The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
St. Louis
No. 2 Volleyball captures tourney crown, sweeps No. 19 Saint Louis
09.06.2009 | Volleyball
Sept. 6, 2009
HONOLULU -- The No. 2 Texas Volleyball team claimed the Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Classic Championship with a 3-0 win over No. 19 Saint Louis Sunday afternoon. The 25-17, 25-18, 25-10 victory improved the Longhorns to 5-0 on the year and 3-0 at the tourney, while the Billikens dropped to 3-3 and 1-2 in Hawaii. Texas' weekend also included victories over No. 4 Hawaii and No. 10 California.
Texas took hold of the first set when senior All-America outside hitter Destinee Hooker and junior All-America outside hitter Juliann Faucette connected for two kills each to pace a 6-0 run that put UT on top 15-8. Two more kills from Faucette stretched the margin to 17-10 before she closed the door 25-17 with a late kill and block.
An early 6-2 run in the second frame paced by two kills from junior middle blocker Jennifer Doris helped the Longhorns grab a quick 15-8 advantage. Texas followed the run with a 3-0 rally capped by a double-block from sophomore middle blocker Rachael Adams and freshman opposite hitter Bailey Webster that pushed the lead to 19-10. Saint Louis battled to shrink the margin to six, but a pair of late kills by Adams clinched the set for Texas, 25-18.
Faucette got the Horns off to a hot start in the third set, tallying four kills, a block assist and a solo block in a seven-point span to give UT an early 12-3 edge. Texas pushed its lead to 22-7 with a 6-0 run and used a Doris/Engle double-block and an SLU error to end the set 25-10.
Faucette and Hooker highlighted the Texas offense with 12 kills apiece, while Engle and Doris each posted seven. The Horns out-hit the Billikens on the night, .379-to-.095.
Texas returns to action on Friday, Sept. 11 when it kicks off its home slate against the Italian National A2 Team. First serve is set for 6:30 p.m. Central.
Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Classic All-Tournament Team
Bridget Fonke, Saint Louis
Hana Cutura, California
Mindi Wiley, California
Aneli Cubi-Otineru, Hawai'i
Juliann Faucette, Texas
Destinee Hooker, Texas
Most Outstanding Player: Ashley Engle, Texas
