Torrey Stafford Career Night Propels Texas to the Elite Eight

Indiana forced each set into the red zone, but Texas maintained their streak of sweeps in the NCAA tournament to move on to the Elite Eight for Jerritt Elliott's 18th appearance in the last 20 seasons, a remarkable bout of consistency. Texas continues to embody their mantra of "violence, respectfully" to keep moving forward in the tournament. In recent matches, Coach Elliott has repeatedly made comments about how the team has been dialed in, focused, and consistent lately.

Torrey Stafford was certainly dialed in, posting 19 kills with ZERO errors in the sweep, hitting a remarkable .679 and adding 4 blocks and 8 digs. After the match, she was hesitant to say whether it was the best match of her career, but you'll be hard-pressed to find a better one. What she did mention, though, is that "I'm always trying to do better than my last." There's not very much room for better but Texas fans would be delighted to see it.

Stafford is building a solid resume to contend for National Player of the Year, an award that seemed like a long shot earlier in the season. But she has dominated the second half and game by game she makes a more and more compelling case for that title. The AVCA is slated to whittle the 14 semifinalists down to 4 finalists very soon, "likely on December 15th" according to the AVCA website. Winning on Sunday would definitely help her case.

The Texas defense continued to shine with 12 team blocks, limiting Indiana to a .217 hitting percentage. The players have given a lot of credit to their coaching staff for the development on that side of the ball, especially to defensive coordinator David Hunt. Coach Hunt recently simplified some of the concepts and schemes they are running, which has allowed the players to play more freely.

Stafford says they think of their defense as a 6-person defense with harmony between the front row and the back row, adding "I feel like when we're all moving as one, I think it really just helps us compete really hard." A key part of that back row, Ramsey Gary, faced off against her former team, where her decision to transfer was validated as Texas' hopes for a title run continue. She said she has "nothing but love for the IU girls. I've spent two years with them, so they've made me into the person I am today."

Whitney Lauenstein also continued the momentum of her season, playing at both the outside and the opposite and appearing in all three sets. After the match, Coach Elliott said "Whitney and I have a special relationship. It's the second time that we've had a child in our program, and to see her as a mother is really, really impressive of who she is. I think Whitney has grown up tremendously as a human being. I think she's playing the best volleyball she's played since she's been here... she's done an incredible job being a teammate and the role that she has to play is not easy, but she shows up every day and she competes." It also appears that Big Hit Whit has earned herself some more court time, with Coach adding "we're gonna keep looking to her."

The win sets up a Sunday-night marquee matchup against Wisconsin, who's got their own bit of mojo going on right now. Mimi Colyer has been putting up dominant numbers all season long and is another contender for NPOY. She watched Torrey Stafford put up 19 kills in three sets and said "hold my beer" before earning 27 kills of her own against Stanford (although in four sets and at a measly .373 efficiency). 

It's a three-match season now, and none of those three matches are easy wins anymore as we approach the moments where legends are made. Win or lose, Sunday will be a send-off for the Longhorns as it marks the last match of the season in Gregory gym.