Volleyball game between the Texas Longhorns and Rice Owls at Gregory Gym in Austin, Texas on August 14, 2026. (Photo: Ralph Arvesen)
Texas Volleyball opened its season with an early test against a ranked opponent, and Arizona State made the most of the opportunity. The No. 12 Sun Devils defeated the No. 2 Longhorns in four sets at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, winning 25-17, 25-17, 19-25, 25-18 as part of the AVCA First Serve event.
The opening two sets followed a similar pattern. Texas stayed close early, but Arizona State was more efficient once the sets moved beyond the opening exchanges. The Longhorns tied the first set at 10-10 before the Sun Devils broke it open with a seven-point run. Texas never recovered from that stretch and dropped the opener 25-17.
The second set remained competitive through the early points, with the teams tied at 6-6. Once again, Arizona State created separation with a run, forcing Texas to play from behind. The Longhorns cut the margin to a single point at 10-9, but the Sun Devils gradually rebuilt the lead and closed the set by the same 25-17 score.
Much of the difficulty came from the Texas offense. The Longhorns hit .071 in the first set and .156 in the second, while Arizona State hit .348 and .345. That difference allowed the Sun Devils to control the match even though Texas was competitive at the net.
Down two sets, Texas finally found some rhythm in the third. The Longhorns scored the first four points, including kills from Abby Vander Wal and blocks involving Nya Bunton, Vander Wal and Henley Anderson. Instead of immediately surrendering the lead as they had in the earlier sets, Texas continued to apply pressure.
The blocking became particularly effective during that stretch. Bunton added a solo block, while Anderson, Taylor Harvey and other members of the front line helped Texas keep Arizona State out of system. A kill from Cari Spears pushed the advantage to 19-11, and another block from Harvey and Anderson made it 22-14. Torrey Stafford eventually finished the set with a kill for a 25-19 win.
The numbers reflected how dramatically the third set changed. Arizona State, which had attacked efficiently through the first two sets, fell to a negative .143 hitting percentage in the third. Texas did not produce overwhelming offensive numbers of its own, but the pressure at the net and the early lead were enough to extend the match.
The fourth set, however, quickly shifted back toward the Sun Devils. Arizona State opened a 5-2 advantage and later used another run to stretch the margin to 15-6. Texas continued to fight at the net and put together several short runs of its own, cutting the deficit to 21-15 late in the set, but there was too much ground to recover. Arizona State closed the match 25-18.
For Texas, the final statistics told a difficult story. The Longhorns finished with 38 kills and 29 attack errors on 139 attempts, hitting just .065 for the match. According to Arizona State, it was the first time Texas had been held below .100 hitting in a match since 2010.
Bunton, Stafford and Spears each finished with nine kills to lead Texas. Bunton was particularly effective at the net, adding eight total blocks, while Anderson and Harvey each contributed six. Ramsey Gary led the defense with 14 digs, and setter Rella Binney recorded 22 assists.
The Longhorns actually finished with a 14-13 advantage in blocks, showing that the problems were not simply a matter of being overpowered at the net. The larger issue was converting opportunities into points. Texas committed 29 attack errors and hit negative .040 in the fourth set, when it needed its cleanest volleyball to force a fifth.
Arizona State received a balanced offensive performance. Noemie Glover led the Sun Devils with 13 kills, Una Vajagić added 12 and Maeva Schalk finished with 10. Faith Frame recorded 15 digs, while Elle Mottola directed the offense with 31 assists.
The victory was another significant early-season result for an Arizona State program that entered the year as the two-time defending Big 12 champion. The Sun Devils had won 28 matches the previous season and reached the regional semifinal of the NCAA Tournament, so despite the difference in rankings, this was hardly an inexperienced opponent catching Texas by surprise.
For the Longhorns, the third set provided the clearest indication of what the team can look like when its blocking and offense work together. The challenge was sustaining it. There were stretches in all four sets when Texas stayed with Arizona State, but the Sun Devils were better at turning close stretches into decisive runs.
An opening loss does little to define a volleyball season, particularly against a top-15 opponent at a neutral-site showcase. It does, however, provide an immediate list of things to address. Texas showed enough at the net to remain competitive, but the offensive errors and low hitting percentage made it difficult to build momentum. The response in the third set kept the match alive, while the fourth showed there was still work to do before the Longhorns could turn that response into a complete comeback.
University of Texas Volleyball
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