LOVB Austin, it's easy to joke, consists of the Texas exes and a few others.
"We have to pay tribute to Texas," said Logan Eggleston. "There's great athletic talents from elsewhere, but to have a bunch of Texas alumni on this same team…Can you imagine a Texas super team? It's actually happening, on the pro level, here in Austin. It's really a privilege."
Hers is a familiar refrain on a team that, of the 14 players on the roster, eight are former Longhorns. Some are older, some younger, many played together, and all ooze that burnt orange.
"It's like being back in school a little bit," Khat Bell said with a smile.
Six of them won NCAA championships, including Khat and Molly McCage in 2012; Eggleston, Saige Ka'aha'aina-Torres and Zoe (Fleck) Jarvis in 2022; and Asjia O'Neal, who was on the 2022 and 2023 Texas title teams.
The two others were so close. Juliann Faucette's Longhorns lost in the national championship match in 2009 and national semifinals in 2010, and Chiaka Ogbogu played in back-to-back title matches in 2015 and 2016.
Juliann, who turned 35 on November 25, has no former Texas teammates in the league. But her best friend is there: Carli Lloyd. Lloyd, 35, who went to Cal, and Faucette, are the team moms.
Literally.
Carli has 3 1/2-year-old Storm, while Juliann has three children: Tre, who is 4 1/2, and 19-month-old twins Ruby and Ramsey. Their friendship goes way deeper than that, however. They played as 15-year-olds for Epic Volleyball Club, now Coast, in San Diego, California.
"I started my professional career 14 years ago and every year girls would talk about how we wished to play at home," Carli said. "Obviously I'm at the end of my career, but the way I see it, everything happens at the right time. After having my daughter and being able to continue playing and doing it here, it's perfect timing for me, and it's the right time for volleyball."
That's not lost on Juliann.
"I've been around the sport a while and I didn't think this would happen during my playing career. I feel really lucky, this is pretty legendary. LOVB is doing it right. Doing it from the grassroots up is going to make it stick. I also believe that America is ready for volleyball to be here."
Juliann has long been an unwitting role model for LOVB Austin’s youngest player, Logan Eggleston. Logan noted that Texas coach Jerritt Elliott "used to tell me how similar we are. It's true, and it's cool to get to play with her."
At 24 years old and only two years removed from college, Logan is thrilled to return to Austin so quickly. "I knew professional volleyball in America was going to happen in my lifetime, but I didn't think it was going to happen in my career, especially this early. Being back here pretty much two years after I left UT is a dream."
That's a familiar refrain among the Texas exes.
"It feels like a full-circle moment for me," said Khat, an 11-year pro whose career has taken her to Türkiye, South Korea, the Philippines, Puerto Rico and China. For that matter, she was in China last season until January and two days later reported to the Vegas Thrill of the Pro Volleyball Federation.
"Actually, retirement has been in the back of my head, and I feel very, very fortunate to be able to play as long as I have. To come back home and be back in my college town, it means everything to me.
"I'm really excited."
Zoe, who started her career at UC Santa Barbara, was a fifth-year transfer from UCLA but was just the piece the Longhorns needed en route to the 2022 NCAA title. She and Robbie Jarvis are already married, but their formal ceremony in May will have a distinct Texas flair.
"It's wild that I was only here for one of my five college years, but this is home," Zoe said. "Jerritt is officiating my wedding, Andrea (Elliott's wife) is one of my bridesmaids, and my other bridesmaids are all from Texas."
They include Logan and former Longhorns Riley Heinrich and Bella Bergmark.
"People remember me as a Texas volleyball player," added Zoe, who played in Germany last year. "I get to play pro volleyball not just back in the U.S., but in this city and be close to the Texas program. To be living in Austin again and playing [during the collegiate offseason], it's fantastic for not just me but also the Austin fans. They get high-level volleyball all year round now."
Molly McCage played for Austin Juniors, now a LOVB club.
"How cool is this? On a scale of 1-10, an 11. Super cool. To come here and not only have the University of Texas family, but the Austin Juniors family, and being from Texas, there's just so much honor to represent this state, these people and this team," Molly said.
She laughed at the memories.
"I walk into the Austin Juniors complex down south and it smells exactly the same as when I was 18 years old. I revert back, being reminded daily of where I came from. I didn't give professional volleyball much thought in high school or college, opportunity after opportunity just kept popping up. I thought about stepping away from volleyball, but now you can't take me away."
The draw of Austin is strong.
Said Saige, who played for Nancy in France last season: "I really love Europe and wanted to go back, but they started this, and I was like, 'No, I can go to Austin and play with my friends again.'"
Asjia took it a step further: "The fan base we have established here, they'll want to convert to LOVB fans. It's nice being so close to home. Family can easily come see and I'm back with teammates I've lived with before and other girls who went to Texas. It's very full circle for me."
Full circle, indeed.
Juliann and Carli literally talked about it when they played together in Busto, Italy, 12 years ago.
"This just feels like a full-circle moment in terms of that we're moms, we're back to where it all started, I'm wearing the number I wore throughout club, 13, and she wore 3," Juliann said with a laugh.
"It feels very full circle for us. Our families are over the moon about it."
