The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
4-2
Arizona State University
8-1
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona State | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
| Texas | 18 | 23 | 21 | 0 |
No. 2 Volleyball falls to Arizona State, 3-0, at Illini Classic
09.13.2013 | Volleyball
Junior outside hitter Haley Eckerman tallied a match and season-high 21 kills in the Longhorns’ second loss of the season.
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Junior outside hitter Haley Eckerman tallied a match and season-high 21 kills, but it wasn't enough for second-ranked Texas Volleyball to come out on top of Arizona State Friday night in the Illini Classic. The Sun Devils (8-1) pulled off a 3-0 (18-25, 23-25, 21-25) win over the Longhorns (4-2) hours after dropping their first match of the season to host Illinois.
Eckerman hit 48.6 percent (21-4-35) and added seven digs and two block assists in Texas' second loss of the season. Senior setter Hannah Allison logged 23 assists while senior libero Sarah Palmer and freshman outside hitter Pilar Victoria recorded 11 and eight digs, respectively.
A close fight ensued at the beginning of the match before the Sun Devils used a 5-0 run to break away from the Longhorns (4-2) for an 11-6 lead. Texas tried to close the gap but came no closer than three points when down 8-11 before a 5-2 Arizona State run put the game out of reach. ASU hit .209 (16-7-43) and held UT to .188 (10-4-32) en route to the 1-0 lead.
Game two came down to the wire after Texas tied the set on a late 6-3 run, 22-22, on Eckerman's 12th kill of the night. Arizona State took a 24-22 lead on back-to-back kills by Macey Gardner, but Eckerman kept the Horns within one at 23-24 with another shot of her own. Gardner closed out the set with one last dagger to put Texas down by two.
After breaking a 15-all tie in the third set on a 5-0 run, Arizona State never let Texas come closer than two points on two occasions (18-20 and 21-23).
Gardner led the Sun Devils with 17 kills and McKenzie Willey added 10 more.
Texas head coach Jerritt Elliott will have another shot at his 350th career victory (15 years) and 300th since arriving on the Forty Acres tomorrow night when the Longhorns face No. 14 Illinois at 7 p.m. Central in Huff Hall.
