Who is Texas volleyball libero Emma Halter? Meet the Longhorns' defensive dynamo
Who was that Tasmanian devil of a defender for Texas volleyball last night, diving to keep rallies alive and robbing Wisconsin of point after point?
That’s Emma Halter, a 5-foot-5 sophomore libero for the Longhorns who introduced herself to a national audience during Texas’ 3-1 win over the Badgers in a NCAA women’s volleyball Final Four semifinal. She had 19 digs against Wisconsin while helping Texas reach Sunday's national-championship match against Nebraska.
But who is Halter? Let’s find out.
First, what’s a libero?
In a nutshell, a volleyball team’s libero serves as a defensive specialist who is not allowed to rotate into the front row. Liberos wear a different-colored jersey to keep things simple for the officials tracking a team’s rotation, which is why Texas fans will see Halter donning a black shirt while her teammates wear white or burnt orange.
More: How Texas volleyball took down a second straight NCAA No. 1 seed: our staff takeaways
Texas' new starting sensation
Halter earned the starting libero spot in the offseason after rotating in as a defensive substitution as a freshman in Texas’ national-championship campaign in 2022. She’s played in all 60 matches for Texas over the past two seasons while racking up 558 digs, including 432 this year. She also draws praise from the Texas coaches for her ability to pass and initiate the offense.
More: The NCAA volleyball Final Four's tallest (and shortest) players
Halter the Hoosier
Halter grew up in Indianapolis, where she developed as a star for Roncalli High School. She started for four years for a strong Roncalli program and earned multiple all-state honors as well as a 2021 Max Preps first-team preseason All-American selection. She was the top-ranked recruit for the 2022 class in her state, a rarity for a libero. One of her high-school teammates, Sarah Lezon, played against Halter in club volleyball growing up and told the Indianapolis Star last season how to limit Halter’s effectiveness on defense: "It was always, find the blonde girl and avoid her."
More: Texas volleyball players Asjia O'Neal and Madisen Skinner earn AVCA All-American honors
Family matters
Halter grew up around athletics. Her father, Gary, played baseball at the University of Indianapolis in the 1980s, and her sister, Courtney, played volleyball at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis in the 2010s.
Open market
Halter is a marketing student in Texas’ highly competitive McCombs School of Business, which is the No. 2-ranked marketing program in the U.S., according to QS World University Rankings.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Who is Texas volleyball libero Emma Halter? Meet the Longhorns libero.
