Texas volleyball reached the NCAA tournament quarterfinals in 2025, but suffered a 3-1 loss to Wisconsin.
This season, Texas retained many key players, including senior outside hitter Torrey Stafford and sophomore outside hitter Cari Spears. In addition, Texas added one of the top recruiting classes in the country, which includes freshman outside hitter Henley Anderson.
Anderson has been pivotal to the team’s success this season. Texas had a big hole to fill after sophomore outside hitter Abby Vander Wal suffered a season-ending ACL tear. In Vander Wal’s absence, Anderson has stepped up as a third option, alongside Stafford and Spears, giving opponents another threat to account for.
Anderson’s attack style differs from Spears’ and Stafford’s. She plays a higher-risk style of attack that applies more pressure on the defense, but can lead to more errors. Her approach has worked for her so far this season, with Anderson third on the team with 114 kills and 75 errors, carving out a role in her first season with the Longhorns.
“(Anderson’s) getting obviously more comfortable,” head coach Jerritt Elliott said. “Just (a) big responsibility starting off the season with all those big matches.”
These past two games, Spears has not had the same impact she had earlier in the season. She recorded five total kills against a pair of unranked opponents last weekend: four against Arkansas Friday and one against Oklahoma Sunday. Spears has recorded single-digit kills in three of Texas’ last four games, applying pressure for her teammates to help carry the load offensively.
During that stretch, Anderson has taken the opportunity to step into a bigger role. Anderson has recorded double-digit kills in the last four games. With Vander Wal and senior middle blocker Nya Bunton dealing with injuries, as well as Spears’ sudden drop in effectiveness, Anderson has been a driving force in stacking wins against unranked Southeastern Conference opponents.
“Her attack selections (have) really varied,” Elliott said. “You start to see her hit a lot more lines; she’s starting to hit some flat hands. She was able to hit a hard cross-court ball. She’s starting to really develop into a premier hitter and have a bigger window where she can score in different ways.”
Anderson received the SEC Freshman of the Week award on Oct. 5 for her performances against Mississippi State and Alabama. The weekend games showed a duality of how Anderson can impact this team going forward.
Anderson was a driving force in the win against Mississippi State, a secondary threat alongside Stafford in a match that Texas controlled from the jump. Against Alabama, Anderson was just another problem the Crimson Tide couldn’t solve. Stafford, Spears and Anderson combined for 48 kills, with each of the three recording 13 or more. Anderson helped Stafford and Spears push Texas to a win despite the Longhorns’ overall subpar play.
“Obviously, (Anderson’s) got a big role and put up some real big numbers last week, which we needed,” Elliott said. “It’s exciting to see those guys develop.”
As a freshman, Anderson’s ability to push the team when things go wrong could help decide whether the Longhorns can push through a playoff run they have been preparing for all season.