In the SEC, it's impossible to avoid tough opponents, no matter the sport. That much has proven true for the Texas Longhorns in football, basketball, baseball, and more.
That much has also been true of volleyball, with the Texas A&M Aggies as the current defending National Champions and a slew of other powerhouse programs in the conference. However, the Horns' in-state rivals aren't the only premier team that Texas will face this season.
The AVCA Preseason Coaches Poll was just released, and while the Longhorns are ranked No. 2 in the country, the team will have to face 11 of the teams in the Top 25, including seven of the teams ranked No. 12 or higher.
Simply put, even before the season tips off, Texas's schedule looks like an absolute gauntlet, with the SEC Tournament and NCAA Tournament as the cherries on top.
Longhorns set to face top volleyball teams before SEC schedule even begins
Before the conference schedule even gets underway, the Horns will face the top-ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers, No. 6 Wisconsin Badgers, No. 7 Louisville Cardinals, No. 11 SMU Mustangs, No. 12 Arizona State Sun Devils, No. 18 TCU Horned Frogs, and No. 29 USC Trojans.
Then, the SEC season begins, where Texas will play the No. 3 Kentucky Wildcats, No. 8 Texas A&M Aggies, No. 17 Florida Gators, and No. 22 Tennessee Volunteers, all in the regular season.
In fact, there isn't a team in the SEC that is ranked that Texas won't play this year. After the regular season, the Longhorns will have to play through the SEC Tournament, where they could run into any of those four ranked opponents once again.
Then, once that's wrapped up and the Horns have hopefully secured another conference title, they will take on the NCAA Tournament, where Texas could face any of the currently ranked teams.
AVCA Preseason Coaches Poll (and when Texas plays them)
- Nebraska Cornhuskers (Aug. 30)
- Texas Longhorns
- Kentucky Wildcats (Sept. 27)
- Pitt Panthers
- Stanford Cardinal
- Wisconsin Badgers (Sept. 13)
- Louisville Cardinals (Sept. 6)
- Texas A&M Aggies (Nov. 1)
- Purdue Boilermakers
- Penn State Nittany Lions
- SMU Mustangs (Sept. 9)
- Arizona State Sun Devils (Aug. 22)
- Creighton Bluejays
- Minnesota Golden Gophers
- Kansas Jayhawks
- Indiana Hoosiers
- Florida Gators (Oct. 18)
- TCU Horned Frogs (Aug. 29)
- North Carolina Tar Heels
- USC Trojans (Sept. 2)
- Baylor Bears
- Tennessee Volunteers (Sept. 25)
- Colorado Buffaloes
- BYU Cougars
- Oregon Ducks
Other than the ranked matchups, Texas has its usual SEC schedule, as well as an unranked opponent ahead of conference play: the Marquette Golden Eagles on Aug. 24.
To sum all of that up, the regular season will have the Longhorns and head coach Jerritt Elliott as ready for the postseason as ever, and it will create some must-see action this year.
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