The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Texas A&M
10.31.2026 | Volleyball
Longhorns host Aggies in Cotton Holdings Lone Star Showdown at Gregory Gym.
Match 19: No. 14 Texas Volleyball vs. No. 17 Texas A&M
Texas: 11-7 (7-3) | Texas A&M: 14-8 (7-3)
Sunday, Nov. 1 | Noon CT
Gregory Gymnasium | Austin, Texas
Television: ABC | Play-by-Play: Eric Frede; Analyst: Mary Wise; Reporter: Michella Chester.
AUSTIN, Texas – No. 14 Texas Volleyball returns to Gregory Gymnasium to host No. 17 Texas A&M on Sunday, Nov. 1, in the Cotton Holdings Lone Star Showdown. First serve is set for noon CT, with the match airing live on ABC.
The Longhorns enter the matchup at 11-7 overall and 7-3 in SEC play after sweeping Georgia on Wednesday. Texas hit .366 and held the Bulldogs to a .145 hitting percentage in the straight-set victory. Senior outside hitter Torrey Stafford led all players with 15 kills, extending her streak of double-digit kills to 14 consecutive matches. Freshman outside hitter Henley Anderson added 11 kills on .409 hitting and two aces.
Texas is 6-1 at home this season, including a 5-1 record inside Gregory Gymnasium, and has extended its home sellout streak to 62 matches. The Longhorns rank ninth nationally and fourth in the SEC with 13.14 assists per set and 20th nationally and fifth in the conference with 13.88 kills per set. Senior middle blocker Nya Bunton ranks 11th nationally and third in the SEC with a .431 hitting percentage.
Texas A&M enters Sunday's match at 14-8 overall and 7-3 in SEC play after earning a four-set win over No. 6 Tennessee on Friday. The Aggies are 3-3 on the road this season. Outside hitter Kyndal Stowers ranks 18th nationally and fifth in the SEC with 4.41 kills per set and 15th nationally and fourth in the conference with 5.06 points per set. Middle blocker Eliza Sharp ranks 20th nationally and leads the SEC with 1.41 blocks per set. Stowers recorded 19 kills and 15 digs against Tennessee for her sixth consecutive double-double, tying the program record.
THE MATCHUP
- Texas and Texas A&M will meet for the 105th time in program history on Sunday.
- Texas leads the all-time series, 79-25, including a 41-6 record in home matches.
- The Longhorns won the most recent meeting, a four-set victory in the semifinals of the 2025 SEC Tournament, snapping a two-match losing streak to the Aggies.
- Prior to the two-match skid, Texas had won 11 consecutive meetings against Texas A&M and 23 of the previous 24.
- Texas head coach Jerritt Elliott is 26-9 against the Aggies, including a 15-2 record at home.
- Texas and Texas A&M have combined to win three of the last four NCAA championships, with Texas claiming the 2022 and 2023 titles and Texas A&M winning the 2025 championship.
- Sunday will mark the 23rd meeting in series history with both teams ranked in the AVCA Top 25. Texas holds a 17-5 advantage in those matchups.
- Texas is 10-0 at home against Texas A&M when both teams are ranked.
- Including Sunday's match, Texas will have been the higher-ranked team in each of the last 22 ranked meetings. Texas A&M was ranked No. 18 and Texas No. 20 when the teams first met as ranked opponents on Nov. 20, 1982, with the Longhorns earning a four-set win.
- Sunday's match will mark the third consecutive ranked meeting in the series, matching the longest such streak since 2004-05. The only longer stretch was 11 consecutive ranked meetings from 1995-99.
- Texas has won five of the last six ranked matchups.
COTTON HOLDINGS LONE STAR SHOWDOWN
- Texas holds a 7-3 advantage in the all-time Lone Star Showdown series.
- The Longhorns won the 2024-25 competition, 11-7, while Texas A&M claimed last season's title, 11.5-7.5.
- Texas A&M leads this year's standings, 2-0, entering Sunday's match. The winner will earn one point in this year's scoring.
TEXAS AT A GLANCE
- No. 14 Texas enters Sunday's match with an 11-7 overall record and a 7-3 mark in SEC play. The Longhorns are 6-1 at home, including 5-1 inside Gregory Gymnasium.
- Texas ranks ninth nationally and fourth in the SEC with 13.14 assists per set and 20th nationally and fifth in the conference with 13.88 kills per set.
- Senior middle blocker Nya Bunton ranks 11th nationally and third in the SEC with a .431 hitting percentage.
- Senior outside hitter Torrey Stafford ranks 12th nationally and fourth in the SEC with 4.48 kills per set and 21st nationally and fifth in the conference with 4.87 points per set.
- Texas hit .366 and held Georgia to a .145 hitting percentage in Wednesday's sweep. Stafford recorded 15 kills, while Anderson added 11 kills on .409 hitting.
TEXAS A&M AT A GLANCE
- No. 17 Texas A&M enters Sunday's match with a 14-8 overall record and a 7-3 mark in SEC play after earning a four-set win over No. 6 Tennessee on Friday.
- The Aggies are 3-3 on the road this season.
- Outside hitter Kyndal Stowers ranks 18th nationally and fifth in the SEC with 4.41 kills per set and 15th nationally and fourth in the conference with 5.06 points per set.
- Middle blocker Eliza Sharp ranks 20th nationally and leads the SEC with 1.41 blocks per set.
- Stowers tied the program record with her sixth consecutive double-double, recording 19 kills and 15 digs against Tennessee. She also set a career high with seven blocks.
- The Aggies recorded a season-high 16 blocks against Tennessee, led by Kaia Castle's 12, which ranks fourth in program history for a four-set match.
STAFFORD'S SENIOR STEP
- Senior outside hitter Torrey Stafford leads Texas with 296 kills, averaging 4.48 kills per set, and 321.5 points. She ranks 12th nationally in kills per set and 21st in points per set.
- In SEC matches, Stafford averages 5.17 kills and 5.60 points per set, ranking second in the conference in both categories.
- Stafford has recorded four 20-kill performances and has registered double-digit kills in each of her last 14 matches.
- She had a match-high 15 kills on .312 hitting in Wednesday's sweep of Georgia.
SPEARS' SECOND ACT
- Sophomore outside hitter/opposite Cari Spears ranks second among Longhorns with 197 kills and 3.08 kills per set and leads the team with 17 service aces.
- Spears has recorded at least nine kills in 12 matches this season and surpassed 500 career kills against Alabama on Oct. 4.
- She collected eight kills on .333 hitting and a match-high four blocks in Wednesday's sweep of Georgia.
ANDERSON MAKES HER MARK
- Freshman outside hitter Henley Anderson ranks third on the team with 193 kills and averages 2.92 kills per set.
- Anderson has recorded double-digit kills in eight consecutive matches, including 11 kills on .409 hitting and two aces in Wednesday's sweep of Georgia.
- She has earned SEC Freshman of the Week honors twice this season, most recently on Oct. 19 after recording double-doubles against Auburn and No. 7 Florida.
BUNTON AT THE NET
- Senior middle blocker Nya Bunton has recorded 106 kills in 14 matches while hitting .431, with 55 total blocks and an average of 1.06 blocks per set.
- Her .431 hitting percentage ranks 11th nationally and third in the SEC.
- Bunton has recorded at least four blocks in five matches this season, including a match-high eight against USC on Sept. 2.
HARVEY IN THE MIDDLE
- Sophomore middle blocker Taylor Harvey has recorded at least five total blocks in five matches this season.
- She had six kills on .625 hitting and three blocks in Wednesday's sweep of Georgia.
- Harvey matched her season and career high with six blocks against Alabama on Oct. 4 and recorded her 100th career block against Florida on Oct. 18.
BINNEY SETS THE TABLE
- Junior setter Rella Binney leads Texas with 608 assists, averaging 9.21 per set, and has recorded seven double-doubles.
- In SEC play, Binney averages 9.97 assists per set, the sixth-best mark in the conference.
- She recorded 20 assists in Wednesday's sweep of Georgia and dished out a career-high 63 assists in Texas' four-set win at Arkansas on Oct. 9.
GARY TAKES THE REINS
- Senior libero Ramsey Gary leads Texas with 263 digs and averages 3.98 digs per set.
- Gary ranks second in the SEC with 4.17 digs per set in conference matches.
- She has recorded double-digit digs in 13 matches this season, including 11 of the last 12, and had 13 digs in Wednesday's sweep of Georgia.
- Gary established a Texas rally-scoring era record with 34 digs in a four-set win at Arkansas on Oct. 9. The total is the most by a Longhorn in a four-set match and tied the program record established in 1999.
ELLIOTT APPROACHES MILESTONES
- Head coach Jerritt Elliott is in his 26th season at Texas and has compiled 696 career Division I victories, including 646 wins with the Longhorns.
- Elliott is four wins away from 700 career Division I victories and 650 at Texas. His career win total ranks fourth among active Division I coaches, while his Texas victories rank 21st all time among coaches at a single Division I institution.
- Elliott's 26 seasons at Texas rank fourth among active coaches at Power Four programs and first among active head coaches in the SEC.
Texas Volleyball is Presented by Huntington Bank
