No. 2 Texas Volleyball vs. Texas Tech
Texas: 15-1 (7-1) | Texas Tech: 14-7 (3-5)
Wednesday, Oct. 26 – 7 p.m. CT
Gregory Gym | Austin, Texas
THE MATCHUP
Texas leads the all-time sequence with Texas Tech, 93-9-2, and holds a 43-3 benefit all-time in Austin. Earlier this season the Longhorns swept the Red Raiders in Lubbock. Madisen Skinner had a giant match with 19 kills and a .529 hitting share, whereas Logan Eggleston had 17 kills.
RANKINGS
Texas entered the week because the No. 2 ranked staff within the AVCA Coaches’ Poll after spending the final eight weeks within the prime spot. The Longhorns started the 2022 season because the No. 2 ranked staff within the preseason ballot. Texas appeared within the prime 4 of the AVCA preseason ballot for the Sixteenth-consecutive season and was ranked within the prime two spots for the ninth time within the final 16 seasons. Since 2019 the Longhorns have spent 32 complete weeks ranked No. 1. Texas, who was picked first within the Big 12 Coaches’ Poll for the twelfth consecutive yr, is one in every of two Big 12 groups within the top-25 as Baylor checks in at No. 13.
CONSISTENT SUCCESS
Texas has been the mannequin of consistency for nicely over a decade now, being the one Division I volleyball program to have ended every of the final 16 seasons ranked within the prime 10. The Longhorns have spent every of the final 198 AVCA polls ranked within the prime 10, whereas the final time Texas was not ranked within the prime 10 was Oct. 11, 2010. The Longhorns have additionally completed within the prime 5 in 13 of the final 16 seasons, together with 11-straight years from 2008-18. Texas additionally has the nation’s longest energetic streak of NCAA Regional Semifinal (“Sweet 16”) appearances with 16-straight. Of the final 16 regional semifinal appearances, the Longhorns have superior to fifteen NCAA Regional Finals, 10 National Semifinals and 5 National Championship matches.
THE LONGHORNS
The Longhorns have been the nation’s final remaining undefeated staff earlier than falling in 5 units at Iowa State, snapping a 20-match regular-season profitable streak relationship again to final season. Texas final misplaced to Iowa State in 2016 in Ames, earlier than rattling off eight-straight wins to advance to the nationwide championship match and ending runner up. Prior to that, the Longhorns misplaced to the Cyclones in 2012 within the common season finale earlier than occurring to win the nationwide championship.
ACE QUEEN
Logan Eggleston turned the Longhorns’ all-time chief in profession aces, at present with 190 service aces, surpassing Mira Topic (2001-04) who had 185 service aces in her Texas profession. Topic, who performed in 432 profession units additionally holds this system document with 0.43 service aces per set. Eggleston is at present averaging 0.42 aces per set over her 449 profession units performed. Eggleston can be chasing the Big 12 document of 205 profession aces, held by Baylor’s Taylor Barnes (2006-09).
THE FLECK EFFECT
Zoe Fleck has made an on the spot impression this season, beginning each match at libero and averaging 4.43 digs per set. Fleck is third within the convention in digs per set and has already been named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week thrice this season. Texas has not had a participant common 4-plus digs per set since Cat McCoy set a program document with 4.41 digs per set in 2017. McCoy, the Texas’ all-time profession digs chief, was named Honorable Mention All-American in 2017 and to the All-Big 12 second staff in 2015 and 2017.
QB1
In her first season because the Longhorns’ setter, Saige Ka’aha’aina-Torres has quarterbacked the Texas offense to the nation’s prime hitting share at .330, the second-most assists per set nationally at 13.59, and the fourth-most kills per set with 14.45. She additionally leads the Big 12 and ranks sixth nationally with 11.34 assists per set. In 2019 at Utah, Ka’aha’aina-Torres averaged 11.33 assists per set and led the Utes to the NCAA Regional Semifinal. She was named an Honorable Mention All-American in each 2019 and 2020.
EFFICIENCY
Texas at present leads the nation with a .330 hitting share, led by Asjia O’Neal, who ranks second nationally with a .476 hitting share. Last season Texas tied a program document and led the NCAA with a .343 staff hitting share. That mark matches the 2007 staff for the perfect at school historical past. The Longhorns have hit over a .300 clip in every of the final seven seasons from 2015-21, all rating within the top-10 single season marks in program historical past. Texas hit .334 in 2020 to complete third within the nation and that mark was the fifth-best in Longhorn historical past. The 2019 staff led the nation with a .325 hitting share, which is the sixth-best in Texas historical past.
CHAMPIONSHIP PEDIGREE
After clinching the 2021 Big 12 title, Texas has gained 27 convention championships, together with 14 Big 12 titles and 13 Southwest Conference Championships. The 2021 title was the fifth-straight Big 12 Championship for the Longhorns, who’ve gained or shared 10 of the final 11 league championships and 13 of the earlier 15.
HOME COURT ADVANTAGE
A big a part of the Longhorns profitable 10 of the final 11 Big 12 Championships has come all the way down to profitable at dwelling. Over the final 13 seasons, Texas has produced a 186-12 (.939) document in dwelling matches. In that very same span, the Longhorns have gone 101-1 in dwelling league matches. The Longhorns’ solely dwelling Big 12 loss since 2010 got here in opposition to Oklahoma on Oct. 25, 2014. Texas has gained 62-straight dwelling matches in Big 12 play, relationship again to the 2014 season. During that streak, the Longhorns have had 50 sweeps and solely dropped a complete of 16 units.
ATTENDANCE
Texas at present ranks fifth nationally and first within the Big 12, with a median attendance of 4,027. Last season Texas ranked fourth nationally, with a median attendance of three,626. The Longhorns additionally set a single match Gregory Gym attendance document with a crowd of 5,080 for the NCAA Regional Final match in opposition to Nebraska. For the season, Texas had six crowds of greater than 4,000 at Gregory Gym.
RANK AND FILE
UT owns a 134-57 (.702) document in opposition to ranked opponents over the past 19 seasons (2004-22) and boasts a 61-13 (.824) dwelling mark in opposition to ranked opponents at Gregory Gymnasium (58-13) and the Frank Erwin Center (3-0) throughout that span. The Longhorns are 5-0 this season in opposition to ranked opponents.
THE ROSTER
Texas returns seven gamers from the 2021 squad, together with three All-Big 12 gamers, and welcomes one of many nation’s finest recruiting courses that includes 5 freshmen and 6 transfers. The acquainted faces of Logan Eggleston, Asjia O’Neal and Molly Phillips all return. Of the freshmen, three are top-50 ranked recruits with Emma Halter and Gatorade State Players of the Year Devin Kahahawai and Marianna Singletary. The group of transfers contains three gamers who’ve acquired All-America recognition, Zoe Fleck (UCLA/UCSB), Madisen Skinner (Kentucky) and Kayla Caffey (Nebraska/Missouri). The different three transfers all performed vital roles at their earlier colleges, Jenna Ewert (Colorado), Bella Bergmark (Cal) and Keonilei Akana (Nebraska).
ROAD WARRIORS
The Longhorns have gained 27 of their final 29 highway matches relationship again to the 2019 season. Since the 2011 season Texas has produced a 108-20 (.844) document in true highway matches, with solely 5 of these losses coming to unranked groups.
NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Logan Eggleston was acknowledged because the 2021 VolleyballMagazine.com National Player of the Year, marking the fourth time {that a} Texas participant has been named the publication’s nationwide participant of the yr after Destinee Hooker (2009) and Haley Eckerman (2012 and 2013). Eggleston was additionally AVCA Southwest Region Player of the Year for the second-consecutive season. The Longhorns have beforehand had Chiaka Ogbogu (2017) and Micaya White (2018) win the award. Eggleston can be the primary back-to-back recipient of the Big 12 Player of the Year award since Eckerman gained the award three-straight seasons from 2012-14. A Texas participant has been named the league’s Player of the Year in 10 of the final 12 years.
HONDA INSPIRATION AWARD WINNER
Asjia O’Neal was named the winner of the 2021 Honda Inspiration Award, offered yearly by the Collegiate Women Sports Awards (CWSA). O’Neal recovered from open coronary heart surgical procedure in 2020 to assist lead Texas to the runner-up end on the NCAA Tournament. The coronary heart surgical procedure befell in January 2020 and was her second to restore a leak in her mitral valve, a situation she was born with. The surgical procedure, which lasted greater than eight hours, was extraordinarily profitable and there was no extra leakage. O’Neal labored again to full energy and completed second within the Big 12 Conference with a .411 hitting share to go together with 222 kills. She was named first staff All-Big 12 and first staff AVCA All-Region, in addition to an Honorable Mention All-American. She additionally excelled within the classroom, being named to the Academic All-Big 12 First Team as a Corporate Communication main.
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