As the Southeastern Conference Volleyball Tournament nears, teams are still fighting for standings. Entering the tournament, the top four teams in conference play will receive a double-bye and an automatic bid to the third round.
No. 21 Vanderbilt and No. 13 Texas both entered play on Sunday with three conference losses. With position on the line, the Commodores fought back from an early deficit to beat the Longhorns 3-2.
“We’re fighting to be a top four seed,” head coach Jerritt Elliott said following the win against Texas A&M on Nov. 1. “You want to have two byes going into (the SEC tournament) … We’re now in control of that.”
Vanderbilt continues to be a crafty team in only its second year as a returning franchise. Texas had several good flashes against Vanderbilt, specifically in blocking. As the match continued, however, the Commodores were able to adapt and tool the Longhorns’ blocks to manufacture pivotal points.
“We talk a lot about confidence and the fact that it’s all on us,” Rachel Ogunleye, Vanderbilt junior middle blocker, said in a postgame interview on SEC+. “No matter who’s in the gym, it doesn’t affect how we play.”
Texas could not keep up with the pressure coming from Vanderbilt. The Commodores landed eight service aces and had four players with double-digit kills. A normally stout Texas defense could not stifle Vanderbilt forever, and eventually fell.
Senior outside hitter Torrey Stafford and sophomore outside hitter Cari Spears pushed Texas as far as they could on Sunday. The duo combined for 34 kills, dictating the offensive tempo and overwhelming Vanderbilt on the way to a pair of strong wins in sets two and three.
Spears stepped into a vocal leadership role as well. On top of the impact on the court, Spears became a go-to consultant for Elliott regarding when to challenge. In set three, it worked well. Texas was able to win a crucial challenge to take momentum back in a tied match, turning what would pull Vanderbilt back within one point into expanding its lead to 5–2.
Texas entered an interesting rotation in set five. Senior setter Ella Swindle has been notably absent from the rotation all season, with Elliott turning to freshman setter Genevieve Harris instead. However, with the game on the line, Elliot seemed to utilize the experience of Swindle.
Swindle played the end of set four and all of set five, and performed well in her short time, ending the game with eight assists and two digs. Swindle did suffer a difficult mistake — a service error directly following her substitution into the game ended set four 25-21 in favor of Vanderbilt.
Texas heads back to Austin for its final home stand of the season. Following the loss to Vanderbilt, the Longhorns cannot afford to lose another SEC game if they hope to finish with a top-four conference record.
“The South is for real now,” Elliott said. “It’s a tribute to what the SEC puts behind volleyball.”
Texas hosts a pair of unranked opponents in Ole Miss and LSU in must-win games as the regular season comes to a close. Texas begins by taking on Ole Miss in Gregory Gymnasium on Friday, Nov. 13 at 6:30 p.m.
