Senior setter Ella Swindle led the 2023 Texas volleyball team in assists with 1,088, helping the team reach a national championship. Since then, Swindle has been a staple in the Longhorns’ rotation every year she has been on the team, despite a dip in performance during the 2024 season. This season, however, Swindle has seen a sharp decline in playing time, and head coach Jerritt Elliott has turned to junior setter Rella Binney.
Binney’s play this season has been far superior to years past, as she’s accumulated 562 assists and helped make the switch viable long-term. Binney has five games with 40 or more assists, including a career-high 63 assists in Texas’ Oct. 9 win over Arkansas.
The offense has been less efficient this season with Binney on the court compared to last season. Senior outside hitter Torrey Stafford and sophomore outside hitter Cari Spears are both slightly behind pace to reach their 30-game kill totals from 2025. Both players are hitting less efficiently, too —.360 to .259 for Stafford at .360 and Spears at .259.
Despite being less efficient statistically, Binney’s offense applies pressure on opposing defenses. There are a lot of threats for Texas offensively, so the less time defenses have to decide where the ball is going, the better chance Texas has of scoring.
“(Binney) runs a good, fast offense,” Spears said. “We run tempo from her.”
Swindle found the court early this season in a specific role, substituting in on the front line to form a 6-2 scheme with Binney. Swindle, being five inches taller than Binney, provides a more dangerous blocking threat for opponents to focus on, allowing other defenders like senior libero Ramsey Gary to handle back-line balls.
However, that role has recently disappeared. Swindle hasn’t appeared in a match since Oct. 4. Elliott instead turned to freshman setter Genevieve Harris to play backline in a 6-2 scheme.
Harris’s introduction into the setting rotation is tied to the increased role of sophomore outside hitter Addy Gaido. Over the past two games, the two have substituted in together for Binney and Spears, seen most prominently in the five-set loss to Florida on Sunday night.
“Now we’ve got into a bit more of a dub sub,” Elliott said. “A lot of that is because of what (Gaido has) been able to bring to the court, so we need some good ball to the right side. Helps us out with our blocking on the right side, and (Harris has) been setting a lot better lately.”
The change does what most two-setter schemes are supposed to do: maximize Texas’ offense. Rotating Harris and Gaido in and out of the lineup keeps defenses guessing and has worked well in the past two games.
Texas beat Auburn in three sets on Friday night and pushed No. 5 Florida to five sets before losing. Texas showed more offensive versatility all weekend. Four players had double-digit kills and two had six kills in the loss to Florida. On Friday, Texas out-killed Auburn 55-27.
Texas returns to play South Carolina with a newfound rotation in Columbia, South Carolina, on Sunday at 12 p.m.
