There is absolutely no denying that the Texas Longhorns have had a far from ideal, or far from usual, start to the college volleyball season.
A 3-4 record so far, including being swept twice already this year, the Horns haven't looked anything like a team that has won two of the last four National Championships, and many have been calling for head coach Jerritt Elliott to fix something, anything.
However, just a few days before Texas most recently took the court, which resulted in a 2-3 loss to the No. 8 SMU Mustangs, one head coach came to Elliott's defense, and it's the very head coach the Longhorns will face next: Kelly Sheffield.
Wisconsin and Texas are fighting to come out at .500 before conference play
"I'm sure there's a lot of criticism [of Texas]... Which is interesting when you're being critical of a coach who's won more National Championships than any other active coach. He knows what he's doing." Sheffield said, "We are fortunate to be in a sport with the regular season the way it is, to test some things out."
Sheffield is the head coach of the Wisconsin Badgers and led the team to a National Championship trophy in 2021, but he and UW have also seen a relatively rocky start to the season, currently standing at 3-3 overall.
He's right, of course. The college volleyball regular season is lengthy, and a few losses at the beginning of the season, especially against non-conference opponents, are far from the end of the world.
However, Wisconsin will be Texas's last non-SEC matchup before their conference schedule begins, and right now, it is looking more and more like a battle of the mad scientists at head coach.
Just like Elliott and the Horns, Sheffield and the Badgers have been heavily experimenting with different serves, various rotations, and other minor tweaks they can make to see what the most perfect combination of everything is.
And, yes, Elliott does have the most national titles to his name out of any active coaches, securing three National Championships (2012, 2022, 2023) since taking over on the 40 Acres.
"You're legitimately trying, against elite competition, to find some things," Sheffield said.
Well, I suppose when the Horns and the Badgers take the court this weekend, we will see if any of those experiments have paid off as the two top-10 teams face off.
How to watch Texas volleyball vs. Wisconsin
The two perennial powerhouses will play in the Longhorns' basketball arena, something that the volleyball team has made a tradition of doing to draw a slightly bigger crowd than the one that can fit in their usual home of Gregory Gym.
- Date & Time: Sunday, Sept. 13 at 2 p.m. CT
- Location: Moody Center, Austin, TX
- TV/Streaming: ESPN, fuboTV
- Live stats: StatBroadcast
Now, let's just hope that the home-court advantage plays in Texas's favor, even though it isn't exactly their usual stomping grounds.
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