It’s five straight sweeps for No. 2 Texas volleyball, following Friday’s home win against No. 21 Missouri.
The Longhorns notched their 10th win of the season over the Tigers, continuing their undefeated season and increasing their streak of sets won to 17, having last lost two sets on Sept. 10 against No. 6 Louisville.
The last time the Longhorns started 10-0 was three years ago, when they began the season with 14 straight wins and finished with a national championship.
But not all sweeps are created equal, as Missouri did not make it easy for the Longhorns. The Tigers were extremely scrappy and made impressive defensive plays throughout the game, especially at the net. Missouri finished with 12 blocks, forcing Texas to raise its intensity over the course of the match as the Longhorns recorded over 100 attacks through just three sets.
Even so, the story was more on the defensive side. Despite Missouri dictating the tempo for several periods of the match, the Longhorns stuck to points where they were otherwise on their heels and went on to win them. Senior libero Emma Halter, in particular, was extremely crucial defensively, recording 10 digs and six assists.
“I think it’s really easy to get super, super tight when it gets close,” Halter said. “But (the team) talked about having fun, having good energy, not getting too tight and stuck up.”
Behind Halter’s impressive performance followed double-digit kills by junior outside hitter Torrey Stafford and freshman outside hitter Cari Spears, as well as nine kills each by freshman outside hitter Abby Vander Wal and sophomore middle blocker Ayden Ames. With their performances, Texas answered the call to stay ahead and claim the match.
After a fairly comfortable first set for the Longhorns, the Tigers’ continued physicality tested Texas. A back-and-forth battle left the two teams close for a majority of the second set until Texas found itself with set point, up 24-23.
On this point, Vander Wal went up with an attack but missed wide, opening the door for Missouri. But Vander Wal bounced back, recording a kill immediately on the next point, and Ames finished the set with a kill.
The Tigers began the third set looking far better than the Longhorns, stretching their lead to as many as five points midway through. But Texas then rattled off five straight points to even the score at 16.
With the crowd buzzing, the Longhorns delivered once again in a clutch situation. Despite squandering two match points, the third time would be the charm, as kills by Spears and freshman middle blocker Taylor Harvey would seal the match point to notch Texas’ 10th win.
After a five-match home stand, Texas will move on to its first road conference match as the team takes on Georgia in Athens on Oct. 1. The Longhorns return to Gregory Gymnasium next on Oct. 8 when they play No. 22 Tennessee.
