Texas volleyball, with its first No. 1 seed in three years, began what coach Jerritt Elliott hopes is a three-week journey through the NCAA Tournament Friday with a resounding sweep over Florida A&M Friday at Gregory Gymnasium.

But the competition will significantly stiffen Saturday when the Longhorns (23-3) face defending national champion Penn State in a second-round meeting. The eighth-seeded Nittany Lions (19-12), which beat South Florida 3-1 in the first game Friday at Gregory Gymnasium, have endured a rocky season that included the September departure of All-American setter Izzy Starck because of mental heath concerns.

But Penn State still has a championship pedigree that includes eight national titles, and the team still has an All-American attacker in 6-foot-6 Kennedy Martin.

“It’s one of the storied programs we have,” said Texas coach Jerritt Elliott, who’s led the Longhorns to three of their five national titles. “Obviously, two tradition-rich programs in the sport, and that makes it great for TV and great for our fans. We’re excited to be part of it.”

Based on how they played against overmatched Florida A&M (14-17), the Longhorns look primed for the challenge. Rattlers coach Gokhan Yilmaz said a Texas defense powered by a record-setting performance by Emma Halter proved more impressive than the array of Longhorn hitters led by Torrey Stafford (13 kills).

 “I think their defensive effort was great,” he said. “In a match where everybody knows it would be a lopsided, they didn’t just hang around. They were going after every ball. That’s really impressive to see.”

Halter led that defense with 25 digs, which set a school record for most digs in a 3-set match. 

“Honestly, it felt really good from earlier today in warm-ups,” Halter said. “I was just like, ‘I’m kind of feeling it today.’ It’s tournament time. It’s live or die, and so I’m trying to get every ball.”

Read below for a replay and highlights from the Texas Longhorns’ win over the Florida A&M Rattlers in a NCAA Tournament first-round match. 

MORE: After long journey to Austin, Texas’ Torrey Stafford leads Longhorns into NCAA volleyball tournament

Torrey Stafford ended with 13 kills, and the Longhorns got contributions from across the lineup in an easy first-round sweep. Up next? Defending champion Penn State.

Stat leaders for Texas: Torrey Stafford with 13 kills, Ella Swindle with 20 assists, Emma Halter with 23 digs and Ayden Ames with seven total blocks. Texas leads 2-0.

FAMU has more hitting errors than kills in this match as Texas continues to work through its bench and eye the champs in a second-round match Saturday. Whitney Lauenstein, one known as “Big Hit Whit” during her time at Nebraska, has four kills on five swings and three blocks off the bench. Texas leads 2-0.

Too much size, too much talent from Texas, which takes a 2-0 lead. Penn State is in the cheap seats watching, but I’m not sure what the Nittany Lions can glean from this match. Texas leads 2-0.

Whitney Lauenstein has been getting some run late in the season for Texas, and she fires a pretty ball. Her first kill of the match leads to another Rattler timeout. Texas leads 1-0.

A service ace from Torrey Stafford caps a quick 3-0 spurt by Texas, and FAMU takes a time out. Texas leads 1-0.

No drama in set one. Torrey Stafford paces Texas with five kills, Ayden Ames has three kills and three blocks, and Emma Halter tallied a whopping 10 digs.

Ayden Ames is having her way at the net for Texas with three kills on three swings and three blocks, but it’s the diving saves from Emma Halter and Rella Binney that really get the crowd going.

That last post may have jinxed FAMU. Texas keeps swinging away, Abby Vander Wal comes off the bench for three quick kills, and Texas is on a 6-0 run.

FAMU is hanging in there early. The Rattler are making Texas work for its kills, and that’s all you can do as a big underdog.

Ayden Ames starts it off with a spike for Texas. NCAA Tournament first round. Winner faces Penn State tomorrow.

Penn State, the defending national champion, shook off a first-set loss and beat South Florida 3-1 and will face either Texas or Florida A&M Saturday at 6:30 p.m. in a second-round matchup. The Nittany Lions (19-12) have endured a rocky season that included the in-season departure of All-American setter Izzy Starck because of mental heath concerns, but they flashed their firepower against South Florida. Texas and Florida A&M will start at 7:08 p.m.  

The matchup between Texas and Florida A&M will likely start after its scheduled time of 7 p.m., based on the current battle between Penn State and South Florida. The Longhorns and Rattlers need their allotted warm-up time, so their match will start approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of Friday’s first match at Gregory Gymnasium. Penn State just took a 2-1 lead after winning the third set.