Texas volleyball downs 2 ranked opponents in Opening Spike Classic

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The No. 5 Texas volleyball team didn't drop a set in a two-match sweep over ranked opponents to open the season at the Opening Spike Classic in Madison, Wisconsin.

The Longhorns topped event hosts No. 8 Wisconsin on Sunday 29-27, 25-20, 25-14, and No. 12 Creighton 25-21, 25-19, 26-24 on Friday.

Against the Badgers on Sunday, the Longhorns played a strong match at the net with 10 blocks to Wisconsin's six, and the Longhorns outhit them .296 to .141. Despite having one more kill than the Longhorns, the Badgers more than counteracted that by committing 26 attack errors. Texas committed just 10 attack errors in 115 attempts.

Cari Spears had 11 kills to lead the Longhorns with Abby Vander Wal contributing 10. Torrey Stafford had nine kills with a pair of blocks, and Nya Bunton led the charge at the net with seven blocks. Ella Swindle had 22 set assists and Emma Halter led the team with 14 digs.

Grace Egan, who transferred to Wisconsin from Ohio State, led all players with 16 kills. More than 11,600 fans packed the Kohl Center to watch the match.

Stafford led the Longhorns with 12 kills and 15 digs in the season opener against the Bluejays. She's on the AVCA player of the year watch list to start the season. Vander Wal notched 10 kills while Spears chipped in eight. Ayden Ames had five blocks and Swindle dished out 29 assists.

Texas (2-0) travels to Houston on Wednesday to face Rice at 6 p.m. in Tudor Fieldhouse. The big match of the nonconference schedule is on Sept. 7. It's the first-ever volleyball match in Moody Center, and it's against No. 6 Stanford at noon. Tickets through Texas Athletics are sold out, but looking at the secondary market using SeatGeek is an option for a last-minute seat to see history.