Editor's Note: This story first appeared in The Daily Texan's March 5 print edition.
Despite having three months away from the court due to COVID-19 concerns and an unmitigated disaster in last month’s winter storm, the Texas volleyball team came back last weekend with two decisive victories against familiar foes.
The effortless sweeps against conference rival Oklahoma and Wednesday’s hard-fought victory against No. 6 Baylor showed the Longhorns haven’t missed a beat from their undefeated fall 2020 schedule.
The Longhorns were 14–0 after what would be their final game of 2020, a decisive 3-0 victory against West Virginia on Nov. 13. Their remaining games were postponed to the spring season, with no decision on when they would next step foot on the court. The uncertainty surrounding the remainder of their season resulted in many players leaving campus to be with their families, head coach Jerritt Elliott said.
“As soon as we were done in the fall, most of our players just went home,” Elliott said.
In January, the players and staff came back to Austin for formal practices, and by early February, they had a set date to get back to the Frank Erwin Center for a matchup against UT-San Antonio on Feb. 25. The preseason practices in January were crucial to ensuring the players were back in physical shape before resuming the season, Elliott said.
“The NCAA only allowed us to have eight weeks to ramp back up,” Elliott said. “With that time off, our legs need time to get back to that peaking position,”
Those eight weeks, meant to provide the Longhorns with a period of set practice times and ramp-up periods, turned quickly into a day-to-day waiting game as their UTSA game was canceled and a winter storm wracked Austin.
“We had a 20-hour week, then we had an eight hour week, then we had the snow storm, then we had about a fifteen hour week, a short week, before Oklahoma,” Elliot said. “Then we only had one and a half practices before (Baylor). We haven’t had a whole lot of time to gel and try to figure out some different lineups.”
However, the Longhorns have picked up right where they left off in November. Defensively, junior middle blocker Brionne Butler has maintained her status as a leader at the net in the resumption of the season. Her 86 total blocks are the third-highest in the country, 12 of which have come in the past three games. Butler gives credit to her teammates and their dedication for her strong return.
“Going into the (Baylor) game, we were really focused on playing together as a team and working on everything we did in the fall to just pick right back up.” Butler said.
Junior outside hitter Logan Eggleston has entrenched herself as the offensive star of the team, leading the Longhorns in each of the last three games in kills and notching a double-double on Wednesday night against Baylor.
“I think this year, we really recognize what we can do, and we’re really focused on our side of the court rather than the other side,” Eggleston said.
The adversity has evolved the character of the team, and more so than ever, they’ve learned to rely upon each other and take advantage of every moment.
“We take some joy and pride in just being able to play right now,” Elliott said. “They’re gonna continue to grow and develop to put themselves in a position to advance, one night at a time.”
