No. 2 Texas Volleyball opens its 2026 season with a ranked matchup against No. 12 Arizona State on Saturday, Aug. 22, at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee. First serve is set for 6:00 p.m. CT, and the meeting gives the Longhorns an immediate measuring stick in a neutral-site setting as part of AVCA First Serve in Milwaukee.
The opener is the first of two matches Texas will play at the event, and it comes after the Longhorns finished 2025 with a sweep of Arizona State at Gregory Gymnasium. That previous matchup offered a useful reminder of the gap Texas had in that meeting, but the new season brings a fresh ranking picture and a bigger stage.
Texas enters with major expectations
Texas was ranked No. 2 in the AVCA Preseason Coaches' Poll to begin the 2026 season, giving it one of the strongest preseason profiles in the country. The Longhorns also have two players on the AVCA Player of the Year preseason watch list, a sign that the roster again carries high-end national talent.
Torrey Stafford is one of those players. The senior outside hitter made the preseason watch list for the third consecutive season after a productive 2025 campaign in which she led Texas with 516 kills, 33 service aces and 580.5 points. Cari Spears was the other Texas player on the watch list after finishing second on the team last season with 358 kills.
Spears was also named AVCA Third-Team All-American and Southwest Region Freshman of the Year in 2025, giving Texas another proven piece around Stafford. Those two returning stars are a major reason the Longhorns begin the year near the top of the national rankings.
What Arizona State brings to the opener
Arizona State arrives as the No. 12 team in the AVCA Preseason Coaches' Poll, which means this is not just a season opener but an early top-12 showdown. For Texas, that matters because the first match of the year often says a lot about how quickly a team can settle into its identity.
The matchup also gives Texas an early chance to answer the same question that follows any elite program in a new season: can it carry last year’s standard into the next one? The Longhorns have the talent to do that, but the opener against Arizona State will provide the first real test.
Texas has now played Arizona State 11 times and owns an 8-2 record in the series. That history favors the Longhorns, but the new season begins with both teams ranked and the spotlight on a neutral floor in Milwaukee.
For Texas Volleyball, the opener is about more than starting 0-0. It is the first opportunity to show that the preseason ranking is backed up by the roster, the returning production and the expectations that come with another top-tier start.
