No. 7 Volleyball preview: at No. 13 Tennessee

Match 9: No. 7 Texas Volleyball at No. 13 Tennessee
Texas: 4-4 | Tennessee: 9-1
Friday, Sept. 25 – 6 p.m. CT (7 p.m. ET)
Thompson-Boiling Arena | Knoxville, Tenn.
Television: SEC Network
On the Call: Play-by-Play: John Roethlisberger | Analyst: Kele Eveland

THE MATCHUP

Texas leads the all-time series with Tennessee, 13-1, including wins in the last 11 meetings.
Texas defeated Tennessee in five sets, 25-19, 20-25, 23-25, 26-24, 16-14, on Oct. 8, 2025, in Austin.
Back to Knoxville: Friday marks the first meeting between the programs in Tennessee since 1984 and just the second match between the programs played in Tennessee.
Last time in Knoxville: Texas won the only previous meeting in Knoxville, rallying for a five-set victory, 15-6, 9-15, 5-15, 15-13, 15-13, on Oct. 4, 1984.
Friday marks Texas and Tennessee's first SEC match of the 2026 season.
Texas went 13-2 in conference play in 2025 and advanced to the final of the SEC Tournament.

TEXAS LONGHORNS OUTLOOK

No. 7 Texas enters Friday's SEC opener with a 4-4 record after earning its first top-10 win of the season, defeating No. 6 Wisconsin in four sets, 21-25, 25-21, 25-20, 25-16, on Sept. 13 at Moody Center.
The Longhorns rallied after dropping the opening set, using a 9-2 run in the third set to turn a 10-10 tie into a 19-12 advantage before closing out the match in four sets.
Sophomore Cari Spears matched her career high with 18 kills against Wisconsin, while senior Torrey Stafford added 16 kills and 11 digs for her third double-double of the season.
Junior setter Rella Binney posted a career-high 44 assists and 21 digs for her fourth double-double of the season, while senior libero Ramsey Gary led all players with 25 digs.
Senior middle blocker Nya Bunton added career highs of 13 kills and 25 attacks while hitting .480, and Anja Kujundzic recorded a season-best three service aces.

TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS OUTLOOK

No. 13 Tennessee enters Friday's SEC opener with a 9-1 record and four-match winning streak. The Lady Vols' only loss came against No. 2 Pitt on Sept. 9.
Tennessee opened the season with five consecutive sweeps, including a win over then-No. 21 Indiana, before the loss to Pitt. The Lady Vols responded with three straight sweeps before earning a four-set road win at then-No. 9 Penn State on Sunday, Sept. 20.
The win at Penn State marked Tennessee's first victory over a top-10 opponent since defeating No. 9 Baylor in 2021 and its first top-10 road win since defeating No. 6 Florida in 2011.
Senior setter Caroline Kerr, a three-time All-American and 2026 Preseason All-SEC selection, leads the Tennessee offense. She had 42 assists and 13 digs in the win at Penn State.
Outside hitter Kennedi Rogers leads the Lady Vols with 118 kills through 10 matches, averaging 4.72 kills per set. She had a career-high-tying 21 kills and 10 digs against Penn State.

IN THE RANKINGS

Texas remains No. 7 in the latest AVCA Coaches' Poll.
The Longhorns are one of five SEC teams ranked in the top 25, joining No. 3 Kentucky, No. 8 Florida, No. 13 Tennessee and No. 16 Texas A&M.
Texas has faced seven ranked opponents through the first eight matches of the season, including four top-10 teams in its last five matches.
The Longhorns face their first SEC opponent of the season Friday at No. 13 Tennessee before traveling to No. 3 Kentucky on Sunday at 12 p.m. CT.

JERRITT ELLIOTT'S 26-YEAR TEXAS LEGACY

Jerritt Elliott is in his 26th season as the head coach at Texas, making him the 16th-longest-tenured active head coach among NCAA Division I women's volleyball programs.
His 26 seasons at Texas rank fourth among active coaches at Power Four programs and first among active head coaches in the SEC.
Elliott took over the Longhorn program in 2001 after two seasons as the interim head coach at USC.

ELLIOTT APPROACHING 700 CAREER WINS

Elliott has compiled 689 career Division I victories, ranking fourth among active Division I coaches and tied for 24th all time.
He has 639 victories at Texas, which rank 21st all time among coaches at a single Division I institution. He is three wins behind Northern Iowa's Bobbi Petersen (642) on the single-program list.
Elliott is 11 wins away from 700 career Division I victories and 11 wins away from 650 victories at Texas.

STAFFORD'S SENIOR STEP

Senior outside hitter Torrey Stafford leads the Longhorns with 110 kills and 3.67 kills per set while ranking second with 120 points and 4.00 points per set.
She has recorded six double-digit kill performances and three double-doubles through eight matches.
Stafford posted a season-high 19 kills in Texas' win over Marquette on Aug. 24 and added 12 digs for her first double-double of the season while hitting .341.
She recorded 12 kills in Texas' sweep of No. 18 TCU, 14 kills and 10 digs against No. 6 Louisville, 18 kills at No. 8 SMU and 16 kills with 11 digs in the win over No. 6 Wisconsin.
Named to the 2026 AVCA Division I Women's Volleyball Player of the Year Preseason Watch List.
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. She spent the summer training with the U.S. Women's National Team.

SPEARS' SECOND ACT

Sophomore outside hitter/opposite Cari Spears leads Texas with 130 points and 4.33 points per set while ranking second on the team with 108 kills and 3.60 kills per set.
She has recorded at least 10 kills in six of eight matches, including 18 kills in each of the last two matches against No. 8 SMU and No. 6 Wisconsin.
Her 18 kills against Wisconsin matched her season and career high, while she added three service aces and hit .326.
Spears has collected 14 service aces this season, the most on the team.
Selected to the 2026 AVCA Division I Women's Volleyball Player of the Year Preseason Watch List.
She entered her sophomore season after earning AVCA Third-Team All-America and Southwest Region Freshman of the Year honors as a freshman. Spears finished second on the team with 358 kills in 2025, averaging 3.25 kills per set while hitting .295, and became the first Texas freshman to earn AVCA National Player of the Week honors. She enters 2026 as a Preseason All-SEC selection and on the AVCA Player of the Year Preseason Watch List.

NYA AT THE NET

Senior middle blocker Nya Bunton has been one of Texas' most efficient offensive players, recording 56 kills (1.87/set) while hitting .414 through eight matches.
She has added 35 total blocks and is averaging 1.17 blocks per set.
Collected her 100th career block in the win against Wisconsin (9/13).
Bunton recorded seven or more blocks in three matches this season, including a match-high eight blocks in Texas' sweep of USC on Sept. 2.
She also posted a career-high 10 kills in Texas' sweep of No. 18 TCU.
Against Wisconsin, Bunton established career highs with 13 kills and 25 attacks while hitting .480, adding two blocks and a dig.

BINNEY SETS THE TABLE

Junior setter Rella Binney has recorded four double-doubles through eight matches and leads Texas with 249 assists while averaging 8.30 assists per set.
Surpassed 500 career assists in the win against Wisconsin.
She has recorded at least 30 assists in four matches this season, including two matches with 40 assists.
Binney recorded 36 assists and a then-career-best 11 digs against Marquette, followed by 21 assists and 10 digs against No. 18 TCU.
She then recorded a career-high 42 assists and 10 digs at No. 8 SMU before setting another career high with 44 assists and adding a career-best 21 digs against No. 6 Wisconsin.

GARY TAKES THE REINS

Senior Ramsey Gary leads Texas with 113 digs and is averaging 3.77 digs per set.
Has tallied back-to-back 25-dig performances: 27 at SMU (9/9), 25 vs. Wisconsin (9/13).
She has recorded double-digit digs in five of eight matches this season and posted a career-high 27 digs at No. 8 SMU on Sept. 9.
Gary followed that performance with a match-high 25 digs against No. 6 Wisconsin.
She also had 16 digs against Marquette and 15 digs against No. 18 TCU.
Gary was a two-time All-Big Ten selection and two-time all-region honoree during her career at Indiana.

ANDERSON MAKES HER MARK

Freshman outside hitter Henley Anderson has made an immediate impact in her first season with the Longhorns, ranking fourth on the team with 54 kills and averaging 1.80 kills per set.
She has added 24 total blocks and four service aces through eight matches. Anderson recorded a career-high 15 kills at No. 8 SMU on Sept. 9, helping Texas force a fifth set.
She has started all eight matches this season.

RANKED SUCCESS

Texas owns a 173-70 (.712) record against ranked opponents over the last 23 seasons (2004-26).
The Longhorns are 80-17 (.825) at home against ranked opponents at Gregory Gymnasium, the Frank Erwin Center and Moody Center during that span.
Texas went 12-4 against ranked opponents in 2025.
Texas is 3-4 against ranked opponents this season, with its win coming against No. 6 Wisconsin.
The Longhorns have faced four Top-10 opponents this season: No. 1 Nebraska, No. 6 Louisville, No. 6 Wisconsin and No. 8 SMU.
Texas has faced seven ranked opponents through its first eight matches.

ROAD HORNS

The Longhorns have won 61 of their last 65 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 135-25 (.844) in true road matches, with only seven of those losses coming against unranked teams.

FRESHMAN IMPACT

Outside hitter Henley Anderson and setter Genevieve Harris enter Texas looking to make an impact in the lineup.
Both were members of the 2026 U.S. Women's U21 National Team that won the Pan American Cup.
Anderson started four of five matches and scored nine points in the gold-medal match, while Harris helped direct the U.S. offense.
Anderson also represented the United States at the 2025 FIVB U21 World Championship and earned Best Opposite honors at the 2025 FIVB Girls U19 World Championship.

USA VOLLEYBALL EXPERIENCE

Five Longhorns gained USA Volleyball experience during the summer.
Torrey Stafford was invited to train with the U.S. Women's National Team, while Henley Anderson, Genevieve Harris, Taylor Harvey and Abby Vander Wal competed with the U.S. U21 National Team at the Pan American Cup.
The four Longhorns helped Team USA win the gold medal with a perfect 5-0 record.

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 at Moody Center.
Texas set a Gregory Gym attendance record with 5,344 fans for the 2022 NCAA Regional Final against Ohio State.
Texas ranked fifth nationally and led the SEC in total home attendance in 2025, drawing 67,149 fans across 15 matches.
The Longhorns averaged 4,477 fans per match in 2025, the sixth-best average in the nation.

SEC PRESEASON RECOGNITION

The Longhorns picked to finish second in the 2026 SEC Preseason Coaches' Poll, receiving six first-place votes and 216 points, just two points behind preseason favorite Kentucky.
Senior Torrey Stafford and sophomore Cari Spears were named to the Preseason All-SEC Team after both earned All-SEC First Team honors in 2025.

MODEL OF CONSISTENCY

Texas has established itself as one of the most consistently successful programs in college volleyball, finishing each of the last 20 seasons ranked in the AVCA top 10, the only Division I program to accomplish the feat.
The Longhorns have finished in the top five in 16 of the last 19 seasons, including 11 consecutive seasons from 2008-18.
Texas also owns the nation's longest active streak of NCAA Regional Semifinal appearances, advancing to the Sweet 16 in 20 consecutive seasons.
During that stretch, the Longhorns have advanced to 19 NCAA Regional Finals, 12 National Semifinals and eight National Championship matches.

PRO HORNS IN THE USA

Texas has a strong presence in the professional volleyball landscape, with 12 former Longhorns currently set to compete in the United States across LOVB and Major League Volleyball.
- LOVB:
  - Austin: Bella Bergmark, Juliann Faucette,
  - Molly McCage, Asjia O'Neal, Madisen Skinner
  - Atlanta: Saige Ka'aha'aina-Torres
  - Miami: Khat Bell
  - Nebraska: Regan Rutherford
- MLV:
  - Atlanta Vibe: Zoe Jarvis
  - Indy Ignite: Emma Halter
  - Minnesota Forge: Jenna Wenaas
  - Vegas Thrill: Kayla Caffey

HALL OF HONOR: KHAT BELL

Former Longhorn Khat Bell was inducted into the Texas Athletics Hall of Honor as part of the Class of 2026 on Friday, Sept. 18.
Bell was a three-time All-American and helped Texas win the 2012 NCAA Championship and four consecutive Big 12 titles from 2011-14.
She finished her Texas career with 827 kills and 436 total blocks and has gone on to a successful professional career spanning more than a decade.

TWO-SPORT LONGHORN: MACKENZIE COLLINS

Mackenzie Collins is competing in her first season with Texas Volleyball while also continuing her career as a member of the Longhorn track and field program.
A standout hurdler, Collins advanced to the NCAA Outdoor Championships as a freshman in 2025.
She joins a long line of Texas athletes who have excelled in multiple sports, including former Longhorn Destinee Hooker.
Hooker played volleyball at Texas from 2006-09 and was a four-time All-American while also competing in track & field from 2005-09.
She won four NCAA high jump championships, including three outdoor titles in 2006, 2007 and 2009 and the 2009 indoor championship.

TEXAS VOLLEYBALL-BASKETBALL CONNECTION

The Texas volleyball and basketball programs share several family connections.
Senior Torrey Stafford's older sister, Imani McGee-Stafford, played basketball at Texas from 2012-16 and was a three-time All-Big 12 selection.
McGee-Stafford also received the 2016 Honda Inspiration Award and was selected No. 10 overall by the Chicago Sky in the 2016 WNBA Draft.
Cari Spears' brother, Marcus, is a freshman on the Texas men's basketball team, while Camille Presley's brother, Malik, played basketball at Texas in 2024-25.

HAWAI'I TO THE FORTY

Since 2007, eight student-athletes have made their way from Hawai'i to the Forty Acres: Sydney Yogi (2008-11), Sarah Palmer (2010-13), Kat Brooks (2012-15), Jhenna Gabriel (2018-21), Saige Ka'aha'aina-Torres (2021-22), Keonilei Akana (2022-24), Devin Kahahawai (2022-25) and Rella Binney (2024-present).

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Henley Anderson

Rella Binney

Nya Bunton

Mackenzie Collins

Ramsey Gary

Emma Halter

Genevieve Harris

Taylor Harvey

Devin Kahahawai

Camille Presley

Cari Spears

Torrey Stafford

Abby Vander Wal

The University of Texas at Austin Athletics