The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Iowa State
No. 11 Volleyball takes Iowa State in three
11.12.2005 | Volleyball
AUSTIN, Texas -- Dariam Acevedo continued her torrid play of late and Jennifer Todd had her best outing as a Longhorn as the 11th-ranked Longhorns defeated Iowa State 30-20, 30-23, 30-22 on Saturday night at Gregory Gym.
The victory was Texas' (20-3, 14-2 Big 12) season-best eighth in a row and also gave the Longhorns their second 20-win season in a row for the first time since the 1998 and 1999 seasons. Iowa State (13-14, 6-10 Big 12), which was one of three teams to defeat UT earlier this season (3-1 in Ames on Sept. 17), suffered its sixth straight loss, all in conference.
Acevedo, who has averaged 5.28 kills per game and has hit .418 in the Horns' last seven matches, led all players with 17 kills while hitting .406 and collecting eight digs in the win.
Todd, who transferred to Texas last summer from Washington State and started at middle blocker in place of injured Leticia Armstrong, had 12 kills - second only to Acevedo - and hit .400 while collecting a match-best six blocks (one solo, five block assists), also her best effort at Texas.
"We are very balanced as a team," UT head coach Jerritt Elliott said. "Leticia is a big part of our team, but not the whole team. The rest of our players are playing well, so we have great balance on the floor. Jen Todd has had a lot of success in the Pac 10 in the past and we are really happy she's part of our program.
"The way (Jen) played tonight was huge. That's a sign of a strong program and a strong player. I'm very pleased with her effort tonight; she came in and helped us to a victory," Elliott continued.
Texas out-blocked ISU 13 to nine, behind Todd and Brandy Magee, who each added five to the total. Michelle Moriarty and Lauren Paolini each added three blocks apiece in the win.
Katie Jessen had nine kills to lead ISU, while two players - Nicole Lorenzen and Meghan Ferrie - each added seven in the loss.
UT's Alyson Jennings had a match-high 13 digs, while Iowa State's Katie Chrum - the Big 12 dig leader - had 10.
Texas out-hit Iowa State, .295 to .117, as UT's defense held the Cyclones to a .000 attack percentage in the first game (eight kills, eight errors). Texas closed out the game with a .308 mark in the final game.
The Longhorns jumped out to a quick 5-1 lead in the first game before doubling up ISU at 16-8. The Cyclones got within five points at 23-18 after a Churm ace, but Acevedo responded with a kill and Magee added an ace to push the Horns' lead back to seven points. From there, Texas closed out the first game with a 5-2 run to take a one-game lead.
The two teams played evenly in the second game until 8-8 when UT mounted an 8-2 run to push ahead, 16-10. Acevedo had three kills in the run, while Magee added a kill, an ace and a block. After an ISU timeout, the Cyclones inched within four points at 18-14, forcing the Longhorns to use a break.
Erin Boeve had back-to-back kills out of the timeout to cut UT's lead to two points at 18-16, but Christian and Acevedo combined for three kills - including two back-row attacks - and Acevedo added an ace to help Texas pull out to a six-point lead at 22-16. The Cyclones responded with a 6-2 run to again trail by two points, but after a UT timeout, Texas rattled off a 6-1 run to close out the game and take a two-game lead into the intermission.
Texas took control early in game three, building an early three-point lead they maintained before they strung together five-straight points to move ahead 14-7. The Longhorns went ahead by as many as seven points - at 20-13 before they closed out the match with a 4-2 run.
The Longhorns return to action on Wednesday, Nov. 16, when they host Texas Tech in a 6:30 p.m. match at Gregory Gym.
