The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
USC
Volleyball falls to USC in NCAA Regional finals
12.08.2007 | Volleyball
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- The No. 3 Texas Volleyball team fell 3-0 to fifth-ranked USC, Saturday afternoon in the NCAA Gainesville Regional final at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center. The Longhorns' Regional final appearance was its 13th all-time and second in as many seasons, marking head coach Jerritt Elliott's first finals appearances of his UT career.
Texas' 30-25, 30-22, 30-26 loss dropped the Horns to 27-4 on the year, while the Trojans improved to 29-4 on the year. The Women of Troy out-hit the Longhorns .373-to-.273 on the night, including a 20 kill, .514 hitting performance in the third game.
"I thought USC played extremely well. They were very efficient in the things that we have been able to do to teams," head coach Jerritt Elliott said. "I'm very sorry for my seniors who gave everything they had to me and my coaching staff and to this program. They believed in a vision when we took over, and our program is in a very healthy state right now. It is heart wrenching that they don't get to experience the next round."
The Regional final showcased a pair of coaches with a unique history. Elliott spent two years as the interim head coach at USC and recruited a pair of No. 1 recruiting classes and Southern California' Mick Haley coached the Longhorns for 17 years and posted a pair of National Championships.
Freshman outside hitter Juliann Faucette headlined the Texas attack on the night, registering 16 kills on .406 hitting and adding four digs. Sophomore opposite hitter Ashley Engle added 12 kills, eight digs and four assists, while junior middle blocker Lauren Paolini tallied 11 kills and a .500 attack mark. Engle and senior setter Michelle Moriarty were named to the NCAA Gainesville Regional All-Tournament Team.
Trojans' opposite Asia Kaczor paced USC with a match-high 17 kills en route to earning Regional MVP honors. Outside hitter Jessica Gysin and Diane Copenhagen added 15 and 13 kills, respectively and were both named to the all-tournament team.
Southern California grabbed a quick 5-2 lead to start the first game, taking advantage of two kills each from Kaczor and Gysin. The Trojans extended their lead to five at the 15-10 mark on a kill by Diane Copenhagen and used a 4-0 run fueled by a pair of Copenhagen kills to push the margin to 25-18. The Longhorns battled back with a 3-0 run to narrow the gap at 25-21 on a kill by sophomore opposite hitter Ashley Engle. The Trojans answered with three late kills and closed out game one, 30-25 on a kill by Gysin.
Texas claimed an early edge in the second stanza, but an 11-2 USC run derailed the Longhorns and allowed the Women of Troy to take a 13-5 lead. The Horns battled back to close the margin to three at the 20-17 mark on a Southern California attack error. Texas played USC tight down the stretch, however, three straight Texas errors ended the game, allowing the Trojans to claim game two, 30-22.
The Horns competed well in the third frame until a 4-0 USC run and a pair of Gysin kills put the Trojans ahead 9-6. Texas closed the gap to one a kill by Paolini at the 17-16 mark and Faucette's seven game-three kills kept the Horns close. The Women of Troy added to their lead with a pair of blocks and a service ace that pushed the tally to 23-18. Texas closed the USC edge to 24-22 on a kill by sophomore outside hitter Destinee Hooker, but Gysin and Kaczor exploded down the stretch and lifted the Trojans to a 30-26 victory.
Southern California's victory advances the Trojans to the NCAA National semifinals for the fourth time in six years where they will meet the winner of the Stanford Regional (Stanford/UCLA). The winners of the University Park Regional (Penn State/BYU) and the Madison Regional (Nebraska/California) will complete the other side of the semifinal bracket. Semifinal matches are scheduled for 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. Pacific on Thursday, Dec. 13 and the final is slated for a 6 p.m. Pacific start on Saturday, Dec. 15.
Texas' loss marks the end of seniors Jen Christian, Alyson Jennings, Brandy Magee and Moriarty's Texas career. The quartet helped put Texas Volleyball back on the map, recording a 103-21 record and Texas' first Big 12 Conference Championship in a decade during their four years on the Forty Acres. Moriarty is a two-time All-American and Texas' all-time leader in assists, while Magee earned All-America honors in 2005 and is the Horns' all-time leader in career hitting percentage. Jennings ranks second all-time in digs at Texas and is a two-time Texas Team MVP. Christian has started 32 matches in her Texas career and provided leadership off the UT bench during her junior and senior seasons.
TEXAS POSTGAME NOTES
- Texas snaps a 23-game winning streak with its loss to USC.
- Texas fails to make it past the Regionals for the 10th time in the past 12 years. It did not compete in the tournament in 2003 or 2000. The Longhorns lost to Nebraska in the 1995 championship game.
- This season the Longhorns have not been successful against top-five opponents and after their loss against the Trojans, they become 1-4 against them.
- Senior Brandy Magee moves into third for all-time block assists at Texas passing Lakisha Bledsoe with 395.
- For the second straight season, sophomore Ashley Engle was named to the All-Regional team, posting 12 kills and eight digs against USC.
USC POSTGAME NOTES
- USC head coach Mick Haley became 1-0 in post-season play against his former team, Texas. Haley led the Longhorns to the national championship in 1981 (AIAW) and 1988 (NCAA). He officially took over at USC in 2001.
- USC is now 2-0 against Texas in post-season play as they last faced each other in 1976 at the AIAW Pool 1.
- USC owns a 3-1 record in NCAA Tournament action held in Gainesville, Fla.
- USC continues its undefeated streak when taking the first game and is now 20-0.
- Diane Copenhagen, who was awarded a spot on the All-Regional team, records her 14th double-double of the season with 13 kills and 12 digs.
POSTGAME QUOTES
TEXAS HEAD COACH Jerritt Elliott
On the game: First, I would like to congratulate USC. I thought they played extremely well tonight. They were very efficient and the things that we've been able to do to teams, they were able to do to us. They had very low hitting errors, we had a lot of uncharacteristic attacking errors and our serve and pass game was not up to par. I felt like we had a difficult time containing all of their pin hitters, and when your hitters hit as well as they did, it put a lot of pressure on us. I felt like our team came out of the break and really started fighting hard in game three. We gave our self a fighting shot, but again a few too many hitting errors and USC was unconscious in terms of their attacking with 20 kills and only one error. They were pretty turned on and that's what this tournament is all about.
On the difference in his team from day one in the Tournament to tonight: Well we didn't nearly serve and pass as well and we had a lot of uncharacteristic errors. Just a lot of little ball handling mistakes and we couldn't find our rhythm. It was very hard for us to fight as a group. We had some individuals trying to get it going, and when we finally had it going, but the difference was that Southern Cal didn't let up. Their side-out game was extremely efficient. I don't have their final numbers (from tonight), but they are very good and they are very good from the serve-receive and they have a lot of ball-control players. They put on a lot of pressure and they never broke and we couldn't get any runs going.
TEXAS FRESHMAN Juliann Faucette
On what she learned this season as a freshman: Well, learning from my seniors and the other upperclassmen, I think I've learned a lot. They left a legacy and I'm going to do what I can with it. You might not ever get this opportunity again, but then again you might. So, just what ever happens, happens.
USC HEAD COACH MICK HALEY
Opening statement: I thought we played a tremendous match against a really athletic team. I know that's an understatement, but those kids are big. They jump, they're big and I was really pleased with our execution. I thought Taylor Carico set a heck of a match and we're tickled with her performance. Our passing was good and that's what we had to do to be successful tonight. Texas played a whale of a third game because they had 23 kills in that third game with only three errors. We had 20 kills and just one error and that's how we came out on top of that, so I give them a lot of credit. I'm so proud of my seniors for doing such a great job of leading and for this team with eight freshmen and three sophomores to come out with a positive and fare like we did. We'll see how we fare next week in Sacramento.
On defeating his former team: I've done everything I could not to play Texas because they've progressed a lot. I hope the Longhorns do well, I'm very proud of that program and those people. I guess when it comes tournament time, I have to root for my team. I'm tickled with my opportunities with this program and they keep stepping up and I'm really excited about that.
USC SENIOR DIANE COPENHAGEN
On making it back to NCAA semifinal action: I just talked to Jess (Gysin) about it in the locker room, and it's awesome. We haven't done it since our freshman year and Asia (Kaczor) wasn't there either but she was in the junior college national championship. It's just a great experience and one we want to share with our team. It was one of our goals since the start of the season and it's great to accomplish it but we're not done yet. We still have a trip to Sacramento
USC SENIOR ASIA KACZOR
On receiving tournament MVP honors: I think it's really nice but I think that our entire team deserved this. It's an award for the team.
USC JUNIOR JESSICA GYSIN
On Taylor Carico's setting: She did a great job getting out the ball and we know that a lot of teams really camp out on Asia (Kaczor) so we were able to get kills in crunch time, minimize errors, she just did a great job.
