No. 6 Texas beach volleyball completed a standout weekend at the Texas Invitational Saturday, securing three top-10 victories, including wins against two top-three opponents, in its first home tournament of the season.
Overall, the Longhorns finished the two-day invitational with a 3-1 record, moving them to 16-6 for the season. And this is a season in which they are trying to hawk down the best programs in the nation.
“We want to be the dominant team in the country,” Texas head coach Stein Metzger said on Saturday. “I would say we’re still chasing those teams, but to get them on our home turf and get wins against them, now we have the confidence that we can beat any team on any given day.”
Texas started on Friday afternoon with a tough 4–1 loss to No. 2 Stanford, but it didn’t stop them from making program history later that night.
As the Longhorns began their third matchup of the season against No. 1 UCLA, the windy conditions started to take over Wright-Whitaker Sports Complex. But they were conditions that Metzger said the team had been preparing for all season, and it showed.
“We’ve changed our schedule to afternoon practice in the spring, and we’ve been playing in a lot of wind,” Metzger said. “Last night, that little Texas storm showed up and gave us some wind and got us some momentum.”
In its previous two matchups against the Bruins, Texas was swept 5-0. This time, it was in a 2-2 dogfight, with the last match being the headliner on court one.
That set up a set three moment the Longhorns will never forget, when redshirt senior Katie Hashman picked up the winning kill, helping her and sophomore Brecht Piersma win their match and secure the upset over UCLA.
It would’ve been easy for them to show up on Saturday morning, still reliving the moments of the night prior. Texas’ matchup against No. 10 Long Beach State had all the makings of a trap game, and yet, it came out in the chilly conditions swinging.
The Longhorns bossed Long Beach on the sand, picking up a dominant 4-1 win. Per usual, it was the twins, freshmen Anna and Kacka Pavelkova, along with Hashman and Piersma, setting the tone on courts one and two with straight set victories.
“Our whole team played really good beach volleyball, staying grounded, staying hyped and motivated,” Piersma said “Especially after Friday night, playing UCLA, coming back here Saturday with good intentions.”
And the good vibes continued later that day when Texas faced off against No. 3 USC.
The matches on courts four and five came down to the wire, with redshirt junior Macey Butler and freshman Savannah Thomas recording a huge point in a passionate court five battle to make it 1-1.
Now, two of the Longhorns’ hottest pairs had a chance to finish off the Trojans for the second time this season.
Freshman Lily Davis and senior Emma Grace Robertson continued their commanding run, winning their seventh duel in their last eight contests, with Hashman and Piersma once again clinching the victory on court one.
“Today we just kept rolling,” Metzger said. “They showed up and got the job done, took care of business.”
Next up, Texas hosts the Longhorn Showdown April 3-4, looking for more commanding performances in front of its home crowd.
