Another five-set loss by Texas volleyball Sunday against Oklahoma suddenly has the Horns in an SEC tailspin.
Two days after falling to Missouri in five sets, Texas (12-6, 7-3 SEC) again gave up a 2-1 set lead to Oklahoma in a 25-21, 25-27, 17-25, 25-19-25, 15-9 loss. Texas has lost all five of its five-set matches this season, and its third consecutive loss — all in five sets — has dropped the No. 9 Longhorns into third place in the SEC.
The Longhorns hadn’t lost three consecutive matches since 2011 and hadn’t lost three conference matches since 2006, when they went 24-7 overall and 16-4 in the Big 12 while reaching a regional final in the NCAA Tournament.
Texas coach Jerritt Elliott hinted at some changes in the rotation after Friday’s loss to Missouri, and he played setter Averi Carlson in a 5-1 rotation after the Longhorns used a 6-2 rotation for the previous 10 SEC matches. Carlson had a season-high 44 assists, but Texas hit just .187 for the match and had 25 hitting errors compared to 54 kills.