The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Baylor
No. 11 Volleyball posts 3-2 victory over Baylor
10.06.2006 | Volleyball
AUSTIN, Texas -- Freshman Ashley Engle led Texas with 26 kills on .377 hitting as the No. 11 Longhorns fought off a scrappy Baylor volleyball team on their way to a 3-2 victory over the Lady Bears, Friday night at Gregory Gym. Baylor won the first game, 30-27 before UT won 30-26 twice. Baylor tied the match at 2-2 with a 33-31 fourth-game victory before UT closed out the night with a 15-10 win in game five.
Texas, 11-4 overall, moved to 6-2 in the Big 12 standings, while Baylor is now 13-6, 2-5.
Engle also added 16 digs in addition to her match-high 26 kills, registering her fourth consecutive double-double of the season. Longhorn freshman Destinee Hooker added 21 kills and a .327 hitting percentage, while senior Dariam Acevedo finished with 20 kills, including four in the decisive fifth game.
As a team, Texas hit .284 for the match, while Baylor hit .230. This included UT's dominance in the fifth game as the Longhorns hit .588 with no errors. In that fifth game, Baylor hit just .294 and committed three errors.
The Longhorns had a quick start in the final game, getting three Lauren Paolini kills and a BU attack error to take a 4-0 lead. Baylor chipped away at the lead, getting an Amanda Renz ace to pull within 6-5 and force a Longhorn timeout. An Engle kill followed by an Engle ace stretched the Longhorns' lead to 8-5.
"Michelle (Moriarty) did a good job of mixing up her sets to all the hitters and we were able to find some holes in the Baylor defense late in the match," commented Engle.
Leading 9-7, Texas picked up kills from Jennifer Todd and Acevedo. Acevedo followed with a block to push UT's lead to 12-7 and force a Baylor timeout. The Bears pulled then within 14-10 on a LeBlanc kill, but Acevedo put the match away with her 20th kill for the 15-10 Longhorn win.
Baylor opened game one by taking the first two points on a Taylor Barnes kill and a Texas attack error before the Longhorns got on the board on a Baylor service error. The Bears took three of the next four points before Texas responded with kills from Leticia Armstrong (Elkhart, Ind.) and Hooker to cut the deficit to 5-4. Baylor took seven of the next 11 points to take a 15-8 lead and force a Texas timeout.
"We made good adjustments in games four and five and our offense became more balanced, especially in the fifth game," said Head Coach Jerritt Elliott.
Baylor won four of the next five points before Texas mounted a rally of its own. A Hooker kill drew the Longhorns within 22-18 and forced a Baylor timeout. After a Bear kill, Texas captured the next four points to pull within 23-22, and the Longhorns evened the game at 25 apiece on an Armstrong block.
At 26-26, Baylor collected two blocks and a kill to take a 29-26 lead. A Moriarty kill sliced the Texas deficit to 29-27, but a Barnes kill gave the Bears the game, 30-27.
Texas led 6-2 in the second game before the Lady Bears closed the gap to 8-5. UT pushed the lead to 19-14 before Baylor embarked on a 7-1 run, capped by a Barnes ace, to take a 21-20 lead. Texas responded with kills from Engle and Hooker to assume a 22-21 lead. A Baylor kill evened the game at 22 apiece, but consecutive Hooker kills gave the Horns a 24-22 lead. Baylor again cut the lead to one, 27-26, but the Longhorns closed out with the 30-26 victory on the strength of a Baylor attack error and kills from Acevedo and Engle.
In the third game, the Longhorns trailed 15-11 before chipping away at the lead and taking it for themselves. A kill from Acevedo brought Texas within one, 17-16, and forced a Baylor timeout. Up 19-17, Texas took the next six points, capped by a Paolini kill, for a 23-19 lead. The Bears fought back, pulling to within one point (25-24) on a LeBlanc ace before Texas took five of the last seven points, aided by a Renz service error, to take game three, 30-26.
Baylor earned the win in game four (33-31) to tie the match at 2-2. Baylor led 11-10 before scoring five unanswered points which forced two UT timeouts as the Bears led, 16-10.
Trailing 22-20, Texas picked up kills from Hooker and Engle to even the game at 22-22. Baylor regained the lead on a Guilliard-Young kill and a Hooker attack error before Texas evened the game at 25-25 on a LeBlanc attack error.
The score moved back and forth before Baylor took a 29-27 lead before a Paolini kill and a Breyfogle attack error evened the game at 29-29. Baylor's Sanders and Texas' Engle exchanged kills to knot the score at 30-all before Guilliard-Young and Hooker followed suit to even the game at 31. Finally, Baylor capitalized on a pair of Longhorn attack errors to take the game, 33-31, setting up the decisive fifth game.
Texas will take a week off before returning to action on Friday, Oct. 13 at Texas A&M in the State Farm Lone Star Showdown. First serve is set for 6:30 p.m. CDT in at G. Rollie White Coliseum in College Station.
