The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
14-0 (6-0Big 12)
Kansas State
17-3 (4-2Big 12)
No. 2 Volleyball defeats No. 25 Kansas State, 3-0
10.18.2014 | Volleyball
Three players finished with double-digit kills to lead Texas past the Wildcats on Saturday.
MANHATTAN, Kan. – No. 2 Texas Volleyball (14-0, 6-0) defeated No. 25 Kansas State (16-3, 3-2), 3-0 (25-19, 25-22, 25-12) on Saturday night at Ahearn Field House. It marked the Longhorns' 22nd-straight Big 12 win and fourth win over a ranked opponent this season.
As a team, Texas posted 50 kills with a .406 hitting percentage, with six players posting at least five kills. It is the third match this season that UT has hit .400 or better.
Senior Khat Bell led the charge with 12 kills, while senior Haley Eckerman had 11 and junior Amy Neal added 10. All three players hit .381 or higher, with Bell posting a .550 mark.
Sophomores Chloe Collins and Nicole Dalton recorded 23 and 19 assists, respectively, while freshman Cat McCoy had 10 digs.
Junior Molly McCage and sophomore Paulina Prieto Cerame led UT in blocks with three each.
In the first set, the Longhorns and Wildcats tied at 3-3, but UT went on a series of runs and led the rest of the set. Neal had six kills in the set to lead Texas with a team total of 21 to only one error.
Texas jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the second set, but Kansas State answered with six-straight points to take the lead. From there, neither team led by more than two until the Longhorns won three-straight to take the set, 25-22. The set featured 13 ties and four lead changes.
In the third set, UT and KSU traded points until Texas went on an 8-1 run to take a 12-5 lead. The Longhorns did not look back, winning 13 of the next 20 points and the set, 25-12.
The Longhorns will return home to host four-consecutive matches, beginning with TCU on Wednesday, Oct. 22 at 7 p.m. The Longhorns will then host Oklahoma at 5 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 25 and Zhiejiang on Monday, Oct. 27 and Tuesday, Oct. 28. All matches will be televised live on the Longhorn Network.
Post-match Comments
Texas Head Coach Jerritt Elliott
"I thought tonight's match was a great environment for us to play in and a good test for our team. We responded very well. We were as efficient as we've been all season, played with great balance and had a great mentality."
