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No. 8 Texas Volleyball vs. No. 20 Baylor
Texas: 3-3 | Baylor: 7-2
Wednesday, September 18th at 8pm CST
Ferrell Center | Waco, Texas
Television: ESPN
match
The Longhorns are back on the road on Wednesday to take on another nationally ranked opponent, the Baylor Bears. Texas leads Baylor 93-4 in the all-time series and holds a 38-4 advantage against the Bears in Waco. The Longhorns won the first game of their season series against Baylor last year in five sets and swept the second game. This will be the first time the two teams have met in a non-conference format in the modern era of volleyball, barring COVID-19 spring games.
Current National Champion
The Longhorns enter the season as back-to-back national champions, defeating Nebraska in the 2023 title match in Tampa, Fla. Texas returns five starters from its title-winning team, including NCAA Final Four All-Tournament team members Madisen Skinner, Ella Swindle and Emma Halter. The 2023 national championship will be the program’s fifth, following an AIAW title in 1981 and NCAA titles in 1988, 2012 and 2022.
Ranking
Texas, which was selected to finish No. 1 in the SEC Coaches Poll, is one of five SEC teams ranked in the top 25, joining Kentucky at No. 11, Tennessee at No. 15, Florida at No. 16 and Arkansas at No. 25. In non-conference play, Texas has already played No. 7 Wisconsin, No. 17 Minnesota and No. 2 Stanford, with a matchup scheduled against No. 18 Baylor. Texas began the 2024 season as the No. 1 team in the AVCA Preseason Coaches Poll for the fifth time (2024, 2023, 2021, 2017, 2013). The Longhorns have appeared in the top four of the AVCA Preseason Poll for 18 consecutive seasons and have earned the top two spot for the 11th time in the past 18 seasons.
Preseason Awards
Madisen Skinner led four Longhorns players who were named to the Preseason Volleyball All-SEC Team along with Emma Holter, Ella Swindle and Kentucky transfer Reagan Rutherford. The Longhorns were also named the preseason favorite to win the SEC Preseason Coaches Poll, marking the 14th consecutive year that Texas has begun the season as the preseason conference favorite.
Skinner Sr.
Three-time All-American and 2023 VolleyballMag.com National Player of the Year Madisen Skinner will play her final season of collegiate volleyball in 2024. Last season, Skinner ranked sixth nationally with 4.80 kills per set and seventh with 547 total kills. Her 547 kills are the third-most ever by a Longhorns player and the most since Mila Topic (593) in 2004. Skinner stepped up her play in the postseason, averaging 5.43 kills per set and hitting .316 while being named the NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player.
Consistent Success
Texas has been a model of consistency over the last decade and is the only Division I volleyball program to finish in the top 10 in each of the past 18 seasons. The Longhorns have finished in the top 10 in each of the last 224 AVCA polls. The last year Texas did not finish in the top 10 was October 11, 2010. The Longhorns have also finished in the top five in 15 of the last 18 seasons, including 11 consecutive years from 2008-2018. Texas also has the nation’s longest streak of NCAA regional semifinal (“Sweet 16”) appearances at 18 consecutive times. Of the last 18 regional semifinal appearances, the Longhorns have advanced to 17 NCAA regional finals, 11 national semifinals and seven national championships.
Championship Pedigree
Texas has won 29 conference championships, including 16 Big 12 Conference championships and 13 Southwest Conference championships. The 2023 championship would mark a record seventh consecutive Big 12 Conference championship for the Longhorns, who have won or shared the championship in 12 of the past 13 league championships and 15 of the 17 before that. Texas leaves the Big 12 Conference with more league championships than any other program.
Rank and file
UT has a 155-61 (.718) record against ranked opponents over the past 21 seasons (2004-24) and boasts a 71-15 (.826) home record against ranked opponents at Gregory Gymnasium (68-15) and the Frank Erwin Center (3-0) in that same span. The Longhorns were 14-2 against ranked opponents last season.
Home-court advantage
A large part of the Longhorns’ consistent success over the past 15 years has come from winning at home. Over the past 15 seasons, Texas has a 214-15 (.934) record in home matches. During that same time span, the Longhorns have also gone 114-1 in home league matches. The Longhorns’ only home conference loss since 2010 came against Oklahoma on October 25, 2014. Texas has won 76 consecutive home league matches dating back to the 2014 season. During that streak, the Longhorns have completed 58 sweeps and only dropped 23 sets total.
Attendance
The Longhorns entered the 2022 season with a 31-game sellout streak. Texas ranked fifth nationally in attendance with an average of 4,495 fans at its 16 home games last season. The Longhorns sold out all 16 home games in 2023 and finished the 2022 season with 12 consecutive sellouts at Gregory Gym. For the 2022 NCAA Regional Final against Ohio State, Texas broke the Gregory Gym attendance record with 5,344 fans.
MBU
Under head coach Gerrit Elliott, the Longhorns have produced a string of All-American middle blockers over the last two decades, beginning with Letitia Armstrong (2003-08) and Brandi McGhee (2003-07), followed by Lauren Paolini (2005-08), Rachel Adams (2008-11), Kat Bell (2011-14), Molly McKage (2012-15), Chiaka Ogbogu (2013-17), Brion Butler (2017-21) and Aszia O’Neal (2019-23). These nine All-American middle blockers have earned All-American honors a combined 25 times since 2005.
MBU More…
Following the graduation of All-American Asia O’Neal, three young players are set to carry on Texas’ tradition of great middle blockers. Aiden Ames is expected to be the Longhorns’ first true freshman starter in the middle since Chiaka Ogbogu in 2013. Redshirt sophomore Marianna Singletary and redshirt freshman Nya Banton will also play key roles this season. The Longhorns were third nationally with 2.89 blocks per set last season and recorded double-digit blocks in 21 of 32 games last season.
Winner takes all
Emma Halter played in all 61 matches throughout her career and won consecutive national championships in just her first two seasons at Texas. As a freshman in 2022, Halter was a defensive specialist, averaging 1.29 digs, 21 assists and 12 aces per set. Last season, Halter played every match for the Longhorns, averaging 3.87 digs, 141 assists and 38 aces per set. Halter may have had her best performance on the biggest stage, recording 19 digs, seven assists and two aces in the NCAA semifinal win over Wisconsin.
Freshman Setter
Ella Swindle made history in 2024, becoming just the third true freshman setter to lead a team to a national championship and the first since 2016 to do so. In the final against Nebraska, Swindle had it all: 21 assists, seven digs, five kills, two aces and one block. Over the course of the season, Swindle averaged 9.54 assists per set while adding 92 total blocks, 227 digs, 96 kills and 30 aces. She was named the AVCA Southwest Region Freshman of the Year and was named to the Big 12 All-Rookie Team.
USA Volleyball Hall of Fame
Gerrit Elliott, the winningest coach in Texas volleyball history, will be inducted into the USA Volleyball Hall of Fame in 2023. Elliott is the recipient of USA Volleyball’s All-Time Great Coach award, which recognizes an individual who has demonstrated success and excellence in volleyball coaching over a long period of time. With 561 wins at Texas, Elliott passed Mick Haley as the winningest coach in Longhorns history. Elliott earned his 600th career win last season and enters the 2023 season with a career record of 639-126.
