-0
Wednesday, Sept. 10 – 8 pm CT
Dickies Arena | Fort Worth, Texas
TV: ESPN
THE MATCHUP
Texas and Louisville will meet for just the sixth time in program history. The Longhorns boast a 4-1 advantage over the Cardinal and won the last meeting in 2022 where Texas swept Louisville in the National Championship. The win in 2022 secured the Longhorns fourth national title before they won back-to-back in 2023.
ON STAFFORD WATCH
Torrey Stafford, a 2024 AVCA First Team All-American at Pitt, 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. Stafford was most recently named AVCA Player of the Week, SEC Player of the Week and SEC Offensive Player of the Week after Texas remained undefeated with wins against RV Rice and No. 6 Stanford.
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.
RANKINGS
Texas enters the third week of competition ranked No. 2 in the AVCA / Taraflex National Rankings. The Longhorns have three ranked wins - No. 12 Creighton, No. 8 Wisconsin and No. 6 Stanford - and added a win against a receiving votes Rice team.
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 five SEC teams in the top-25 as Kentucky is ranked No. 4, Texas A&M at No. 10, Florida moved to No. 12, and Missouri is now ranked 16th.
ALL-SEC LONGHORNS
Torrey Stafford and Emma Halter were both named to the 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 three weekly awards after two weeks of competition:
Emma Halter - Player & Defensive Player
Torrey Stafford - Player & Offensive Player
Cari Spears - Freshman of the Week
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.
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 four matches for Texas on the rightside, while Abby Vander Wal (OH) and Taylor Spears (MB) have entered competition as dynamic hitters on offense. Combined, they have totaled 39% of the Texas offense and 10 of the 32 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 162-62 (.723) record against ranked opponents over the last 21 seasons (2004-24) and boasts a 72-15 (.828) home mark against ranked opponents at Gregory Gymnasium (69-15) 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.
