The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Iowa State<br>(presented by The U.S. Army)
Faucette leads No. 7 Volleyball to 3-0 sweep of Iowa State
09.19.2007 | Volleyball
AUSTIN, Texas -- The seventh-ranked Texas Volleyball team used a career-best hitting performance by freshman outside hitter Juliann Faucette to knock off Iowa State, 3-0 (30-20, 30-24, 30-28), Wednesday night at Gregory Gymnasium. Faucette equaled a career-high with 23 kills in the match and hit a career-high .583 in the Longhorns' three game sweep.
The victory moved Texas to 6-3 overall and 2-1 in Big 12 Conference play, while Iowa State fell to 8-5 and 2-1 in the Big 12. The Longhorns out-hit the Cyclones on the night .357-to-.198 and held a 10-to-4.5 edge in team blocking. Sophomore outside hitter Destinee Hooker tallied 15 kills and 12 digs on the night and senior middle blocker Brandy Magee posted a season-high 11 kills on .500 hitting.
In the first frame, Texas gained control of the game at the 10-9 mark, using a 7-1 run paced by a pair of Jennifer Doris kills to push the lead to 17-10. The Longhorns widened the gap to 26-16 on Faucette's fourth kill of the game and Texas maintained its 10 point advantage, closing out the game 30-20 on an Iowa State service error.
Faucette dominated the Cyclones in game two, registering 11 kills on.647 hitting to lift the Horns to a 30-24 win. Texas grabbed a 6-3 lead early in the game behind a 5-0 run and pushed its edge to as many as six behind the strong play of Faucette. The Cyclones responded by closing the score to 15-13 with a 4-0 run, but UT answered with a 4-0 run highlighted by three straight Faucette kills to take a 23-17 lead. Texas then finished out game two with a 3-0 run, paced by a Hooker kill and solo block to clinch the win.
The Longhorns led early in the third stanza, but the Cyclones rallied behind a 5-1 run to take the lead at the 8-7 mark. Texas battled back, posting a 4-0 run to reclaim the advantage on a Faucette kill that put UT ahead, 16-15. The Longhorns held the lead briefly, but a 6-2 Iowa State run highlighted by two Erin Boeve kills put the Cyclones in front, 24-22. Hooker and the Horns immediately responded as the sophomore outside hitter connected for three straight kills to put Texas back on top. Iowa State managed to tie the game twice, however, UT was too much down the stretch, as Faucette put away two kills to seal the third game, 30-28.
Faucette added nine digs to her career hitting performance, while Hooker posted her third career and third consecutive kill/dig double-double with 15 kills and 12 digs. Magee added 11 kills and senior libero Alyson Jennings steadied the defense with 11 digs. Junior opposite hitter Lauren Paolini and Hooker each tallied five total blocks on the night, and Doris and Magee added three apiece.
Texas returns to action Wednesday, Sept. 26 when it travels to Lubbock, Texas to take on Big 12 Conference foe Texas Tech. First serve is slated for 7 p.m.
TEXAS POSTGAME QUOTES
HEAD COACH Jerritt Elliott
General statement: Anytime you get a win in the Big 12 it's a good win, especially when you win 3-0. I thought we started off the match very efficient and we played very well, however, we just started to get a little loose as the match went on. We allowed them some opportunities off of our errors. In the end, it shows a lot that a team can fight back when they are down 24-22 and pull out a game three win.
On the team's play tonight: I think Brandy Magee had an excellent night tonight. Iowa State was really stacking inside. They did a good job on Jennifer Doris and committed two people in front of her, daring us to set the right side. Doris does not have quite the range that Brandy has yet, she can hit quick sets and we're working with her so she will be able to hit behind the setter. We're trying work on that to get her (Doris) some points and scoring opportunities.
On Juliann's backcourt play: Juliann is out there fighting and hopefully the patience will come in time. A good sign is that now she knows when she is not in the right position. For her, the key is just being able to let go of the last play and move on.
SENIOR LIBERO Alyson Jennings
On the team's defense: I think it was a lot better than it has been, but I was just trying to take care of my own stuff. While I think the block was much better, we can still get a lot better in our all-around defense.
SOPHOMORE OUTSIDE HITTER Destinee Hooker
On her slow start for the match: I have to say that I was in the game but my mind wasn't. The good thing was that my teammates were there to boost up my energy and it helped a lot especially towards the end when all that energy finally came out.
On finding the team balance during the game: I think everyone has downfalls in their game and I'm glad that Juliann [Faucette] was on fire early in the match. In the third game we had some setbacks, and that is when I think I started to get hot. In a team situation, people are going to fall, but if someone is there to pick up the slack, then I think we're going to be fine.
On her defensive game improvement: It took a lot of practice, trusting the block and trusting the people around you. I know that if I don't call the ball, someone is going to take it away from me. Digging is a blessing to me because last year I didn't play in the back row. Coach Elliott gave me the privilege of passing this year, so I'm doing whatever I can to prove to him that I can do it and I can step in.
