The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Baylor
Engle powers No. 3 Volleyball past Baylor, 3-0
10.08.2008 | Volleyball
Oct. 8, 2008
AUSTIN, Texas -- Junior All-America opposite hitter Ashley Engle posted a season-high 16 kills on .536 hitting to lead the third-ranked Texas Volleyball team to a 3-0 sweep of Baylor, Wednesday night at Gregory Gymnasium. The Longhorns' 25-14, 25-22, 25-15 victory improved UT to 11-2 on the year and 5-1 in the Big 12, while the Bears fell to 12-4 overall and 4-2 in league play.
The Horns were red-hot in the first set, connecting for 17 kills on .696 hitting and committing just one attack error. Engle led the charge, pacing a 5-1 run with three kills and an ace to put Texas up, 15-10, in the early going. A 6-1 UT run, capped by a kill from sophomore All-America outside hitter Juliann Faucette, closed out the frame, 25-14.
In the second set, Texas grabbed a 3-2 lead on an Engle kill, but did not lead again until a Baylor attack error put the Horns in front, 20-19. Baylor quickly erased the Texas edge with a 3-0 run, but five straight UT points, including two Engle kills, closed out the set, 25-22. Through two sets, Engle tallied 11 kills, while committing zero errors on 19 attacks.
Texas stormed out of the gates in the third stanza, with Faucette and Engle connecting for three kills each to headline an 8-1 run and give the Horns an 8-2 advantage. The Longhorns pushed the lead to 12-4 on three straight points by Faucette and widened the margin to 20-11 on Faucette's third ace of the set. Baylor rallied briefly before Engle terminated her 16th kill of the match to close out the frame, 25-15.
Faucette joined Engle in double-digits with 10 kills on .304 hitting, while junior All-America outside hitter Destinee Hooker chipped in nine kills and a .350 attack mark.
Texas returns to action Saturday, Oct. 11 when it travels to Boulder, Colo. for a Big 12 showdown with CU. First serve is set for 7:30 p.m. Central.
POST-MATCH NOTES
- Texas' victory moved the Longhorns all-time record against Baylor to 62-2. The Horns have now won their last 13 meetings with the Bears.
- The Longhorns' win extended UT's home winning streak to 21 matches, a mark good for third-best all-time.
- Ashley Engle's 16 kills against the Bears set a new season high for the junior opposite hitter.
- Juliann Faucette's three service aces marked a new season high for the sophomore outside hitter.
TEXAS QUOTES
HEAD COACH Jerritt Elliott
General statement: We had great energy tonight. We made some good adjustments especially at the end of the game and our defense really picked up. Early on, the outside hitters were doing a nice job, but it was our defense that did a better job of controlling them. Overall, we have been better offensively so we just need to continue to improve on offense and work defensively to improve our game.
On difference between the first and second sets: I don't think we served quite as well. We made a few blocking mistakes where we had some opportunities to put a score on the board, and Baylor took advantage of the mistake by going back to serve and scoring a point. Our defensive ball control wasn't quite as good. Baylor was moving the ball around pretty well, but we made some defensive adjustments. Sydney [Yogi] did a nice job controlling the ball for us, allowing us to get some better transition swings and put together a nice 5-0 run to end the match.
JUNIOR OPPOSITE HITTER Ashley Engle
On her season-high 16 kills: Kocher was giving me really good sets and I was finding open spots on the court. We had a game plan of going to the right back, so I had that in my mind.
On being strong the first set: That was one of our goals. The last match was one of our most complete matches, and tonight we wanted to start out right off the bat and get a lead early and just keep pushing. I was really excited that we got to do that because it allowed the team to have that focus and have fun. It gives you more confidence to swing away when you have that momentum.
SOPHOMORE OUTSIDE HITTER Juliann Faucette
On the struggle in the second set: I said in the huddle after the first set that they're not going to give up and they're ready for a fight. They're a really good team. I think they showed that; they came out pretty fired up and didn't let the first set bother them. We did a great job coming back near the end with some key points with blocking and playing some good defense.
