The Texas volleyball team defeated Kansas on Friday night in a 3-0 set, completing the two-night series sweep.

The Longhorns have begun to find a groove in this season’s new back-to-back format, only dropping one set through the team’s first four matches.

Head coach Jerritt Elliott said the new format makes preparation a lot easier for them in terms of being able to compare the team’s scouting reports with what happened the previous night. He said the biggest component is the physical aspect, and the team has done a great job staying fresh to compete in the intense back-to-back matches.

It was a quick start for graduate student libero Morgan O’Brien, who got going early with two service aces.

“I think it’s nice to start off the match with some points, especially since that’s my only way to score points,” O’Brien said. “It’s super fun for me if I can get an ace.”

Serving is an important area to put pressure on the opponent, Elliott said in a teleconference Wednesday after Texas struggled in that regard last week against Oklahoma.

“I know our fans don’t like missing that many,” Elliott said. “I don’t like missing that many, but we need to stay consistent because at the highest level, you have to serve tough.”

The two teams went back and forth for the majority of the opening set before junior outside hitter Logan Eggleston recorded her sixth kill of the set to take it 25-20.

It was much the same for the Longhorns in the second set, with Eggleston and sophomore opposite hitter Skylar Fields carrying the load offensively, taking the set 25-19. The two combined for 28 kills on the night and were the only Longhorns to record double-digit kills.

Texas began the third set with a quick 5-0 run, forcing a Kansas timeout. The Jayhawk’s balanced attack wasn’t enough as the Longhorns dominated the rest of the way to complete the series sweep against Kansas.

Junior middle blocker Brionne Butler said the team is finally starting to gel and is in a really good spot after taking some time to get into a groove. 

The Longhorns will look to keep their momentum going next week when Iowa State comes to Austin for a pair of matches.

“Continuing to just improve on our overall game is important,” Elliott said. “I like what we did tonight.”