The No. 4 Texas Longhorns (21-2, 13-2) hosted and defeated the South Carolina Gamecocks (10-15, 4-11) in the final home game of the 2025 regular season, 3-1.
Under head coach Jerritt Elliott, the Longhorns
now have 10 seasons with just two regular-season losses, honoring four seniors on Sunday — libero Emma Halter and outside hitters Kenna Miller, Whitney Lauenstein, and Devin Kahahawai.
In the first set, Texas jumped out and cruised through the first set as junior outside hitter Torrey Stafford totalled six kills and hit .400 while libero Ramsey Gary tallied five digs and setter Ella Swindle recorded six assists. The Longhorns limited the Gamecocks to a .097 hitting percentage and forced six attacking errors in closing the opening set with a 4-0 run for a 25-16 victory.
In the second set, the Gamecocks came out swinging, holding the lead momentarily capitalizing on attacking errors. Texas took the lead with the aid of true freshman outside hitter Abby Vander Wal collecting back-to-back kills giving the Longhorns a 10-9 edge. The Texas defense recorded four blocks, holding South Carolina to a .154 hitting percentage while forcing eight errors to close out the second set with a kill from Kahahawai in the 25-21 win.
In the third set, South Carolina was all gas and no brakes, taking an early lead hitting .500 with only one attacking error. An ace from junior middle blocker Ava Leahy and two consecutive kills from senior middle blocker Emily Beeker extended the Gamecock lead to 11-6. South Carolina pushed it to 22-12, hitting .500 and committing only one error off 28 swings. Texas utilized a 5-0 run late in the set, but was unable to fully recover, dropping the third set, 25-19.
Stafford led the Horns with seven kills and hit .385 while Swindle added eight assists.
In the fourth and final set, the Gamecocks carried the momentum, opening with a lead that they were able to build upon from attacking errors and offensive opportunities. South Carolina outside hitter Nia Hall provided back-to-back kills, keeping the Gamecock advantage, 8-7.
Texas countered by catching up at 11-11 and pushed to a 14-11 lead after capitalizing on a South Carolina attacking error and kill from Stafford. The Gamecorcks trailed by two or less for the next several plays until the Longhorns began pulling away, eventually reaching match point in going on a 4-0 run and closing the final set 25-21.
The Longhorns recorded a .520 hitting percentage while the defense put up four blocks. Stafford led the final set with seven kills while Halter contributed four digs.
Stafford led Texas with 25 kills, marking her 10th match hitting over .400 and the seventh game with at least 20 kills. Swindle recorded 25 assists while Binney added 20.
The Horns are the No. 3 seed in the SEC Tournament, kicking off play in Savannah next Sunday at 6 p.m. Central on SEC Network+.
