The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Texas A&M
No. 3 Volleyball sweeps Texas A&M in State Farm Lone Star Showdown
11.01.2008 | Volleyball
Nov. 1, 2008
Box Score |AUSTIN, Texas -- The third-ranked Texas Volleyball team downed Texas A&M, 3-0, Saturday evening at Gregory Gymnasium to earn the second volleyball half-point in the State Farm Lone Star Showdown season standings. The 25-19, 26-24, 25-20 victory improved the Horns to 17-3 on the year and 10-2 in the Big 12, while Texas A&M fell to 10-13 and 5-8 in league play.
With tonight's victory, Texas earned a half-point in the annual State Farm Lone Star Showdown and now holds a 2.5-1.5 lead in this year's standings. This marks the fifth year of the Showdown, the all-sports athletic competition between Texas and Texas A&M. In order to win the Showdown, a school must acquire 10.0 points during the year.
In the first set, Texas used a 3-0 run to jump out to a 10-7 lead, but the Aggies answered with an 8-1 run that put the Aggies ahead 16-13. A 4-0 UT run paced by two aces by sophomore All-America outside hitter Juliann Faucette put the Horns back on top 17-16 and a second 4-0 run late in the set propelled Texas to a 25-19 set win.
Texas fell behind 11-10 early in the second frame and allowed the Aggies to push their lead to five (19-14). Texas A&M pushed its lead to 24-20 on a kill by Jennifer Banse, but Texas did not quit. Junior All-America outside hitter Destinee Hooker highlighted a 6-0 run with two kills and a solo block to push the Longhorns to a 26-24 victory.
The Horns grabbed the lead quickly in the third set, taking a 12-7 advantage on a solo block by Hooker. A 5-1 UT run capped by a kill and solo block from Faucette pushed the lead to 18-12 and three kills by Hooker down the stretch lifted Texas to a 25-20 set victory.
Hooker headlined the Longhorns' attack with 13 kills, while senior All-America middle blocker Lauren Paolini registered nine kills on. 727 hitting. The Horns out-hit the Aggies .344-to-.121 on the night and out-blocked A&M 9.0-to-3.0.
Texas returns to action on Wednesday, Nov. 5 when it travels to Baylor. First serve is set for 7 p.m.
POST-MATCH NOTES
- Texas' victory improved the Longhorns' record to 64-22 all-time against Texas A&M. The Horns have now won their last nine meetings with the Aggies.
- Lauren Paolini recorded her 367th total block of her career against Texas A&M, moving her into 12th place on Texas' all-time total block list. Paolini passed Angie Breitenfield's (1992-1995) 365 total blocks in the record book.
TEXAS QUOTES
HEAD COACH Jerritt Elliott
General statement: This was a great win for us at home. I thought our team battled really hard and bounced back after a tough loss. This really shows a lot about the character of our team. I felt that as the match went on we got better and better.
On his team's 6-0 rally to win the second set: We really executed well late in the set. Rachael Adams came in and gave us a huge block and we were able to do some really nice things in that set. Our team's ability to make a comeback like that speaks volumes about our character. That was truly the turning point of this match.
On his team's middle blocker's performances: We are really trying to get our middles more involved in our offense. Jen Doris continues to keep driving for us. I told her in between the second and third sets that she has shown a lot of character and team commitment by continuing to drive when she wasn't getting the ball. We need to get her the ball more. I was very proud of the way she played tonight.
On the great crowd, despite Texas' football game on Saturday night: The crowd tonight was great. When our place is full to the rafters it is a very special place for our players to play. When our fans come out like this it is a great volleyball environment.
