7 p.m. at Texas • FS1
Preview: The No. 8 Gophers continue their season-opening stretch of six of their first seven matches away from home with a visit to No. 3 Texas. The Gophers (1-1) are coming off a split of two matches in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge in Chapel Hill, N.C. The Gophers swept host North Carolina before being swept by Florida State. The Longhorns (2-0) opened at home with 3-1 victories over Northern Iowa and Southern California despite playing without two starters.
Players to watch: Opposite hitter Stephanie Samedy leads the Gophers with 28 kills and 25 digs, while outside hitter Alexis Hart has 23 kills. Regan Pittman, a 6-5 middle blocker, has nine blocks. Logan Eggleston leads the Longhorns with 31 kills, and fellow outside hitter Micaya White, a 6-1 senior and the 2018 Big 12 Player of the Year, has 30. Sophomore libero Sydney Petersen, leads the team with 25 digs.
Numbers: Texas is 38-2 in its past 40 home matches, with the only losses being to Gophers (in 2017) and Stanford (in 2018).
Injuries: Middle blocker Brionne Butler, a 6-4 sophomore, sat out the Longhorns' first two matches because of a lower extremity injury while setter Ashley Shook, a 6-1 junior, sat out with an ankle injury. Both are considered day-to-day.
joel rippel
