Keys for the Season: What It Will Take for to get the Horns to KC

The road back to the top is never easy, and the Texas coaching staff knows it. The talent is there, but as the coaches have emphasized to the team, talent only matters if it turns into growth, execution, and consistency. The ability for this group of players to see a successful season will be defined by whether the Longhorns can hit the right notes in a few key areas.

The first piece is developing a consistent second attacking option. Torrey Stafford is a reliable OH1 and can handle the load as the top outside hitter, but the offense cannot lean on just one player. We saw how dangerous that can be last year with Madi Skinner when the offense is not spread out and becomes predictable. Now the question is who steps up alongside Stafford. Will it be a freshman making a splash onto the college scene, a middle running with elite efficiency, a veteran finding another gear? The team needs balance to avoid becoming one dimensional.

The second key is freshmen development, and really, the growth of the entire roster. As Associate HC David Hunt puts it, the focus is on “continuing that growth mindset, learning at a high level... can we continue to grow and evolve and develop?” Several freshmen may get real playing time this year, and their ability to adapt quickly could swing the season. More broadly, the team has to keep evolving, finding the best version of itself as the months roll on. That flexibility is what separates a good season from a great one.

Another focus is blocking and the middles. The staff has poured plenty of practice hours into tightening up blocking schemes, and with good reason. It was not a strength last year. This season’s middle group is talented but very young, with no one older than a redshirt sophomore and none with more than a year of experience. How fast they come together and how effective the schemes are could decide whether Texas can match up with the top tier offenses they will see in the postseason.

Consistency is the fourth key. It sounds simple, but it is probably the hardest thing to pull off in a long season filled with elite opponents. From a tough non conference slate to the grind of SEC play and eventually the postseason, the team has to be locked in at every stage. Practice lessons have to stick and build over time rather than being lost when the pressure rises. That steady growth week to week will keep the Longhorns sharp when it matters most.

Finally, Texas has to maximize the ability of its liberos and defensive specialists. With Ramsey Gary and Anja Kujundzic being brought in to pair up with Emma Halter and freshman Callie Krueger, the Longhorns have one of the deepest and most talented back courts in the nation. If this group does its job and keeps the team in system, Ella Swindle can run the offense the way it's meant to be run. A steady back row frees up the big arms at the net, and this roster has plenty of those.

If Texas can nail down these five keys to the season, the potential is through the roof. The challenge now is putting it all together when it counts, and that starts on Friday when Texas takes on Creighton in the Opening Spike Classic.