Danny DavisAustin American-Statesman
As a team-building exercise this summer, Texas volleyball players spent some time at the Texas Rowing Center.
The Longhorns had been reading an inspirational book called "Row The Boat," so a trip to the rowing center only made sense. There, they received instructions from rowing coaches. They even got to test their skills in two boats.
In case UT rowing coach Dave O'Neill is wondering, senior outside hitter Logan Eggleston said that setter Jenna Ewert is a pretty good rower. And Molly Phillips surmised that outside hitter Melanie Parra was serviceable. As for the rest of the team?
"We were terrible at it," Eggleston said.
But Eggleston added her team doesn't plan on challenging the members of UT's rowing program, which has won the last two NCAA championships. "We're gonna let them stay in the water and we're gonna stay on the court," she joked. "They can come play volleyball whenever."
Alas, the rowing team isn't on Texas' schedule. Ohio State is, though. The Longhorns, who are No. 2 in the country in the AVCA preseason poll, open the season on Friday at No. 7 Ohio State. The Longhorns and Buckeyes will play again on Saturday.
Texas went 27-2 last year and reached the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Tournament. The Longhorns are in search of an NCAA championship that has eluded the program since 2012.
"We're super ready to get started," Eggleston said. "I think there's been so much excitement because there's so much newness in our gym right now."
Texas coach Jerritt Elliott believes the UT team that plays Ohio State this weekend is the deepest one he's had so far. "I've got a legitimate substitution in every position that I feel confident putting on the floor," he said this week.
But only seven of Texas' 18 players were here last season. Among the fresh faces are five freshmen. The team also has welcomed an influx of transfers.
On Dec. 16, Texas announced that former UCLA libero Zoe Fleck was moving to Austin. Earlier this month, ex-Nebraska middle blocker Kayla Caffey transferred in. Sandwiched between those two All-American arrivals were the transfers of Kentucky outside hitter Madisen Skinner, Cal middle blocker Bella Bergmark, Nebraska libero Keonilei Akana and Ewert, a setter who spent the last four seasons at Colorado.
On the flip side, Texas lost five players to the transfer portal. All-American outside hitter Skylar Fields is now at USC. Reserves Madison Williams and Naomi Cabello journeyed east to North Carolina State. After four years at Texas, defensive specialist Sydney Petersen graduated and opted to spend her final season with a Northern Iowa program that's coached by her mother. Jhenna Gabriel, who was the Big 12's setter of the year in 2020, retired from the sport but then later decided to play at UNLV as a graduate transfer.
Texas' offseason makeover is certainly a departure from how the program has previously handled its roster construction. Over the past seven years, only four players who began their college careers elsewhere — Paulina Prieto Cerame (Penn State), Ebony Nwanebu (USC), Morgan O'Brien (Illinois) and Saige Ka'aha'aina-Torres (Utah) — appeared in a match at Texas.
During that same span of time, Lexi Sun (Nebraska) was the only notable player who transferred out of Texas without a degree. Elliott recently estimated that he had previously lost only four or five transfers during his time at Texas, where he has coached since 2001.
So was this hectic offseason unique? Or is this a sign of the time in the era of the transfer portal?
"The transfer status now with the portal is so different, and so I think it's more common now," Elliott said. "I think there's a lot of players that are going to want to end up coming to Texas to try to win that national championship. So it's like any business. It always changes and evolves into something different. We're trying to figure that out as a staff of which way we head and how we handle that. But you know, since we're Texas, it can be a positive thing for us if we handle it right."
The arrival of UT's 11 newcomers has been spread out. Fleck and Skinner participated in spring drills. Caffey just got to campus.
Skinner said that "everyone welcomed me with open arms." Team chemistry was built over summer workouts. Fun was had with team-building exercises like an escape room and the aforementioned rowing day.
"We give so much credit to our new players and freshmen," Phillips said. "They have totally dove into this program and just given everything they've had. They want to learn about our culture. They want to be a part of everything we do. That makes it super easy for the returners or older players to accept everyone and build those connections."
Elliott credited a few of his veterans with bringing the newcomers into the fold. Eggleston has been a team captain since 2019. Phillips was a captain last year. Middle blocker Asjia O'Neal is entering her fifth season.
"Last year wasn't an easy year from a culture standpoint," Elliott said. "They've made a real effort to welcome everybody. I don't have any drama right now."
Texas at Ohio State
7 p.m. Friday (FS1), 7 p.m. Saturday (Big Ten Network)
