Photo: Annie Rice/Avalanche-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK
Today will mark the 13th time the Texas Longhorns and Stanford Cardinal meet on the court with Texas only claiming three of the wins. Both boast historically powerful volleyball programs, but the Cardinal has claimed the championship nine times versus Texas’ four. The two teams meet on the 40 Acres at 11:30AM following the Longhorns pulling the upset over #5 Minnesota and #2 Stanford reeling from a sweep delivered by #8 Florida over the Cardinal on Tuesday. Both teams meet today with 2-1 overall record for the season.
This year, the Cardinal are believed to be a solid national champion contender along with the Longhorns because they have retained much of their roster since 2022 unlike Texas who lost players in key positions (Outside hitter Logan Eggleston, libero-Zoe Fleck and setter Saige Ka’aha’aina-Torres). Longhorn fans have seen two versions of their team thus far, a sluggish one easily wiped out by an unranked opponent and a fiery, well-oiled machine that bounced back. Last year in preseason, the two met and Texas upset Stanford in California. The Cardinal was the last team earning back to back national championships in the NCAA (2018 and 2019) while the Longhorns have never secured the crown consecutively.
Today’s top ten showdown will provide a needed boost for the victor after the sting of early unexpected season upsets to two programs hoping to make the final round for another chance at the title on December 17 in Tampa Bay, Florida. The match will be broadcast nationally on ESPN2.
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