The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
16-2, 9-0Big 12
TCU
13-10, 2-7Big 12
No. 1 Volleyball beats TCU for 12th straight win
10.30.2013 | Volleyball
Junior Haley Eckerman recorded a season-high 24 kills as the Longhorns moved to 9-0 in Big 12 matches.
AUSTIN, Texas -- No. 1 Texas Volleyball extended its winning streak to 12 matches by defeating TCU, 3-1 (25-14, 20-25, 25-15, 25-23), Wednesday evening at Gregory Gym. Junior All-American Haley Eckerman led the Longhorns with a season-high 24 kills, while freshman setter Chloe Collins and senior libero Sarah Palmer added a match-high 33 assists and 18 digs, respectively.
Including tonight's win, the Longhorns have now won 45 consecutive Big 12 Conference matches in Gregory Gym, a streak that dates back to 2008.
Texas (16-2, 9-0 Big 12) recovered from a small 9-8 deficit in the first set with a 6-1 run. After the back and forth start, Texas continued to build on its lead the rest of the way. Eckerman had eight first set kills, and UT went on another 5-1 rally to take a 19-12 lead. The Horned Frogs were never able to recover, and the Longhorns took the first set 25-14.
Game two started with TCU (13-10, 2-7 Big 12) taking a 10-6 lead, but UT was able to storm back. Following a timeout, an emphatic block by freshman Chiaka Ogbogu gave UT an 11-10 lead. However, TCU did not go away, as it built another two point lead, 19-17, towards the end of the set. The Horned Frogs only added to their lead against the top-ranked Longhorns to win the set, 25-20, marking their first-ever won set against the Longhorns.
Game three was highlighted by the Longhorns' ability to bounce back from game two as they started with an 8-3 lead before the Horned Frogs called a timeout. Following the timeout, TCU closed the gap to three, 10-7, but that's as close as the game would get as Texas went on an 8-1 run from there to put the match out of reach and take a 2-1 match lead.
The Horned Frogs jumped out to a 4-0 lead to begin game four. Following a timeout, Texas recorded its first kill of the match and were quickly able to tie the game, 8-8. From there, TCU maintained a small lead until Texas took its first lead of the game, 16-15, on a forceful spike by senior Bailey Webster. TCU kept it tight, but Texas did not fall behind the rest of the game. It was tied 23-23, but a costly serving error and carry by TCU allowed UT to win the final two points and its ninth Big 12 match.
Texas looks to extend its winning streak as it hits the road for a Saturday night match against rival Oklahoma at 6:30 p.m. Central.
Post-match Notes
- Texas has won 45 consecutive home conference matches in Gregory Gym.
- The Longhorns have won nine consecutive conference matches this season as part of a 12-match winning streak.
- Texas leads the all-time series vs. TCU 7-0.
- The Longhorns had 59 kills on the night, the third highest of the season.
- Texas totaled 12 blocks, marking the eighth time this season the Longhorns have had 10 or more blocks.
- Haley Eckerman led the Longhorns in kills for the eighth time with a season-high 24.
- Khat Bell led the Longhorns in blocks for the eighth time and second consecutive match with seven.
- Sarah Palmer led the Longhorns in digs for the 14th time this season with 14.
Post-match Quotes
Texas Head Coach Jerritt Elliot
Opening Statement: I give credit to TCU, they played extremely well. They were confident coming in here and they executed at a high level. For whatever reason we started on the non-starting side, and we were a little bit inconsistent with how we managed our game, but our team fought, and it is good to be in these situations and be pressed and see how your team reacts because you are going to be seeing that in the next month. There are good teams, we told the team tonight, our toughest three out of four opponents left on our schedule are our next three matches, and TCU went five (sets) with Oklahoma and is playing well. They run a lot of different play sets and it is tough to follow them. I thought they played very well, and in game two we just mismanaged our game a little bit.
Junior MB Khat Bell
On the resilience TCU showed: TCU put up a lot of contention tonight, they competed very well, they fought a lot. They challenged the team and it helps.
Junior OH Haley Eckerman
On how she felt about her performance: I think it was me making sure I was just focusing on the right thing and whatever I needed to do to help my teammates out. That is something Jerritt works on, too, is making sure that we know our role, especially when it is time to kick in, and so I have been working a lot in practice on trying to manage my swings and not make as many errors in every game.
