The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Pepperdine
Hooker and Faucette lead No. 7 Volleyball past Pepperdine, 3-1
09.07.2007 | Volleyball
AUSTIN, Texas -- The seventh-ranked Texas Volleyball team used a pair of 23-kill performances by sophomore outside hitter Destinee Hooker and freshman outside hitter Juliann Faucette to claim a 3-1 (30-24, 28-30, 30-23, 31-29) victory over Pepperdine, Friday night in the Time Warner Cable Texas Invitational at Gregory Gymnasium.
The victory moved the Horns to 4-2 on the year, while the Waves fell to 5-4. Texas out-hit Pepperdine in the match .346-to-.221, riding career performances by a trio of players. Hooker registered her first career kill/dig double-double, tallying 23 kills and 16 digs and Faucette set new career highs with 23 kills and a .375 attack mark. Senior libero Alyson Jennings added to the record-setting night, tallying a career-best 26 digs against the Waves.
In game one, Texas leapt out to an early 4-0 lead on an ace by Faucette and avoided a small Pepperdine rally that moved the score to 15-13. The Longhorns answered the rally with a pair of 3-0 runs and then stretched the margin to 25-20 behind a game-sealing 5-0 run. Five different Longhorns connected for consecutive kills during the run and Texas eventually closed out the game on a Brandy Magee kill that lifted UT to a 30-24 win.
The Longhorns led for most of the second stanza, but a 5-0 run by the Waves at the 23-20 mark handed Pepperdine a 25-23 lead. Texas narrowed the margin to one at the 29-28 mark, but the Waves lead would hold and Pepperdine claimed the second game 30-28.
Texas answered in game three, using a 6-0 run in the early going to take a 7-2 advantage and the Horns would never look back. Hooker and Faucette widened the gap to six, hammering out back-to-back kills to hand UT a 14-8 lead. Pepperdine rallied briefly, but two of Faucette's eight game-three kills pushed the lead to seven and sealed the game for the Horns. Faucette added another kill at the 29-23 mark and a miscue by the Waves closed out the game with the Longhorns on top, 30-23.
Pepperdine was strong from the start in the final game, jumping out to a 4-1 lead and holding the advantage until a solo block by freshman middle blocker Jennifer Doris at the 19-18 mark gave the Horns their first lead of the game. The Waves rallied to reclaim the lead at 21-20, however, it would be short-lived. Hooker took control of the UT offense down the stretch, tallying a pair of kills, while junior opposite hitter Lauren Paolini connected for a kill to close the match at 31-29.
Paolini recorded 10 kills and six block assists on the night, while Magee registered nine kills on .615 hitting. Moriarty posted her second consecutive assist/dig double-double against the Waves, tallying 63 assists and 10 digs.
Texas returns to action Wednesday, Sept. 12 when it travels to top-ranked Nebraska for its Big 12 Conference opener. First serve is set for 7 p.m. and the match will be broadcast live on CSTV.
Time Warner Cable Texas Invitational All-Tournament Team
Melissa Myers, Cal State Bakersfield
Kiah Fiers, Pepperdine
Julie Rubenstein, Pepperdine
Juliann Faucette, TEXAS
Brandy Magee, TEXAS
Michelle Moriarty, TEXAS
MVP: Destinee Hooker, TEXAS
Best Libero: Alyson Jennings, TEXAS
TEXAS POSTGAME QUOTES
HEAD COACH Jerritt Elliott
On the match: I thought our team showed a lot of guts, coming back in the fourth game. We were down 16-11 and I really challenged our team to come back. I thought we played steady and made some big swings tonight. The match came down to making some big plays.
On Juliann Faucette's performance: She has a lot more experience than your average freshman. Her offense and front court game is outstanding and we are trying to enhance her back court game. I thought she made some really good plays tonight, but she is only at the tip of the iceberg in terms of what she can do for our team.
SOPHOMORE OUTSIDE HITTER Destinee Hooker
On her birthday performance: Coming out and fighting hard with the team and having a lot of energy is what this game is all about. Even when we were down 16-11 in game four, nobody gave up. We are really learning how to play well and fight hard when we are down. It was a birthday wish come true.
FRESHMAN OUTSIDE HITTER Juliann Faucette
On her first homestand: I was nervous at first, but the team helped me out a lot and I think that is the most important thing. My first two home matches could not have been any better.
JUNIOR UTILITY PLAYER Lauren Paolini
On Texas' blocking: We had to make a lot of adjustments in our blocking. We had to wait a little longer on some of their hitters, but by the end of the game we figured things out. Our team developed a really good rhythm and we had quite a bit of success against Pepperdine.
