The college volleyball season is upon us and who else would we want to feature other than reigning national champion Emma Halter? Halter is beginning her sophomore season at the University of Texas-Austin and all eyes will be on the Longhorns this season.
Texas won the 2022 National Championship last year and will surely be the team to beat. The Longhorns were the #1 rated team in the AVCA Preseason Poll. Emma Halter impressed the nation with her performance in the NCAA Tournament as a freshman. Halter is a defensive specialist/libero and played in all 29 matches and 98 out of 100 sets with the Longhorns last season. She finished the season with a .950 reception percentage from 262 total attempts, 126 digs, 21 assists, and 12 points.
Halter even impressed her coach Jerritt Elliot. Elliot mentioned to the Austin-American Statesman, “Emma Halter has been probably our best freshman we've ever had coming in and playing.” This is some high praise to get from one of your coaches. However, looking at Halter's statistics and playing level, she deserves it. Most freshmen are prepared to sit the bench for their first year at a high-caliber school like Texas.
Halter felt the same way about playing time when she came to Texas. She said to the Indianapolis Star after playing in her first game against the number 7 team in the country, Ohio State, “I proved myself and Coach trusted me from there.” Halter will surely be one to watch this season. Texas' season begins with an exhibition match today against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at 6 PM and their first regular season game will be next Friday, August 25, against Long Beach State at 8 PM. Follow along with their season to see if Emma Halter and the Longhorns can pull off the 2-peat!
Image Credit: The Daily Texan
* Originally published on August 18, 2023, by Bella Nevin
