The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
TCU
No. 9 Volleyball records 3-0 sweep at home against TCU
10.03.2012 | Volleyball
Oct. 3, 2012
AUSTIN, Texas--Junior All-American Bailey Webster had 12 kills while hitting .647 (12-1-17) on Wednesday night as the No. 9 Texas Longhorns swept the TCU Horned Frogs, 3-0 (25-19, 25-21, 25-17), in a Big 12 match. The Longhorns won their season-high sixth-straight match to improve to 12-3 overall and a perfect 5-0 in conference play.
Tonight's match was the annual Volley for the Cure event as part of the Horns for Hope initiative for community enrichment to help raise breast cancer awareness.
UT's Khat Bell tied a season high with 11 kills, hitting .500 (11-2-18) in the match while junior setter Hannah Allison registered the double-double with 36 assists and 10 digs. Allison became the 11th player in Texas history to record 2,000 career assists and now has 2,025 in her career. Haley Eckerman led all players with 13 kills.
The Longhorns' defense held TCU to a .137 performance as Sloane Sunstrum and Yvonne Igodan had seven kills apiece.
Texas opened the match with a 6-0 run, led by two kills from Molly McCage. UT gained a 10-point lead, going up 15-5, before the media timeout. Late in the set, TCU went on a five-point run to get the score within five, 24-19, before Eckerman finished off the set.
Webster started the second set off with a kill to take the lead. The set was then tied six times before Texas regained the lead, 12-11, thanks to a kill from Sha'Dare McNeal. TCU took the lead again, going up by three points, 16-13 - their largest lead of the night. Down 17-15, Texas rallied on a six-point run to regain the lead, 21-17. The Longhorns did not relinquish the lead and took the 2-0 lead in the match.
The third set was tied four times before Texas took charge, 10-9. Five different Longhorn players had kills in their following 10-2 run to bring the score to 20-11 as the Longhorns would complete the sweep.
Texas hits the road for two matches. The Longhorns will play a Big 12 match on Saturday (Oct. 6) at Kansas State at 7 p.m. before a non-conference match on Monday (Oct. 8) at Louisville, starting at 6 p.m. Gametracker live stats will be available for both matches on TexasSports.com with live Twitter updates @TexasVolleyball.
Notes: Texas, which entered the match as the nation's leader in blocks (3.35 bps), had just three blocks tonight, the lowest total of the season...the Longhorns' previous low for blocks was 5.5, set on Aug. 31 against Florida...Haley Eckerman had one service ace, extending her streak of recording at least one ace in every match this season...during the team's current six-match win streak, they have hit .260 or better (Texas hit .327 tonight)...Khat Bell also recorded 11 kills this season on Sept. 14 against Illinois...Hannah Allison's 10 digs was one off her career high of 11, set twice during her career...freshman Nicole Dalton played the third set as the team's libero.
TCU 19-21-17 TEXAS 25-25-25Records: Texas (12-3, 5-0), TCU (13-4, 2-2) Kills: Haley Eckerman 13 (Texas), Sloane Sunstrum/Yvonne Igodan 7 (TCU)
Team: TCU TEXAS 1 .219 .344 2 .000 .225 3 .259 .438 Match .137 .327
Post-Match Quotes
Coach Jerritt Elliott
Opening Statement: It was pretty erratic. We came out pretty strong and played well. They got on our heels a little bit, to the point where we couldn't play the type of volleyball that we can, but I was very proud of how we responded. We were able to find ourselves and do some things that we have been working on. Bailey (Webster) played very well tonight. She has been playing very well in the last two matches. Trying to get our middles involved is critical, they did great job with that as well. There are definitely some positives we can take away. Ultimately, we were able to get back and stay calm which was a really pleasing thing to see in terms of how to play the game a little better than we did in game two.
I felt like we were really jittery. We had to be patient with the ball and control the ball to get good swings. We had a lot of opportunities to do that but we shot ourselves in the foot early on. I told them that we got our foot off the pedal in game one, we made mistakes that are fragile in this conference. They did a good job of responding to that message and the game. We were a lot better in game two.
On not having big block numbers: There was a different style of play and rhythm from the team. They did a good job of avoiding the block. We got tooled a little more often than we have in the past but some nights are going to be good for blocking and others won't be. For me, the discussion in the locker room was not about blocks, I was concerned with getting tooled. I felt like we were not putting the ball to the wood as much and we had to get more disciplined with our hands. That is the up and down of this game, you are not always going to have big numbers as we have had. We have been off the charts and it is okay to come back to earth on that.
On the libero change: We are trying to find our perfect pass percentage to improve. It is the key component for us. If we are able to pass the ball, we can win. We were looking for better protection coming in. Nicole (Dalton) statistically has been one of our better passers and we have gotten to a point where we can get her in there more and study on her passing. We saw what our middles can do, with good passing that opens up more possibilities for Bailey. The key is passing the ball.
Junior outside hitter Bailey Webster
On the next match: We are excited to continue the season. Kansas State is a really good team.
On the blocking of TCU: With any team you have to be smart playing against in the Big 12, they are going to put up a good block. You have to be smart, hit around them, and make shots. You have to make it work. TCU did well.
On her blocking: I was not really hot tonight on blocks but as coach said, it happens. You do not have a great blocking game every time. (TCU's Stephanie Holland) did a great job of hitting mine. It is something I need to adjust quickly and improve.
Sophomore middle blocker Khat Bell
On tonight's Volley for the Cure event: It was a great thing getting the community involved and being able to support such a great cause.
