The next time Texas volleyball takes the court, the match will matter.
That’s why a roller-coaster of a scrimmage Friday against Rice at Gregory Gymnasium meant so much for a revamped Longhorns’ squad that opens the season Aug. 22 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, against Arizona State.
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Texas Longhorns outside hitter Henley Anderson (22) sends the ball over the net in the second set of the Longhorns’ summer scrimmage against the Rice Owls in Gregory Gymnasium, Aug. 14, 2026.
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Texas Longhorns outside hitter Cari Spears (23) serves in the third set of the Longhorns’ summer scrimmage against the Rice Owls in Gregory Gymnasium, Aug. 14, 2026.
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Texas Longhorns middle blocker Nya Bunton (55) hits the ball over the net in the third set of the Longhorns’ summer scrimmage against the Rice Owls in Gregory Gymnasium, Aug. 14, 2026.
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A young Texas fan puts her “Horns Up” during ‘The Eyes of Texas’ ahead of the Longhorns’ summer scrimmage against the Rice Owls in Gregory Gymnasium, Aug. 14, 2026.
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Texas Longhorns setter Rella Binney (3) serves in the second set of the Longhorns’ summer scrimmage against the Rice Owls in Gregory Gymnasium, Aug. 14, 2026.
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Texas Longhorns outside hitter Abby Vander Wal (6) reaches for a ball in the third set of the Longhorns’ summer scrimmage against the Rice Owls in Gregory Gymnasium, Aug. 14, 2026.
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Rice Volleyball gather on the court ahead of their summer scrimmage against the Texas Longhorns in Gregory Gymnasium, Aug. 14, 2026.
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Texas Longhorns outside hitter Henley Anderson (22) sends the ball over the net in the third set of the Longhorns’ summer scrimmage against the Rice Owls in Gregory Gymnasium, Aug. 14, 2026.
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Rice Owls opposite Kellen Dorotik (4) celebrates a point in the second set of the Texas Longhorns’ summer scrimmage against the Rice Owls in Gregory Gymnasium, Aug. 14, 2026.
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Texas Longhorns middle blocker Camille Presley (24) warms up ahead of the Longhorns’ summer scrimmage against the Rice Owls in Gregory Gymnasium, Aug. 14, 2026.
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Texas Longhorns outside hitter Torrey Stafford (4) serves in the first set of the Longhorns’ summer scrimmage against the Rice Owls in Gregory Gymnasium, Aug. 14, 2026.
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Texas Longhorns middle blocker Taylor Harvey (10) hits the ball over the net in the third set of the Longhorns’ summer scrimmage against the Rice Owls in Gregory Gymnasium, Aug. 14, 2026.
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Texas Longhorns outside hitter Cari Spears (23) hits the ball over the net in the first set of the Longhorns’ summer scrimmage against the Rice Owls in Gregory Gymnasium, Aug. 14, 2026.
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Texas Longhorns setter Genevieve Harris (5) serves the ball in the third set of the Longhorns’ summer scrimmage against the Rice Owls in Gregory Gymnasium, Aug. 14, 2026.
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Texas Longhorns outside hitter Henley Anderson (22) serves in the first set of the Longhorns’ summer scrimmage against the Rice Owls in Gregory Gymnasium, Aug. 14, 2026.
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Texas Longhorns outside hitter Torrey Stafford (4) blocks an attempt in the first set of the Longhorns’ summer scrimmage against the Rice Owls in Gregory Gymnasium, Aug. 14, 2026.
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Texas Longhorns outside hitter Torrey Stafford (4) bumps the ball in the first set of the Longhorns’ summer scrimmage against the Rice Owls in Gregory Gymnasium, Aug. 14, 2026.
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Texas Longhorns outside hitter Cari Spears (23) serves in the first set of the Longhorns’ summer scrimmage against the Rice Owls in Gregory Gymnasium, Aug. 14, 2026.
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Texas Longhorns outside hitter Torrey Stafford (4) leaps to block in the first set of the Longhorns’ summer scrimmage against the Rice Owls in Gregory Gymnasium, Aug. 14, 2026.
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Rice Owls setter Kaia Mateo (3) celebrates a point in the first set of the Texas Longhorns’ summer scrimmage against the Rice Owls in Gregory Gymnasium, Aug. 14, 2026.
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Texas Longhorns setter Rella Binney (3) sets the ball in the second set of the Longhorns’ summer scrimmage against the Rice Owls in Gregory Gymnasium, Aug. 14, 2026.
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Texas Volleyball celebrates a point in the second set of the Longhorns’ summer scrimmage against the Rice Owls in Gregory Gymnasium, Aug. 14, 2026.
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Texas Longhorns outside hitter Abby Vander Wal (6) and middle blocker Nya Bunton (55) leap to block an attempt in the third set of the Longhorns’ summer scrimmage against the Rice Owls in Gregory Gymnasium, Aug. 14, 2026.
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Texas Longhorns outside hitter Cari Spears (23) hits the ball over the net in the third set of the Longhorns’ summer scrimmage against the Rice Owls in Gregory Gymnasium, Aug. 14, 2026.
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Texas Longhorns libero Ramsey Gary (32) bumps the ball in the third set of the Longhorns’ summer scrimmage against the Rice Owls in Gregory Gymnasium, Aug. 14, 2026.
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Texas Longhorns outside hitter Torrey Stafford (4) sends the ball over the net in the third set of the Longhorns’ summer scrimmage against the Rice Owls in Gregory Gymnasium, Aug. 14, 2026.
Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman
Texas Longhorns outside hitter Torrey Stafford (4) sends the ball over the net in the third set of the Longhorns’ summer scrimmage against the Rice Owls in Gregory Gymnasium, Aug. 14, 2026.
Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman
Texas Longhorns middle blocker Camille Presley (24) warms up ahead of the Longhorns’ summer scrimmage against the Rice Owls in Gregory Gymnasium, Aug. 14, 2026.
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Texas Longhorns outside hitter Henley Anderson (22) leaps to block in the third set of the Longhorns’ summer scrimmage against the Rice Owls in Gregory Gymnasium, Aug. 14, 2026.
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Texas Longhorns setter Rella Binney (3) digs in the second set of the Longhorns’ summer scrimmage against the Rice Owls in Gregory Gymnasium, Aug. 14, 2026.
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Texas Longhorns setter Rella Binney (3) warms up ahead of the Longhorns’ summer scrimmage against the Rice Owls in Gregory Gymnasium, Aug. 14, 2026.
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Texas Longhorns libero Ramsey Gary (32) bumps the ball in the second set of the Longhorns’ summer scrimmage against the Rice Owls in Gregory Gymnasium, Aug. 14, 2026.
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Texas Longhorns setter Ella Swindle (1) warms up ahead of the Longhorns’ summer scrimmage against the Rice Owls in Gregory Gymnasium, Aug. 14, 2026.
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Yes, No. 2 Texas boasts as much firepower at the pins as any team in the nation; the team showed this while winning three of the five sets in the scrimmage format against Rice. But they also committed a flurry of errors, especially from the service line. And some untimely offensive lapses allowed a scrappy Owl team with a defensive mindset helped Rice win two sets.
Correcting those mistakes while adapting to a rotation with some new faces will key a fast start to the season, said star outside hitter Torrey Stafford.
“I think we’re getting really prepared for when we’re in season,” said Stafford, a fourth-year attacker and multitime All-American. “We have to just make sure that, regardless of who’s on the court, it’s still maintaining our standards.”
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The Longhorns met those standards in certain moments during its second scrimmage but struggled in others. Texas fell behind 4-0 to open the match, much to the consternation of the approximately 3,000 fans who attended the free exhibition. But the Longhorns rallied to win the first set 25-14 and closed the set second with a 3-0 spurt to win 25-23.
Rice, an NCAA Tournament team a year ago, responded with a 25-19 win in the third set, but the Longhorns won a thrilling fourth set after back-to-back kills by freshman Henley Anderson and Stafford. As the crowd thinned out in the fifth set, Rice pulled away with the 15-9 win.
Here are three observations from the Longhorns’ final 2026 scrimmage:
Texas Longhorns outside hitter Torrey Stafford (4) celebrates with her teammates in the first set of the Longhorns’ summer scrimmage against the Rice Owls in Gregory Gymnasium, Aug. 14, 2026.
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Texas rotation looks set, and it doesn’t include Ella Swindle
For the second consecutive scrimmage, junior Rella Binney started at setter before giving way to freshman Genevieve Harris in a 6-2 rotation. Swindle, a senior who has played in 81 career matches, didn’t enter the scrimmage until the fourth set.
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Swindle’s absence from the rotation has surprised some Longhorn fans, especially the ones that watched the setter start for Texas’s 2023 national championship squad. But Binney and Harris ran the Longhorns’ offense with efficiency Friday while spreading the wealth. Stafford and fellow outside hitters Cari Spears, Abby Vander Wal and Henley Anderson all had at least eight kills in a contest without official stats, and middle blockers Taylor Harvey and Nya Bunton combined for an unofficial 11 kills.
The performance of both setters drew praise from Stafford.
“Rella’s a dog, and she’s always been like that,” Stafford said. “Even in practice, she competes in every drill. So, it’s been really fun to play with her on the court. Same thing with G (Harris). She came in there really wanting to be on the court, and we love to see our freshmen step up like that.”
Texas Longhorns middle blockers Mackenzie Collins (7) and Camille Presley (24) watch from the sideline during the volleyball game against Minnesota at Gregory Gym on Monday, Aug. 10, 2026 in Austin.
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Service errors plague Texas but won’t slow aggressiveness
Texas has taken an aggressive approach at the service line in the first two scrimmages. Stafford, Spears, Vander Wal, Anderson and Harris have all unveiled a withering jump serve that can handcuff an opponents’ passing and stop an offense before it gets started.
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But that tactic comes with a cost, as the Longhorns showed against Rice. Official totals weren’t available, but the Longhorns committed nine service errors in the third set alone.
Expect Texas to maintain that aggressiveness despite the miscues, said Stafford.
“Our coaches have kind of been pouring into us that we don’t care about errors as long as we’re going for it,” she said. “I mean, there’s so many statistics on just the fact that if we’re putting pressure on their serve-receive, and we have so many versatile hitters, it’s hard for the serve-receive passers on the other side to get in a rhythm. Obviously, we don’t want to miss serves, but it’s just having the mentality to go for it.”
MORE: See the best photos of Texas volleyball vs Rice
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Camille Presley flashes potential at middle
Texas coach Jerritt Elliott, who wasn’t available to reporters after the match, stuck with his starters longer against Rice than he did against Minnesota in Monday’s scrimmage.
But he did use the fourth and fifth sets to give extensive playing time to reserve middles Camille Presley and Mackenzie Collins.
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The 6-foot Collins, who also competes for the Texas track team, didn’t join volleyball until just before summer practices and hasn’t played competitive volleyball since her senior year at Shadow Creek High School south of Houston in 2024. The 6-3 Presley, from Austin High, originally committed to Texas as part of its 2027 recruiting class but reclassified to 2026 and joined the Texas program this past Monday.
In particular, Presley showed her potential against Rice. The Austin native had a key tip kill to fend off a set point for the Owls in the fourth and had an unofficial four blocks in two sets of action. If she can maintain that defensive intensity while limiting the freshman mistakes, Presley could play her way into the rotation.