The spring season departed nearly as soon as it started for Texas volleyball. Coach Jerritt Elliott and the back-to-back defending national champions played a whirlwind schedule, facing four different opponents in three different gymnasiums in a five day span. The frenetic schedule allowed the coaching staff and fan base the opportunity to get a good look at the roster that will be tasked with winning a third consecutive national championship for the Longhorns.
As has become commonplace for Texas in recent years, the Longhorns faced off exclusively with in-state opponents this spring: Texas State and Texas A&M - Corpus Christi in Gregory Gym, Houston in a closed match in Austin, and in San Antonio for system school UTSA. The early and aggressive spring scheduling was primarily driven by the Longhorns’ upcoming trip to Europe to compete and train with professional teams this May, a benefit the NCAA allows teams to take advantage of every four years.
The Horns were undefeated across their four matches, playing 18 total sets and dropping only three. Even in the case of sweeps, Texas played at least four sets purely for the purposes of getting reps in for as many players as possible this spring. Unfortunately, fans did not get a chance to see senior DS/L Keonilei Akana, redshirt freshman MB Nya Bunton, or transfer OH Whitney Lauenstein during the abbreviated schedule due to presumed injuries.
MBU
As has been discussed ad nauseam since December, Texas is without Asjia O’Neal or Bella Bergmark. Both graduated and are now playing professionally, leaving their two spots up for grabs between redshirt sophomore Marianna Singletary, redshirt freshman Nya Bunton, and true freshman Ayden Ames. And if the spring is any indication of what to expect this fall, the future is extremely bright at the position.
While Nya Bunton sat out the spring to continue rehabbing an injury, both Singletary and Ames got chances to shine. Ames had an immediate impact in the opening match with Texas State as the first middle blocker on the floor. While she is clearly still getting her timing down with the setters in terms of attacking, her strength and instincts on the block had immediate payoff for the Horns. The University of Texas has a longstanding tradition of great middle blocking, including names such as Chiaka Ogbogu, Molly McCage, Dawn Davenport, and of course Asjia O’Neal, so the following statement should not be taken lightly: Ames is the best true freshman middle blocker to ever grace the Forty Acres.
Not to be outdone, Mari Singletary also acquitted herself well this spring. O’Neal was certainly the slide queen, but Singletary proved herself to be the heir to the throne. To say she was leaving craters in the floor while on the attack would be an understatement. In the Texas State match alone, Singletary racked up 16 kills across five sets, hitting a whopping .750 in the process. Coach Elliott’s wife, Andrea, rightfully noted while streaming the matches that weren’t televised that Mari possesses an absolute gun of a right arm (providing hysterical visuals and sound effects to boot).
Middle blocking was the big question mark coming into the spring. Based on Ames and Singletary’s play, that question has been answered and then some. If Bunton returns from injury and manages to take significant reps at either MB spot, she’ll have earned it. The depth Texas possesses at the position is absurd.
Blood Sugar Sets Magik
Despite returning the unquestioned quarterback of last year’s championship offense in Ella Swindle, the Texas coaching staff still managed to reel in Baylor transfer setter and 2021-2022 Gatorade National Player of the Year Averi Carlson. The spring proved to be an experiment in what opportunities this opened up for the Longhorns, primarily in the form of the 6-2 system instead of the 5-1 style Texas had run successfully in the past.
Ella showed she’s still the setter fans fell in love with in 2023, running the offense effectively through all four matches. The biggest development in her game was the recovery from the injury that forced her to set almost exclusively from the floor last season. Swindle was in the air with much more regularity as she built chemistry with the transfers and freshmen in coordinating the offense.
Carlson started the spring clearly not fully in-sync with the outside hitters or opposites. By the end of the UTSA match, she was clearly much more comfortable, with the offense humming with her on the floor. Once Carlson found her rhythm, it became much more obvious how a 6-2 system may function with Swindle and Carlson both playing significant time in the fall.
Can You Dig It?
With upperclassman phenom Emma Halter (AKA Baby Spice, a nickname Andrea Elliott has helped popularize) still in the boat and service ace machine Keonilei Akana recovering from the sidelines, all eyes were on newcomer libero/defensive specialist Reese Emerick of Westlake in her first action in burnt orange.
As one would fairly expect out of an early enrollee freshman, Emerick was not faultless in her play, but she absolutely flashed with the talent that caught the attention of the coaching staff. Akana’s absence also afforded Emerick the opportunity to play alongside Halter for a significant chunk of the spring which should encourage dramatic growth in the freshman before the fall. On several occassions between points, the ever-boisterous Halter could be seen pushing Emerick on her communication and passing.
By the end of the spring, Emerick was beginning to settle into her role on the back line and poised to take over the third spot in that rotation behind Halter and Akana. This is great news for the Longhorns’ defense which really came alive last season once Carissa Barnes settled into the role. Emerick will be a huge role player for Texas this fall.
Oppo Taco
At the right pin, Texas saw a lot of Kentucky transfer southpaw Reagan Rutherford as well as a good bit of time for junior Devin Kahahawai. As the other half of the 6-2 system the coaching staff played with, Rutherford was typically on the floor when Ella Swindle was in to set, while Kahahawai was partnered with Averi Carlson. Both players were unsteady to say the least. Rutherford hit .111 against Texas State while Kahahawai hit .091. Rutherford climbed up to .273 against TAMUCC, but Kahahawai really stepped up to hit .400 in the match.
Not to be outdone, Texas also got the opportunity to put Auburn Tomkinson, the redshirt freshman from Carlsbad, CA, on the floor for the first time as well. Tomkinson swung for .100 in two sets against TAMUCC with an insignificant number of opportunities against Texas State.
Stats are unfortunately hard to come by for the remaining two matches, as the only access non-attendees had was via Andrea Elliott’s Instagram livestreams, but Rutherford definitely looked more and more comfortable as the spring matches wore on (as expected from a fresh transfer player) and as she got time with Carlson as well as Swindle. This is a position that may remain up in the air through the offseason. There are persistent rumors of the transfer portal being an option for Devin, however, so this story may get an anticlimactic ending sooner than anticipated.
Outside of My Mind
Texas returns weapons on the outside, so the intrigue on the left pin comes in the form of the youth movement assembling behind the known quantities. As one of those known quantities, Jenna Wenaas was also a focus for many fans. Despite an unsteady 2023 season, Wenaas really found a rhythm during the NCAA tournament and was a huge reason why Texas as a team could find an additional gear for the Stanford, Wisconsin, and Nebraska matches. That renewed confidence was apparent this spring as Wenaas continued to build on a strong finish to last season.
The second match of the spring against TAMU-Corpus Christi really gave Texas fans an opportunity to see the healthy newcomers and players who redshirted in 2023. Sydney Helmers and Jordyn Byrd in particular saw their much-anticipated debuts. The RS frosh pair of outside hitters combined for 11 kills on 26 swings against the Islanders. Texas fans should have little concern about the effectiveness of the attack in the coming years.
Madisen Skinner
It was correctly pointed out to me that I completely neglected to even mention Madi’s name in my previous article ahead of the spring schedule. While the primary focus of the post was on the outgoing and incoming players that would impact Texas in 2024, it’s hard to ignore the impact that Skinner has had and will continue to have for the Longhorns. So let’s make something very clear: Madisen Skinner is not just Texas’ best player and program-defining leader - she is also the best player in college volleyball right now BAR NONE.
In a year that has seen the impact Caitlin Clark has had on the popularity and viewership of collegiate women’s basketball as the face of the sport, the NCAA owes it not only to themselves but also the entirety of women’s volleyball to put similar effort into promoting this sport. There is no better candidate across the country to be the face of those efforts than Madi Skinner.
She is every bit the unstoppable force for Texas that Caitlin Clark is for Iowa basketball. She is priority A, B, C, and D for every opponent’s defensive gameplan. She’s a threat to score from anywhere on the floor on any given play both in- and out-of-system. Big time players make big time plays in big time games, right? By that metric, there is no bigger player than Madisen Skinner. Just ask Stanford, Wisconsin, and Nebraska for their thoughts.
In Case You Missed It
Jerritt Elliott joined 3rd & Longhorn, a Texas football-focused podcast hosted by several former Texas football players, to discuss volleyball, NIL, and the future of the Texas program. The entire thing is worth a watch, but it is worth calling out a few sections in particular.
The first of these is Coach recounting a story from after the team rebounded from a 2-0 deficit to the Kansas Jayhawks in 2022 to deliver the reverse sweep. A very frustrated Jerritt Elliott asked the team what changed to turn the tides. Then-freshman defensive specialist Emma Halter responded with three simple words: “Winners win, coach.” Baby Spice has icewater in her veins, clearly.
Coach Elliott also discussed at length something that Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte floated during his annual Town Hall back in February: a new home for Texas volleyball is in the future plans for the UT athletic department. Outside of the 2020 COVID protocols, Texas has called Gregory Gymnasium home to the volleyball program since 1998. The intimate setting has created one of the most pronounced home court advantages in collegiate volleyball, helped in no small part by its location right in the middle of campus. Jerritt talks about the challenges that playing in Gregory Gym presents including facilities quality (taraflex playing surface, anyone?) and fan amenities as well as the thoughtfulness going into how to preserve the atmosphere while also delivering an even greater fan experience. Sounds like Mr. Worldwide himself may be the key, if you ask Andrea.
And though it wasn’t part of the 3rd & Longhorn interview, congratulations to Coach Jerritt Elliott for his contract extension! The four-year extension sees to it that he will be the coach in Austin until at least 2029!
Thanks for reading! Hook ‘em!