This article originally appeared in the 25th Anniversary issue of Horns Illustrated, on newsstands now and available for delivery right to your door with a subscription.
THE LONGHORNS LONG to turn a pivotal moment into a momentous celebration this season. Last year, the Texas volleyball team’s season pivoted on a decision largely outside of their own control.
“They learned a lot. They’ve all been hungry,” head coach Jerritt Elliott said.
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When an NCAA committee selected and seeded the 64-team tournament field it chose BYU over Texas for the final coveted top four seed, which bore Regional hosting rights with it. The decision, which came down to an extremely narrow rating percentage index (RPI) variance and just a few losses to challenging squads, meant that Texas would have the theoretically fifth least challenging route to the Final Four, but would have to go through a Regional Final in Provo, Utah.
“Most of the analysts thought we deserved to be in it,” Elliott said, “but that’s the way it rolls and you’ve just got to deal with it”
When the two squads eventually met at BYU’s George Albert Smith Fieldhouse, Texas not only had to find a way to outplay a Cougar squad which only had one loss in the regular season, but the team also had to deal with a hostile crowd of 5,326 bent on unnerving the Longhorn players.
Texas eventually lost in three close sets (23-25, 23-25, 21-25) and went home just short of a trip to the Final Four.
“Ultimately we came out with a loss, which was devastating, but good for our kids to go through, and get hungry and rededicate themselves,” Elliott said. “For a while there we were going to so many Final Fours that I think the players almost assumed that it was an automatic if you come to Texas. Then you start preaching that stuff, and then kids don’t know how to win in those situations. It takes a lot of work.”
Texas ready to reach deep into December
Having gone to the Final Four eight of the last 10 years, the trip to the NCAA semifinals become the standard for Texas and, despite not reaching that bar the past two seasons, anything less than spending the third weekend of December in Pittsburgh in 2019 — the site of this year’s Final Four — would prove a disappointment for the Longhorns.
“I think we’re going to be a really young team again this year to build off,” Elliott said. “That’s kind of exciting because you know you’ve got something you’re building with and really working toward. I’m looking forward to our group.”
With just two seniors on the team last year, the season came with rebuilding expectations but the team proved it could quickly adapt and redevelop into a high level squad. The team’s newcomers came into their own in no time, with four freshmen making the starting lineup by season’s end.
Starting every match at libero, current sophomore Sydney Peterson made her presence known early as a freshman.While the libero always wears an off-color from the team’s main jersey color, at Texas the honor of wearing the black jersey remains one that is earned (not given) to coach Elliott’s libero of choice. Peterson earned the honor in the practice gym before the season even started. From there Peterson went on to play in every match and contribute a team-leading 362 digs.
Growing up with her mother, Bobbi, as the head coach at Northern Iowa — where her twin sister Baylee also plays — the self described “gym rat” says she can’t get enough of being on the court and continuing to improve her skills.
“Some people probably think ‘she must be getting sick of volleyball’, but I never do,” Peterson said. “I love it.”
Coming from the small town of Dike, Iowa (pop. 1209), it wouldn’t be hard to fathom that the size of Austin and the pressure of a Gregory Gym crowd might intimidate the 5-foot-4 Peterson, but she has thrived in the environment. Along with her prowess on defense, Peterson used her float serve in racking up a team-leading 23 service aces.
“She’s incredible,” senior Micaya White said. “She reads the game very well, she’s quick on her feet, she’s a good passer, and she brings a lot of energy to the court. No matter what gym we’re playing in Sydney’s always there to get everyone riled up for the game.”
Adjusting on the fly
As an outside hitter, Logan Eggleston also made her mark in her first season on the Forty Acres, as she swatted down 312 kills (2nd on team) along with 52 blocks.
“You just never know how [freshmen] will adjust to the speed of your gym,” Elliott said. “In all the years I’ve coached, Logan has gone through it with the least amount of emotions. She’s got the right mindset to be an elite player. She’s got a very short memory and just moves onto the next play … She’s going to be one of the premier players in the country as her play evolves.”
Eggleston finished high school early and joined the team as a 17-year-old.
“She’s very smart for how young she is,” White said. “You wouldn’t know how young she is by how she plays. She’s going to be a great player for Texas for her years to come. “
Redshirt middle blocker Brionne Butler established herself as a wall in the middle as she lead the team with 130 blocks and 121 block assist in her first year of collegiate competition. She also had 204 kills (3rd on team) and finished with the third best hitting percentage (.358) in the Big 12.
“Bri is a beast,” White said. “She’s an incredible player to watch. Sometimes she doesn’t realize how good she is. In the practice gym I’m happy to have her on my side because I don’t have to go up against her block.”
Butler spent much of the summer playing on the U.S. National A-Team and Elliott said he talked to her regularly.
“She’s one of those player’s you don’t have an answer to because she’s so physical when things go right,” Elliott said. “You can see her confidence just growing and developing. If we can get her up to speed — which we can – she can take over matches. Then it changes everything for all the pin attackers and everybody else and the way teams try to attack us.”
Getting set at setter
For most of last year sophomore Ashley Shook played as the Horns’ starting setter, then halfway through the conference slate Elliott inserted freshman Jhenna Gabriel into the role.
“I’ve always run my gym as an opportunity-oriented gym,” Elliott said.“No one is promised starting positions, they have to come in and earn it. For me [this year] is a fresh start for them. Ashley had some really good matches coming early on, I think she just lost some confidence. She’s a great leader, she’s a great person. Jhenna proved worthy as well. We’re confident with either one when we have to pull the trigger.”
Gabriel earned Big 12 rookie of the week her first week of play, and went onto start the rest of the matches for the year. Over the course of the season Shook had 742 assists (9.16 A/S) and Gabriel had 393 (4.9 A/S).
“Ashley is very assertive and a very strong leader on the court,” White said. “She knows volleyball at such a high IQ level. Jhenna, she’s a firecracker, she brings a lot of energy, she just keeps everyone involved mentally.”
White wants to will Texas to title
In one of the most competitive gyms in the country, where the second team could likely compete at a top-25 level, Elliott forges his players to bring out their strongest skill sets. Thanks to the quick development of last year’s freshmen and the continued development of the team’s leaders, the plethora of possible pieces and systems remains high.
Whichever wrinkles Elliott chooses to employ, a hard-hitting player with veteran experience will always prove an asset, and he has that in White. The three time All-American led the team with 391 kills on a .301 hitting percentage.
“She takes everything very seriously,” Elliott said, ”from her academics to the way she works out. She really wants to learn at a high level and can get there. She’s learned how to play this game at a higher level. She’s been working on increasing her kill percentage, learning how to use the block a little bit more, and doing some of those things. She’s a big piece to this program and what we do, it’s been fun having her.”
White also did service on defense with 244 digs, which ranked second on the team.
“She can do everything,” Peterson said. “You can really count on her to play defense and pass well. It really helped me out as a freshmen to have her talking to me and encouraging me throughout the game. She just gets it done on both ends.”
Ready for impact
Elliott said he’s excited about the two freshmen joining the team. The No. 1 recruit in the country Skylar Fields hails from Ridge Point High School in Missouri City, Texas, and middle blocker Molly Phillips hails from Mansfield. Both played on the U.S. Women’s Junior National team over the summer.
“[Fields] is super physical and could be a special player,” Elliott said. “When we recruited [Phillips] she was about 6-2”-6’3” and then she kept growing.Now she’s developing and growing into her body but she’s a smart kid with a high IQ and a great quality person.”
Elliott pointed to sophomore Asjia O’Neal as a player to watch.
“Middle blocker is one of the hardest positions to come in and play, just because of the speed of it and learning to block,” Elliott said. “You’re starting to see her confidence and see her get a lot stronger. She’s got the ability to be really good off of one foot and that was an area she struggled off of a bit last year.
“In two-to-three of the rotations we just didn’t have the ability to attack out of the back court sometimes. So we could get a little predictable and couldn’t keep teams off balance at the highest level. So I think she’ll add that next piece for us.”
In the spring Elliott also had his team focused on “first touch”. Meaning that from first contact they are controlling the trajectory of the ball as soundly as possible. From there the contact translates to more sound play across the board.
Winning the 2018 Big 12 Championship with ease, Texas’ lone conference loss came to Kansas.
The next best team in conference had five conference losses. This year, Elliott sees Baylor as possibly the toughest conference foe. He also expects Iowa State, Kansas State, and TCU to be solid.
If all goes to plan, the schedule will set the Longhorns up to earn a top four seed in the NCAA tournament, then host a Regional Final, and then earn their ticket to the Final Four to compete for Texas’ fourth national championship.
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