The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Prairie View A&M
No. 8 Volleyball dominates Prairie View A&M
12.01.2006 | Volleyball
AUSTIN, Texas -- The eighth-ranked Texas volleyball team had no trouble in the NCAA first round Saturday night, sweeping past Prairie View A&M, 3-0 (30-10, 30-10, 30-11) at Gregory Gym. Freshman opposite hitter Ashley Engle highlighted the Horns' attack in the victory, connecting for a match-high eight kills to lead a UT squad that outhit the Panthers .348 to -.312.
Texas (22-6, 16-4 Big 12) trailed only once in the match and that was on the first point of game one. After falling behind 1-0, the Longhorns exploded for a 7-0 run paced by two Dariam Acevedo kills and an Acevedo, Lauren Paolini block assist. The Horns pushed their lead to nine at the 13-4 mark on an Engle ace and later put together an 8-0 run to extend their lead to 23-8. During the run, Paolini recorded two kills, two block assists and a solo block on five consecutive points, while freshman outside hitter recorded a kill and two block assists. Prairie View (23-11, 6-2 SWAC) recorded its ninth point of the match to end the Texas run, but a 7-1 rally down the stretch lifted UT to a 30-10 victory.
In the second frame Prairie View kept the game close in the early going, but a 17-1 run at the 3-3 mark pushed the Texas advantage to 19-4. The Panthers committed 11 errors during the run, while Texas senior middle blocker Jennifer Todd recorded three block assists and a kill. Prairie View mounted a minor rally with four straight points, however, a 10-2 Texas run closed out the game with Paolini recording a kill and two consecutive blocks to close out the game, 30-10.
The Longhorns dominated game three from the start with Hooker tallying an ace and a kill during UT's 7-1 game-opening rally. After committing an error to push the tally to 8-2, Engle and Texas rattled off five straight points, including two Engle kills, pushing the score to 12-2. Late in the game Texas added a 7-0 run to push the tally to 28-10 and a Prairie View error and a Jen Christian ace closed out the game, 30-11.
Engle highlighted the Horns attack on the night with eight kills on .400 hitting, while adding three digs and three block assists. Acevedo tallied five kills and Paolini, Todd and Christian each registered four kills. Paolini added a match-high seven blocks and Todd recorded five total blocks.
Texas returns to action Saturday, Dec. 1 when it takes on Stephen F. Austin who advanced to the second round by defeating Alabama, 3-2.
POSTGAME NOTES
- Friday's meeting was the first ever between the two teams.
- The Longhorns were making their third-straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament, and their 23 rd overall, the fourth-most all-time among NCAA Divison I programs.
- Texas is undefeated -- 20-0 -- in NCAA first-round play all-time.
- The Longhorns improved to 34-8 all time at home in NCAA Tournament play, including a 17-0 mark in first-round action.
- The victory marked the first time in 2006 the Longhorns held their opponent under 15 points in all three games.
- Prairie View A&M was making its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1999 and just second overall.
- The loss snapped Prairie View A&M's five-match winning streak they had entering the NCAA Tournament.
POSTGAME QUOTES
Prairie View A&M Head Coach Alicia Pete
On the game: I would like to first off thank all the fans for coming out to the game. The Longhorns did a great job, they are an excellent team, and we wish them well.
On Prairie View A&M's game plan: Our strategy was to slow the game down by possessing the ball and moving it around.
Prairie View A&M Setter Jessica Edwards
On the beginning of the match: We came out on a slow start and (the Longhorns) were on top of their game. Once we got into the groove of things, it was a little late.
Texas Head Coach Jerritt Elliot
His general statement: We're very pleased to be able to advance to the second round of the tournament. I thought our team played very efficiently tonight. We served extremely well and did a really nice job blocking and playing defense. Overall, it's a good effort by our team, and we're looking forward to tomorrow night.
On the match tomorrow against SFA: SFA won their conference and haven't lost since September, so they will obviously come into the game with a lot of confidence. They're a very good ball club and we'll have to serve tough and use our physical size to get them on their heels.
Texas Setter Michelle Moriarty
On playing the tournament at home: Now we're focused on tomorrow night's match. We love playing at home and it's great to play in front of our fans. We have amazing fans, so we're very excited to be here.
Texas Opposite Hitter Ashley Engle
On her first game in the NCAA tournament: It was really exciting. We've been working all season for this, and now it's finally here. We're really fired up about it.
