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No. 8 Texas A&M Texas Volleyball
Texas: 5-3 | Texas A&M: 9-1
Friday, September 27th – 6:30pm
Reed Arena | College Station, Texas
TV: SEC Network+
match
The Longhorns reignited their rivalry with Texas A&M this week as members of the SEC. The two teams met in the NCAA first round last season, with Texas winning 3-1. It will be the first regular season game between the rivals since the 2021 season and the first time the conference foes have played each other since 2011. Texas leads the all-time series against Texas A&M 76-23, including 25-13 in College Station.
The beginning of the SEC era
Texas is ushering in a new era with its first-ever SEC game. The Longhorns have a long history of conference dominance, winning 29 championships in conference history, including 16 Big 12 titles and 13 Southwest Conference championships. The 2023 title marks a record seventh consecutive Big 12 Championship for the Longhorns, who have won or shared 12 of the past 13 league championships and 15 of the past 17 league championships. . Texas left the Big 12 Conference having won more league championships than any other program. Over 41 seasons in the conference, Texas has compiled a 562-88 (.865) record in league play.
5-3 start
The Longhorns hold a 5-3 record at the end of nonconference play, the same record they had at this point last season. The team’s third loss came on September 15th in both the 2023 and 2024 seasons. After suffering their third loss last season, the Longhorns went on a 13-game winning streak before suffering their last four losses in early November. Texas finished last season winning its final 10 games en route to the national championship. The 2012 national championship team also suffered three losses in non-conference play.
current national champion
The Longhorns entered the season as national champions, defeating Nebraska in the 2023 title game in Tampa, Florida. Texas returns five starters from the title-winning team, including NCAA Final Four All-Tournament team member Madisen Skinner. Ella Swindle and Emma Holter. The 2023 national championship will be the program’s fifth after winning the AIAW title in 1981 and NCAA titles in 1988, 2012 and 2022.
National Player of the Year Watch List
The Longhorn duo of Regan Rutherford and Madisen Skinner were both named to the inaugural AVCA Division I National Player of the Year Watch List. The pair has 36 players from 21 schools on the watch list. The list will be narrowed down in November and the committee will be able to add players not included in the original 36-man group to the November list. The final step is to reveal the names of the finalists, which will be announced before the AVCA convention. The 2024 AVCA Athlete of the Year will then be announced during the tournament on Friday, Dec. 20, in Louisville, Kentucky.
senior skinner
Madisen-Skinner established himself as one of the best players in the country last season and will be one of the top returning players in 2024. She has also been extremely consistent, racking up double-digit kills in 35 consecutive games. Skinner, a three-time national champion and 2023 VolleyballMag.com National Player of the Year, is playing her final season of college volleyball in 2024. Last season, Skinner ranked sixth nationally with 4.80 kills per set and seventh with 547 total kills. Her 547 kills rank third all-time by a Longhorn and the most since Mila Topic (593) in 2004. Skinner further stepped up her game in the postseason, averaging 5.43 kills per set and a .316 batting average, and was selected to the NCAAs. Best player in the final four.
consistent success
Texas has been a model of consistency for more than a decade, being the only team among Division I volleyball programs to rank in the top 10 in each of the past 18 seasons. The Longhorns have spent all of the last 225 AVCA polls ranked. Meanwhile, the last time Texas wasn’t ranked in the top 10 was October 11, 2010. The Longhorns have also finished in the top five in 15 of the past 18 seasons, including 11 consecutive years from 2008 to 2018. Texas also has the nation’s longest streak of appearances, with 18 consecutive NCAA regional semifinal (“Sweet 16”) appearances. Of the past 18 regional semifinal appearances, the Longhorns have advanced to 17 NCAA regional finals, 11 national semifinals and seven national championship matches.
Ranking
Texas, ranked No. 1 in the SEC Coaches Poll, is one of four teams in the SEC Top 25, with Kentucky tied for 12th, Florida tied for 15th and Tennessee tied for 20th. . Texas already plays four nationally ranked teams (Wisconsin, Minnesota, Stanford and Baylor) in non-conference play. Texas began the 2024 season as the No. 1 team in the AVCA Preseason Coaches Poll for the fifth time (2013, 2017, 2021, 2023, 2024). The Longhorns have finished in the top four in the AVCA preseason poll for the 18th consecutive season and in the top two for the 11th time in the past 18 seasons.
preseason award
Madisen Skinner led a group of four Longhorns who were named to the preseason volleyball All-SEC team, joining Emma Holter, Ella Swindle and Kentucky transfer Regan Rutherford. The Longhorns were also selected as the preseason favorites in the SEC Preseason Coaches Poll, marking the 14th consecutive year that Texas has started the season as the preseason conference champion.
rank and file
UT has a 156-61 (.719) record against ranked opponents over the past 21 seasons (2004-2024) and 71 at home against ranked opponents at Gregory Gymnasium (68-15) and Frank College. He boasts a win-15 (.826) record. Erwin Center (3-0) in between. The Longhorns had a 14-2 record against top-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 compiled a record of 215-15 (.935) in home games. During the same period, the Longhorns had a 114-1 record in home league play. The Longhorns’ only home conference loss since 2010 came on October 25, 2014, against Oklahoma. Texas has won 76 consecutive home league games since the 2014 season. During this streak, the Longhorns had 58 sweeps and dropped only 23 total sets.
attendance
The Longhorns extended their record for consecutive sold out games dating back to the 2022 season to 32 consecutive games. Texas ranked fifth in the nation last season with an average attendance of 4,495 for its 16 home games. The Longhorns played all 16 home games to sold out houses in 2023 and finished the 2022 season with 12 consecutive sold out games at Gregory Gym. In the 2022 NCAA Regional Final against Ohio State, Texas set a Gregory Gym attendance record with a crowd of 5,344.
MBU
For more than 20 years under head coach Gerrit Elliott, the Longhorns have led the charge starting with Leticia Armstrong (2003-2008) and Brandi McGee (2003-2007), followed by Lauren Paolini (2005-2008). Until then, he has created a tradition of being an All-American middle blocker. ), Rachel Adams (2008-11), Hat Bell (2011-14), Molly McKage (2012-15), Chiaka Ogbogu (2013-17), Brion Butler (2017-21), Asjia O’Neill (2019-23) ). These nine All-American middle blockers have earned a total of 25 All-American honors dating back to 2005.
More on MBU…
Following the graduation of All-American Asjia O’Neal, a trio of young players are poised to carry on the legacy of Texas’ great middle blocker. Aiden Ames is expected to start as the Longhorns’ first true freshman middle since Chiaka Ogbogu in 2013. Redshirt sophomore Marianna Singletary and redshirt freshman Nya Bunton will also play big roles this season. The Longhorns ranked third in the nation with 2.89 blocks per set last season, and had double-digit blocks in 21 of 32 games last season.
winner wins
Emma Holter played in all 61 career games in her first two seasons at the University of Texas, winning back-to-back national championships. As a freshman in 2022, Holter was a defensive specialist who averaged 1.29 digs, 21 assists and 12 aces per set. Last season, Holter played every game for the Longhorns as a libero, averaging 3.87 digs a set, 141 assists and 38 aces. Holter also had perhaps his best performance on the biggest stage, recording 19 digs, seven assists, and two aces in the NCAA semifinal win over Wisconsin.
1st grade setter
Ella Swindle made history in 2024, becoming the third true freshman setter ever to lead a team to a national championship, and the first since 2016. In the title match against Nebraska, Swindle had 21 assists, seven digs, five kills, two aces and one block. For the season, Swindle averaged 9.54 assists per set, totaling 92 blocks, 227 digs, 96 kills, and 30 aces. She was named the AVCA Southwest Region Rookie of the Year and was named to the Big 12 All-Rookie team.
