The No. 4 Texas Longhorns (19-2, 11-2) will hit the road one last time for the 2025 regular volleyball season, heading to Alabama to slug it out with the Auburn Tigers (16-8, 7-6) on Wednesday.
The Longhorns
and Tigers have only met twice in the history of the two programs with Texas winning both times and sweeping the Tigers in last year’s battle in Auburn for conference play.
The Tigers rank second in the SEC and ninth in the country with 2.9 blocks per set. Sophomore middle blocker Kate Mansfield bolsters Auburn with 1.52 blocks per set, ranking second in the conference and sixth nationally. Sophomore middle blocker Grace Havlicek, meanwhile, sits seventh in the SEC at 1.19 blocks per set. Junior Shanelle Puetz and sophomore Kalei Edson have helped orchestrate an offense that is hitting .252. Sophomore outside hitter Dreves aids the Tigers with 3.80 kills per set, a .276 hitting percentage, 0.69 blocks per set, and 4.28 points per set. Senior libero Alixis Dacosta has shoveled 326 digs, eclipsing 1,000 for her career. The gritty Tigers look to bounce back from back-to-back losses to Georgia (3-1) and No. 6 Texas A&M (3-0).
Head coach Jerritt Elliott leads the No. 4 Texas Longhorns towards tournament play boasting an 8-1 on the road. After surviving nine matchups against ranked opponents, including five-set wins over No. 5 Stanford, No. 7 Louisville, and No. 19 Tennessee, Texas suffered its first two losses of the 2025 season to the ranked No. 6 Texas A&M on the road and at home to No. 2 Kentucky, but able to bounce back on the road with a 3-1 win over Florida.
The Longhorns rank No. 1 in kills per set with 15 as well as in assists per set with 14.03, and are No. 2 in hitting percentage with .308. Pitt transfer Torrey Stafford remains one of the most potent arms in the country with a .334 hitting percentage, producing 4.43 kills per set and a monstrous 5.00 points per set. Meanwhile, true freshman outside hitter Cari Spears has burst onto the scene with 3.50 kills per set, putting her second on the team while being awarded SEC Freshman of the Week honors five times during the 2025 season.
Junior setter Ella Swindle sits eighth in the SEC with 9.27 assists per set as well as handing out her 2000th career assists against Florida. Sophomore middle blocker Ayden Ames stands fifth in conference, holding the net down with a hitting percentage of .381 and leads the Longhorns with 66 blocks while senior libero Emma Halter ranks tenth in the SEC with 3.61 digs per set.
Texas is currently third in the SEC behind undefeated Kentucky and one-loss A&M and will be no lower than the third seed in the conference tournament.
First serve is at 6 p.m. Central on SEC Network+ at Neville Arena.
