Texas volleyball waits on former Nebraska pledge Ayden Ames, nabs 3 others on signing day

Texas volleyball welcomed three players into the program on Wednesday’s national signing day, but the Horns expect to eventually add to the class with a late flip from Nebraska that raised eyebrows throughout the collegiate volleyball world.

Ayden Ames, a 6-foot-4 outside hitter from Prosper in North Texas, announced last week her intentions to decommit from the Cornhuskers and pledge to Texas. She couldn’t make it official Wednesday by signing her national letter of intent because of ongoing clerical work, which means Texas couldn’t comment on her signing.

Her high school program in Prosper did note on Nov. 6 that she planned to sign with Texas.

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Rated as the 10th-best prospect in the nation by PrepVolleyball, Ames is a versatile attacker who played on the U.S. under-19 national team that won a FIVB World Championship this summer. She's an Under Armour All-American and averages 4.7 kills, 4 digs and 1.3 blocks a set for Prosper, which advanced to the regional-tournament round of the Class 6A state playoffs.

Texas coach Jerritt Elliott did welcome libero Reese Emerick from nearby Westlake High School as well as setter Rella Moon Binney from Hawaii and defensive specialist Brennan Ramirez of Waxahachie.

The 5-foot-8 Emerick, a member of the American-Statesman’s All-Central Texas team, completed a decorated prep career this week with a third-round playoff loss to defending Class 6A champion Dripping Springs. She played four seasons on Westlake’s powerhouse varsity team and compiled a school-record 2,118 digs and 135 aces in her career, according to stats compiled by MaxPreps.

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Texas will only lose a handful of players from this year’s team, which enters Wednesday’s match at Kansas State with a No. 3 ranking, an 18-3 record and a 13-0 mark in the Big 12. Middle blockers Ella Bergmark and Asjia O’Neal will move on after completing their season, and defensive specialist Carissa Barnes is a redshirt senior after transferring from Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in the offseason. Outside hitter Molly Phillips will complete her fifth collegiate season this year.

Texas has already corralled commitments from three prospects for the 2025 class: the nation’s top prospect, outside hitter Macaria Spears, as well as two Austin-area products, Cedar Park libero Callie Krueger and Georgetown outside hitter Addison Gaido.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas volleyball waits on Ayden Ames, welcomes 3 others on signing day