With a power outage and a nearly blown 2-0 lead, it was a very odd night for No. 4 Texas volleyball.
After a 49-minute delay, the Longhorns outlasted the Auburn Tigers in five sets in yet another struggling win. Despite the Longhorns’ difficulties, particularly at the net, junior outside hitter Torrey Stafford had a career-high 32 kills with a .417 hitting percentage.
Texas started strong in its first two sets, as the team showed the offensive prowess that was on display for a large part of the season. Behind a blistering first-set performance from Stafford, who scored eight kills, Texas claimed the opening set. The Longhorns followed it up with impressive blocking in the second set to go up 2-0.
Auburn then flipped the game on its head, exploiting the very weaknesses Texas has exhibited over the course of the season. Texas has been susceptible to losing the blocking battle, and it was no different in the third and fourth sets — after leading in that department 4-1 after two sets, Auburn outblocked Texas 9-2 over the next two sets.
Service errors were also critical to Auburn’s turnaround. Texas finished with 17 service errors, including five from junior setter Ella Swindle and five from junior libero Ramsey Gary. Many of these came at critical junctures that sparked mini-runs from Auburn, particularly in the fourth set.
Ultimately, the Tigers would even things at 2-2, despite a last-ditch effort in the fourth set by the Longhorns, particularly by Stafford, to claim the match. Down 17-24, she notched four kills as Texas went on a 5-0 run to claw back into the set. But a sixth block in the fourth set for Auburn sent the game to a tiebreaker.
Despite Auburn’s valiant effort, Texas came to play on the defensive end in the fifth set by holding the Tigers to a .000 hitting percentage. Offensively, Stafford provided five of the nine Texas kills to win the set 15-9.
In an otherwise sloppy night, bright spots for the Longhorns included another double-digit kill performance by freshman outside hitter Cari Spears. Sophomore middle blocker Ayden Ames continued her recent stretch of impressive performances with six kills and six blocks. And Whitney Lauenstein, a redshirt senior outside hitter, also made an impact off the bench with seven kills and two blocks, continuing to receive meaningful minutes.
Texas will wrap up its regular season with a home match against South Carolina on Nov. 16 before the Southeastern Conference Tournament, beginning Nov. 21.
