No. 8 Texas continued its hot start to conference play, taking down No.17 Kansas to grab its fifth consecutive win against Big 12 opponents. The Longhorns took the Jayhawks to four sets, winning 3-1, improving their record to 5-0 in conference play and 10-3 overall.
Texas succeeded through freshman Ella Swindle, sophomore Emma Halter and junior Madisen Skinner. As a team, Texas hit .283 with five service aces and a stout block at the net, totaling 10 blocks in the match.
Swindle led the team with a double-double, tallying 42 assists and 12 digs. Skinner, for the third match in a row, also earned herself a double-double, leading the team with 18 kills and 10 digs. Halter led the team in digs with 18 on a night where the Longhorns had four players finish with double-digit digs.
The Longhorns cruised in the first set to take it 25-17. Skinner did most of her work in the first set, scoring eight kills. Texas hit .308 in the set, with Skinner and seniors Asjia O’Neal and Bella Bergmark hitting over .400. Midway through the set, Halter ran across the court to get a huge pass, leading to a Longhorn kill that established the set’s tone. Texas saw several defensive plays led by Halter’s 10 digs in the set, allowing Texas to capitalize defense into offense throughout.
“I thought we were just super scrappy,” head coach Jerritt Elliott said. “Our team really works on our defensive side. We thrive on it.”
Going into the second set, Texas looked prepped to head towards a sweep, but Kansas took it to the Longhorns early, leading to an emphatic block for the Jayhawks and forcing Texas to take a timeout with an 8-3 lead. Kansas had a string of four service errors, allowing Texas to hang in the set, but it never capitalized and they dropped the set to even the match.
The third set started tightly contested, but Texas regained control of the match after a fantastic run of plays from redshirt senior Carissa Barnes, including a 5-0 service run and diving pass.
“Volleyball is definitely a game of momentum,” Barnes said. “It definitely built that momentum and energy for the team.”
The Longhorns’ 5-0 run behind Barnes earned them a 13-8 lead, where impact plays from Skinner and sophomore substitute Devin Kahahawai wrapped up the third set and brought the momentum and crowd back into the match with a 2-1 match lead.
The fourth and final set led to a tightly contested back-and-forth exchange of points, but the Longhorn defense prevailed yet again throughout the set leading the Longhorns to a 3-1 set victory. Texas’ defense forced a match-high nine attacking errors and a .075 hitting percentage for Kansas in the last set.
Texas returns to Gregory Gym Friday at 7 p.m. to take on Kansas again, where they look to extend their win-streak.
