The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Nebraska
No. 2 Volleyball defeats No. 10 Nebraska, 3-1, advances to NCAA semifinals
12.12.2009 | Volleyball
Dec. 12, 2009
OMAHA, Neb. -- Senior Destinee Hooker totaled 18 kills, and junior Juliann Faucette added 14 kills, as No. 2 Texas (28-1) dealt 10th-seeded Nebraska (26-7) a 3-1 (21-25, 25-18, 25-16, 25-17) defeat Saturday evening in the 2009 NCAA Volleyball Omaha Regional final. Texas reaches the NCAA Semifinals for a second consecutive season and will take on 11th-seeded Minnesota at 6 p.m. Central on Thursday, Dec. 17 in Tampa, Fla.
The Horns' win made history as Texas became the first team in NCAA history to defeat Nebraska three times in the same season. Texas also became the first team to beat NU in four-straight meetings since UT did so between 1984 and 1988.
Hooker was selected as the regional's Most Outstanding Player, and senior Ashley Engle added a double-double in the winning effort with 27 assists and 11 digs.
Nebraska took the first two points of the match on a pair of Texas errors before Hooker put the Horns on the board with a kill. A kill from NU's Kori Cooper and two Husker blocks gave NU a 5-1 lead before UT responded with kills from Faucette and Hooker. Nebraska claimed the next three points to take an 8-3 lead and force a Texas timeout.
A lengthy rally on the ensuing point produced a well-placed Texas block, but the Huskers stretched their lead to 11-4 behind three Longhorns miscues, as UT used another timeout. Nebraska maintained its seven-point cushion and eventually took a 15-7 lead before Texas began to claw back. Two Faucette kills sandwiched around a Nebraska error cut the Huskers' lead to 15-10. Trailing 16-10, Faucette and Hooker added a pair of kills to cut the deficit to 16-12 and force a Nebraska timeout.
A kill from Nebraska's Tara Mueller preceded two Huskers errors and a Hooker service ace, as Texas trimmed the NU lead to 17-15 and forced another Nebraska timeout. Texas and Nebraska traded the next two points before the Huskers pulled away to claim the opening set. NU failed to convert one set point at 24-20, but a Mueller kill put away the set for the Huskers, 25-21.
The second set featured a tight, back-and-forth affair with neither team taking more than a two-point lead. Aided by three Huskers service errors in the set, Texas took a 15-13 lead on Hooker's second service ace. Trailing 16-14, Nebraska answered with kills from Brooke Delano and Hannah Werth to even the set. Texas took advantage of a Nebraska service error and two net violations on the next three points to take a 19-16 lead and force a Huskers timeout.
An errant Nebraska attack and a block from Texas' Rachael Adams and Amber Roberson staked Texas to a 21-16 lead. The Huskers answered with kills from Werth and Gina Mancuso to cut the lead to 21-18 and force a Texas timeout. UT's Faucette smacked two more kills to stretch the lead out to 23-18, and after another Nebraska timeout, a Hooker kill and a double block from Faucette and Adams put away the second set for Texas, 25-18.
Hooker nailed her third service ace in set three to put Texas up 5-2. Leading 11-7, Hooker chased down an errant Texas dig near the scorer's table and fed Faucette, who connected for a kill to give Texas an 11-7 lead and force a Nebraska timeout.
Leading 13-8, UT picked up kills from Hooker and Roberson to take a 15-8 lead. Texas followed a Hooker service error with a kill and a service ace from Jennifer Doris, as UT assumed a 17-9 lead and forced another Nebraska timeout.
The Longhorns stretched their lead to 19-10 and benefited from numerous Nebraska miscues, including two services aces, to set up match point at 24-15. Nebraska's Delano saved one set point with a kill, but Doris answered for Texas to put away the third set for the Longhorns, 25-16.
Nebraska's Lindsey Licht opened set four with two kills before Texas took four straight points behind kills from Faucette and Hooker, a block from Doris and a double block from Hooker and Doris. Licht notched another NU kill, but Faucette and Engle answered to give UT a 6-3 lead and force a Huskers timeout.
Nebraska claimed three of the next four points to trim the Texas lead to 7-6, and after a Nebraska attack error, the Huskers evened the set with a kill and an errant UT attack. A Texas attack error gave NU a 9-8 lead and forced a Texas timeout.
Texas' Roberson sent the momentum back in the Horns' favor with a kill and a block, though NU's Cooper tallied a pair of kills to give NU an 11-10 lead. Tied at 13 apiece, Texas picked up a Hooker kill and two Huskers attack errors to assume a 16-13 lead and force Nebraska to call for time.
At 17-14, UT collected kills from Hooker, Engle and Doris to assume a 20-14 lead. UT took a 22-15 lead on a Nebraska service error before NU's Sydney Anderson cut the lead to 22-16 with a kill. UT's Adams recorded a kill to give Texas a 23-16 lead, and Engle followed with another to set up match points for Texas. A Hooker attack ran long on the following point, but an Adams tap on the next point fell to the floor, as Texas nailed down the set, 25-17 and secured the victory.
NCAA All-Omaha Regional Team
Destinee Hooker, Texas (Most Outstanding Player)
Ashley Engle, Texas
Juliann Faucette, Texas
Kori Cooper, Nebraska
Sydney Anderson, Nebraska
Victoria Henson, Iowa State
Sarah Ammerman, Texas A&M
Texas Post-Match Notes
- Texas improved to 28-1 on the season with its 10th consecutive win. The Longhorns were appearing in an NCAA Regional Final for the fourth straight season, a total that ties Penn State for second nationally behind Nebraska (six straight).
- With the win, the Longhorns advanced to the NCAA Semifinals for the sixth time in school history and for the second straight year. Texas will face 11th-seeded Minnesota on Thursday at 6 p.m. (Central) at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, Fla.
- Texas is making back-to-back appearances in the NCAA Semifinals for the first time since making three straight trips in 1986, 1987 and 1988.
- The win was the Longhorns' fourth straight victory over the Huskers, including their third win this season. Texas became the first team in the NCAA era to defeat Nebraska three times in the same season (1981-present).
- The Longhorns' four-match winning streak over the Huskers also marks only the third time in the NCAA era that an opponent has defeated Nebraska four straight times and the first since Texas won five straight meetings from 1984 to 1988 (the third time was four straight wins by Pacific from 1981 to 1986).
- With the win and the four-match win streak Texas' all-time record against the Huskers improved to 16-29.
- Texas improved to 57-22 all-time in NCAA Tournament action. The Longhorns' 57 all-time NCAA Tournament wins rank seventh nationally, one victory behind USC.
- The Texas senior class improved its four-year win total to 108, the most in Head Coach Jerritt Elliott's eight seasons in Austin. The 108 victories are the most by a Texas senior class since 1993 (111 wins).
- Texas improved to 4-0 this season when losing the first set. The opening-set loss snapped the Longhorns' streak of winning 24 consecutive sets.
- Texas hit .342 against Nebraska, the highest opponent hitting percentage the Huskers allowed all season. Nebraska allowed an opponent to hit.300 only twice all season, with both times coming to Texas.
- The Longhorns' five aces were the second-most Nebraska allowed all season.
- In five career matches at the Qwest Center, Destinee Hooker has totaled 95 kills on .371 hitting with 48 digs, 12 blocks and nine aces. In her career, she averaged 19.0 kills per match at the Qwest Center.
- Hooker finished with four aces in the match. In her NCAA Tournament career, Hooker has recorded 23 aces to top the Texas career postseason chart. She entered the match tied for first with Dawn Davenport with 19 aces.
- Hooker also had one solo block to increase her total to 19 career solo blocks in NCAA Tournament. She has tied Angie Breitenfield's school record in that category.
- Heather Kisner finished with 11 digs in the match and now owns 172 digs in her NCAA Tournament career, a Texas postseason record. She entered the match one dig shy of Alyson Jennings' Texas postseason record.
 
Nebraska Post-Match Notes
- Tonight's loss snapped Nebraska's season-best 10-match winning streak, as the Huskers finished the year with a 26-7 record. The Huskers advanced to a Regional Final for the NCAA-leading sixth straight season, but failed to qualify for their second straight NCAA Semifinal appearance.
- Nebraska's all-time NCAA Tournament record fell to 80-25, as the Huskers rank second nationally to Stanford in NCAA Tournament victories and winning percentage. NU also fell to 31-15 in NCAA Regional play, including a 14-5 mark under 10th-year Head Coach John Cook.
- The loss was Nebraska's first loss at the Qwest Center in NCAA Regional play. The Huskers had been 3-0 with three sweeps in its previous three NCAA Regional matches in the building.
- Overall, Nebraska fell to 15-3 all-time at the Qwest Center, including an 10-2 mark against top-five opponents and a 5-2 record in NCAA Tournament matches. Two of the three losses came this season (also a 3-0 loss to Michigan in the first game of the season at the AVCA Showcase).
- The loss was Nebraska's third loss of the season to Texas, as the Longhorns became the first team to defeat the Huskers three times in the same season in the NCAA era (1981-present).
- Overall, Nebraska fell to Texas for the fourth straight time, marking only the third time in the NCAA era that an opponent has defeated Nebraska four straight times and the first since Texas won five straight meetings from 1984 to 1988 (the third time was four straight wins by Pacific from 1981 to 1986).
- Nebraska fell to 4-2 all-time in NCAA Tournament action against conference foes. The Huskers had won four straight postseason meetings against league opponents before tonight.
- Nebraska won the opening set to win its 31st consecutive set. Entering tonight, Nebraska had not lost a set since a three-set loss at Texas on Oct. 30.
- Texas hit a season-high .342 against Nebraska, after the Huskers had held seven straight opponents to .150 hitting or less.
- Nebraska hit just .179 in the match, its lowest total since hitting .168 at Texas on Oct. 30.
- The Huskers allowed five aces in the match, their second-highest total of the season and the highest for a match that didn't go five sets.
- Nebraska meanwhile finished with zero aces and eight service errors.
Texas Post-Match Quotes
Head Coach Jerritt Elliott
Opening statement: I thought it was a very emotional win for our team and our program. First of all, thanks to Nebraska for hosting such a great event. They do it right, their fans are great and supportive, John and his staff and this program. Their team got a lot better. They started off and struggled at the beginning of the year, but they did a tremendous job and kept sticking with them. Hats off to them. I am extremely pleased for our team and our program. We came out a little bit shaky and made some uncharacteristic errors early in game one. (We) never gave up, we showed a lot of mental toughness, and we battled from every aspect. You want the season to go on. I've coached a lot of matches, this might be the biggest one I've ever had in regards to how special it is to me to continue the journey with this senior class. I am extremely proud to represent the Big 12 at the next step. We're excited.
On surviving the initial emotional rush of Nebraska: We knew a year or so ago that we weren't hosting a regional. When we saw that, Nebraska was the one site I said I did not want to go to. Fate has it that we ended up here. We had so much support from our administration to allow us to travel the way we did and play in so many big venues. We went up to Hawaii and played at their venue. We played in front of a big crowd at Iowa State and Nebraska and Long Beach State. We played some really big matches to try to prepare us for what it is going to be like to be on the road for a long time. It was a very grueling schedule this year for us. We've been on the road more often than not. We needed that mental toughness. That loss to Iowa State, experiencing the first time we played at Nebraska at the Coliseum we didn't play well, we didn't adjust well, but we responded in the locker room. Tonight was about mental toughness and holding down the fort. We talked about circling the wagons because it was going to be us on the bench with the fans that they had. We were going to have to be mentally tough. I challenged them that they would have to be the best they've been mentally all year long, maybe ever as an athlete. They responded and stuck together. They could have folded early. They kind of battled back in game one and gave us that opportunity to build that confidence.
On persevering through the match: We made some adjustments. I thought our team did an incredible job of making adjustments in those areas. Our passers did a phenomenal job tonight. We passed extremely well. I thought the big key, Nebraska has been hot. They won ten in a row without losing a set. I thought if we got to the second game they would start questioning themselves a little bit. We just got a great performance from everyone, emotionally, competitively, composure wise.
Destinee Hooker
On being able to get the two wins in Omaha: It means I have another week with my team. I am really excited to have another week with this group of girls. This is a great accomplishment for our program, like Coach said, and I am looking forward to this week. We worked really hard for it.
Juliann Faucette
On what they did after the first set: I think we just started to gain composure and confidence in our passing and rhythm. I think setting wise we were a little off, some calls here and there. I thought we found our rhythm and that was really important in the second set.
Nebraska Post-Match Quotes
Head Coach John Cook
Opening statement: First of all, I want to thank Husker Nation for coming out and making this the best regional in the country. The crowd was great and they were trying to will us to win this match, and we could feel it. It was awesome. Their appreciation for the team at the end and for Kori (Cooper) was something that I think Kori is going to remember forever and be telling her grandkids. That was pretty special. I thought Texas played great. Their big-time players stepped up. Destinee (Hooker) had a great match. They (Texas) won the serve and pass battle, and we had to win that to compete and have a chance to win. They won it tonight. I think that was the biggest difference in the match.
On if NU's team maxed out their talent: I don't think we let one get away tonight. If you look at where this team was in September to winning 31 sets in a row starting in the month of November - we had been playing great. This team has improved more than any team we've had at Nebraska. They've done everything we've asked. They've improved. We got to a regional final. That's a very experienced team, and they played better than us tonight. We don't feel like we played our best, and I'm sure the girls will say that, but you have to give some credit to Texas for taking that and putting the pressure on us.
On Destinee Hooker and how Texas will do in the Final Four: I think they'll play Penn State in the finals and I think it's going to be a great match to see (Megan) Hodge and (Destinee) Hooker try to outdo each other, so I think it's going to be a great match. It's probably going to come down to serving and passing in that match as well. I thought we did some good things on her tonight. We slowed her down, we got some touches and we dug her. Our game plan was good against her, but she hurt us with her jump serve. They move her around so it makes her hard to defend. She's a special player and she's a senior, and we'll see if she can get it done and win a national championship.
On next season: Even though we lost this match tonight, this team just got better because now, our team and our younger players - we have five freshmen - now have a better understanding of what it's going to take to win a regional final and the things that we have to get better at. Of any team that lost tonight, we were probably the one team that got better. We will take that into next year. I've seen this happen before after a loss like this. Your team just takes another step forward. Now they've gone through this and it's inside of them how hard they need to work and how bad they're going to want it. It doesn't feel good. We will be a better team Monday, if we could practice, than we were today.
Setter Sydney Anderson
On gaining momentum at the end of the season and looking forward to next year: That's huge. This team is really excited. We're starting today for next year. We all hate this feeling, so we don't want to feel it again. Look at where we were in September and look at us now. This whole season is the max out. We've gotten better, and we're still going to get better. I am so proud of this team.
On Kori Cooper: You can't replace Kori. She's been a great captain, great friend and a great leader. She brings fire, she bring belief, into those that don't. She brings hope. If you look at what she's gone through these four years - two torn ACLs, two surgeries - and she's bounced back and she's been amazing.
Middle Blocker Kori Cooper
On NU's fight throughout the season: This team has been on an incredible journey and if any of the members from this team take one thing from me, it's that I want them to realize it's about the journey and not about the end result. I think if this season teaches us anything, I hope that it teaches us that. I'm proud of this team, I'm proud to be apart of this team, and I know they're going to do great things.
On ending her career in Nebraska: This is the best crowd in college volleyball for me and for the rest of the people on this team. We couldn't ask for a better following. It was very special. I feel like I'm the luckiest senior in the country, regardless of how this season ended. I wouldn't change a thing about playing for this crowd and about playing for this program.
