No. 14 Texas Volleyball Sweeps South Carolina 3-0, and Its Serving Finally Matches the Practice Gym

No. 14 Texas volleyball handled the first test of its closing stretch the way a favorite is supposed to, sweeping unranked South Carolina 3-0 in Columbia. The Longhorns dominated early, winning the first set 25-12, and closed out the match 25-21 in the third.

The difference was the serve. Texas committed just seven service errors, tying its lowest total in a match all season, and added six service aces by keeping the ball flat and low over the net. "What we were seeing in the gym was not happening in our matches," head coach Jerritt Elliott said earlier this season. "Now we're talking about how to manage that at a high level." The setter duo ran it cleanly: junior Rella Binney and freshman Genevieve Harris combined for 38 assists, and both recorded two aces with zero service errors.

Senior middle blocker Nya Bunton finished the job. With the third set tied at 19, Bunton landed a pair of powerful kills and combined with sophomore Cari Spears on a block to push Texas to a 23-20 lead. She finished with eight kills and three blocks. "(Bunton) can run a lot of different play routes for you," Elliott said. "She commands so much respect because she's hitting at such a high percentage, and she's got such great range." Senior outside hitter Torrey Stafford was the most efficient arm on the floor: 12 kills and zero attacking errors, only her third zero-error match in two years at Texas. Freshman Henley Anderson added 11 kills but committed six attacking errors.

The context is the calendar. Texas enters the last four-week stretch of its season ranked higher, at No. 14, than any of its remaining opponents - which means every remaining match is one it is expected to win. The Longhorns return to Gregory Gymnasium in Austin to host Georgia on Wednesday at 7 p.m.