The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
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Mississippi State
No. 8 Volleyball preview: Mississippi State
10.01.2026 | Volleyball
Longhorns set to host 11-1 Bulldogs in first home SEC match of the season on Friday.
Match 11: No. 8 Texas Volleyball vs. Mississippi State
Texas: 5-5 (1-1) | Mississippi State: 11-1 (1-0)
Friday, Oct. 2 – 6:30 p.m. CT
Gregory Gymnasium | Austin, Texas
Television: SEC Network+
On the Call: Play-by-Play: Max Kelton | Analyst: Zoe Jarvis
AUSTIN, Texas – The Longhorns (5-5, 1-1 SEC) will play their first home match since Sept. 13, when they defeated No. 6 Wisconsin in four sets at Moody Center in front of 10,294 fans, the second-largest crowd in program history. Texas last played at Gregory Gymnasium on Sept. 2, sweeping No. 15 USC.
The 30-day stretch between regular-season matches at Gregory Gymnasium will be the longest of the Jerritt Elliott era.
Mississippi State enters Friday's match at 11-1 overall and 1-0 in SEC play. The Bulldogs have won eight consecutive matches, including a five-set victory over LSU in their SEC opener last Sunday. Mississippi State is 4-0 on the road this season, while its lone loss came against Rice at the Jaguar Classic in Mobile, Alabama, on Aug. 30.
THE MATCHUP
- Friday will be the third all-time meeting between Texas and Mississippi State and the first in Austin. The Longhorns lead the series 2-0, earning a 3-1 victory in Starkville in 2024 before sweeping the Bulldogs on the road in 2025.
- Texas won the 2024 meeting, 25-8, 25-15, 21-25, 25-17, before taking the 2025 matchup, 25-14, 25-19, 25-15.
RANKED TEXAS
- Texas is No. 8 in the latest AVCA Coaches' Poll and is one of five SEC teams ranked in the top 14, joining No. 3 Kentucky, No. 7 Florida, No. 11 Tennessee and No. 14 Texas A&M.
- The Longhorns have faced nine ranked opponents through their first 10 matches, including five top-10 teams based on their ranking at the time of the match: No. 1 Nebraska, No. 3 Kentucky, No. 6 Louisville, No. 6 Wisconsin and No. 8 SMU.
STAFFORD'S SENIOR STEP
- Senior outside hitter Torrey Stafford leads the Longhorns with 150 kills, 3.95 kills per set, 164 points and 4.32 points per set through 10 matches.
- She has recorded double-digit kills in each of the last six matches and four double-doubles this season. Stafford posted a season-high 28 kills and a career-high 66 attacks at No. 11 Tennessee (9/25), adding 12 digs, four blocks and two aces in Texas' reverse sweep of the Lady Vols.
- She recorded 12 kills against No. 3 Kentucky (9/27).
- Stafford led Texas with 516 kills, 33 service aces and 580.5 points in 2025 while earning AVCA First-Team All-America and Southwest Region Player of the Year honors.
SPEARS' SECOND ACT
- Sophomore outside hitter/opposite Cari Spears ranks second among Longhorns with 131 kills, 3.45 kills per set and 155 points.
- She has recorded at least 10 kills in eight of 10 matches this season, including each of the last seven. Spears had 18 kills in back-to-back matches against No. 8 SMU (9/9) and No. 6 Wisconsin (9/13), matching her career high against Wisconsin while adding three service aces and hitting .326.
- Spears leads Texas with 14 service aces this season.
NYA AT THE NET
- Senior middle blocker Nya Bunton has recorded 76 kills while hitting .408 this season, the fourth-best hitting percentage in the SEC, and has added 43 total blocks.
- Bunton collected her 100th career block against Wisconsin (9/13), then established career highs with 13 kills and 25 attacks while hitting .480 in the same match.
- She followed with a career-high 14 kills and four blocks while hitting .393 at No. 11 Tennessee (9/25).
HARVEY IN THE MIDDLE
- Sophomore middle blocker Taylor Harvey has recorded at least five total blocks in each of her last three matches, including solo blocks against No. 6 Wisconsin (9/13) and No. 3 Kentucky (9/27).
- Harvey matched her season high with six kills at No. 11 Tennessee (9/25). She also recorded four blocks and three kills while hitting .429 at No. 8 SMU (9/9).
BINNEY SETS THE TABLE
- Junior setter Rella Binney leads Texas with 303 assists through 10 matches and has recorded five double-doubles.
- She has recorded at least 30 assists in six matches this season, including each of her last four. Binney recorded career highs of 54 assists and 14 digs at No. 11 Tennessee (9/25) and added 30 assists and a career-best four blocks at No. 3 Kentucky (9/27).
GARY TAKES THE REINS
- Senior libero Ramsey Gary leads Texas with 146 digs and is averaging 3.84 digs per set.
- Gary has recorded double-digit digs in six of 10 matches, including each of the last four. She posted a career-high 27 digs at No. 8 SMU (9/9), followed by 25 against No. 6 Wisconsin (9/13) and 21 at Tennessee (9/26)
- The Indiana transfer was a two-time All-Big Ten selection and two-time all-region honoree during her career with the Hoosiers.
ZOE RETURNS TO GREGORY GYM
- Former Longhorn Zoe Jarvis, formerly Zoe Fleck, will serve as the analyst for Friday's match.
- Jarvis was the starting libero on Texas' 2022 NCAA Championship team and earned AVCA First-Team All-America and Big 12 Libero of the Year honors that season. She finished her Texas career as a two-time AVCA All-American after earning third-team honors at UCLA in 2021.
- Jarvis later competed with the U.S. Women's National Team and played professionally in Germany before joining LOVB Austin, where she helped the team win championships in 2025 and 2026. She currently plays for the Atlanta Vibe of Major League Volleyball.
HOME COURT ADVANTAGE
- Texas has extended its home sellout streak to 57 matches.
- The Longhorns drew 10,294 fans for the Wisconsin match at Moody Center on Sept. 13, the second-largest crowd in program history. The program record is 10,899 fans for the 2025 match against Stanford.
- Texas ranked fifth nationally and led the SEC in total home attendance in 2025, drawing 67,149 fans across 15 matches.
Texas Volleyball is Presented by Huntington Bank
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