Cari Spears led Texas to the home-defense it had to make before SEC play began

The Texas volleyball team that took the court against the No. 6 Wisconsin Badgers looked like the Longhorns we have come to know and love.

Over the first seven games of the season, the Horns had not looked like themselves, going 3-4 and struggling to find any kind of consistency, no matter what head coach Jerritt Elliott did.

Then, even after dropping the first set to the higher-ranked Badgers, the No. 9 Longhorns seemed to come to life, winning three straight sets to secure their first top-10 win of the season, and keep their overall record above water before heading into conference play.

Sophomore outside hitter Cari Spears led the team in that effort, seemingly reminding Texas that it was one of the best college volleyball programs in the world throughout the match.

Spears finished the night with a team-high 18 kills, playing relentlessly at the net, and tied senior libero Anja Kujundžić for the most aces with three apiece. Simply put, Spears put on an all-out clinic of volleyball and helped Texas get over the hump that had been holding the team back so far this season.

Finally securing a top-10 win and improving to 4-4 overall were exactly this Longhorn squad needed right before it saw its first SEC opponent of the year.

SEC volleyball schedule isn't going to make life any easier for Horns

Of course, the Horns' home conference is one of the most dominant in the country, arguably second only to the Big Ten.

So, while the brutal slate that Elliott lined up for non-conference play is finally over and Texas came out of it at .500 overall, the rest of the season is not going to be anything but a cake walk.

The very first SEC opponent on the docket is none other than the No. 16 Tennessee Volunteers on the road, before taking a trip to Kentucky to take on the No. 3 Wildcats. A handful of weeks later, the Horns will face the No. 10 Florida Gators before eventually hosting the defending National Champion and No. 19 Texas A&M Aggies.

A 4-4 overall record was never the goal and is never ideal, especially for a team like Texas (one that won two of the last four National Championships). However, it looks like the Longhorns are back on track just in time.

The best news is that Elliott has nearly two full weeks to put the finishing touches on his team's rotation before diving head first into the conference schedule.

The No. 9 Texas Longhorns and the No. 16 Tennessee Volunteers are scheduled to play on Friday, Sept. 25, at 6 p.m. CT in Thompson-Boiling Arena in Knoxville, TN. The match will be aired on the SEC Network.

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