The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Washington
Destinee Hooker lifts No. 8 Volleyball to 3-2 victory over No. 3 Washington
08.26.2006 | Volleyball
MADISON, Wis. -- University of Texas freshman Destinee Hooker (San Antonio, Texas) swung for a match-leading 22 kills Saturday evening, and none were more important than her last four. Hooker landed kills on the final four points of the match to erase a 13-11 fifth-game deficit, as No. 8 Texas (2-0) upended No. 3 Washington (1-1), the defending NCAA Champion, by a 3-2 count (30-24, 23-30, 30-27, 28-30, 15-13) in the finals of the AVCA Volleyball Showcase at the UW Field House. Senior Dariam Acevedo (Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico) added 19 kills and 11 digs, while junior Leticia Armstrong (Elkhart, Ind.) contributed 15 kills for the Longhorns. UT junior Michelle Moriarty (Houston, Texas) notched a game-high 64 assists and was selected as the AVCA Volleyball Showcase Tournament MVP. Christal Morrison led the Huskies with 22 kills on .353 hitting, and Courtney Thompson chipped in 61 assists and 22 digs.
With the match tied at two games apiece and UT trailing 13-10 in the fifth game, Texas freshman Ashley Engle (Yorba Linda, Calif.) tapped a putaway to bring Texas within 13-11 before Hooker took over the remainder of the match. Hooker, the 2006 NCAA outdoor high jump champion, swung for a kill that just landed on the Washington end line before adding another kill off of a crucial Acevedo dig. Hooker pounded another putaway to give Texas the lead and match point at 14-13 before finishing off the Huskies with one last kill at the left side of the net to send the Longhorns into a frenzy.
In the first game, Washington jumped out to an early 3-0 lead behind a pair of blocks and an Engle attack error before Texas got on the board with an Acevedo kill. After a kill from UW's Jessica Swarbrick, the Longhorns ran off five consecutive points to take a 6-4 lead. After a UT net violation, Hooker registered two kills and Armstrong added another to force a Washington timeout. Leading 9-5 out of the timeout, UT took two of the next three points for an 11-6 cushion. Washington responded with three straight points before Armstrong ended the run with a kill.
The Huskies drew within 16-15 before a UW net violation, an Engle service ace and a Hooker kill ballooned the Texas lead to 19-15. Leading 21-18, Texas took three of the next four points for a 24-19 lead. The teams split the next four points before Armstrong contributed two more kills for a 28-22 Texas lead. The Huskies responded with a kill, but Hooker and Armstrong closed out the first game with a pair of kills to give the Longhorns a 30-24 first-game win.
Texas trailed 4-2 in the second game before the Longhorns commenced a 6-0 run behind two kills from Hooker, one apiece from Engle and Armstrong and two Husky errors, as Washington burned another timeout. UT took three of the next four points for an 11-5 lead before the Huskies made their move.
Washington took four straight points to force a Texas timeout and took six of the next nine points out of the timeout for a 15-14 lead. UW took four of the next six points to force another Longhorn timeout, but the Huskies had seized control of the game. Texas drew within 21-19 and 23-21 behind a pair of Acevedo kills, but Washington continued its aggressive attacking to take the second game, 30-23.
Texas and Washington split the first 12 points of the third game before the Huskies took five of seven points to force a Longhorn timeout and take an 11-8 lead. Texas responded with an Armstrong kill, a Heather Kisner (Sugar Land, Texas) service ace, and Washington contributed an error to even the tally at 11 apiece. The teams split the next six points before the Huskies capitalized on two Longhorn errors to take a 16-14 lead.
Trailing 18-15, Texas commenced a 5-0 run behind a Christian kill, a two UW attack errors, a Lauren Paolini (Ann Arbor, Mich.) ace and a Hooker kill. A Texas dig that caromed off the scoreboard above the court thwarted the run, and UW took two of the next three points to even the game at 21 points apiece. The teams split the next 10 points as the match progressed to a 26-26 tie, but kills from Hooker and Christian gave Texas a 28-26 lead. UT's Paolini served the ball beyond the end line, but UW's Tamari Miyashiro followed suit to give Texas game point. Hooker ended the game with another kill at 30-27 to give UT a 2-1 lead.
Washington opened the fourth game by taking the first four points before Paolini's kill put Texas on the board. UT fell behind 6-2 before a Hooker kill, an Armstrong block and a UW attack error pulled Texas within 6-5. Trailing 14-9, the Longhorns commenced an 11-2 run featuring six Acevedo kills to take a 20-16 lead.
UW responded by taking seven of the next 10 points to even the game at 23 apiece, but Texas followed with kills from Acevedo and Armstrong, as well as a Husky attack error to take a 26-23 lead. Texas took a 27-25 lead off of a Hooker kill, but UW added a kill and a block to draw even. Armstrong landed one final block before a kill from Washington's Morrison, a block of Acevedo and a UT net violation gave UW the game, 30-28.
Game five began with a kill from UT's Engle, but Washington captured five of the next six points to take a 5-2 lead and force a Texas timeout. After the Longhorns and Huskies exchanged kills on the next two points, Texas evened the game at six with a Hooker kill, a Washington attack error and a Christian kill.
The Huskies' Deesing put UW back on top with another kill before Texas took the lead behind an Acevedo putaway and a UW net violation. However, Washington took four of the next five points to take an 11-9 lead and force a Texas timeout. UT capitalized upon another Husky net violation before Morrison responded with a kill and a block on consecutive points to give UW a 13-10 cushion. But, two precocious Texas freshmen - Engle and Hooker - had one final say before the Huskies could put the Longhorns away.
