“I think instinctively you always want to do that every year, something that’s not been done before. I don’t think we change our approach too much,” McGuyre said. “What we’ve done in the past is two good teams going to battle. I think, one, first, you need to see yourself as a good team, and we are a good team.

“We have a win over Wisconsin and we’ve beaten a lot of good programs. Then we’ve got to recognize that Texas is a good team too, and so I think for some athletes they couldn’t care less and they’re just going to go play. Maybe some would be tempted to say that they’re a ginormous team, and maybe overqualify them as you go into your approach.”

Pressley said she probably overestimated the Longhorns when she first stepped onto the court with them last year as a freshman. She realized quickly that they presented a tall task, but that the UT players weren’t 10 feet tall or anything.

“Honestly, the first time I played them last year, I wasn’t that intimidated,” she said. “I was like, ‘Oh, they’re tall, but they’re not like as big as I thought they were. When you think Texas volleyball, you think about all these 6-8 giants who walk around everywhere. But I’ve seen players like that before, so I was like, I’m used to this. So the second time I played them I was just like, this is just another team to me.”