College, Texas A&M Aggies, Texas Longhorns, Texas Volleyball Journal

Texas sweeps Indiana to move one win from the Final Four

From staff reports

Abby Vander Wal celebrates a point during a volleyball match against Stanford on Sept. 7, 2025 at Gregory Gym. (Photo courtesy of Texas athletics)

For the 18th time in school history, the Texas Longhorns are dancing in the Elite 8.

The No. 1-seeded Longhorns swept 4-seed Indiana 25-20, 25-22, 25-22 Friday afternoon at Gregory Gym in a Sweet 16 matchup in the NCAA Tournament.

Texas (26-3) hit .374 for the match and committed just nine attacking errors, while holding Indiana to a .217 clip.

“I’m really proud of our group,” said head coach Jerritt Elliott, “They’ve been really dialed in, really focused. Our consistency all night long was really, really good. We put a to of pressure on them with our side out game, and we did a great job on the defensive end. … The combination of offense and defense is pretty special.”

Junior Torrey Stafford led all players with 19 kills on 28 swings, committing no errors for a blistering .679 hitting percentage. With the performance, Stafford became just the second Longhorn since 2013 to reach 500 kills in a season and the first since Madisen Skinner in 2023, who finished that year with 547. Stafford also added four blocks and eight digs to finish with a match-high 22.5 points.

“We talk about violence, respectfully, that’s something we’re embodying as a team right now this deep in this season, and I think everyone is just excitred to continue to dance,” Stafford said.

Texas’ balance at the net proved too much for Indiana.

Cari Spears added eight kills, while Nya Bunton chipped in seven kills and five blocks. Whitney Lauenstein recorded six kills and four blocks, and Ayden Ames contributed three kills and six blocks as the Longhorns posted 22 total blocks. Setter Ella Swindle distributed 30 assists as Texas hit over .380 in both the second and third sets.

Indiana was led by Candela Alonso-Corcelles, who finished with 13 kills and 10 digs, while Jaidyn Jager added nine kills. The Hoosiers stayed within striking distance in each set, but Texas answered every run, closing the final two frames with poised offense and steady defense.

In their last 20 NCAA Regional Semifinal appearances, Texas has now advanced to 18 NCAA Regional Finals, 12 Final Fours and eight national championship matches.

The Longhorns will face 3-seed Wisconsin in the regional final Sunday. First serve is set for 2 p.m. at Gregory Gym. The game will be televised on ESPN.

“I think the expectations this program has set. … we know how to identify the right talent, and we obviously have to be able to develop them and bring them into a culture, and they have to want to be a part of that,” Elliott said. “It not only Torrey, but it was Ramsey (Gray)( as well. Those were two big key components.”