And Now My Watch Is Ended
Closing out our regular season previews with Auburn and South Carolina
At long last, we have reached the finish line of our season preview. It’s been a long road (but a fun one…right?). We’re still determining what our article will be to mark the start of the season, but we’ll take that conundrum if it means we have Texas volleyball to watch that same day!
Before we get too carried away with the final two previews, let’s chit-chat a little bit about last week’s exhibition match with the Utah Utes. Jerritt put some interesting combinations on the floor and gave Texas fans in attendance an early sampling of what to expect from the team this fall. There’s probably a bit of irony (or whatever the correct literary device is, English nerds) in the fact that I’m writing about this match at all despite not even being in the state when the match was played, but here we are.
The Longhorns and the Utes faced off for five sets in the exhibition with the match overall ultimately tilting in Texas’ favor by a score of 3-2 (25-19, 27-25, 25-19, 23-25, 13-15). Also worth noting that Utah is no slouch; the Utes are ranked #23 going into the season on the AVCA poll. In an actual match, this one would’ve ended after three sets with a Texas sweep.
The theme of the match really boiled down to the faces that we saw and where we saw them. At outside hitter (OH), Texas unsurprisingly featured a healthy dose of the Pitt transfer, Torrey Stafford. Stafford was featured in all six rotations for the Horns, something that will similarly not come as a surprise to anyone who read my article regarding the potential starting line-up back in May. What does contradict my prediction is OH2 which saw a LOT of Abby Vanderwal. The talented freshman has by all accounts been an absolute monster in camp and was lethal in the early sets, hitting .571 at the midway point of the second. In later sets, Devin Kahahawai saw some opportunities from the left pin as well.
At the opposite (OPP), another freshman played a ton. Cari Spears seemed to be the focal point of the strategy for the scrimmage with Ella Swindle spending a not-insignificant amount of time trying to get the offense working through the right pin and Spears. Spears also played a full six rotations throughout the early sets with Whitney Lauenstein occasionally entering the match to give her a break. While the power in her swing is unquestioned, there’s work to do before Spears is ready to be the absolute killer her ceiling indicates she could be in short order. Through the first three sets, she had a negative hitting percentage on twenty-seven swings. Lauenstein also was swinging negative, and Devin Kahahawai also logged a flat zero in hitting percentage, indicating that the struggles from the right side might not be just on Spears.
There is a bit of intrigue to the race for the black libero’s (L) jersey, something I did not anticipate before the beginning of the summer. Senior Emma Halter got the nod for the first set, but Indiana transfer Ramsey Gary spent her time in black in the following three sets. There’s an argument to be made that Texas is better off with Gary in the back left and Halter in the back middle, but I’d still be a bit stunned if Halter doesn’t end up as the starting L in Madison next weekend. Rounding out the defensive specialist (DS) rotation, we saw Anja Kujundzic in a service-focused role with freshman Callie Krueger also getting her turn in the backrow primarily in the later sets.
At middle blocker (MB), there were no surprises to speak of. Ayden Ames and Nya Bunton are your top two with Taylor Harvey getting into the flow of the college game in some of the later sets. It seems like Jerritt wasn’t looking for a lot out of Ayden as she was featured in the first set but spent the second and third off the floor while Bunton and Harvey got their reps. Ames did look good in the first set, recording three blocks to set the tone early for the Horns.
In less beneficial news, presumed backup setter (S) Rella Binney was spotted in a boot and on a scooter. No word yet on what the story is there, but she has posted recent videos on social media not wearing it, so perhaps a precautionary measure? Fingers crossed for a quick recovery if not. Setter depth would be perilously thin with Binney being out for an extended period. Ella Swindle appears destined to not only be the starting S but also the team captain, a move that indicates to me that the coaching staff has seen the natural leadership qualities that I called out at missing from the team last year during the confusion of the 6-2 and while Averi Carlson was the quarterback.
Unfortunately, the intrasquad Orange/White scrimmage that was scheduled for tomorrow has been canceled for undisclosed reasons. Speculation is that it is related to Binney’s injury, leaving Texas with only one true setter on the roster (freshman DS Callie Krueger had setting duties during warm ups before the Utah match). Another possibility is that Coach Elliott is happy enough with what he saw against the Utes and doesn’t want to risk anything with his team now. And then there’s the whole gamesmanship angle of it; Texas will have game tape after Creighton plays #2 Penn State tonight, but the Blue Jays won’t have the same for the Longhorns before their match on the 29th of this month. The real reason is probably a blend of all of these options.
Auburn Tigers
Match Date: November 12, 2025
Match Location: Neville Arena - Auburn, AL
2024 Record: 14-13 (4-12, Southeastern)
NCAA Tournament: N/A
Postseason Rank: N/A
Result v Texas: L, 0-3 (11-25, 21-25, 15-25)
Auburn served as little more than a speed bump for the Longhorns in 2024 during their mid-November sweep through the Yellowhammer State. Early in the year, it seemed as though the Tigers might be a team that would make noise in the SEC, climbing to a 13-1 record and #24 national ranking before the month of October. The Tigers even managed to open SEC play 3-0 (including a reverse sweep of eventual conference champion Kentucky at home to open the conference schedule) before absolutely collapsing down the stretch and losing 12 of their final 13 matches.
OH Madison Scheer led the Tigers in kills in 2024, but the junior chose to transfer to SMU for her final year of eligibility. MB Bella Bell was third on the team in kills last season but is out of eligibility and will not be back on the floor for Auburn. Auburn’s second half of the MB duo, Chelsey McCurdy, also completed her college career in 2024, so the Tigers will need to find a way to replace three major players at the net. While Texas experimented with the 6-2 in 2024, Auburn committed to it. Peyton Dunn, one of the two setters in the 6-2 system, was lured away from The Plains for the greener…well, not grasses…opportunities (?) at Texas Tech this year via the transfer portal. It will be interesting to see if head coach Brent Crouch switches to the 5-1 or remains committed to the 6-2 system in 2025.
On the back row, the Tigers return senior Alexis Dacosta in the libero jersey, offering critical experience and leadership for what will likely be a team in transition in 2025. Kalei Edson, the other half of the setting duo in the 6-2, could take over as the primary setter in a potential shift to the 5-1. Incoming Florida Gulf Coast (Dunk City!!) S Shanelle Puetz could challenge for that role or simply slide into the second setter spot if the Tigers continue to execute the 6-2 offense. Outside hitting senior Bel Zimmerman and sophomore Lauren Dreves are back at Auburn after being #2 and #4 on the team in kills, though Coach Crouch did elect to bring in Belle Patrick from Virginia Tech and Liz Markovska from Cal Poly to bolster the OH room with immediate, experienced talent. Eden Bower from BYU was also a portal addition, representing the lone player on the roster specifically designated for hitting from the right side, so she will likely also have input into the new-look Tiger offense in 2025. Finally, Auburn will have to replace both of their MBs from last year, and that task comes down to Cal transfer Kate Mansfield along with fellow sophomores Emma Moore, Grace Havlicek, and Jasmine Okeoma. How that position group shakes out could be a determining factor into how the Tigers look in ‘25.
This was a team that experienced a “tale of two halves” in 2024. They went from world-beaters to loveable losers seemingly overnight. With the need to replace so many stars and role players in 2025, it feels like trying to project how good Auburn will be this season is a bit of an impossible task. The SEC preseason coaches poll has the Tigers 13th in the conference. Texas should be targeting a sweep in this match even away from home. Catching Auburn this late in the season provides a mixed bag; will the Tigers have gelled late in the year, or will they have thrown in the towel on a lost season by then?
South Carolina Gamecocks
Match Date: November 16, 2025
Match Location: Gregory Gymnasium - Austin, TX
2024 Record: 16-12 (7-9, Southeastern)
NCAA Tournament: N/A
Postseason Rank: N/A
Result v Texas: L, 0-3 (23-25, 23-25, 21-25)
We go from one expected doormat to another. The Gamecocks start the year ranked #14 in the SEC’s preseason polls, offering zero names on the preseason All-SEC team to boot. In 2024, SCar was all over the place. They swept the Florida Gators in Gainesville and then came back home and beat them again in a five-set thriller, but the Cocks also lost conference matches with Mississippi State, Ole Miss, and Georgia. While Texas swept them last year in Austin, all three sets were highly competitive. Unfortunately for South Carolina, they are replacing a lot of their roster in 2025.
Up front, the Gamecocks have to replace five of the six players on their team who recorded at least 70 kills last season: OH Riley Whitesides, OPP Tireh Smith, MB Oby Anadi, MB Ellie Ruprich, and OPP Campbell Paris. Whitesides, Anadi, and Ruprich exhausted their collegiate eligibility after 2024, while Smith and Paris hit the transfer portal, ending up at LSU and Northwestern, respectively. Whitesides, Smith, Anadi, and Ruprich also made up the top four blockers for South Carolina last season. For all intents and purposes, the Cocks need to rebuild their entire offense from the ground up.
Okay, maybe that was a bit extreme. Senior S Sarah Jordan is still in Columbia to run the offense, and senior OH Alayna Johnson is also still around after being #2 in kills last season. If your quarterback is still on campus, then you’ve got a solid chance to still have a functional attack. On the back row, South Carolina is actually in very good shape. Victoria Harris and Elizabeth McElveen anchored the back line in 2024 and are both back (and could return again in 2026!). Defensively, there should be very little to be concerned about for the Gamecocks.
Emily Becker transferred in from Tennessee as a senior, and Ava Leahy joins as a junior after portalling from Appalachian State. These two will almost certainly be the MB tandem for South Carolina; the only other two MBs on the team, Claire Payne and Sydney Davis, are true freshmen and will need a bit of time to adapt to the speed of the college game. Phoebe Reyes, Laiya Ebo, and Nia Hall all transferred into South Carolina and will likely be the arms Gamecocks Coach Sarah Rumely Noble relies on to score points down the stretch.
With South Carolina coming into Austin once again and the match occurring at the end of the season, Texas will be looking to end the regular season and head to Savannah for the SEC tournament with some momentum. Given the amount of offense that South Carolina will be trying to MacGyver together, I would anticipate nothing short of bloodshed being dished out by the Horns.
Thanks for following along with us in our regular season preview this offseason! See you next week with one last article before the match with Creighton begins! Hook ‘em!