The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Arkansas
No. 9 Volleyball preview: at Arkansas
10.08.2026 | Volleyball
Longhorns return to road Friday for SEC matchup with Arkansas.
Match 13: No. 9 Texas Volleyball at Arkansas
Texas: 7-5 (3-1) | Arkansas: 8-6 (0-3)
Friday, Oct. 9 – 7 p.m. CT
Barnhill Arena | Fayetteville, Ark.
Television: SEC Network+ | Play-by-Play: JB Brazeal; Analyst: Caitilin Vogrinc; Reporter: Kennedy Smith
AUSTIN, Texas – No. 9 Texas Volleyball returns to the road Friday, traveling to Fayetteville to face Arkansas at 7 p.m. CT at Barnhill Arena. The Longhorns enter the match after earning a pair of home victories over Mississippi State and Alabama last weekend.
Texas swept Mississippi State on Friday before rallying for a four-set victory over Alabama on Sunday. The Longhorns hit .322 across the two matches, including a season-high .438 against Mississippi State.
Arkansas enters Friday's match at 8-6 overall and 0-3 in SEC play. The Razorbacks have dropped their last four matches, including five-set losses to Auburn and South Carolina.
THE MATCHUP
- Friday will be the fifth all-time meeting between Texas and Arkansas and the second in Fayetteville. The Longhorns lead the series 4-0.
- Texas' only previous match in Fayetteville came on Nov. 8, 2000, when the Longhorns rallied from a 2-0 deficit to earn a 3-2 victory.
- Texas has won the last two meetings, sweeping Arkansas in Austin in 2024 and 2025.
COMING OFF A 2-0 WEEKEND
- Texas earned a pair of home victories last weekend, sweeping Mississippi State before defeating Alabama in four sets.
- The Longhorns hit a season-high .438 against Mississippi State and finished the weekend hitting .322 across the two matches.
- Senior outside hitter Torrey Stafford led Texas with 38 kills across the two matches, including 20 kills on a season-best .419 hitting against Mississippi State.
- Junior setter Rella Binney totaled 79 assists over the weekend, averaging 11.29 assists per set.
ARKANSAS AT A GLANCE
- Arkansas enters Friday's match having lost four consecutive matches and is 0-3 in SEC play.
- The Razorbacks most recently fell to South Carolina in five sets, 25-11, 21-25, 25-19, 21-25, 11-15.
- Sophomore outside hitter Parker Duncan led Arkansas with 20 kills against South Carolina while hitting .318 and adding two service aces. It was her ninth double-digit-kill performance and third consecutive.
- Senior opposite Romani Thurman added 14 kills and a team-high seven blocks, while middle blocker Aleki Alexander posted a career-high nine kills and four blocks.
- Junior setter Kiki Remensperger recorded a season-high 51 assists and 19 digs against South Carolina.
SEC WEEKLY AWARDS
- Texas earned four SEC weekly awards on Oct. 5 following its 2-0 weekend against Mississippi State and Alabama.
- Junior setter Rella Binney was named SEC Player of the Week and Setter of the Week, earning the first weekly honors of her career after totaling 79 assists across the two victories.
- Senior outside hitter Torrey Stafford was named SEC Co-Offensive Player of the Week, the eighth SEC weekly honor of her career, after recording 38 kills across the two matches.
- Freshman outside hitter Henley Anderson was named SEC Freshman of the Week, earning the first weekly honor of her career after recording double-digit kills in both matches.
STAFFORD'S SENIOR STEP
- Senior outside hitter Torrey Stafford leads Texas with 188 kills and 4.18 kills per set through 12 matches.
- Stafford ranks fifth in the SEC and 28th nationally in kills per set, while her 4.57 points per set rank sixth in the conference.
- She has recorded double-digit kills in 10 matches this season, including each of her last eight, and has five double-doubles.
- Stafford earned SEC Co-Offensive Player of the Week honors on Oct. 5, the eighth SEC weekly honor of her career, following her performances against Mississippi State and Alabama.
BINNEY SETS THE TABLE
- Junior setter Rella Binney leads Texas with 412 assists and is averaging 9.16 assists per set.
- She has recorded at least 30 assists in eight matches this season, including each of her last six.
- Binney totaled 79 assists in Texas' wins over Mississippi State and Alabama last weekend, including 39 against Mississippi State and 40 against Alabama.
- She earned SEC Player of the Week and Setter of the Week honors on Oct. 5, the first weekly awards of her career.
ANDERSON MAKES HER MARK
- Freshman outside hitter Henley Anderson has made an immediate impact in her first season with the Longhorns, ranking third on the team with 91 kills.
- Anderson posted double-digit kills in each of Texas' last two matches, recording 12 kills on .400 hitting against Mississippi State and 13 kills on a career-best .455 hitting against Alabama.
- She earned SEC Freshman of the Week honors on Oct. 5, the first weekly honor of her career.
ROAD HORNS
- The Longhorns have won 62 of their last 67 true road matches dating back to the 2019 season.
- Texas went 13-0 in true road SEC matches before suffering its first loss at Texas A&M on Oct. 31, 2025.
- Since 2011, Texas is 136-25 (.845) in true road matches, with only seven of those losses coming against unranked teams.
ELLIOTT APPROACHES MILESTONES
- Head coach Jerritt Elliott is in his 26th season at Texas and enters Sunday's match with 692 career Division I victories and 642 wins at Texas.
- Elliott is eight wins away from 700 career Division I victories and from 650 at Texas.
- His 642 victories at Texas rank 21st all time among coaches at a single Division I institution, while his 692 career Division I victories rank fourth among active Division I coaches.
Texas Volleyball is Presented by Huntington Bank
