Red River, Round Two: An OU Preview

Just one week after Texas football reminded everyone who runs the Red River Shootout, Texas volleyball gets its turn to do the same in a Sunday night rivalry matchup in Austin. While it may not carry quite the same magnitude as the football edition (given the Longhorns’ commanding 52–5 all-time record over Oklahoma) there’s still plenty of energy surrounding this matchup. "There's definitely a lot of excitement behind the game," Emma Halter said.

With so many freshmen as key contributors to the team, they will get their first taste of what the rivalry means to the team and to the fans on Sunday. Abby Vander Wal says that "I'm still learning about the rivalry, but it seems pretty serious." And serious may be an understatement. We know how much this rivalry means on both sides of the Red River and Jerritt Elliott says "we know that they're gonna bring their best match."

Something that the freshmen didn't experience is that one of those 5 all-time losses to Oklahoma was just last year right at home in Gregory gym. The match was at the tail-end of a frustrating three-match skid at home for the Longhorns, and it only makes it that much more important to defend the Horns house and get some revenge for last season. One major storyline from that game was that All-American Alexis Shelton went off for 27 kills, carrying the Oklahoma offense to the 5-set victory.

Heading into this match, the big key will be shutting down the Sooners offense. We've seen how Shelton can heat up and take over a match, and it's a priority to make sure that doesn't happen again in this one. But this offseason, Oklahoma picked up Emoni Bush in the portal, a senior OH from Washington who has helped the team have a much more balanced attack this season. Elliott believes that Texas has a bigger, more physical block this year which may be able to counteract that threat.

The Longhorns have been sharpening their defensive systems all week, especially in the back row, and it will be important for that aspect to click against the Sooners. Elliott added that "we need to serve well" to knock them out of system and slow down their fast offense. Oklahoma’s ability to switch between a 5-1 and 6-2 system adds an extra layer of challenge, but it also gives Texas opportunities. If the Sooners go with the 5-1, look for Texas to attack the block of their shorter setter and test the edges of their defense.

Despite the rivalry and revenge narrative, the Longhorns are keeping their approach steady. While it is an important match, "we're not gonna handle it any different than any other match, we approach every match the same way" says Halter. This is still a team with way more focus on itself and improving its own systems than on any of its opponents. The mindset for this team is that whoever's in their way, they will set out to accomplish what they want to accomplish.