AUSTIN, Texas. — The No. 3 Texas Volleyball team rolled past No. 15 Indiana (25-20, 25-22, 25-22) to advance to the Regional Final of the NCAA Tournament. In the last 20 regional semifinal appearances, the Longhorns have advanced to 18 NCAA Regional Finals, 12 National Semifinals and eight National Championship matches. 

Junior Torrey Stafford became just the second Longhorn since 2013 to reach 500 kills in a season and first since Madisen Skinner in 2023 who finished with 547. Stafford also reached 700 career digs (705) with eight on the day along with four blocks, which tied her season high. The outside hitter recorded a .679 hitting percentage, marking her season high. In addition, Stafford became the sole Longhorn since 2013 to register 500 kills and 250 digs in the same season. 

Texas put up .374 hitting percentage as a team, while limiting Indiana to .217. Freshman Cari Spears totaled eight kills and three digs while hitting .312. Middle blocker Nya Bunton recorded seven kills and five blocks, while outside hitter Whitney Lauenstein registered seven kills and season-high four blocks. Sophomore Ayden Ames contributed six of the 12 total blocks for the Longhorns, along with three kills. Libero Ramsey Gary reached 200 digs at Texas (201) with three while facing her former team. 

Set One: Texas extended the lead with a 4-0 run to 14-8 in the first set against the Hoosiers, taking the set 25-20. Stafford totaled six kills while hitting .750, with Bunton putting up three blocks amongst Texas’ four in set one. The Longhorns hit .323 while limiting Indiana to only .162 and one block. 

Set Two: The Longhorns won the second set 25-22. Texas put up five team blocks, with Ames leading the charge with four. Stafford recorded nine kills while hitting .818, with Ella Swindle contributing 11 of her 30 assists. 

Set Three: Texas completed the sweep over the Hoosiers with a  25-22 set three win. Lauenstein (6) and Bunton (5) combined for 11 kills for the Longhorns. Bunton hit perfect during the final set of the match (5-for-5). 

Texas will face the winner between No. 5 Stanford and No. 10 Wisconsin in the Regional Final of the NCAA Tournament. The game time is TBD for either 2:30 pm CT on ABC or 6:30 pm CT on ESPN. 

FARGO, N.D. – The Valley City State Viking Track and Field teams competed in the Dakota Alumni Classic Thursday, December 11^th at the Shelly Ellig Indoor Track and Field Facility on the campus of North Dakota State.

The Viking Men scored 46 points and placed fifth overall. The women scored 25 points and placed fifth overall. The meet consisted of Division 1 schools, Division 2 schools and the Vikings.

On the women’s side, Frida Barrera set another school record, her second in as many meets. The freshman from Clara City, Minn. placed first in the 800m with a time of 2:21.83. She broke the school record held by Jasmine Barnes which she set last year by 2.27 seconds. The Vikings had the top three spots in the 800m. Billie Maye Pohlkamp was second and Paiton Flick was third.  

For the men. Zach Baumgartner was second in the Mile with a time of 4:39.79. Tate Minnihan finished fourth. Jordan Mount was fourth in the 200m. Cameron Champagnie was third in the triple jump and fifth in the long jump. Titus Dolo was third in the 60m, and Isaac Eichhorst was fifth in the 800m.

UP NEXT: The track teams will now have a month off before its next competition. They will be at the Bison Team Cup in Fargo on January 17^th.

 

ARLINGTON, TEXAS – Senior thrower Hayden Wilson, a Mansfield, Texas native and UA Little Rock transfer now in his third year at UT Arlington, has already left a mark on the WAC with four championship titles.

Before he begins his final title run, UTAMavs.com sat down with the former Lake Ridge HS track and football standout:

What’s your go-to hype song before a meet?

“This is actually a really funny song. Last year, it was Boogie Wonderland by Earth, Wind and Fire,” Wilson said laughing. “It’s just one of those comfort songs.”

Dream city to compete in?

“It’d be TrackTown USA, Oregon. I’ve competed there for high school nationals. Hopefully, we’ll make another trip there this year.”

Favorite athlete or thrower you look up to?

“I think as far as throwing goes, I’ve been a really big fan of Ryan Crouser for a long time, but that’s always easy to say cause he’s the best.”

If you could give “freshman Hayden” one piece of advice, what would it be?

“Your value is not in your sport,” Wilson said confidently. “It’s a hard lesson to learn. I’m still chewing on it.”

 

After a quick round of fun questions to break the ice, we shifted gears and dove deeper into how he envisions his senior season and what he hopes to take away from it.

Wilson arrived at UTA after spending his freshman year at Little Rock, and he made an immediate impact. As a sophomore, he captured the 2024 WAC Indoor shot-put title, then returned in 2025 to successfully defend his crown. During his junior year, his dominance carried into the outdoor season where he claimed first in both the shot put and discus at the 2025 WAC Outdoor Championships.

 

How do you feel heading into WAC Indoor and Outdoor Championships as the reigning shot put champion, and what does it mean to you to have the chance to defend those titles in your final year?

“First, I’m super excited about the training group we had this year,” Wilson started, “We had a bunch of great athletes we brought in. We brought in a bunch of great talent this year.”

“For me, personally, I won indoor my sophomore year and then tanked outdoor, so going into my junior year, I had to release myself of the expectations to perform and just go out there, week after week, show up and give the best that I can give on the day. Taking that approach kind of sets you up to not be disappointed when you’re a little down but then also you really get to enjoy the fruits of your labor.”

“Taking that approach of just taking each day as it comes like I said we’re hoping to make a trip to nationals this year. We made it to Regionals last year so just being process-oriented over goal-oriented.”

 

How has your mindset changed from freshman to senior year?

“The biggest change has been trusting my training. You know, it’s really easy to go out there and just put too much pressure on yourself to perform and get a little over-excited. I think having that consistency like “this is exactly what I do in practice. There’s just a little bit more adrenaline flowing right now,” and then going out there and competing.”

 

As a senior, how do you try to lead or set an example for the younger athletes on the team?

“I think the biggest thing for me is being open and honest. Like I don’t try to hide my struggles,” he said, “Because I think it’s important for them to know there’s gonna be times when you’re down and there’s gonna be times when you’re up, but all that matters is that you go out and give 100% on the day and you can’t expect any more of yourself…You can’t hold the losses against yourself. You gotta celebrate your wins, too.”

 

UTAMavs.com also sat with Wilson’s coach, John Ridgeway, to discuss Hayden’s growth as a Maverick and the strides he’s made throughout his career.

 

From your perspective, how has Hayden developed in his time at UTA, from previously being at Little Rock?

“I think his development has been great! I think Hayden had an excellent coach at Little Rock and I was confident that he was going to have a good base of information before he came here,” said Ridgeway, “The key to his success is that he has taken his success into his own hands. He doesn’t just do what I ask. He comes to my office and asks questions all the time. The longer he’s been here, he asks better and better questions, and his development has been a blast to watch.”

 

As he chases a couple more WAC titles before he’s done collegiately, what have you seen in his mindset or training that shows he’s ready?

“He worked his tail off all summer. To me, his investment has been unwavering for me. He has had the same level of investment this year that he has had previously, and I always tell the kids, “It’s not if, it’s when,” Coach Ridgeway emphasized, “for him “when” happened right away as he won his first indoor championship and I don’t think he’s done anything different. I think he’s done an incredible job of staying the course he’s been on. He’s been unwavering and his focus remains strong.”

 

In his three years at UTA, how would you describe Hayden’s impact on the throws group and the program as a whole?

“I think it’s been incredible. We had a good throws culture before he came. He and Desmond Fraizer [graduated last year] came over from Little Rock together” Coach Ridgeway initiated, “I think the two of them in different ways helped take our throws culture to the next level. As much as anything, he is a student of the sport…Hayden has empowered some of his teammates to take ownership of their throw and continue learning about our sport beyond practice. Also, the thing about him, he’s very selfless, he’s very humble, so having this multiple-time conference champion be very quick to serve his teammates. I cannot understate the impact his example has made on the group.”

 

What are you looking forward to during his last season?

“Every year brings unforeseen challenges. I’m just excited to be side-by-side with him while he faces whatever that is,” said Ridgeway, “So for me, I’m excited to see him get a good opening work in his first meet and then the goal obviously is to defend his championships and try to qualify for postseason. I’m just excited to watch him write the final chapter of his story. I think he’s gonna have a great year and I’m excited to watch him do it.”

 

NEXT UP

The Mavericks will kick off the indoor season on Friday, January 16 at the Robert Platt Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark., hosted by University of Arkansas.

 

#BuckEm

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