In her first year with Texas volleyball, freshman outside hitter Cari Spears has already turned heads within and beyond the volleyball community.
“I ain’t gonna lie to you, Swagu, I’m expecting Freshman of the Year,” ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith said about Spears on First Take on Sept. 10.
Swagu is the nickname of former NFL player and current ESPN correspondent Marcus Spears, Cari’s father. Cari’s athletic background doesn’t stop with him, as her mother, Aiysha Spears, is a former WNBA player, as well.
Hailing from a family of professional athletes can take a toll on someone growing up, but Spears believes it has only impacted her positively.
“They know what it takes to be at the highest level and how much the difference is,” Spears said about her parents to the NCAA. “Getting good at the details is what my dad always says. Even though neither of them played volleyball, they just give me tips on being an athlete in general.”
Coming in with a tie for the No. 1 overall recruit for the class of 2025, Spears had lofty expectations set on her, including by Smith. But she’s looked every bit the part — she is already a two-time Southeastern Conference Player of the Week and four-time SEC Freshman of the Week recipient.
More impressively, these performances are coming after a spring injury and a subsequent position change from playing on the left side to the right side. Despite playing outside her usual spot, Spears has adapted perfectly.
“I think that she even said that it gave her a little bit of confidence … she’s having fun with it, and she ended up playing really well at this spot,” said junior outside hitter Torrey Stafford, who starts opposite Spears.
Her intangibles and maturity have stood out the most to her teammates.
“We’ve had to (lean on each other),” fellow freshman outside hitter Abby Vander Wal said. “There’s been some highs, some lows, and I think that’s just kind of how freshman season goes. She’s been amazing, just such a great person to fall back and lean on when I’m struggling.”
Stafford echoed these sentiments, describing the bond that she and Spears have established.
“She’s going out there killing it and acting like she’s not a freshman,” Stafford said. “I would say that our relationship off the court is (that) she’s my little sister, so I think we just have trust in each other.”
With Spears’ confidence comes trust, and with trust comes improvement. Even in her short tenure so far, she has found ways to make strides in her game. Head coach Jerritt Elliott commended her development, range and confidence from the preseason to today.
The fans in Gregory Gymnasium seem to be embracing her with open arms, too, and following a five-set thriller against Tennessee, the freshman revealed more about the experience playing in front of home fans.
“Every time we win in Greg, it’s so fun,” Spears said. “We’re all super happy. We’ve been working hard so much in practice to get better, so seeing it play out in the fifth set was really worth it, and it was just such a feeling of relief.”
The hard work she and her teammates have put into this season has demonstrated itself in their results so far, and her next opportunity will take place on Oct. 24 at 7 p.m. against Ole Miss.
