The No. 2 Texas Longhorns emerged from a weekend road trip undefeated at 18-0 after going t0 Oxford on Friday and beating the Ole Miss Rebels 3-1 before traveling to Baton Rouge and sweeping the LSU Tigers on Sunday.
Against the Rebels, freshman outside hitter Abby Vander Wal paced the Horns with a career-high 21 kills, one of three Texas players with at least 15 kills as Vander Wal was joined by freshman outside hitter Cari Spears with 16 kills and junior outside hitter Torrey Stafford with 16 kills and 11
digs, the seventh double-double of the season for the Pitt transfer.
Beyond the high-powered attack for the Horns, the defense limited the Rebels to a .188 hitting percentage, blocking eight shots and forcing 24 attacking errors.
The first set was a marathon, a 35-33 win for Texas behind nine kills from Vander Wal and 13 assists from junior setter Ella Swindle, enough to fend off a rally from Ole Miss, which battled after falling behind 10-3 and staved off seven set points. The 35 points needed by the Longhorns were the most since a 2019 match against Minnesota while tying for the fifth-longest set played in the NCAA this year.
In the second set, True freshman Cari Spears led the team with five kills, while Swindle totaled 10 assists.
The Longhorns limited the Rebels to an .048 hitting percentage in the second set as Spears paced the attack with five kills before Texas ended the set on an 8-1 run to take it 25-18. A 6-0 run by Ole Miss closed the third set with a 25-21 win, but a blistering .471 hitting percentage by the visitors left little doubt in the decisive fourth set as Stafford blasted eight kills and the Rebels weren’t able to get much going in their attack.
The match in Baton Rouge went in familiar fashion as Texas recorded its eight straight sweep over LSU and its 15th consecutive win of the Tigers overall, a streak dating back to 1991. Spears led the way with 16 kills while Stafford recorded another double-double with 13 digs and 10 kills. Senior libero Emma Halter served two aces to reach 100 for her career and the defense dominated the net with 12 kills.
Twelve lead changes defined the first set eventually won 27-25 by the Horns by forcing 16 errors as the Tigers hit .130. Smashing 18 kills in the second set helped Texas win it 25-21 thanks to a .385 hitting percentage, momentum carried over into the third set, dominated 25-18 by the Longhorns behind six kills by Spears, four service aces, and six blocks.
Texas returns to action on Friday with a rivalry game against Texas A&M in College Station with first serve at 6:30 p.m. Central on SEC Network.
