Texas volleyball will open the SEC Volleyball Tournament Sunday with a quarterfinal matchup against surprising 14th-seeded Ole Miss, which stunned No. 6 Missouri with a 3-2 win Saturday in a second-round matchup.
The third-seeded Longhorns (21-2) will face Ole Miss (14-14) at approximately 6 p.m. at Enmarket Arena in Savannah, Ga. The match will be televised on the SEC Network.
With a win, Texas will advance to Monday’s semifinals against either No. 2 Texas A&M or No. 15 Vanderbilt.
Ole Miss advanced by fending off two match points in the fifth set against No. 6 Missouri. The Rebels leaned heavily on star outside hitter Gabi Placide, who had 25 kills and 10 digs. Shayla Meyer added 18 kills and 15 digs for Ole Miss while setter Mokihana Tufono recorded 52 assists and 11 digs.
In its lone regular-season meeting with Ole Miss this season, Texas beat the Rebels 3-1 in Oxford, Miss., behind a breakout performance by freshman outside hitter Abby Vander Wal, who set a career-high with 21 kills on 45 swings with just two hitting errors. Texas needed all it could get from Vander Wal in what became a personal duel with Placide, who had 22 kills.
The Texas offense hummed all match against the Rebels behind setter Ella Swindle, who had 42 assists. The Longhorns hit .329 in the four sets, with Cari Spears and Torrey Stafford each firing 16 kills to complement Vander Wal.
What: SEC Volleyball Tournament quarterfinal
When:Â About 6 p.m. Sunday
Where:Â Enmarket Arena in Savannah, Ga.
How to watch:Â SEC Network