The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Arizona State
Armstrong and Moriarty lead Volleyball past Arizona State, 3-0
09.02.2005 | Volleyball
NOTRE DAME, Ind. -- Leticia Armstrong had a career night and Michelle Moriarty and Dariam Acevedo each recorded double-doubles as the 11th-ranked Texas volleyball team opened its 2005 season with a three-game sweep - 30-24, 30-22, 30-25 - over Arizona State in the first match of the Shamrock Invitational, hosted by Notre Dame at the Joyce Center on Friday evening.
"I thought we stayed very relaxed for a young team," Texas head coach Jerritt Elliott said. "It took us a few rotations to get our systems under control, but once we did, I thought we played a good first match. This was a solid win against a good team and it's a great building block for the season."
Armstrong, a Elkhart, Ind., native - a suburb of South Bend, set career highs with 10 kills and six blocks (one solo, five block assists) playing in front of a hometown crowd. Moriarty had a career high 15 digs to go with her 41 assists, and Acevedo added 10 kills and 11 digs. Lauren Paolini had a match-high 12 kills and Kiley Hall chipped in 15 digs and in their first career match as Longhorns.
Arizona State (1-3) was led by Staci Smith's nine kills and Sydney Donahue's match-high 19 digs. Nicole Morton added eight kills in the loss.
Texas (1-0) out-blocked ASU, 10 to 6.5, as the Longhorns also out-hit the Sun Devils, .295 to .148 with 51 kills to 40 for Arizona State.
With the victory, Texas improved to 27-5 all-time in season openers, and 4-1 under head coach Jerritt Elliott. The win also moved UT's all-time record against Arizona State to 5-1 in the teams' first meeting since 1983.
After falling behind by as many as five points in the first game, Texas ran off a 13-4 run to pull ahead 17-13 behind eight kills and two blocks. UT pushed its lead to five points - 21-16 - but the Sun Devils fought back and twice climbed within two points at 23-21 and 24-22. The Longhorns used a Christian kill and a Kiley Hall serve to pull ahead by four again. Armstrong stepped up and pushed UT to game point with a pair of kills and an ASU attack error put Texas up, 1-0.
Paolini and Armstrong each had five kills in the first game to lead all players as the Horns hit .485 as a team in the stanza. Christian added four kills in the game. Armstrong's five kills also shattered her previous career high for kills in a match (3), which she set Sept. 10, 2004 against LSU.
Sarah Watkins, Morton and Smith each connected for four kills each for the Sun Devils as ASU hit .222 in the first game.
In the second game, the teams played evenly until Texas went ahead by three points - 21-18 on a Paolini kill - and then reeled off a 7-2 run to move ahead 28-20 and take control of the game. An Acevedo kill gave Texas match point and the Horns took their 2-0 lead into intermission after an Arizona State attack error.
Paolini and Acevedo each had five kills as UT's attack percentage went down to .270 in the second game. But, the Horns held Arizona State to only a .100 mark as Morton and Kristin Trayser paced the team with three kills apiece.
After coming from behind in the first two games, Texas went ahead, 5-1, to start the third game. ASU pulled within one point at 8-7, but Texas ripped off four straight points to pull ahead by five, 12-7, aided by back-to-back solo blocks by Armstrong and Acevedo. UT kept its lead, but let Arizona State chip away until it was only four points down - at 26-22 - before Moriarty connected for a kill out of a timeout, the first of four-straight UT points to push the score to 29-23. The Sun Devils connected for back-to-back blocks to pull back within four points and stave off match point, but Acevedo's fifth kill of the game gave Texas 30 points and the three-game sweep.
Acevedo led everyone in kills in the final game, while Moriarty had seven of her digs in the frame. UT had five of its blocks in the last game. Smith had four of her kills for ASU in the final game, as well.
The Longhorns return to action on Saturday, Sept., 3, when they face Notre Dame in a 5 p.m. match. CSTV will broadcast the contest on a tape-delayed basis on Sunday, Sept. 4, at 5 p.m. Central.
