{"id":403606,"date":"2026-08-11T15:14:13","date_gmt":"2026-08-11T15:14:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/403606\/"},"modified":"2026-08-11T15:14:13","modified_gmt":"2026-08-11T15:14:13","slug":"ella-swindle-among-top-topic-after-texas-volleyball-wins-scrimmage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/403606\/","title":{"rendered":"Ella Swindle among top topic after Texas volleyball wins scrimmage"},"content":{"rendered":"

Midway through the second set of Texas volleyball<\/a>\u2019s opening scrimmage Monday against Minnesota <\/a>at Gregory Gymnasium,\u00a0Cari Spears<\/a> leaned toward fellow starting outside hitter Torrey <\/a>Stafford<\/a>\u2019s shoulders and said something into her ear while both players stood at the end of the Longhorn bench watching the reserves.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Whatever Spears said sent both high-flying attackers into a fit of laughter.<\/p>\n

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\"Texas<\/p>\n

Texas Longhorns libero Ramsey Gary (32) watches a serve go out of bounds during the volleyball game against Minnesota at Gregory Gym on Monday, Aug. 10, 2026 in Austin.<\/p>\n

Aaron E. Martinez\/Austin American-Statesman\"Texas<\/p>\n

Texas Longhorns libero Anja Kujundzic (16) returns a serve during the volleyball game against Minnesota at Gregory Gym on Monday, Aug. 10, 2026 in Austin.<\/p>\n

Aaron E. Martinez\/Austin American-Statesman\"Texas<\/p>\n

Texas Longhorns head coach Jerritt Elliott talks to his players ahead of the volleyball game against Minnesota at Gregory Gym on Monday, Aug. 10, 2026 in Austin.<\/p>\n

Aaron E. Martinez\/Austin American-Statesman\"Texas<\/p>\n

Texas Longhorns outside hitter Abby Vander Wal (6) misses a serve return during the volleyball game against Minnesota at Gregory Gym on Monday, Aug. 10, 2026 in Austin.<\/p>\n

Aaron E. Martinez\/Austin American-Statesman\"Texas<\/p>\n

Texas Longhorn fans hold up the sign of the horns during “The Eyes of Texas,” ahead of the volleyball game against Minnesota at Gregory Gym on Monday, Aug. 10, 2026 in Austin.<\/p>\n

Aaron E. Martinez\/Austin American-Statesman\"The<\/p>\n

The Texas Longhorns celebrate a point during the volleyball game against Minnesota at Gregory Gym on Monday, Aug. 10, 2026 in Austin.<\/p>\n

Aaron E. Martinez\/Austin American-Statesman\"Texas<\/p>\n

Texas Longhorns outside hitter Cari Spears (23) and middle blocker Nya Bunton (55) block a spike during the volleyball game against Minnesota at Gregory Gym on Monday, Aug. 10, 2026 in Austin.<\/p>\n

Aaron E. Martinez\/Austin American-Statesman\"Texas<\/p>\n

Texas Longhorns outside hitter Abby Vander Wal (6) and middle blocker Nya Bunton (55) miss a block during the volleyball game against Minnesota at Gregory Gym on Monday, Aug. 10, 2026 in Austin.<\/p>\n

Aaron E. Martinez\/Austin American-Statesman\"Texas<\/p>\n

Texas Longhorns outside hitter Torrey Stafford (4) and middle blocker Taylor Harvey (10) celebrate a point during the volleyball game against Minnesota at Gregory Gym on Monday, Aug. 10, 2026 in Austin.<\/p>\n

Aaron E. Martinez\/Austin American-Statesman\"Texas<\/p>\n

Texas Longhorns middle blocker Taylor Harvey (10) and outside hitter Cari Spears (23) block a spike during the volleyball game against Minnesota at Gregory Gym on Monday, Aug. 10, 2026 in Austin.<\/p>\n

Aaron E. Martinez\/Austin American-Statesman\"Texas<\/p>\n

Texas Longhorns middle blocker Taylor Harvey (10) and outside hitter Cari Spears (23) celebrate a blocked spike during the volleyball game against Minnesota at Gregory Gym on Monday, Aug. 10, 2026 in Austin.<\/p>\n

Aaron E. Martinez\/Austin American-Statesman\"The<\/p>\n

The Texas Longhorns celebrate a point during the volleyball game against Minnesota at Gregory Gym on Monday, Aug. 10, 2026 in Austin.<\/p>\n

Aaron E. Martinez\/Austin American-Statesman\"Texas<\/p>\n

Texas Longhorns libero Ramsey Gary (32) celebrates a point during the volleyball game against Minnesota at Gregory Gym on Monday, Aug. 10, 2026 in Austin.<\/p>\n

Aaron E. Martinez\/Austin American-Statesman\"Texas<\/p>\n

Texas Longhorns outside hitter Henley Anderson (22) blocks a spike during the volleyball game against Minnesota at Gregory Gym on Monday, Aug. 10, 2026 in Austin.<\/p>\n

Aaron E. Martinez\/Austin American-Statesman\"Texas<\/p>\n

Texas Longhorns libero Ramsey Gary (32) returns a serve during the volleyball game against Minnesota at Gregory Gym on Monday, Aug. 10, 2026 in Austin.<\/p>\n

Aaron E. Martinez\/Austin American-Statesman\"Texas<\/p>\n

Texas Longhorns setter Ella Swindle (1) serves the ball during the volleyball game against Minnesota at Gregory Gym on Monday, Aug. 10, 2026 in Austin.<\/p>\n

Aaron E. Martinez\/Austin American-Statesman\"Texas<\/p>\n

Texas Longhorns libero Ramsey Gary (32) yells as libero Anja Kujundzic (16) returns a serve during the volleyball game against Minnesota at Gregory Gym on Monday, Aug. 10, 2026 in Austin.<\/p>\n

Aaron E. Martinez\/Austin American-Statesman\"Texas<\/p>\n

Texas Longhorns outside hitter Cari Spears (23) spikes the ball during the volleyball game against Minnesota at Gregory Gym on Monday, Aug. 10, 2026 in Austin.<\/p>\n

Aaron E. Martinez\/Austin American-Statesman\"Texas<\/p>\n

Texas Longhorns setter Ella Swindle (1) sets the ball during the volleyball game against Minnesota at Gregory Gym on Monday, Aug. 10, 2026 in Austin.<\/p>\n

Aaron E. Martinez\/Austin American-Statesman\"Texas<\/p>\n

Texas Longhorns setter Genevieve Harris (5) celebrates a point during the volleyball game against Minnesota at Gregory Gym on Monday, Aug. 10, 2026 in Austin.<\/p>\n

Aaron E. Martinez\/Austin American-Statesman\"Texas<\/p>\n

Texas Longhorns middle blocker Nya Bunton (55) celebrates a point during the volleyball game against Minnesota at Gregory Gym on Monday, Aug. 10, 2026 in Austin.<\/p>\n

Aaron E. Martinez\/Austin American-Statesman\"Texas<\/p>\n

Texas Longhorns middle blocker Taylor Harvey (10) spikes the ball during the volleyball game against Minnesota at Gregory Gym on Monday, Aug. 10, 2026 in Austin.<\/p>\n

Aaron E. Martinez\/Austin American-Statesman\"Texas<\/p>\n

Texas Longhorns setter Rella Binney (3) celebrates a point during the volleyball game against Minnesota at Gregory Gym on Monday, Aug. 10, 2026 in Austin.<\/p>\n

Aaron E. Martinez\/Austin American-Statesman\"Texas<\/p>\n

Texas Longhorns outside hitter Addy Gaido (14) spikes the ball during the volleyball game against Minnesota at Gregory Gym on Monday, Aug. 10, 2026 in Austin.<\/p>\n

Aaron E. Martinez\/Austin American-Statesman\"The<\/p>\n

The Texas Longhorns celebrate defeating Minnesota in four sets at Gregory Gym on Monday, Aug. 10, 2026 in Austin.<\/p>\n

Aaron E. Martinez\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n

And why not? Monday\u2019s matinee gave the Longhorns,\u00a0the No. 2 team <\/a>in the American Volleyball Coaches Association preseason poll, their first chance to show what they learned in the first week of summer camp before a rowdy crowd.<\/p>\n

\u201cMe and Torrey were literally on the bench during the game talking about how fun it was,\u201d Spears said after the match. \u201cWe’re just having so much fun, finally getting to put out there what we’ve been practicing. So, today was just so fun to play against another team.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Longhorns certainly enjoyed themselves early while winning the first two sets by scores of 25-13 and 25-8, respectively. Minnesota won the third set 25-16 after Elliott began rotating almost all of his players into the match, but Texas captured the fourth and final set 25-22 behind a flurry of points at the service line from Abby Vander Wal<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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But it\u2019s not all fun and games for Texas and head coach Jerritt Elliott. Sure, Elliott welcomes back 11 players and all but one full-time starter from a team that went 26-4 and reached the regional finals before falling to Wisconsin. But decisions must be made concerning a roster with plenty of talented options. And facing a solid Minnesota squad ranked 14th in the preseason AVCA poll can go a long way to finding some answers concerning preseason questions.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe’ve only been practicing for about a week, so we’re just trying to get our systems in play,\u201d Elliott said. \u201cReally, it was about our side of the net and working on the things to see if we could be able to implement what we’ve been training. Today was our practice to see \u00a0how we’ve been training, and if they could actually do that in a live situation. It’s exciting to see.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here are three things observations heading into the next open scrimmage Friday at 6 p.m. against Rice and the season-opener Aug. 22 against Arizona State at the AVCA First Serve event in Milwaukee.<\/p>\n

MORE: Texas volleyball: 5 questions as Torrey Stafford, UT start 2026 summer workouts<\/a><\/p>\n

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\"Texas<\/p>\n

Texas Longhorns outside hitter Henley Anderson (22) spikes the ball during the volleyball game against Minnesota at Gregory Gym on Monday, Aug. 10, 2026 in Austin.<\/p>\n

Aaron E. Martinez\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n

Ella Swindle: Is the senior the starter at setter?<\/p>\n

Elliott unveiled a 6-2 setter rotation against the Minnesota that left veteran Ella Swindle on the bench. The 6-foot-3 Swindle, who has 2,308 assists across 81 career matches, is the most experienced setter on the team and the lone remaining player who took the court for the Longhorns\u2019 2023 national championship run. Yet, she didn\u2019t enter the game until the second set while junior Rella Binney and freshman Genevieve Harris split the setter duties in the opening game.<\/p>\n

Binney remained the starter in three of the four sets, with Swindle and Harris sharing the second setter rotation in two sets and Swindle getting the start in the third set. The scrimmage didn\u2019t include official stats, but all three setters spread the ball around and involved the middles.<\/p>\n

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According to Elliott, the setter rotation remains a work in progress.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe’re going to be looking at all of our setter situations,\u201d Elliott said. \u201cWe\u2019ll make some evaluations. We’re going to go back right now and watch the film and kind of start kind of honing in and figuring out some lineups that we want to see more and put ourselves in a good position.\u201d<\/p>\n

Texas middle blockers: Nya Bunton, Taylor Harvey carry load<\/p>\n

While some Texas fans engaged in plenty of off-season hand-wringing concerning the Longhorns\u2019 middle blockers, Elliot stood pat even after losing two-year starter Ayden Ames to Creighton in the portal. Texas entered the summer with just two middle blockers on the roster in fifth-year senior Nya Bunton and sophomore Taylor Harvey. But Elliott added some depth in recent weeks with the reclassification of former 2027 pledge Camille Presley<\/a> and the arrival of dual-sport athlete Mackenzie Collins<\/a> from the Longhorns\u2019 track team.<\/p>\n

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Those new faces were all part of Elliott\u2019s plan \u2013 kind of.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe knew that we were going to be able to get Camille in here, and then a nice surprise with Mackenzie coming in to be able to play for us,\u201d he said. \u201cI mean, she’s a really talented player. She hasn’t played in two years, but she works really hard and she’s got an elite arm. So yes, it looks great right now. I felt really good about my middle block before and even better now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Presley, an Austin High graduate who didn\u2019t officially join the team until Monday, did not play against Minnesota. Collins came in during the fourth set and shook off some rust accrued over the past two years while competing in sprints and hurdles for the Longhorns.<\/p>\n

Henley Anderson: Freshman part of new wave of servers<\/p>\n

Henley Anderson, the talisman of the Longhorns\u2019 four-player 2026 class<\/a>, started the game at outside hitter. But the 6-3 Dripping Springs product made her biggest impact at the service line.<\/p>\n

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Showing off a wicked jump serve, Anderson fired three aces as part of a 6-0 run from the service line to break open a tight first set. And she had plenty of company; Harris had an unofficial four aces with her jump serve, and \u00a0Vander Wal and Spears also had multiple aces with their jump serves.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a really nice jump-serving team with a lot of really good arms,\u201d Elliott said. \u201cWe’re trying to do something that’s very different, that I’ve never seen before (at Texas). We have five jump-servers right now, so we’re super aggressive on the service line.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Midway through the second set of Texas volleyball\u2019s opening scrimmage Monday against Minnesota at Gregory Gymnasium,\u00a0Cari Spears leaned…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":403607,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[2237,27,29,537,1074,28],"class_list":["post-403606","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas","tag-college-volleyball","tag-texas","tag-texas-headlines","tag-texas-longhorns","tag-texas-longhorns-volleyball","tag-texas-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/403606","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=403606"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/403606\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/403607"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=403606"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=403606"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=403606"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}