The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Oklahoma
No. 11 Volleyball outlasts Oklahoma, 3-1
10.13.2010 | Volleyball
Oct. 13, 2010
NORMAN, Okla. -- The 11th-ranked Texas Volleyball team used a quintet of double-digit kill efforts as it fought its way to a 3-1 road win at Oklahoma, Wednesday night. The 19-25, 30-28, 25-17, 25-23 victory improved the Longhorns to 11-5 on the year and 6-2 in Big 12 play, while the Sooners fell to 13-6 and 5-3 overall.
Junior middle blocker Rachael Adams led the Longhorns attack in the win with 16 kills on .393 hitting and posted a team-best seven blocks. Senior All-America outside hitter Juliann Faucette and junior outside hitter Amber Roberson added a pair of 13-kill outings, while sophomore opposite hitter Sha'Dare McNeal and senior middle blocker Jennifer Doris each connected for 10 kills.
In the first, Texas fell behind 4-0 to start the set and Oklahoma posted a 5-1 rally to widen the margin to 12-6 early in the frame. The Longhorns bounced back with a 4-1 run headlined by a pair of kills by Adams to shrink the margin to 13-10 before two OU errors allowed the Horns to close the gap to two at the 16-14 mark. The Sooners answered immediately, using a 6-2 run to take their largest lead of the set, 22-16. Late in the set Sallie McLaurin recorded a kill and teamed with Suzy Boulavsky on a block to end the frame, 25-19.
After a back-and-forth battle early in the second set, the Longhorns put together a 5-2 run fueled by two kills and an ace by McNeal to take a 15-13 advantage. Following the media timeout Oklahoma went on a 9-2 run highlighted by two kills each from Boulavsky and Brianne Barker to forge ahead, 22-17.
Texas didn't quit down the stretch in the second, going on a 7-2 run keyed by two kills from Roberson to tie the set at 24. A kill by Doris gave UT a 26-25 edge, but OU erased the Horns lead and led at the 28-27 mark. Texas used kills by freshman setter Hannah Allison and Faucette to force set-point and a double-block by Faucette and Adams ended the set, 30-28.
In the third, Roberson paced an early 4-0 run with two kills to give the Longhorns a quick 10-6 advantage. Oklahoma answered the call with a 4-0 run of its own that tied the set at 11 before UT caught fire and pieced together a set-closing 11-3 rally. McNeal kicked off the run with a kill that broke a 14 all tie and three kills by Doris down the stretch propelled UT to a 25-17 set victory.
The Longhorns struggled in the fourth stanza, surrendering a 9-3 run that allowed the Sooners to jump out to 12-6 lead. Oklahoma went on to widen the margin to 16-8 before Texas erupted with a 7-0 run headlined by three Adams kills to pull within one at the 16-15 mark. The Sooners kept the heat on and stretched the lead back to three (22-19), but the Horns were too much late in the set. Texas mounted a 6-2 set-ending run that included three of Doris' season-high 10 kills and ended the set 25-23.
Texas returns to action on Saturday, Oct. 16 when it plays host to Texas Tech. First serve is set for 6:30 p.m. Central.
POST-MATCH NOTES
- Texas' win moved its all-time record against Oklahoma to 36-2 and 15-1 in Norman.
- The Longhorns saved six set points to win the second set, 30-28.
- Texas rallied back from a 16-9 deficit in the fourth set with no timeouts to win the set, 25-23.
- Jennifer Doris tallied a season-best 10 kills in the victory, while hitting at a .500 clip.
- Hannah Allison's 10-kill, 10-dig effort was her second assist/dig double-double of the season.
- Sha'Dare McNeal's 10-kill, 10-dig performance was her third kill/dig double-double of the year.
