The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Florida
No. 10 Volleyball falls to No. 7 Florida in five sets
09.10.2011 | Volleyball
Sept. 10, 2011
STANFORD, Calif. - The 10th-ranked Texas Volleyball team battled back from a 2-1 set deficit to tie the match before falling in five sets, Friday night at the Nike Big Four Classic at Maples Pavilion. The 22-25, 25-20, 13-25, 25-21, 12-15 loss dropped the Longhorns to 2-3 on the season, while the Gators improved to 7-1.
Freshman outside hitter Haley Eckerman headlined the Horns' attack with a career-high 18 kills on .220 hitting. Senior All-America middle blocker Rachael Adams posted a career-high 10 block assists in the loss and added nine kills.
In the fifth and decisive set, Texas grabbed an early 3-0 edge, but Florida quickly erased the advantage and led 8-7 at the switch. The Gators led 12-10 late and UF traded kills with Eckerman until the 13-12 mark when Florida used a kill and a block by Kelly Murphy to win the set 15-12.
Texas struggled early in the first, trailing by five at the 21-16 mark before using two Adams kills to pace a 5-0 run and tie the set at 21. Florida responded with two kills and a block by Tangerine Wiggs to close out the frame 25-22.
In the second, the Horns overcame a 17-15 deficit midway through the frame before a 6-1 run paced by two kills and a block by Webster put UT in front 21-18. A 4-1 UT run fueled by a Webster kill and an Adams/Webster block sealed the set for the Horns 25-20.
Florida put together an 8-1 run early in the third to claim a 15-6 lead and it did not look back, out-hitting UT .318-to-.000 in the set to win the stanza 25-13.
Texas bounced back in the fourth set behind nine kills from Eckerman and a .306 team hitting performance. Eckerman started her run with the score locked at 17, connecting for five of Texas' eight points to lift UT to a 25-21 set win.
Texas returns to action on Saturday, Sept. 10 when it takes on No. 2 Penn State. First serve is set for 6:30 p.m. Central.
POST-MATCH NOTES
- Texas' loss dropped its all-time record against Florida to 5-12 and 0-2 at neutral sites.
- Haley Eckerman came on strong with nine kills (.667 hitting) in the fourth and posted a career-high 18 kills in the match.
- Rachael Adams recorded a career-best 10 block assists in the loss and equaled a career mark with 10 total blocks.
- Texas will meet Penn State for the sixth time in the last six seasons when the teams meet on Saturday.
