The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Texas Tech
No. 5 Volleyball sweeps past Texas Tech
09.13.2006 | Volleyball
AUSTIN, Texas -- Junior outside hitter Dariam Acevedo connected for eight kills in game one to jump start a Texas attack that cruised to a 3-0 (30-21, 30-19, 30-28) victory Wednesday night at Gregory Gym. Acevedo went on to tally a match-high 15 kills on the night and freshman opposite hitter Ashley Engle joined her in headlining the Longhorns with 12 kills on .423 hitting.
Texas fell behind early in game one, but a 4-0 run at the 12-15 mark, capped by a Michelle Moriarty kill, gave Texas its first lead of the match at 16-15. After Tech evened the game at 16-16 the Horns pieced together another 4-0 run, highlighted by a pair of Jen Todd kills that put UT in front 20-16. Acevedo finally put the game out of reach at the 22-20 mark when she connected on three straight kills, as part of a 7-0 run that pushed the Texas lead to 29-20. The senior then closed out game one with her eighth kill of the game, lifting the Longhorns to a 30-21 victory.
"We definitely struggled in the beginning, but I felt like we got better as the game progressed," commented Acevedo. "We had to focus on certain things like passing the ball better and making our serves so we can improve and move forward."
In game two, the Horns trailed until two Red Raiders errors and a Kiley Hall service ace pushed Texas in front, 12-9. A 5-0 run paced by a pair of Tech miscues and kills from Todd and Jen Christian, moved the Texas advantage to 23-15, and the Longhorns would not look back. Acevedo, Lauren Paolini and Engle each tallied a kill down the stretch to increase the Longhorns edge, and a Red Raiders attack error on game point sealed the game at 30-19.
Texas Tech fought back in game three behind five kills and seven digs from senior outside hitter Philister Sang, but the Red Raiders lead would not last. Texas took its first lead at the 17-16 mark on a kill by Jen Christian, who came off the bench to tally eight kills and a .300 attack mark. Tech quickly reclaimed the lead and would not relinquish it until Christian connected on her final kill of the match at the 29-28 mark. Acevedo followed Christian with a kill of her own on match point, closing out the match with a 30-28 come-from-behind game three victory.
"We started with a different lineup tonight and it was nice to see different people step up to the challenge and play hard," said Texas Head coach Jerritt Elliott. "We executed well when it mattered the most, and this turned out to be a solid game at the end."
Acevedo anchored the Horns attack of the night with 12 kills on 35 swings, while posting 8 digs. Engle added 15 kills on .423 hitting and Moriarty recorded her fifth assist/dig double-double of the season with 41 assists and 11 digs.
Texas returns to action on Saturday, Sept. 16 when they travel to Lawrence, Kan. for a Big 12 Conference match-up with the Kansas Jayhawks. First serve is set for 7 p.m. CST.
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