While prioritizing her mental health, Jhenna Gabriel steps away from Texas' volleyball team

Jhenna Gabriel, Texas' longtime starting setter, announced Wednesday that she's stepping away from the Longhorns as well as the sport of volleyball.

The departure is viewed as a retirement for Gabriel, who just started her second semester of graduate school. She has one year of eligibility left. She will not enter the transfer portal.

"I have made the decision to step away from collegiate volleyball to prioritize my mental health and well-being," Gabriel posted on Instagram. "While I have been honored to be a part of this amazing program, being a collegiate athlete is something that takes a toll on athletes’ mental health more than we know."

In her post, Gabriel thanked her teammates, coaches and Texas fans, saying that at UT she "lived out a dream that I didn’t even think was possible."

"I took a chance coming to Texas, choosing not to listen to everyone telling me I wasn’t good enough to be here," Gabriel wrote. "Little did they know I would earn my way into a starting spot for one of the best programs in the country, have the opportunity to set a handful of All-Americans, and in the process become one myself."

A late addition to Texas' 2018 recruiting class, Gabriel arrived as an unheralded prospect from Hawaii who didn’t have a set position. She was recruited as both a setter and a libero.

During her freshman year, the 5-foot-8 Gabriel quickly established herself as the team’s backup setter. Then in the third set of a match against TCU on Halloween, she replaced starter Ashley Shook and led Texas to a win.

She held onto that starting spot for the next 94 matches.

Gabriel has earned all-conference honors over the past three seasons. She was the Big 12's setter of the year and an AVCA All-American during the 2020-21 season, and her 3,491 career assists are sixth-most in the Texas record book. This past season, the fiery and charismatic setter averaged 9.43 assists per set and served a career-high 22 aces.

"She's a remarkable story, the way she came in and she earned the starting spot and then she was in a position to learn on the court and develop," UT coach Jerritt Elliott said during this year's run to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament. "I think now she really has a good grasp of what is going on.

"We're talking a lot during the match in terms of what teams are doing, and she's usually one step ahead of me. ... We have a lot of confidence in what she can do, and she's setting the best she's ever set."

With Gabriel gone, Texas is likely to turn over its offense to Saige Ka’aha’aina-Torres, a fifth-year senior who earned playing time this past season after her transfer from Utah. As a junior, Ka’aha’aina-Torres led the Pac-12 in assists.

The Longhorns, however, have no depth behind her. This offseason, second-year setter Naomi Cabello transferred to North Carolina State, and UT did not sign any setters in its 2022 recruiting class.