SAVANNAH, Ga. — The Texas Longhorns are in their first SEC Volleyball Tournament finals and have a date with the Kentucky Wildcats.
The Wildcats swept the Longhorns Nov. 2 in what was a poor showing for Texas. Head coach Jerritt Elliott recognized that the Longhorns were not playing their best volleyball at the time and they had to change before the postseason began. Which is exactly what they did. They’ve gone nearly three weeks without a loss.
“I thought we came out really dialed in, really focused on the very first point, and were relentless the entire night. We were good at all facets of our game,” Elliott said after the Ole Miss sweep Sunday night.
The Longhorns now have the chance up upset top seed Kentucky who has dominated their last two games by sweeping Auburn and beating Tennessee 3-1.
Follow along for live game updates:
Swindle’s service error gives Kentucky a three point lead out of the timeout. A rally with two free balls to Texas is completed with a Bunton kill but Eva Hudson sends a ball flying to the back row. Kentucky’s Carr’s offspeed could not be dug up for the Longhorns, but Texas responds with a block to close the deficit to three.
The Longhorns go on a 2-0 run forcing Kentucky to call a time out. Texas has been attacking the left pin during the run led by Stafford and Spears.
Texas gets a gift of a Kentucky service error to help close the gap. Texas is having good points and are finding a good groove on offense. But Kentucky has met the Texas challenge. Kentucky service error closes the gap a bit.
Bunton throws down a kill but a few sloppy turns on offense force Elliott to call a timeout.
Set two opens with with a Texas service error and a pair Kentucky aces. A Stafford kill gets the Longhorns on the board but it’s short lived after a Hudson kill.
Ayden Ames’ kill goes long for the Longhorns. Cari Spears serves the first error for Texas on set point and Vander Wal’s kill lands in the middle of the court to win the set.
Longhorns stay aggressive at the net behind five Vander Wal kills this set and a couple of successful jousts. But Kentucky is coming after a few Texas mistakes on serve receive. Devin Kahahawai throws it down and Kentucky calls a timeout.
A few Kentucky kills go long to extend Texas’ lead. The Wildcats call a timeout. So far Texas’ offense is flawless with zero attack errors or service errors.
Freshman Abby Vander Wal is leading the kills for the Longhorns with three. Swindle throws down an offspead for an early lead.
Where: Enmarket Arena in Savannah, Ga.