This week Texas Volleyball moved into the AVCA Top 5 following their ninth straight win since Conference play started. The national landscape was altered after undefeated teams Wisconsin and Nebraska met, with the Cornhuskers victory over the Badgers giving them the No. 1 and Wisconsin dropping to No. 2. #3 Stanford held strong but a surging Washington State slipped to #6 after a defeat from USC which allowed Louisville and the Longhorns to advance to the No. 4 and No. 5, respectively.
This week, the Longhorns return to Gregory Gym to host #20 Baylor on Thursday and Friday at 7PM after three road games. The most recent match, which was a battle in Fort Worth by an unranked TCU, was a good test run for Texas as they progress through the second half of Big 12 teams and will need to win out to not only secure the Conference title but a nice seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Baylor (12-7 overall, 6-3 Conference) has been unable to win versus a Top Ten team this season but has been on a winning streak their last five matches. Outside hitter, Elise McGhee, was named Big 12 Conference Offensive Player of the Week after earning 32 kills, or an average 4.57 kills/set, over two matches versus UCF. Texas (14-3, 9-0) leads the Conference in blocks (3.03) and overall points (17.67) per set, and is second in service aces. However, the program is lagging its Conference peers in digs, assists, kills and hitting percentage – interdependent facets to a thriving offense.
After playing the Bears, the Longhorns return to a three-match road show with two in Morgantown, West Virginia and one in Manhattan, Kansas. This week’s games will be broadcast on FSI (Thursday) and LHN (Friday).
