The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Missouri
Faucette powers No. 12 Volleyball past Missouri, 3-1
09.22.2010 | Volleyball
Sept. 22, 2010
COLUMBIA, Mo. -- The No. 12 Texas Volleyball team used a season-best 22-kill effort by senior All-America outside hitter Juliann Faucette to pick up a key Big 12 road win, Wednesday night at the Hearnes Center. The 3-1 (25-27, 25-20, 25-23, 25-21) victory improved the Longhorns to 7-4 on the year and 2-1 in Big 12 play, while Missouri dropped to 10-3 overall and 1-2 in league action.
Faucette headlined the Horns' attack just missing her career-best kill total by one and adding three service aces, nine digs and three blocks. Junior middle blocker Rachael Adam was stellar as well, totaling 13 kills on .500 hitting, while freshman outside hitter Ashley Bannister connected for nine kills and posted a .412 attack mark.
In the first, Texas fell behind early and despite several rallies failed to forge ahead. A pair of kills by Faucette narrowed the Missouri lead to 11-10 early in the set, but the Tigers rebounded and extended their lead to 16-12 on a pair of UT miscues. The Longhorns fought back to pull within one at the 19-18 mark and dump kill by freshman setter Hannah Allison evened the score at 23 late in the set. The teams traded four points down the stretch before the Tigers put away the set, 27-25 on a kill by Paola Ampudia and a double-block by Molly Kreklow and Catie Wilson.
Texas came out hot in the second frame, taking advantage of five quick kills by Faucette to capture a 10-7 lead. The Tigers battled back to tie the set at 13 and used a 5-1 run capped by a Caitlyn Vann ace to take an 18-15 edge. The Longhorns promptly answered with a set-closing 10-2 run fueled by three kills and a five-point service run from Faucette that lifted UT to a 25-20 set victory.
In the third stanza, Texas jumped out to an 8-6 lead on a pair of kills by Bannister, but three-straight kills by Julianna Klein gave Mizzou its first lead of the set, 9-8. Texas quickly regained the lead, but Missouri kept the tally tight before forging back ahead, 15-14 and taking a two-point lead at the 19-17 mark on a double-block by Ampudia and Wilson. The Horns rallied back to tie the set at 20 on a double-block by Adams and sophomore opposite hitter Sha'Dare McNeal. Texas kept the heat on late and overcame a 23-22 deficit with a kill by Adams and two Mizzou miscues that closed the set 25-23.
Faucette helped the Longhorns to a quick 6-3 lead to start the fourth set with three kills and a service ace that gave UT the early advantage. A 4-1 run capped by an Allison/Adams double-block gave the Horns a 12-9 lead and after two more kills and a block from Faucette, Texas extended its lead to 16-11. Texas widened the margin to 20-14 on a kill by Bannister before two kills by Adams forced match-point at 24-19 and closed the set 25-21.
Junior libero Sydney Yogi was anchored the back row for the Longhorns, registering a career-best 27 digs, while Allison was solid at the helm of the UT attack, dishing out a career-best 58 assists.
Texas returns to action on Wednesday, Sept. 29 when it plays host to No. 11 Iowa State. First serve is set for 6:30 p.m. Central.
POST-MATCH NOTES
- Texas' win moved the Longhorns' all-time record against Missouri to 19-10 and 8-7 in Columbia.
- Juliann Faucette's 22-kill effort set a new season-high and moved her past Ashley Engle (1225, 2006-09) and Laura Neugebauer (1237, 1982-85) on the UT all-time kills list. Faucette now sits in ninth place with 1240 kills.
- Jennifer Doris' two block assists moved her into a 16th-place tie on the UT career block assist chart. Doris' 252 block assists tie her with former Longhorn Kathy Hahn (2000-03).
- Sydney Yogi's 27-dig effort set a new career high.
- Hannah Allison's 58-assist outing set a new career high.
POST-MATCH QUOTES
Head coach Jerritt Elliott
General statement: This is a big win for our program right now. Our girls have been really fighting hard to get better at building trust. I really liked our demeanor and our overall performance as a group. We had a great spark by Ashley Bannister coming off the bench in the second set and we had some big performances by some players that haven't been putting up big numbers in awhile. Juliann Faucette was great, Hannah (Allison) did a good job distributing the offense and Sydney (Yogi) was nails in the back court. Overall it was a really good job for our team.
On Texas' balance: We haven't put up the numbers that we need to on the pins in our last five or six matches and tonight we were able to do that. It helps with our transition and our point-scoring opportunities. I'm proud of how hard the girls have been working. We have been working them hard and they still came out here and performed tonight.
On Juliann Faucette returning to form: I'm really happy for her. You go through a lot of adversity as an athlete and she has been battling. She has been focused and bought in and it is really nice for her to have a big match like this. Hopefully she can continue to ride this high as our whole team continues to change and come together.
