The famed Red River Rivalry is typically known for its fiery competition in college football.

But tonight, No. 2 Texas volleyball and the rest of the Longhorn faithful made it known that the volleyball edition is just as intense. Chants of “O…U…sucks” during Sooner attacks and incredibly passionate renditions of “Texas Fight!” by the fans after each set won made the home atmosphere just as impressive.

“Probably the best since I’ve been here,” freshman outside hitter Abby Vander Wal said about the energy in the arena. “I’m still learning the rivalry, but (it’s a) really big deal to beat O.U.”

Amidst a speckled crowd of burnt orange and pink on a “pink out” night at Gregory Gymnasium, the Longhorns improved to 16-0 with a tight 3-1 win against their archrival Oklahoma.

However, as seen at the Cotton Bowl each year, a rivalry game is unpredictable. An unranked Oklahoma on the road against an undefeated No. 2 Texas? It should’ve been a walk in the park for the Longhorns, but the Sooners came out firing.

Each set was close throughout, with the first set in particular being Oklahoma’s to lose. The Sooners were outstanding with their attacks as they dominated the Longhorns .481 to .286 in kill percentage that set. Oklahoma found itself up 23-21 with a chance to pull off a first-set stunner.

The second set was similar, although Texas had more control, holding a 20-19 lead. But the Longhorns’ late-set rallies have become almost inevitable. They claimed the last four points in the first set and the last five in the second set to narrowly grab a 2-0 lead.

It looked like the third set was on track to be just the same. Tied at 15, tied at 19 and even tied at 22. Every set seemed to have the same story — a close battle turned into a late Texas rally to win. And after a kill by Vander Wal and an Oklahoma error, the script looked to be in the Longhorns’ favor again.

But the Sooners had other plans. They capitalized on a service error by redshirt sophomore middle blocker Nya Bunton and proceeded to win the next three points after, including two blocks, to complete a comeback of their own and win the third set.

With new life, Oklahoma looked to claw back and ride the momentum to force a fifth set. But Texas held their nerve and played a classic Texas set, with 13 kills on .308 hitting and, most impressively, four blocks. Texas cruised through the fourth set at last and dominated 25-14 to win.

Junior outside hitter Torrey Stafford once again led Texas in kills with 17, along with two blocks. Vander Wal followed suit with a new career-high of 15 kills, and behind a fourth-set surge of five kills, freshman outside hitter Cari Spears also notched double-digit kills with 13 to go along with eight digs.

The Longhorns now head to a three-match road trip against Ole Miss, LSU and No. 10 Texas A&M before returning home on Nov. 2 to face No. 3 Kentucky in what should be a marquee matchup.