This weekend has been dubbed many things: the Battle of the UTs, the Texas vs. Tennessee Two-Step, and quite a few other colorful nicknames.
While most of the buzz is around the top-15 college football matchup between the No. 1 Texas Longhorns and No. 13 Tennessee Volunteers, it will actually be the Horns' perennial volleyball program getting the ball rolling on the weekend.
Texas has had a rocky start to its season, despite the fact that head coach Jerritt Elliott is one of the winningest head coaches in the history of the sport, and he retained a lot of his top talent from last season.
The Horns are currently 4-4, and their matchup against the Vols will be the start of their SEC schedule, which could present even more hurdles for their less-than-ideal overall record.
So, in yet another top-15 conference matchup in Knoxville, Texas and Tennessee are set to take the court on Friday night, less than 24 hours before their football teams take the field at Neyland Stadium.
How to watch No. 7 Texas volleyball vs. No. 13 Tennessee
- Date & Time: Friday, Sept. 25, at 6 p.m. CT
- Location: Thompson-Boiling Arena, Knoxville, TN
- TV/Streaming: SEC Network, fuboTV
- Live stats: StatBroadcast
While the Horns have started the year with a .500 overall record and are still ranked in the top 10, the Vols have actually gone 9-1 overall, sweeping eight of their opponents and only losing to the No. 2 Pitt Panthers.
They are fresh off a top-25 win over the No. 9 Penn State Nittany Lions in four sets, and on paper, look like one of the top teams in the country so far.
However, Tennessee's non-conference schedule couldn't hold a candle to Texas's, with the Longhorns having faced the currently ranked No. 9 Arizona State Sun Devils, No. 11 TCU Horned Frogs, No. 1 Nebraska Cornhuskers, No. 23 USC Trojans, No. 4 Louisville Cardinals, No. 5 SMU Mustangs, and No. 6 Wisconsin Badgers.
So, really, for Texas to come out with its head above water after facing seven ranked opponents is a massive nod to the talent Elliott still has on his roster.
The Longhorns went 3-4 in those ranked matchups, securing their fourth win of the year over the unranked Marquette Golden Eagles. Meanwhile, Tennessee went 2-1 in its ranked games, also securing a win over the then-No. 21 Indiana Hoosiers.
Simply put, while all of the attention may be on the football field, this is a massive start to conference play for both the Horns and the Vols.
After the Battle of the UTs, Texas continues its SEC road trip with an away game against the No. 3 Kentucky Wildcats on Sunday, Sept. 27, before returning home for a two-game stretch at Gregory Gym, with games against the Mississippi State Bulldogs and the Alabama Crimson Tide.
Add us as a preferred source on Google