For Texas volleyball, playing at Moody Center Sunday isn’t about a novelty anymore.
It’s about getting a desperately needed win and a modicum of momentum entering SEC play.
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NO. 9 TEXAS VS. NO. 6 WISCONSIN
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The No. 9 Longhorns (3-4) close out the nonconference part of their season against No. 6 Wisconsin (3-3) Sunday. The match marks the second straight season that Texas leaves Gregory Gymnasium to play at Moody Center, which serves as the home of the Texas men’s and women’s basketball programs. Last season, the first-ever volleyball match in Moody drew a sellout 10,899 fans, which made it the largest crowd to ever watch a regular-season match in the state of Texas. The Longhorns didn’t disappoint with a wild 25-15, 25-23, 21-25, 13-25, 18-16 win over Stanford in a matchup between two national championship contenders.
But the vibe feels very different around the Texas program this season. The Longhorns have dropped two straight top-10 matches and are ensured of their first non-winning mark in nonconference play since head coach Jerritt Elliott took over the program in 2001. Texas gets a needed break after this match, since the team won’t take the court again until its Sept. 25 SEC opener at Tennessee.
Here are three things to know about Sunday’s meeting with Wisconsin at Moody Center.
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Texas, Wisconsin travel similar paths
Both the Longhorns and Wisconsin have traversed a brutal nonconference schedule. Texas has faced six teams currently ranked in the American Volleyball Coaches Association poll, including four in the top 10. Wisconsin faced its sixth ranked opponent Friday at Texas A&M, and four of the Badgers’ foes are in the top 10.
The Longhorns and Wisconsin have one common foe in No. 6 Louisville. Wisconsin swept the Cardinals in the opening weekend at the AVCA First Serve event in Milwaukee, Wisc., while the Longhorns were swept by Louisville last week in Nashville, Tenn.
Texas vs. Wisconsin: Rematch from last year’s regional finals
Last season, Wisconsin ended the Longhorns’ season with a 3-1 win in the Austin regional finals at Gregory Gymnasium. Plenty of familiar faces on both sides of the net return from the match, but for Wisconsin, All-American setter Charlie Fuerbringer still runs the show. She tallied 57 assists in the 2025 regional final, when the Badgers hit .294 as a team. She leads Wisconsin with 232 assists this season even though the Badgers are hitting just .237. Outside hitter Mimi Colyer has moved on to League One Volleyball after hammering 23 kills against Texas a year ago, but freshman Audrey Flanagan (66 kills) looks like the next star attacker for coach Kelly Sheffield.
Cari Spears (12 kills), Torrey Stafford (nine) and Abby Vander Wal (nine) led the Texas attack in last year’s loss to Wisconsin. Stafford and Spears are back and lead the Longhorns in kills with 94 and 90, respectively, but Vander Wal suffered a season-ending knee injury last month.
Henley Anderson hopes to build on career game
Henley Anderson, a 6-foot-4 freshman outside hitter from Dripping Springs, hopes to build on her big game in Wednesday’s 3-2 loss at SMU. She fired a career-high 15 kills and had arguably her best passing performance of the season on the back row.
Texas may need that kind of production in every match, especially after losing Vander Wal. Anderson joined the program as the nation’s top recruit and a two-time AVCA prep All-American, but she has struggled even while playing in all 26 sets of the season. She has 47 kills and 40 attacking errors to go with 15 service errors and four aces. But her 44 swings against SMU were the most for her so far, and she seemed to find a rhythm. If Anderson can emerge as a third attacker at the pin, it will alleviate the pressure on Spears and Stafford and give the Longhorns another reliable arm at the pin.
Texas volleyball vs Wisconsin: How to watch
When: Sunday, 2 p.m.
Where: Moody Center, Austin
How to watch: ESPN
This article originally published at Why Texas volleyball’s final nonconference match against Wisconsin is key for Longhorns.
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