No. 1 Texas volleyball fell to No. 18 Minnesota 2-3 after a grueling game, leaving the Longhorns at 1–1 at the very start of the 2024 season. 

The momentum from yesterday’s game suddenly vanished, with a close but victorious first set of 25-22, during which senior Madisen Skinner took charge with six kills.

Two painful sets ensued during which the Gophers overtook the Longhorns with a second set of 19-25 and a third of 20-25. During both, Minnesota was able to grab onto an early lead and keep Texas on the fences to win the sets.

Texas picked the speed back up in the fourth set, dominating Minnesota with a score of 25-13, during which Texas scored a 7-0 run and left the Gophers trailing. The fight was lost, though, during the final tiebreaking set, with Minnesota taking the win home with 7-15 after gaining another early lead with a 5-0 run.

Skinner dominated on the court with 19 kills, 12 digs and a hitting percentage of .164. Compared to Minnesota’s junior Julia Hanson, however, even Texas’ leader was put to a stop. Hanson ended the night with 19 kills, 13 digs and a hitting percentage of .230. 

Senior Jenna Wenaas was second behind Skinner as Texas’ leading scorer, with 13 kills, 19 digs and a hitting percentage of .143, while junior libero Emma Halter dished out 21 digs, three assists and a pair of aces.

Junior setter Averi Carlson led the way for assists with a total of 33 and added 10 digs to the list. Sophomore Ella Swindle handed out 10 assists and three digs

In the end, Texas was incredibly close but fell short. While the Longhorns had 56 kills, the Gophers had 59. Texas had four aces, while Minnesota had seven. Texas had an overall hitting percentage of .183; Minnesota had a percentage of .211.

With another game on the horizon this Thursday at home against Indiana, the Longhorns will look to come back from this early loss.