The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Kansas State
Quartet of Horns power No. 8 Volleyball past Kansas State, 3-1
11.12.2011 | Volleyball
Nov. 12, 2011
AUSTIN, Texas - The eighth-ranked Texas Volleyball team took advantage of four double-digit kill performances as it battled back from a 1-0 deficit to upend Kansas State, 3-1, Saturday night at Gregory Gymnasium. The 23-25, 25-16, 25-18, 25-20 victory improved the Longhorns to 18-4 on the year and 11-1 in Big 12 play, while the Wildcats fell to 18-9 overall and 7-6 in league action.
Sophomore outside hitter Bailey Webster led all Longhorns with 16 kills on .351 hitting, while freshman outside hitter Haley Eckerman hammered out 15 kills and notched two solo blocks and a season-best four service aces. Junior opposite hitter Sha'Dare McNeal connected for a season-high 13 kills, hit .667 and registered her first kill/dig double-double of the year with 11 digs. Senior All-America middle blocker Rachael Adams rounded out the quartet of double figure performances with 13 kills and a .611 attack mark.
After falling behind early in the first, Texas rallied to tie the set at 12, but a 5-1 Wildcats rally put K-State back in front 17-13. Five late kills by McNeal allowed UT to shrink the margin to one and a solo block by Webster tied the set at 23. Kansas State bounced back with consecutive kills by Lilla Porubek to win the set, 25-23.
In the second, Texas fell into an early hole, but a 6-2 run fueled by three Eckerman kills gave Texas a 13-11 edge. Kansas State rallied to tie the set briefly before UT went on a 7-1 run to claim a commanding lead and eventually close the set out 25-16 on three late kills by Adams.
Texas once again trailed to begin the third set until a 14-4 rally powered by three kills and two aces by Eckerman put UT in front 22-14. Eckerman added one more kill down the stretch and a McNeal kill sealed the frame 25-18.
The Horns came out solid to start the fourth, using a pair of solo blocks by Eckerman and McNeal to take a 4-1 lead. A 10-2 rally paced by a solo block and two kills by Webster ballooned the lead to 20-13 and Texas went on to close out the stanza 25-20 on Adams' 12th kill of the night.
Texas returns to action on Wednesday, Nov. 16 when it plays host to Baylor. First serve is set for 7 p.m. Central.
POST-MATCH NOTES
- The victory improved Texas' all-time record against Kansas State to 27-7 and 14-3 in Austin. The win also extended UT's winning streak against KSU to 17.
- Texas has now won 31 consecutive Big 12 home matches.
- The Longhorns now own a 26-match home winning streak, which stands as the third-longest in the NCAA and the second-longest in UT program history.
- Sha'Dare McNeal posted a season-best 13 kills in the win and notched her first kill/dig double-double of the year with her 11 digs.
- Michelle Kocher's 39 assists in the win set a new season high.
POST-MATCH QUOTES
Head Coach Jerritt Elliott
General statement: I thought Kansas State did a nice job coming out. They were well prepared to play at a high level. And I didn't think we matched that emotionally, and I think we had a little bit of anxiety in that first game. But as the match went on, I thought we got a lot calmer. I thought Michelle [Kocher] coming in did a fantastic job. Getting our team in a rhythm and doing a good job. Overall, we just got some great production. We played a lot better as the match finished. But I think in anything that this team has been doing, when we have been efficient and are not giving up points in hitting errors, or serve reception errors, or serving, we're pretty efficient in terms of what we can do. So we'll keep working on tidying that up. It's a good win against a good team that's been hot lately. And we're getting comfortable with the lineup that we're having to put out there.
On having senior setter Michelle Kocher come in for sophomore Hannah Allison: First I think Michelle has been setting really well in practice. She just kind of had a really good demeanor about it. I felt like our rhythm wasn't good. It didn't have all to do with Hannah. But I just felt like I had seen some good stuff out of Michelle in the last few weeks of practice. I just felt like it could happen. Michelle's very, very gifted in terms of setting behind, and Madelyn [Hutson] a little bit more involved. She could get her in a little bit better of a rhythm. And they've been working together on the other side of the net in practice for the greater part of the season. She's always connected well with Sha'Dare [McNeal] and she's been setting a good ball to the outside. So when I see that and the gain of confidence, I had confidence in what she could do. And I knew she would come in and do a good job for us. We have a lot of talent. That's the great part about this team. But it's been bigger that she's been ready to come in and play, and play at that level.
Freshman OH Haley Eckerman
On if there was anxiety at the beginning of the game: I think we all knew that there was anxiety in the game. That was only one set, we had three more to go to win. So we just all had to shake that off and come back for the next game.
On getting more comfortable with getting big swings at the ball: I think part of that, is Khat [Bell] being out as another hitter. So, when we're set we know we have to put the ball down. The team is doing well in all phases, not just hitting. But we know if it's out-of-system, that's what we practice a lot in practice. Setting up out-of-system, hitting and trying to get in a repetition with that.
Senior S Michelle Kocher
On when the team got in a rhythm: I think in game two we found a steady state. We got rid of the anxiety and at the break we got to refocus, readjust, figure out the game plan and stick to that. I think that's what brought the energy later on.
On setting behind her: I know it's something I'm comfortable with. I've always been pretty good at it. And especially when you get in the zone. I wasn't really thinking, "Oh, I'm going to go in and set backwards." It just seemed natural, and seemed like the right idea at the time. I think if it hadn't worked out, it might not have seemed like such a good idea. But it worked out.
