The Longhorns also welcome welcome No. 5 seed Stanford and No. 10 seeWisconsin to the Forty Acres for the Sweet 16 and the Elite 8. Friday’s match marks the Longhorn’s 42nd appearance in the NCAA Tournament and the 20th-straight Sweet 16 appearance under head coach Jerritt Elliott, the longest active streak in the NCAA.
The No. 4 seeded Hoosiers stand No. 15 in the AVCA rankings and are making only their sixth all-time NCAA tournament appearance and second trip to the Sweet 16. Indiana is the only Power Four program who has three different players averaging at least 3.21 kills per set this season. On 10 different occasions this year, all three of IU’s top hitters have gone for 10-plus kills each with senior outside hitter Candela Alonso-Corcelles leading the Hoosiers with 3.54 kills per set. Along with Alonso-Corcelles, senior opposite hitter Avry Tatum and true freshman setter Teodora Krickovic received First-Team All-Big Ten honors. Krickovic has averaged 10.67 assists per set this year while Tatum has 353 kills and .324 hitting percentage which are both career highs. When Indiana blocks well, the Hoosiers tends to produce great results with a record of 17-1 when they record at least eight blocks in a set.
No. 1 seeded Texas ranks No. 3 in the AVCA and in the top five in multiple categories across the country, including fourth in hitting percentage (.316), third in kills per set (14.83) and third in assists per set (13.86). Outside hitter Torrey Stafford stands ninth in the country with her 4.74 kills per set average and 12th in the NCAA with 5.32 points per set alongside middle blocker Ayden Ames who holds the fifth spot in the conference with a .383 hitting percentage. Setter Ella Swindle sits ninth in the SEC in assists per set tossing 8.98 while libero Emma Halter holds the back line down ranking ninth in digs per set with 3.64.
Texas has improved its blocking in the back half of the season — in their last five matches, the Longhorns have totaled 51 blocks, compared to the previous five where they tallied only 38 with Ames at the helm with help of true freshman Taylor Harvey and sophomore Nya Bunton to total 201 of the team’s blocks.
Setter Rella Binney and outside hitters Devin Kahahawai and Cari Spears are just a few of the individuals that keep the machine running for the Longhorns. Libero Ramsey Gary, a transfer from Indiana was on the All-Big Ten second team in her first two years as a Hoosier, now faces her former team and could give some insight and understanding on the Indiana game.
First serve in Austin is at 11 a.m. Central on ESPN.
