Texas volleyball had a rough weekend and it wasn’t leftover scaries from Halloween.
First, on Friday, it lost to No. 9 Texas A&M in five sets. Then, Sunday, the Longhorns were swept by No. 3 Kentucky.
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No longer undefeated, Texas has three regular season games remaining and after two straight losses, the Longhorns are swimming in troubled waters. But the message is clear from head coach Jerritt Elliott and libero Emma Halter: We have to get better.
Elliott knows the Longhorns are not playing their best volleyball right now but he says that the cool part about being in the rut is watching a team reinvest (in the season) so they can get back to “peaking at the right time.”
“We can get back into looking about what we need to do and then obviously build,” he said after Sunday’s match.
After two loses to ranked opponents within 36 hours, here are some things we learned about the Longhorns:
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Texas Longhorns outside hitter Torrey Stafford (4) spikes the ball during the match against Kentucky at Gregory Gym on Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025 in Austin.
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Texas Longhorns setter Ella Swindle (1) misses a serve during the match against Kentucky at Gregory Gym on Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025 in Austin.
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The Texas Longhorns line up on the court ahead of the match against Kentucky at Gregory Gym on Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025 in Austin.
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Texas Longhorns outside hitter Cari Spears (23) spikes the ball during the match against Kentucky at Gregory Gym on Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025 in Austin.
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Texas Longhorns libero Ramsey Gary (32) dives for a serve during the match against Kentucky at Gregory Gym on Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025 in Austin.
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Texas Longhorns libero Emma Halter (2) celebrates a point during the match against Kentucky at Gregory Gym on Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025 in Austin.
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Texas Longhorns setter Ella Swindle (1) returns a serve during the match against Kentucky at Gregory Gym on Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025 in Austin.
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Texas Longhorns libero Emma Halter (2) serves during the match against Kentucky at Gregory Gym on Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025 in Austin.
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Kentucky outside hitter Eva Hudson reacts to a call during the match against the Texas Longhorns at Gregory Gym on Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025 in Austin.
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Texas Longhorns libero Ramsey Gary (32) returns a serve during the match against Kentucky at Gregory Gym on Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025 in Austin.
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Texas Longhorns outside hitter Cari Spears (23) blocks a spike during the match against Kentucky at Gregory Gym on Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025 in Austin.
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Texas Longhorns setter Ella Swindle (1) and middle blocker Ayden Ames (5) jump to block a spike by Kentucky outside hitter Eva Hudson (7) during the match at Gregory Gym on Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025 in Austin.
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Texas Longhorns libero Emma Halter (2) returns a serve during the match against Kentucky at Gregory Gym on Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025 in Austin.
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Kentucky middle blocker Lizzie Carr (15) and outside hitter Asia Thigpen (20) miss a block during the match against the Texas Longhorns at Gregory Gym on Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025 in Austin.
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Texas Longhorns setter Rella Binney (3) celebrates a point during the match against Kentucky at Gregory Gym on Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025 in Austin.
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Texas Longhorns outside hitter Torrey Stafford (4) spikes the ball during the match against Kentucky at Gregory Gym on Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025 in Austin.
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Texas Longhorns libero Emma Halter (2) waits for a serve during the match against Kentucky at Gregory Gym on Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025 in Austin.
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Texas Longhorns outside hitter Torrey Stafford (4) returns a serve during the match against Kentucky at Gregory Gym on Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025 in Austin.
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Kentucky libero Molly Tuozzo (12) returns a serve during the match against the Texas Longhorns at Gregory Gym on Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025 in Austin.
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Texas Longhorns outside hitter Torrey Stafford (4) and middle blocker Nya Bunton (55) block a spike during the match against Kentucky at Gregory Gym on Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025 in Austin.
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The Texas Longhorns play Kentucky at Gregory Gym on Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025 in Austin.
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Texas Longhorns setter Ella Swindle (1) and middle blocker Nya Bunton (55) block a spike during the match against Kentucky at Gregory Gym on Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025 in Austin.
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Texas Longhorns middle blocker Ayden Ames (5) misses a block during the match against Kentucky at Gregory Gym on Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025 in Austin.
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Texas Longhorns libero Ramsey Gary (32) returns a serve during the match against Kentucky at Gregory Gym on Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025 in Austin.
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Texas Longhorns middle blocker Nya Bunton (55) serves the ball during the match against Kentucky at Gregory Gym on Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025 in Austin.
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Texas Longhorns outside hitter Abby Vander Wal (6) spikes the ball during the match against Kentucky at Gregory Gym on Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025 in Austin.
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Texas Longhorns outside hitter Abby Vander Wal (6) spikes the ball during the match against Kentucky at Gregory Gym on Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025 in Austin.
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Texas Longhorns outside hitter Cari Spears (23) and middle blocekr Ayden Ames (5) jump to block a spike during the match against Kentucky at Gregory Gym on Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025 in Austin.
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Texas Longhorns head coach Jerritt Elliott walks the court during the match against Kentucky at Gregory Gym on Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025 in Austin.
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Kentucky players react as they beat the Texas Longhorns in 3 sets in a at Gregory Gym on Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025 in Austin.
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Kentucky players react as they beat the Texas Longhorns in 3 sets in a at Gregory Gym on Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025 in Austin.
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Texas volleyball learns the importance of blocking
Texas A&M is one of the top blocking teams in the country and middle blocker Ifenna Cos-Okpalla showed why with nine total for the night; Texas’ Nya Bunton led the team with three. Kentucky’s Lizzie Carr led the Wildcats with four blocks while Ayden Ames had six for the Longhorns.
Against the Wildcats, Texas used a “big” rotation and had a variation of Ames, Spears, Torrey Stafford and Devin Kahahawai in the front row, which helped cut into many leads. A&M’s block on the other hand stalled Texas’ offensive flow and with contributions from other players, finished the night with 14 total blocks.
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“We got three freshman out there right now trying to be able to (improve) that,” Elliott said Friday night.
MORE: Freshmen Cari Spears and Abby Vander Wal blossoming into star players
The Longhorns average 2.04 blocks per set in the NCAA and a team’s hitting efficiency can exploit a lack of bodies at the net. Kentucky didn’t have a hitting error until 8-6 in set two against the Longhorns when Ames stuffed Wildcat outside hitter Brooklyn DeLeye.
“We talked a lot about our block defense (after Texas A&M) and I think that we got better as today’s game went on,” Halter said Sunday afternoon.
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While Texas’ blocking did improve against the Wildcats, numbers are not where they should be with the postseason looming, defense is how championships are won.
Texas Longhorns libero Emma Halter (2) serves in the second set against the Vanderbilt Commodores at Gregory Gymnasium in Austin, Sept. 24, 2025.
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Cleaning up mistakes
Even when the Longhorns fight their way through a shaky performance, mental errors can get in the way of Texas securing a win, especially if the Longhorns are not in rhythm.
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After the Texas A&M loss, Elliott called certain aspects of the game “out of whack.”
“We got to make sure that we are dialed in from the very first point. I thought our team fought pretty hard, but we didn’t execute the level that we can,” Elliott said Saturday night.
In set two against A&M, Texas had a 22-18 lead that was eventually blown by a six-point Aggies run— half of which were attack errors. In set five against the Aggies, with the score tied 8-7 in the Longhorns’ favor, two Texas attack errors in a 4-0 Aggies run could not be overcome.
MORE: Outside hitter Ireland Real commits to Longhorns’ class of 2027
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It was a similar experience Sunday against Kentucky, with the match either tied or within reach but errors or miscommunication proved deadly. A Kentucky service error gave Texas a 22-21 lead in set three but a Bunton attack error tied it at 22.
“We never got a rhythm going, but you got to be able to convert on certain plays and make sure that things are executing. We didn’t do that,” Elliott said Sunday.
“Things like that do carry over. All the discipline, all the playing in system carries over into a game,” Halter said.
Texas Longhorns players react after losing to Kentucky in 3 sets in a match at Gregory Gym on Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025 in Austin.
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Inexperience of youth
Halter is one of four seniors on the Longhorns squad, but three freshmen and a sophomore are involved in many Texas rotations.
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While Abby Vander Wal, Cari Spears and Taylor Harvey are all performing well, as well as Bunton, they are going against front rows littered with experience. Such was the case against A&M and Kentucky.
As Elliott stated, the freshmen are trying to improve the block, and as Halter explained, blocking defense improved against Kentucky. One thing is needed for Texas to play in the last game of the season: consistency.
Previous championships at Texas have been won with seniors or experienced transfers. With the postseason looming in the first SEC tournament in 20 years, finding a rhythm will help extend the season.
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“We are gonna take every game as a learning experience. We’ve just got to get better at volleyball and I know that this team will,” Halter said.