The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Penn State
No. 6 Volleyball rallies to beat No. 1 Penn State, 3-2
09.07.2013 | Volleyball
Sophomore Amy Neal recorded a career-high 10 kills in front of a record crowd at Gregory Gym.
AUSTIN, Texas --- The sixth-ranked Texas Volleyball squad rallied to a 3-2 (25-27, 25-17, 13-25, 25-21, 15-10) win over No. 1 Penn State Saturday afternoon in front of a record 4,373 fans at Gregory Gym in the opening match of the Nike Volleyball Big Four Classic.
The Longhorns had 52 kills on a .271 hitting percentage and were led by junior All-American Haley Eckerman with 15 kills. Sophomore Amy Neal added a career-high 10 kills in the win, Texas' first home victory over a No. 1 opponent since topping Nebraska in three sets on Oct. 24, 1997. Texas had 13 blocks, including a match-high six from sophomore middle blocker Molly McCage.
The announced attendance marks the highest in Gregory Gym's current configuration, topping the previous record of 4,324 vs. Nebraska on Nov. 19, 2008. It is the fifth sellout since the 2007 season.
In a back-and-forth opening set that saw 14 ties and eight lead changes, neither team held more than a two-point advantage. Tied at 25-25, Penn State used consecutive kills from Deja McClendon and Micha Hancock to earn a 27-25 set victory. The Nittany Lions recorded a .364 hitting percentage in the opening frame and were paced by six kills by McClendon.
The Longhorns started off strong with an 11-4 lead in the second set and never looked back. Trailing 23-14, the Nittany Lions had a 3-1 run before a service error by McClendon gave Texas the 25-17 win. The Longhorns logged a .286 hitting percentage in the set, paced by four kills apiece by Neal and Eckerman.
After a 9-3 start by the Nittany Lions to open the third set, the Longhorns closed the gap to 14-10. Penn State answered with an 11-3 run to win the third set 25-13. The Nittany Lions recorded a .577 hitting percentage and were led by McClendon's six kills and six digs.
The fourth set featured another back-and-forth start before the Longhorns used a 6-1 run to build a 12-7 cushion. Penn State then went on a 7-2 streak to tie it up at 14. Texas counter attacked with a 5-1 run capped by an Eckerman kill to win the set 25-21. Sarah Palmer and Neal each had six digs in the set, while Eckerman posted 4 kills.
After a close battle in the beginning of the fifth set, Texas finished with a 6-2 run to win the set 15-10. The Longhorns posted a .400 hitting percentage in the set, led by Pilar Victoria and Eckerman with two kills apiece.
McClendon led the Nittany Lions with 20 kills and 17 digs.
Texas continues action at the Nike Volleyball Big Four Classic against No. 2 Stanford on Sunday, Sept. 8. The match is set to start at 3 p.m.
Post-match Notes
- The Longhorns are now 6-11 all-time against No. 1 opponents.
- Texas improves to 7-8 in the all-time series against Penn State. The Longhorns' last win against the Nittany Lions came Sept. 10, 2011 (3-2). Of the seven wins, today's marks the first in Austin.
- The announced attendance of 4,373 is highest in Gregory Gym's current configuration, topping the previous record of 4,324 vs. Nebraska on Nov. 19, 2008. Today's attendance ranks seventh overall in Texas history, including matches contested at the Frank Erwin Center.
- The Longhorns own a 34-6 all-time record in home openers and a spotless 13-0 mark under head coach Jerritt Elliott.
- Freshman setter Chloe Collins recorded the first double-double of the Longhorns' season with 22 assists and 16 digs.
-Sophomore outside hitter Amy Neal recorded a career-high 10 kills just one match after recording a previous best of nine against San Diego at the Rainbow Wahine Invitational.
-Sophomore middle blocker Molly McCage put up a match-high six blocks. As a team, Texas topped Penn State in the category, 13.0-8.0. Texas has produced nine or more team blocks in three consecutive matches, out-blocking the opponent each time.
Post-match Quotes
Texas Head Coach Jerritt Elliott
On what he can take away from today's match: These types of matches allow us to test our team, learn about our numbers and learn what we need to do as a team. They also help us with the younger players. This is the first time we have had Amy in six rotations, we got Pilar up there, and we got Chloe out there. All of those things are invaluable in terms of playing in this kind of environment under stress. This builds confidence. With a new team, they have to go out there and win, they have to develop some kind of team makeup and they need to gain confidence even though some are national champions. This is a new season and they have to be able to do things that allow them to get better.
Sophomore L/OH hitter Amy Neal
On improving after the season-opening loss at Hawai'i: After Hawai'i we came back ready to work on the things we needed to work on. We had a lot we needed to do in the gym to prepare for Penn State because they play at a very high level. This win makes us know that we can do it, but we still have a lot to work on before the season gets harder. This win brings a very good feeling though.
Junior OH Haley Eckerman
On what she can take away from today's match: The biggest thing that we can take away from this is that we have to keep moving forward. Going into practice and correcting those points that we didn't win, one play at a time is our biggest focus. If we can gain one or two more points that we gave away that helps us out in the end. Those little things are something that we have to take in after each game. It will come to us because we have been playing for years, the offensive side will come. We need to work on our defensive side, which is a team component. We have to get better as a team.
